My Birth Story from Monday - induction

guim0014 · May 2009

I went in to be induced 8 days past my due date. My OB would not let me go any further as the baby had already measured pretty big. I had been told I was dilated a little past 2 cm but the hospital staff said I was more like 1 cm and a wiggle. We got to the hospital Monday the 11th at 8am and I was set up with a Pitocin IV drip, electrolytes, and external monitoring equipment for the contractions as well as for the baby?s heartbeat. They broke my water an hour later. My first couple of hours I spent sitting on the birthing ball, stretching and breathing, and dealing with my first painful contractions. DH was my lifesaver through all of this by showing me our honeymoon slideshow, playing music, and even watching a couple of Arrested Development episodes he had brought as distraction tools.
I was checked periodically and really had no change. They inserted an internal monitor to check the strength of the contractions (not comfortable). I was 3 cm by 3:30 and cried for the epidural. The anesthesiologist was timely and inserted the epidural while the nurse held me still through the contractions; they put in a catheter into my bladder as well. I vomited and was shaking a lot even though I was numb from the waist down. The nurse put me on oxygen to help the baby?s heartbeat and I spent the next few hours trying to breathe and really just spacing out.
At 6pm I was still 3 cm and they continued to turn up the Pitocin.
At 7pm I had more blood drawn and was told to prepare for a C-section if there wasn?t any change by 8:30.
At 8:30pm I was told I was almost 6cm which was the best news we had all day at that point.
At 10pm I was checked again because my OB said she wanted to put her kids to bed and I was measuring 8 cm.
At 11:15pm I was 10cm and ready to push! Finally.

The nurses were in the middle of a shift change at this point (our 3rd shift change since we had arrived) but they said to try one practice push anyway, I did and they started telling me to stop pushing because the baby was about to come out and our OB was in the restroom. I was terrified and shaking and on the verge of vomiting again. Thankfully the OB came right in and they had me push and told me that I was about to see my baby after only 2 pushes, I kept telling them I had to throw up and they told me to go ahead because that would probably help to get baby out. My OB also snipped me a little to help. Well it turned out it took 5 pushes and by 11:29pm out came baby boy and I was shocked when I heard a little cough and a shrieking cry and there he was. It was the most relief my body had felt in 41+ weeks and I fell immediately in love with little baby boy.

I had let DH choose the baby?s name but he still hadn?t decided. So when the nurses asked the name he said his top two choices and it was so funny because our OB immediately began calling him Sebastian even though it wasn?t decided at this point. That was fine because Sebastian ended up becoming his name a half hour later. The OB stitched me up from the episiotomy and I was given medicine for my nausea, and DH got a chance to hold the baby.
Sebastian Michael Wood
5/11/09 11:29pm
8 lbs 10 oz
Head was 14.25cm!!