Update: Waiting for LO at Good Sam

laabeja · October 2011

Hello Ladies, Logan gave us a very exciting 8+ hours! 10:30pm my water broke while shaving my legs in the shower. ?Not prepared at all, we headed over to the hospital around 1am. ?I've been taking high levels of prednisone for my PUPPPS so I needed to get IV antibiotics and steroids as a precaution so I didn't have the option of hanging around at home until labor started. ?We asked to wait for piton until the morning to see if my body would start laboring on it's on. I was starting to get contractions but not progressing past 2cm or having regular contractions (they were every 2-4 min). Suddenly at around 6am I was being whisked to the OR for an emergency c-section due to a prolonged drop in Logan's heart rate. ?Without an epidural already in place (I was trying to go med-free for as long as possible), it was decided a spinal was better than general anesthesia. ?Logan's heart rate normalized though and the doctor gave us the option of continuing with a c/s or trying to labor through, knowing that even the smallest contractions were making Logan's heart rate drop and there was a very good chance of me ending up with an emergency c-section anyway. We decided to to take the chance and return to laboring, but they kept me in the room closest to the OR just in case! I was given an epidural and pitocin since I hadn't progressed on my own through the night. Let's just say I can NOW finally move my legs on my own! ?The nurses were all surprised we were given an option to try to avoid a c/s. With my sister's help with guided imagery (since I was completely numb and couldn't work through contractions when I wasn't feeling them) I progressed to 10cm and began to push at 5pm. ?Turns out Logan decided to come forehead first (sunnyside up but with brow presentation) and on top of that make a scary entrance ?into the world with the NICU team rushing in. ? Still not sure why he was non-responsive at delivery. They were able to remove the breathing tube fairly quickly, but he is on an IV for feeding right now. I'm trying to breastfeed him in addition to the IV, and pumping between, but not much luck with pumping. First night I was a champ with something like 20ccs of colostrum, but now I'm not having much luck. Exhaustion, dehydration and emotional fatigue are probably main factors. For those who want the gory details, here's all the fun we endured: - emergency c/s ridel - spinal - epidural immediately on top of spinal - oxygen mask - pitocin - external fetal monitor - internal fetal monitor - urine catheterization - internal uterine monitor - "sunny side up" presentation turned to "brow" presentation - 2nd degree tear (but no episiotomy!) - apgar of 1, 4, 6 - NICU - intubation (breathing tube) for Logan - IV feeding for Logan Basically everything I was trying to avoid! However, i do believe it was a godsend that I was numb and did not feel an ounce of pain. ?Even the small contractions in the beginning were rough so I can only imagine the pain of a fully non-medicated birth. ?Also, a lot of my decisions were made for me out of necessity and I don't have to regret choosing one particular way (for example, I had no choice but to get epi or pitocin, or to not have Logan with me the first night). We will be in the hospital until Monday. Not sure when Logan will be out of NICU but we are hoping he'll be ready to go home with us. Thank you all for your support. I was more of a lurker but the boards really helped me get through this pregnancy. Pictures to come!