My fraggle has arrived!

celestialnyte · June 2012

Liam Charles arrived on 6/15 at 2:58 am, 7 lbs 15 oz, 21 inches.

I got to the hospital at 715 am on 6/14 and they got me all hooked up to monitors and started the pit at 830 am. I caved at 12:30 and asked for an epi. They brought down the anesthesiologist and he got there around 12:40 and they put it in, and after an hour (and enough medication for a c/s patient) they came to the conclusion it wasn't working and they needed to take that one out and put in a 2nd. They called someone else (the guy said that if it were him, he wouldn't want the person that screwed up the 1st one to do the 2nd one). They kept hitting a nerve in my leg, so it too a little while to get the 2nd in correctly. Once they did, it took a TON of medication for it to actually work. As they were positioning me on the bed, my bp dropped to 70/50, and they had to give me oxygen and meds to bring my bp back up (this took about 20 mins). Between the beginning of me asking for the epi and by the time everything was said and done with the entire epi process, it took 3 1/2 hours.

They kept trying to up my pitocin, but every time they did, Liam's heart rate would fall below 90 OR my contractions would get to be right on top of each other, neither of which was acceptable to them, so they had to keep backing off and giving me only the minimal amount. They put in a uterine contraction monitor as well as a monitor on top of Liam's head to track his heart rate more accurately than the belly monitor.

The epi was fantastic, til about 10:15, and I could start feeling contractions on my right side. My left leg wasn't numb anymore, but I couldn't feel any contractions on that side. My right let was completely numb, but I could feel each of my contractions. Figure that one out (the epi people sure couldn't. They said that I was going to be one of their case studies. The people that worked on me have been here for 20 years and they said that I was the first case they'd ever seen of a completely failed epi AND of being numb the way I was.) They came back and ended up needing (again) to give me the amount of medication for a c/s patient. But it finally worked ... except I was having an insane amount of pressure in my vagina. With every contraction it felt like Liam was pushing farther down, and my body was involuntarily pushing.

The nurse called for the dr and she checked me and I was 8 cm (which after being at 4 cm the ENTIRE day, I was super excited.) After an hour, the pain in my vagina was completely unbearable. I honestly don't even remember everything that happened in that hour ... I remember continuing to say "I can't do this anymore, I can't do this anymore." The nurse called the dr back because I told her I felt the urge to push, and the dr checked and said I was at 9 cm. She said that I could either continue as I was and she'd check me again in 3 hours, but that no epi or pain meds were going to help me, so what I was feeling would be how it would be the entire time, or I could have a c/s. I didn't even hesitate. There was no way on earth I could continue. I thought I was going to pass out from the pain.

They got me set up for the c/s, and I felt like a complete and utter failure. Not only did I NOT go med-free, but I caved at 9 cm and got a c/s only because I couldn't handle the pain anymore I kept telling MH that I was sorry and that I felt like a failure to him that I couldn't complete what I started.

Liam was born at 2:58 am, after 20 1/2 hours of labor. When the doctor pulled him out, she told me that his head was stuck in my pelvic bone, and even if I had gotten to 10 cm and gone into pushing, I never would have been able to have him vaginally. While I still felt disappointed in myself for at least not trying, I felt much better knowing that I didn't put Liam or myself under any more un-needed stress.

When he was born, he was having a lot of trouble breathing, so they brought him into the nursery, and in about an hour he was brought to us, and has had no more breathing issues.

We're so in love with him!

rissa_n · June 2012

Congrats, sounds like you had a tough l&d. Glad you & LO are recovering well!

jeffreymcginn17 · June 2012

WOW this sounds like my birth experience!

My Ollie was born 6/7/2012. I too went in for an induction and asked for an epi at about 12.30... as soon as it went in I knew something was wrong as I felt it only on my right. The dr's told to wait it out and my left will start to get numb eventually. Hours later still nothing. I was literally screaming at each contraction and I could feel pressure but the nurses kept saying I should feel 'pressure'. I got to the point where I couldn't think anymore, I was trying to get out of the bed to leave, I was vomitting and I felt like I was about to poop! I told the nurses I need to be checked and I was 10cm. The doctor that put my epi in was in a c section and so they had to call an emergency dr in... in 2 mins he put it in and what to do u know ... no pain just 'normal' pressure! I had been telling everyone this for hours! I pushed for 3 hours and nothing... babies head was bulging but he wasn't coming out. Finally they told me I needed a c section as they thought he was too big... after everything I had been through I was totally fine with that.... at 8.50pm Ollie was born. The reason why I couldn't deliver him was that he was stuck on my pelvic bone... he even had lines on his head that show he was obviously stuck.

Don't feel bad for having a c section, you have your baby now and that is all that matters!

D