My birth story...

SummersJuly15 · February 2009

I was induced 9 days early because my DD had a 2 vessel cord. We were told to be at the hospital at 5:45 am Monday the 9th. DH and I got hardly no sleep the night before. We left the house at 5:00 and arrived at the hospital at 5:30. DH dropped me at the door and parked the car. I went in to tell the admissions clerk who I was and what I was there for. She told me to have a seat for a few minutes. DH came back in and she called us up there about 15 minutes later. We went over my insurance info and then she told us that there were no available beds, but that they hadn't told her to send anyone home yet. There was another couple there waiting for induction also, and they had been there for an hour already and hadn't gotten called back. So we sat and waited, and of course I was a nervous wreck (silly me thought that I would get to go right back there and get on with things). At about 7:35, the admissions girl called to us and the 2 other couples that were now waiting and told us that they would be coming to get us shortly. Some lady came a few minutes later and got us all. She showed us all to our rooms and we were the last ones to get to a room. 165 was the magic room number......

Once in the room, they told me to put my gown on and get in the bed. A nurse came in and did a complete medical questionairre while the L&D nurse was preparing some things. A different girl came in to start my IV (I was gbs +). The IV was by far the worst part of the whole experience (if you can believe that). It hurt going in. At about 8:00, the doc came in and broke my water. That was the weirdest feeling ever. It had some pressure behind it because he had to get up and move because it was spraying him. Haha. I didn't feel any different after my water was broken. The doc told me he would be in later to check on me.

The L&D nurse started me on a very small pitocin drip. 2 ml which was about 6 drops per hour. For the first few hours, things seemed very slow. She started the pitocin at about 9:30. Around lunch time, 11:30 - I think I was at a 4....which was very discouraging, because I had been a 3 when I got there and 80% effaced....I was then thinking that it was going to be a looooong night! She kept coming in and upping the pitocin levels every 30 minutes. The contractions started to get pretty intense, but not unbearable by any means. She told me that if I was thinking about getting the epi, that I needed to let her know so that she could put the order in. The hospital was packed and there was only one anesthesiologist working. She said he was getting pretty backed up. Well, the contractions I had were pretty painful, and I knew they were only going to get so much worse, so I opted to have the epi. He came in to give it to me around 12:30. DH stood in front of me while I sat indian style on the edge of the bed. The only uncomfortable part of the whole thing was when he was running the catheter in there. It was rubbing on my bone, so it hurt a little. But it was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. DH almost passed out from seeing him give me the epi. He hadn't eaten anything all morning, and when I looked up, he was yellow / white, sweaty and looked horrible! I asked him if he was ok, and he said he needed something to eat. The nurse called in for some OJ, and he was ok. they made him sit down.

So after my epi, I took several small naps while my family and friends were in and out visiting me. I also made several phone calls. They came in and checked me at 3:30, and I was between a 6 and a 7!! I was so happy for progress. So I continued to lay there and take naps and watch tv and visit with my family. I felt great, except for a little itching. She said that there is something in the epi that makes people itch sometimes. She gave me some benadryl (which was a mistake). She gave me 2 doses because the first one didn't work. After the second dose, I was really sleepy. At 5:00, I told her that I was having a lot of pressure (like I needed to poop). She came in and checked me and I was at a 10!! I started shaking because I was getting really nervous now, it was almost time. She went and called the doc and came back in.

She said that since this was my first child, the doc suggested that we wait a little bit and let the baby move down some more on her own. So she said they would be back in 30 minutes to start pushing. Well, I waited an hour, and I was pissed! I kept telling DH that I couldn't resist the urge to push. The nurse came in at 6:10 and set up the bed and said that we were going to try some practice pushes. She said she had called the doc and he was on the way. So, we tried a couple practice pushes. Pushing is HARD work, especially when you are doped on Benadryl! So, the doc got there at 6:30, and put all of his garb on. He looked like he was going into a quarantine site or something, all of the stuff he put on. So, we started pushing, DH held one leg, and my mom held the other. I felt like falling asleep after each set of pushes from the Benadryl. I also asked for the mirror so I could watch some. I saw her head crowning and then got so into getting her out that I didn't watch anymore. She was born 18 minutes after the doc got there at 6:48. She weighed 7 lbs even and was 19.25 inches long. As soon as she came out, it was like an instant feeling of relief. It felt so good when she slid out. They immediately put her on my chest and DH cut the cord. I could tell that she wasn't big when they laid her on me. They had told me she was going to be big. Her estimated weight at 35 weeks was 7 lbs. I had a 2nd degree tear that needed repairing. All in all, it was absolutely the best and most amazing experience of my life. I feel very fortunate that things went so easily for me and that I had a very successful induction. She is a little bundle of joy, and DH and I couldn't be more in love!!