Hayden's birth story...extremely long and detailed

scorpiomer

So I am finally getting around to writing the story about Hayden's birth.  It was not a great experience so I guess that might be why it took so long.  I prayed my entire pregnancy to be able to have a natural vaginal birth, but sadly that was not in the cards for us.  I started having high blood pressure in my 35th week.  I was at work on Tuesday and checked it because I had a headache and was not feeling well.  It was elevated so I called the doctor and they wanted to see me immediately.  I left work and went to see the doctor, they checked urine and blood pressure and BP was up and urine had protein, so I was sent home and put on bedrest and told to see Maternal Fetal Medicine in 2 days.  In the meantime had blood work and 24 hour urine test done which all came back with slightly elevated levels.  Went to that appointment, had ultrasound and nonstress test which were both normal, his size was estimated at 8lbs 4oz.  Saw the doc and she recommended induction because I was showing all the signs of early pre-eclampsia and they did not want it to get to a full blown case.  They called the hospital that evening and were told they were too busy and since I was not actually pre-eclamptic yet, it wasn't an emergency and I would need to wait and call back in on Friday evening to see if they had room for me then.  So my husband called off work Friday and we spent the day together and went out for dinner for our "last supper".  We called the labor unit on the way home and they said they were still too full, go to bed, get some sleep and call at 7am Saturday.  So we did, and finally they were able to take me.  So we took our showers, said goodbye to our dog and cat and off to the hospital we went to finally meet our outside baby. 

We arrived at the hospital around 8:30 and got all set up.  They checked me and I was 1cm dilated already, so they started cytotec.  They checked 4 hours later and I had a little progress but not much so they put the second dose in.  I tried to walk the unit as much as possible to get things moving, the contractions were definately coming very regularly, but they were not difficult to get through.  My mom and cousin came to visit and spent most of the day sitting with my husband and I.  After the second dose of cytotec was done, I was checked again and this time was 2-3cm...woohoo.  They put the 3rd dose in and again we waited for 4 hours.  I was contracted every 2-3 minutes, lasting 1 minute or longer and walking as much as possible.  The contractions were getting a little worse so I would normally have to stop walking and lean on the wall during one, but was then able to keep right on walking.  After the 3rd and final dose of cytotec, was checked and was 3-4cm.  They decided to start Pitocin, at this point it was 11pm at night.  They started the Pit and contractions got a little worse, but I was still making it through them pretty well, the only problem was they were right on top of each other with no break in between.  Sometimes the one wouldn't even go completely away and the next one was starting already.  Around midnight, I agreed to get some Stadol, just so I could try and sleep a little bit.  I slept for maybe 2 or 3 hours and then woke up and had to pee.  When I got up some fluid leaked so I sat back down and tried to wake up my husband so he could help me get to the bathroom.  Around 5 the midwife came in to check me again, still 4 cm, no progress and it was getting a little difficult to deal with because I was having no break from the contractions.  When she checked me, my water broke completely.  If she had told me I was like 7 or 8cm I think I could have hung in there, but after being up for almost 24 hours, not making any progress in like 6 hours and knowing I had a long time before my little man would make his appearance, I finally gave in and agreed to the epidural. 

Now that I had decided to go ahead and get it, it took forever for anesthesia to come.  I was getting no time at all between contractions and they were pretty intense, my poor hubby just stood next to me holding my hand.  Finally they came and gave me the epidural and it was not bad at all.  My poor hubby though was starting to look really pale and the nurses made him sit down.  At this point we realized he had not eaten since like 6pm the night before and he was upset from seeing me in so much pain and feeling helpless.  They got him some juice and crackers and he felt much better.  The epidural had me pretty numb, but I could still move, which was one of my major concerns, so I was happy.  They came to check me again pretty soon after getting the epidural, I wish they would have waited awhile, but oh well.  Still no progress, so the dreaded word was mentioned, C-section, but she wanted to run it by the doctor who was coming in at 8.  Around 9 they came in and the doctor agreed especially since little man was starting to have some decelerations in his heart rate.  So I called my mom really fast while DH got dressed.  I was crying the whole way there, the resident who was assisting was just holding my hand and gave me a hug.  The nurse was not so nice though, she looked at me and said, "your a nurse, why are you surprised that you are getting a section?"  I said, "I'm not surprised, just disappointed".  I was so mad at her.  I moved across to the surgical table and was strapped down and hooked up to everything.  They let DH in and the incision was made.  A short while later they said he was coming out and then I heard that most beautiful sound that every pregnant woman dreams of, my little man's first cry.  Instantly brought tears to my eyes.  He was born at 9:35 am.  He was taken over to be checked out and my husband went with to cut the cord the rest of the way.  He took some pictures and then came back over.  I asked if he had 10 fingers and 10 toes, and he said yes.  Then I asked if he had a penis and he laughed and said yes.  Then they brough my little burrito over so I could see him.  The nurse took pictures for us, the first photos of our new family. 

All too soon they took him away and my husband went with them to take him to the nursery.  So I lay on the table and suddenly this odd feeling came over me, and honestly I thought to myself, oh god this is it, I am dying.  So I looked back at the anesthesiologist and said something doesn't feel right.  He said oh that is normal, they have the uterus out of your body and that can make you feel a little weird.  I was like, well geez, they need to tell you that.  I layed there for what seemed like hours while they sutured me up.  By the time they were doing the last few sutures the meds were wearing off and I could feel a little of what they were doing.  Then I got rolled over to recovery and layed there just wishing I was holding my little man.  They hooked me up to the PCA pain meds and checked my vitals all the time.  I called my husband to see how the baby was doing and called to see if my mom got there yet.  I just needed someone around me that loved me to make me feel better.  Finally my mom and step dad got there and came to see me, cuz I had told my DH before coming to hospital if I ended up needing a section that no one was allowed to see Hayden before I got to hold him.  So I sat there in the recovery room waiting till I could go see him.  They checked my movement and feeling, all was good they said as soon as they checked my vitals one more time, we could head over to maternity.  She asked if my pain was under control too, I said yes, but I tell you, I could have been having excruating pain and I still would have said yes.  I just wanted to hold my baby in my arms so bad. 

Finally they rolled me over to maternity and got me situated over there.  Finally around 12:30, 3 hours after being born, I heard that cart rolling toward my room and they brought my little monkey in.  The nurse checked our bands and handed me the most beautiful baby I have ever seen .  My mom still laughs because the first thing I said was "I am so glad he is cute.  I was so afraid he would be ugly".  I couldn't stop crying I was happy to finally have him in my arms.  We nursed a bit later and he took to it right away and hasn't stopped since.  He was 7lbs 7oz and 19 inces long.

My recovery wasn't terrible, but it was definately painful.  It didn't help that I ended up with a UTI from them placing the foley catheter before surgery.  I kept telling them in the hospital that I had this terrible pain when I would get up to pee that I wouldn't even be able to move.  Finally on my day of discharge, the midwife looked at my labs and saw that the urine came back positive from 3 days before.  They started me on antibiotics then and things got better after that.  It took about 2 weeks for me to be able to walk normally and move around very well or be able to hold Hayden while getting up or down.  My incision has healed well and I am hoping to VBAC on the next.

 If you made it the whole way through, I applaud you.  I loved long birth stories when I was pregnant so I made mine as detailed as I could remember.  Hope you enjoyed it and thanks for reading!!  I need to get some updated pictures on here.  But I will soon.  Life has been a big adjustment, but I wouldn't change it for the world. 

GettinNervous

Hi. I enjoyed reading your story. I understand your disappointment that it did not go the way you hoped. I also cannot blame you for getting the epi after such a loooong time and not much progress. I had a C-section with my 2nd child (cord around neck). Congratulations! That was funny when you said you were worried the baby would be ugly!

mrsjohnson706

Thank you for sharing your story! I'm sorry it didn't go as planned, but you should be proud of yourself for making a "not ugly" baby! LOL. I think every mother to be thinks about this...I know I do!!