Long birth story, wasn't scared of pitocin until then...

Dominic is napping, so I figure I'll take a moment to share my birth story. I loved reading them while I was pregnant and now I finally I have moment to write this all out.

Dominic was born on Monday July 27th at 7:43pm. I started feeling ill (lightheaded, migraine) at work the Thursday prior so I called my doctor and they had me come in for an appointment. My blood pressure was elevated but nothing too high that would cause them to induce me. I was 2cm dilated at my previous appointment earlier in the week, but they didn't check me on Thursday. I was hooked up to that contraction monitoring machine and it showed no contractions (baby's heart rate was fine). My doctor advised that I stay home from work on Friday and come in on Saturday to check me again. So that's what I did. Everything was the same on Saturday including how I was feeling. I didn't really have an appetite, I was feeling kind of worn down. I figured it was just because I was almost at the end of my pregnancy.

Anyways, I woke up on Monday and decided to take one more day off of work since I had a follow up with the doctor at noon. I called in around 6am and left my boss a message that ended with "no baby yet!". Around 9am I felt like I was having a little bit a discharge (TMI) so I stood up to go to the bathroom. When I stood up I felt it come down my leg, not a huge gush just more than usual (and obviously gross because it was coming down my leg). When I got to the bathroom, more and more kept coming out. It also had a distinct smell. I called my boyfriend and told him that I think my water broke. He responded "what water?" before it occured to him that I was talking about the baby. When I called the doctor they advised me to come in. Sure enough when I got there, the monitor showed that I was contracting (although I couldn't feel anything still).

We got to the hospital around noon and they hooked me up to an IV along with all the monitors. I kind of started feeling crampy at this point, but still no contractions that I could feel.

They then started me on pitocin. I didn't really think anything of it, since I wasn't feeling any contractions. This was my first baby so I figured it was better to move things along, rather than wait forever for the baby to come. The pitocin did start contractions but they weren't painful to me. I have had surgery in the past and I do fairly well with pain. Around 1pm they checked me and I was at 4cm. I thought that was pretty good considering this was right before they hooked up the pitocin.

Looking back on it, I should have just requested that we see how I progress without the drugs.

The nurse came in around 3pm and she said I was between 5 and 6cm. Not bad I thought to myself since I was still just kind of hanging out watching Sex and the City with my boyfriend and sister. She came back around 5pm and check again and I was at 6 to 7. And this is when she upped the pitocin.

Not sure why, I should have told her no because I went from having very mild pain to horrible back labor that I could barely sit through. I also had to go to the bathroom at this point, to which the nurse said that was good because I was transitioning. Yeah cool but I was progressing decently on the lower dose.

I also opted for the epidural now because I went from very little pain to horrible contrations. In retrospect, I believe I could have done it with out the pain meds if I had been given the chance to progress into the pain on my own. I know I could have gradually worked up to bearing the full contraction pain. (But who knows really).

Also, a note about the epidural, mine did not kick in right away. I guess the doctor who administered it believes that it is better to gradually increase the dose instead of just dumping a huge amount intially. This was great when I was pushing since I could still feel and move my legs no problem. Once they put in enough pain meds that the contractions subsided, I could still feel the peak of every other one. I also felt a lot of pressure.

The nurse decided to check me and that's when they discovered that part of my water was still intact. I guess it happens with some people, the bag of waters doesn't break all the way. She said she would come back in a little bit to break it before the doctor got there.

She came back around 7pm and told me that my doctor (the nicest lady at the practice) was still stuck at the other hospital that they practice out of but that she would be here shortly. She checked me and kind of looked shocked. She said that she would not be breaking the rest of my water because I was at 9.5cm and that it was almost time for the baby to come!

The nurse called the other on call doctor, who was very nice but kind of odd, and she was on her way to the hospital. At this point I asked my sister to leave. I thought I wouldn't mind having her in the room but I realized I kind of just wanted to get through this by myself (and boyfriend).

The doctor got to the hospital within 15 or 20 minutes and get herself all set up. I couldn't believe this was it!

The nurse explained how pushing worked and that with first babies it usually took between 1 to 3 hours. My heart sank (even though I knew that from all the reading I did).

7:30pm I began pushing, holding it for 10 seconds for three counts in each push. After the first one I could feel him coming down. It was a crazy painful sensation to have this little baby come down my pelvis. I didn't scream until the last push in the last set when I felt his shoulders come out. My sister heard it (since apparently she was hiding in the hallway lol) and said it was like the movies! I did a total of 3 sets and he was out! 13 minutes of pushing to be exact!

We were Team Green and honestly everything was such a blur but when I heard "it's a boy" I started crying even harder. It is really one of life's only surprises.

Another thing that is interesting, the doctors all told me the baby would be between 6 and 7 pounds, but my little meatball came out at 8 pounds 2 oz and 20 inches long. I was only 115 pounds before I was pregnant and 5'3 but I had a big baby, ultrasounds can be way off!

After I had Dominic, I was able to get up and out of the bed on my own and walk to the wheelchair to get set up in the postpardum room. That epidural was just enough to get me through my labor. Looking back I wish I had quesitoned the pitocin and believe me I will next time.

Dominic is going to be 2 months old in a few days and he is already over 14 pounds! Also, I gained around 60 pounds (a lot of water) and I have about 10 more pounds to go (with no diet or gym, just walking and BF). Hopefully that helps some ladies worry a little less!

Thanks for reading this, if you managed to get through it all! Sorry it was so long, but it was worth telling! Being a mommy is the best thing that has ever happened to me and like everyone says, we are so in love!