Birth/recovery details (really long) PIP

andiwal · August 2009

Instead of doing a whole birth story, I thought I'd give the high/lowlights. But it still turned out super long!

Natalie, born 8/5/09 at 12:29pm, 8lbs 1oz, 20in.

Labor/delivery highlights:

-Already at 4cm when admitted for induction at 41w1d
-From start of pitocin drip to delivery was just under 8 hours
-Went from 7-10cm in 20 min
-Pitocin wasn?t bumped up at all until epidural
-Epidural allowed me to sleep for a short time (see below for fun epidural details)
-Only 45 min of pushing when I was expecting 1-2 hours
-Nurses were awesome
-Our sweet baby girl, of course!

Labor/delivery lowlights:
-Four epidurals. Yes, FOUR. First one ? Dr nicked spinal fluid, resulting in the most excruciating headache I?ve ever had. I thought my head was going to explode, coupled with contractions. Second one ? catheter hit a vein. Third one ? didn?t take. Only took away cramps of contractions, but not the intense pressure that I still had to breathe through. (This is when I went from 7-10 in 20min). Fourth one, done by a diff dr, after 1.5 hours of being poked in the back ? took right away and I drifted off into a peaceful sleep for 30min before having to push. They allowed me to have it at 10cm b/c baby still had to come down, so they wanted me to labor down anyway.
-Episiotomy/tear ? Dr snipped ?less then 1/4 inch?, but because her hand was next to her head coming out, I tore pretty badly in addition. He never told me if it was 3rd/4th degree, but he used words like ?extensive?, ?significant?, and ?substantial?. Fun times.

Recovery: Not gonna lie ladies ? it?s a b!tch. Today (6 days pp) my wounds are feeling better, but it was a rough first few days. Especially since I got a spinal headache from the 1st epidural, which I had to go back and get a blood patch for to make it better. It had gone away the first 2 days PP, but came back pretty strong when we got home and I could barely get up. Baths (full or Sitz) have felt great, and the flushable wipes are great for when you finally poop (OUCH). DH has been absolutely ah-maz-ing, and my mom, who is staying with us, has been a lifesaver.

Bfing: It?s a challenge, that?s for sure. But it?s getting better. We met with a LC today and she gave us some great help and reassured us that Natalie is eating fine and is plenty healthy, its just my nipples that are taking a beating. I didn?t even think they were that bad, but apparently they?re getting torn up. Glad to know it can get better!

Good luck ladies!
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