Declan's Birth Story (PIPs to follow another day)

jillcanada

It's been a crazy ride since Declan was born on 9/10/11 and I haven't had the opportunity to post his birth story until tonight. The beginning was difficult as we encountered a few bumps in our path to taking Declan home. We were discharged and then had to be re-admitted because of low blood sugar levels and high risk jaundice due to ABO incompatibility. Despite being born what doctors consider full-term, developmentally he wasn't prepared to take on breastfeeding, especially since he had little fat on him to sustain him until my milk came in. Thankfully all has resolved and we are at home learning to take from the breast while getting pumped BM and formula. He's above his birth weight and gained 2 1/2 ounces just in a 24 hour period!

I want to thank each and every one of you who have supported me through this PGAL journey. Delcan truly is our little miracle. We discovered after the placenta was delivered that I had a velamentous cord, meaning it was inserted at the top of the placenta instead of the middle and had no Wharton's Jelly protecting it. The outcome of such a cord is not favorable, and we are certainly fortunate to have this little monkey in our lives.

 Here's the story:

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Thursday, September 8, 2011, 9:30 p.m.:  ?Do you think it?s amniotic fluid?? I asked my doula. I had been leaking a clear liquid a few times throughout the day, but didn?t think it could be amniotic since there was some mucous in it. But then again, the mucous might have been there before. After discussing what to look for with the doula, I decided I would wait until morning and call my doctor to have it tested. I proceeded to lie down on the couch. As I was settling in, I suddenly heard a distinct ?pop.? I quickly rose to my feet and water gushed from me, soaking my pants and underwear. My husband and I had discussed what we?d do if the bag of waters broke before contractions. Our birth plan indicated we?d wait 12 hours and then go to the hospital if contractions had not started yet. That plan was immediately thrown out the window as the reality of what was going to happen settled in. We both agreed the best place for both us was at the hospital where I could be monitored.

Friday, September 9, 2011, 12:00 a.m.: By midnight or so we were checked in. The nurse confirmed I had indeed broken my bag of waters, and I was put on a monitor to see if I was having contractions. The baby?s heartbeat looked great, so we agreed to intermittent monitoring throughout the early morning. My doula arrived around 8:00 a.m. and I still had not begun to have any contractions. We walked the halls, did lunges, nipple stimulation; however, nothing happened. My OB/GYN arrived around noon at which point he said I had to either have Pitocin to induce or a C-section. I was not pleased with his aggressive approach, and while I made excuses for him ? he?d been up all night with 3 patients at another hospital, and just completed a C-section ? my husband was livid that he immediately jumped at the opportunity to have surgery. Yes, I had broken my water over 12 hours ago, but there were no signs of infection, and the baby was not in any distress. The medical team was determined I was too caught up in my natural birth plan, which honestly was not the issue. My experience with Pitocin during the loss of my twins still haunted me, and the doctor expressed that if I wanted to have a vaginal birth, I needed to start here and put my feeling aside. He decided to give me until 10 p.m. and would not do a C-section if I was in active labor at this point. No stress, right? The medication was started at 2:00 p.m., and the dosage was slowly increased by 1 ml every half hour. Once again, though, nothing happened. A few contractions here and there, but nothing earth shattering, and certainly nowhere near what was necessary to be in active labor.

Around 7:30 p.m., my nurse, Cheryl, approached me after watching me make no progress. She suggested that I take the IV out, eat and have Cervadil inserted overnight so I could begin to dilate more than the 1.5 cm I was stuck at, if you can call that stuck. Thankfully at this point my doctor had begun his weekend and I was charged to his on-call doctor. If we hadn?t been transferred to Dr. Hall, I would have had a C-section. Dr. Hall was the reason we were able to deliver Declan vaginally.  At 9:00 p.m. after having a nice meal and walk around the hospital, the Cervadil was inserted and I settled in, hoping to get some sleep.

Saturday, September 10, 2011, 5:20 a.m.: I managed to get a decent night?s rest, and rose to relieve myself. ?Something? fell out in the toilet and I proceeded to let my nurse know I thought my body had rejected the Cervadil. She confirmed this upon a cervical check. I had made some progress, but still no contractions.

Dr. Hall arrived around 10:00 a.m. and decided to start me on Pitocin again, giving me one more chance before the call for a C-section was made. Two monitors were placed internally ? one for the baby?s heartbeat, and the other to monitor my contractions so the doctor could ?finesse? the Pitocin as  he described it. At this point I was 3 cm dilated. My new nurse, Lori, noticed I had a bag of forewater, and that most likely when my bag of waters broke Thursday night it was a tear further up. The doctor returned to break it and this seemed to get labor started.

From 11:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. I labored with Pitocin induced contractions. When the nurse checked me at 2:00 p.m. I was at 5-6 cm with unbearable contractions lasting 2-3 minutes long, and really no time in-between to rest. I told my husband I needed an epidural. The nurse promptly called the anesthesiologist and her team.

The epidural was given around 2:30 p.m. and I was able to rest until 5:30 p.m. at which point I was 10 cm and ready to push. I was afraid with the epidural I wouldn?t be able to feel anything, but it was quite the opposite. I kept telling my doula and husband that I could feel the baby descending and the pressure was building. I would ask the nurse if a contraction was starting because I could feel it start to build.  A half hour later I started to push and at 6:29 p.m. Declan, 6 pounds 2.9 ounces, 19 ? inches long, entered our world and changed our lives forever.

HBaylies

Congratulations Mama! 

ellebelle2384

Congratulations!  Glad Declan is doing well now and putting on weight!

julesjb

Congrats!!!

sweepie412

Huge congratulations!! 

anonomity

So glad everything went well!  Congrats mama!

rock-elle

Huge congrats hon, welcome Declan!!

itsmegin

So happy he is here! Congrats!

luvmyducks

Crazy!  I'm glad you were able to get a doctor that worked better with your birth plan!  Congrats!

VeilSdeGTO

So glad you and Declan are doing well. I'm sorry the first doctor was so quick to jump to a C-Section, but it sounds like Dr. Hall was there just in time.

Can't wait for pics of Declan. Congrats, momma!

MrsAtch

I would have been livid about them jumping at surgery too. So sorry it was stressful but I'm thrilled that Declan is here and you are both safe!

thewayiam

Congratulations! So wonderful!

SCSmithbride

sorry for the rough start, but congrats on the healthy baby and  the doc switch

tew213

Congratulations Mama!!!

ColleenS629

Congrats!

emd2887

Congrats mama!!! Can't wait to see pics of your little guy! 

martinimomma

I am so glad that everything turned out so well, Jill, and that you were able to get the medical team to give you a chance to have the delivery you wanted (or as close to it as possible). Also so glad that LO's cord situation did not cause problems. Best wishes!!

jerriesgirl

Love that name.  Congratulations!