Birth story (finally) PIP

karbarr · April 2011

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(Sorry if this is too long or if it doesn?t make sense?I?m a little sleep deprived Indifferent )

I began feeling some menstrual-like cramping on Tuesday night and woke up at 2:15 am Wednesday morning and was spotting very lightly. I called my doctor and he said not to worry. I had seen my doctor Monday and there were no signs of progress. The doctor even said not to expect to go early (my due date was April 19).

That morning, I asked my husband to drop me off at work. I was supposed to be training my sub at work that day and forced myself to go in. After running around like crazy at school showing my leave replacement where my classes were and rushing through all my procedures, I called my doctor again and he asked me to come in to see him.

When he examined me, again, no progress. As I was getting dressed, I noticed I had lost what I assumed could?ve been my mucous plug. Itold him and he said that this was normal. That night, my discomfort went from cramps to a weird back/hip pressure. I figured it was just my body getting ready for the ?real? thing. I did not sleep all night. I used my ball to sit in front of my bed while I propped up my head on pillows to get through the night. Every time I felt pain, I would do hip circles or rock back and forth while I exhaled with ooohhhs and aaahhhs. I honestly did not think that I was in labor because I was handling the pain so well.

In the morning (Thursday) I continued to feel the same pressure. I was timing the contractions but they were quite sporadic. I went for a long walk with my mom and when I got back I noticed that I lost what I thought was the rest of my mucous plug.

I went to labor and delivery around 4pm and I was indeed in labor and I was 2cm dilated. About an hour later when my doctor arrived, I was up to 5cm! My doctor couldn?t believe how fast everything was going for a first timer. He was expecting me to deliver by 8:30pm! He came to check me an hour later and I was still 5cm. I stopped progressing after that. I took the epidural (I was so afraid/against it but at this point I knew it would be a very long night). The anesthesiologist was heaven sent at that point! The epi was great! I was then given a small dose of pitocin to see if I could progress a little more, but nothing.

I ended up having a c-section because the baby was posterior (sunny side up) and her heart rate was dropping with every contraction. Leah Rose was born Friday, April 15^th at 12:30am, 7lbs 5oz, 19.5? She is beautiful and we?re in love!

yoMy labor experience went nothing the way I ?planned? it to be but it was what was meant to be. I wouldn?t change a thing. It really helped going in with an open mind. I cannot say enough about prenatal yoga. My husband (and the nurses) could not believe how much control I had during my labor and was extremely impressed. It also helped reading other birth stories here and realizing that things don't always go the way you were expecting them to go, so thank you ladies for sharing your stories!