Presley Ann's Birth Story

conchgirl · August 2011

Woo-hoo, we did it! Of course, it was nothing how we "planned" but it was perfect anyway!

A week past EDD, i went into the hospital for my scheduled non-stress test, frustrated and feeling this baby would never show up! Heartbeat looked great, no contractions, still only one cm dilated. However, the sonogram showed that i was very low on amniotic fluid (either due to a high leak or the natural decrease) so i was told to go upstairs...we would be leaving our "appointment" with our baby!

We had planned and prepared for a drug free childbirth, so I wasn't tickeled pink at the thought of basically starting labor from scratch but it was what my midwives thought was best after much discussion. I was so nervous b/c i knew this upped my chances of c-section, too. In addition to starting pitocin at 4pm, a Foley Bulb was inserted into my cervex to "mechanically dilate". This is about as fun as it sounds. It was quite uncomfortable but it did the job - getting me to 3-4 cm in a few hours.

I labored without drugs for 15 hours. This was frustrating for me, as my wishes for a intervention free birth stemmed from not wanting to be hooked up to things and be able to move freely. Instead, I was on a pitocin drip and therefore had to be continuously monitored. I had movement ability around the bed, but if i changed my position (bounced on a ball, sat down , stood up, etc.) the monitor would fail to pick up Baby's heartbeat and i was made to lay down for 30 min. to chart her heartrate (which was consistently beautiful, BTW!) After 3 hours of intense contractions, I was pissed to find i was still 5cm dilatd and decided to stop torturing myself and get the damn epidural. I was sure my body couldn't take another 7 hours at least at this rate and still push succesfully.

During that time however, my water broke on its own which was great news - meaning my body was reacting positivly to the "forced" labor. After making the Epi decision, i had to wait 2.5 hours for the anesthesiologist. WHOA. the contraction were intense and made especially more so since i was on pitocin with broken waters. I wasnt surprised at al to learn that during that time i had dilated from 5 to 8 cm.

After the epidural, i was on easy street and my DH and I got the chance to take a quick catnap. I awoke at 9 cm and was told to lay on my side since baby was "sunny side up". the position worked and less than 4 5 min later we were ready to push! I pushed for 2.5 hours and had Baby Presley at 1:21pm, 21.5 hours after the pitocin drip started. No tears, no c-section. recovery has been great so far and we are happy (and nervous, and sleepy) to have our little kiddo safe and sound at home.

Moral of the story: it might not always go your way - but it WILL work out one way or another! Try to relax and do what is best for baby and YOU! GOOD LUCK!!!