Adair's story - Long labor turned c-section (long)

At 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, July 7, we went to the hospital for our scheduled cervidil procedure. This stuff, as I'm told, is really just to prepare the cervix for induction an to get things moving in the right direction. Apparently, my body was just looking for an excuse to get things going because shortly after that was put in, my braxton hicks contractions started getting much stronger and closer together. A night that I had prepared to be quiet and to be honest, boring and pleasant, quickly turned into actual labor. Jay attempted to sleep on the makeshift bed/chair in our birthing room while I kept trying to get in and out of bed with all the fetal monitoring equipment - because it seemed to alleviate the pain to be upright. It was a long night. The nurses were going to stop the procedure at 5:45 a.m., but after watching my monitor, they ended up coming in at 4 because 'they were starting to feel sorry for me'.

The nurse checked me, I had progressed from a finger-tip to 2 cm during the night. She thought it was great considering that wasn't the real purpose of the cervidil, but with as much pain as I felt overnight, I felt frustrated...and already exhausted. Around this time, they gave me some medicine, I can't recall the name, that my midwife likes to prescribe to 'take the edge off' and it came at exactly the right time. I was finally able to sleep for an hour or so. My midwife was scheduled to come later that morning to break my water before they started pitocin. At 6:30 a.m. I woke from my cat nap to a 'pop' feeling. My water had broken on it's own. The excitement that I felt about making it to this point essentially on my own was washed over with the pain of some serious labor contractions following the break. My midwife arrived shortly after, she had been following my chart from home during the night, and we were all excited that it appeared I wouldn't need any pitocin. I would however, definitely need an epidural. Laboring all night and hitting the peak that morning was taking its toll on me. I recall the most pain waiting the 15 or so minutes for the anesthesiologist to arrive (side note, to anyone reading this who has experienced a full med-free labor, bless you, you have all my respect).

I only somewhat recall the epidural being placed in at 8 a.m. The contractions were every minute or so and I think my brain fell asleep between them. I know it didn't hurt and he was very clear and calm explaining the procedure to me. I was a bit over 5 cm by the time it was placed. Once that took it's effect, I was definitely more comfortable and was able to rest during the following contractions.

Around 10 a.m., they decided to put me on a small dose of pitocin to help my contractions return to their original strength. Right after they started the drip, nurses started coming in to shift my position and look at Adair's heart on the monitor. Five minutes later, the pitocin was stopped and I was fitted with an oxygen mask because they feared it was stressing the baby out. My midwife came back in at 10 a.m. and seemed a bit distressed. She told me that baby wasn't happy with all of the contractions and was de-celling after them. She prepared me for the potential of a C-section, something of course we both wanted to avoid, but both knew at this point that it was about Adair's safety. She said the only other potential cause of the distress might be a dramatic cervical change in me. Since she had just checked me about 30 minutes prior and I was at 6 cm, with less than ideal contraction strength, I was quite shocked when she announced "which is potentially what's going on with you because you are now fully dialated." I went from such a wave of disappointment to excitement! Quickly the room filled and we began the difficult process of pushing with an epidural (it's hard to push down what you can't feel.) I could tell my midwife was still concerned after each contraction. She said the pushing was good, but that the baby's head was not moving down and her heart continued to show distress. After a very valiant effort on behalf of everyone in the room, it was decided the safest thing for the baby was to have c-section.  Tired, scared and disappointed, I cried a good bit, but trusted that it was the best thing for our daughter.

My fears were not ebbed by the speed in which everyone surrounded me and prepped me for the procedure. I was wheeled quickly down the hall to the OR. Because my epidural had been put in several hours before, it had begun to wear off and it took some time to get enough medicine in me to continue. DH was right by my side and was wonderful and keeping me as relaxed as possible. Eventually, I was numb enough to continue. I know they prep you for a 'some pressure' or a tug or two with this procedure, but I hadn't expected for it to feel as much like what was actually going on as it did. I know I was in the care of a great doctor and my wonderful midwife, but it was not a cozy experience.

At 11:30 a.m., Adair Carol was lifted from my body after 41 weeks. I heard her cry and was assured she seemed very healthy.  I know I was on a lot of drugs at this point and was babbling silly questions. I know for sure my first question was 'are you still sure it's a girl?' After a quick sew-up, and some serious shakes from the meds, I was sent back to my room. DH stayed with me the entire time and only went out to update the family after he was sure I was comfortable in the room. I wish I remembered more of my first meeting with our baby. I was quite woozy and shaking. I knew she was beautiful and she looked like her dad already - with grey blue eyes.