Natalie's Birth Story (LONG)

cmw&tdm · June 2009

The plan was for me to see my OB for an appointment at 4:15 on Monday, June 8^th to get a balloon catheter put in and then head over to labor and delivery for the night and to start Pitocin in the morning. I went to my appointment to find out that I was already 3 cm dilated (I was 1 cm at 39 weeks), so the balloon catheter wasn?t needed, and we were sent home for the night and told to be back at 5 am on Tuesday the 9th. We were at the hospital at 5 am the next morning. We had to do some paperwork and then we were sent to our room to change into a gown, answer some more questions and do more paperwork, and get my IV going. They put me on the monitors and I was having some contractions, but they weren?t regular. After they had a good strip on me for about 30 min they started my Pitocin at the lowest dose (2) at around 6:15 am. My doula arrived and we just talked while I alternated standing, sitting on the birthing ball, sitting on the recliner, and leaning over the bed. The nurses would come in every 15 min to increase the Pitocin by increments of 4. I felt contractions starting but they were pretty mild, and felt like strong Braxton Hicks with a menstrual crampy feeling. At 7:46 a.m. my doctor comes in to check me. I?m still the same as yesterday, 3 cm, 50%, and -2 station. He breaks my water and I sit in the bed for 30 minutes or so to let everything drain out before getting back up. Throughout the morning my contractions were gradually getting more intense. For the first three hours after they broke my water I was uncomfortable during the contractions, but not really in pain. I was surprised it was taking this long because after they broke my water with DS things went pretty fast, but I had also been on Pitocin all day with him before my water was broken. By around 11 or so I was having to stop talking when I was having a contraction, and I would call the contractions painful at this point, but I could definitely rest between the contractions. At 12:28 p.m. my doctor comes back to check me again. I was only 4 cm (close to 5 but not quite) 75% effaced and a -2 station. By this point I?m on the maximum Pitocin level they allow with just an external monitor (30) so my doctor orders the nurse to check me again at 2 and if there is no progress they will do an internal contraction monitor so they can turn up the Pitocin, but he thinks that they won?t need to do that . My doctor brings up who the on call doctor will be that night if I don?t deliver by then. After my doctor leaves I start crying because I?m only at a 4 and if I?m in pain now there?s no way I?m going to keep on going like this for hours and hours, I could have 8 more hours of this! My nurse whispers in my ear that she thinks I?m going to take a huge jump soon, and that a lot of second time moms sit at around 4-5 for a long time and then just all of a sudden jump to 6 or 7 or so. After this all hell breaks loose. I?m in a lot of pain and I don?t know how I?m going to do this without an epidural. At 1:30 pm I tell everyone that I want an epidural NOW! That there is no way that I can make it through this without one. My doula advises me to wait until they check me to see how things are progressing first and to just go with IV meds to take the edge off if I feel I need it because the epidural will likely slow things down for me and that it will decrease my pain but the baby will still feel everything. At 1:50 pm they check me and I?m 6 cm and 95% effaced -1 station. I declare that I want IV meds now (Stadol) and to get the anesthesiologist there as soon as possible because I need an epidural, although I know it?s probably too late. They give me Stadol at 1:55. Now I?m really in pain. Don?t know how I?m going to make it through and I start screaming through some of the contractions. When I started screaming I knew I must be close because the same thing happened with my son?s delivery (I had an epidural but it didn?t work). Because I?m in so much pain they check me again at 1:58 pm and I?m 7 cm 100% -1 station. I?m still screaming and so the nurses know I must be going fast and so at 2:06 pm they check me again and I?m 8, 100%, 0 station. At 2:14 p.m. they checked me again and I was 10cm 100% 0station and so we started light pushing with the nurses. At 2:22 p.m. my doctor shows up. He was caught offguard by the screaming coming from my room and he?s surprised that we?re pushing already and that I?m ready to go ? we think he thought he was being paged for another reason. We start hard pushing. I felt like I couldn?t breathe, which is what happened during my son?s delivery as well. Everyone keeps telling me ?breath for the baby? and I yell back ?I?M TRYING!? and other comments. I?m grabbing my husband and my doula?s hands so hard. There is a moment when I?m closing my eyes and see spots leftover from the light and I try to focus on the shapes for a second to get a break and I?m thinking that I can?t believe I?m doing this. My doula whispers in my ear ?2:35? ? what she guessed the time of birth would be. The contractions are coming so close together I feel like I don?t get a break. The anesthesiologist shows up and he?s shooed away because it?s too late. They tell me to grab my legs and I wait for a contraction and her head was out and then another contraction and the rest of her body was out. They put her on my chest and DH cuts the cord and I can?t believe it?s over and that she?s so gorgeous. I never felt a ring of fire. It just felt like a huge bowel movement along with a very painful contraction. Then I deliver the placenta and the doctor starts stitching me up. I didn?t realize that without an epidural I?d be able to feel everything, from the numbing shot to the stitching up. The epidural I had with my son didn?t work correctly, but my area down there was numb for that part. This hurt like hell, almost as much as the actual delivery. Because she came so fast I had a second degree tear. I found out later that she was posterior, but as she was coming out she turned on her own. Natalie Kate was born June 9^th, 2009 at 2:38 pm. She was 7 pounds 11 ounces and was 20 in long. She was healthy and looked great. Her Apgars were 9/9.