Sabine Isobel - Birth Story

gothgrrl · April 2012

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After 40 weeks and 4 days, I finally went into labor on the evening of 03.27 - went to the hospital but was sent home despite having contractions 5 minutes apart for over an hour with increasing intensity. Even walked for an hour in an effort to increase dilation, but the doc insisted I go home and only come back when the contractions were closer and more intense...even though they were but that meant arguing with a nurse that needed to call the doctor and clearly did not want to....so we ended up being admitted to labor and delivery 2 hours after we got home from triage.

Having not slept in some time, I was offered pain medication while dilating up to 5 cm - the pain meds only drowsed me out, and the contractions were tough to breathe through even with all the practice we did prior to labor. I accepted an epidural at the 5cm mark (I met my goal!). Then, things got funky -I was on and off oxygen as our LO was becoming less active. I remember at one point hearing some dip in her heart monitor and asking the nurse what was up. She readjusted the monitor, but this did not help. I had just sent DH to "please" go get himself some food and air, and Sabine's heart rate was starting to dip, come back up, dip, come back up. A team of nurses rushed in with the OB to try to reposition me to get her to stabilize. Sabine was placed on the other monitor that the place vaginally, and even then we were having inconsistent readings. The OB explained that normally pitocin would be administered to help the dilation along, but we all had concerns about how that would work for Sabine given her dips in heartrate. I was told to call my DH to let him know I could be in line for a c-section...they got me in super quickly and I was given a spinal. The OR team was amazing, and they were tickled to deliver a baby on the mother's birthday - they sang to me and helped keep me calm. For whatever reason, when I would have usually panicked, I was able to find peace in all of this. DH was brought in after the incision was made, and he sat at my shoulders. The nurse at my shoulders explained some of what was going on and otherwise comforted me if needed. and after about 20 minutes...Sabine Isobel was born! DH and I cried as soon as I heard her cry - he was taken with her for clean up and I will never forget seeing him in scrubs carrying her to me for kisses while my incision was being closed up.

I'd like to post a pic, but it seems like a huge pain in the butt to do so...sorry.