Induction w/No Progress (long)

Well, I'm almost two months late in posting this, but I want to share the story of Wyatt's birth...

My pregnancy was very easy with no complications, so I assumed my delivery would be the same. Not exactly! As I watched my due date come and go, I became frustrated. I decided to try some of the "natural" induction methods--walking, spicy foods, bouncing on the exercise ball. Nothing worked. I had zero progress--no dropping, no dilation, nada. I thought at one point that my water might have broken, but a trip to the hospital proved that it was only leaking urine. Fun!

I went to the Dr. for a non-stress test on the day I hit 41 weeks. The non-stress test was normal, as was my blood pressure. I thought the doc would say, "See you in two days for another non-stress test," but instead he started talking induction. He said that it didn't look likely that I was going to go into labor on my own and I would probably end up being induced anyway, so if I wanted to come in tomorrow night I had that option. Yikes! I'd said all along that I didn't want an induction, but once I heard the words come out of his mouth, I just felt a sense of...well...being okay with it. I was ready to meet my son, and DH was more than ready. We scheduled the induction.

I arrived at the hospital on Tuesday evening at 7:30. They admitted me and inserted the IV needle (not hooked up to anything yet). Then the dr. inserted Cervadil to help soften my cervix overnight. Twelve hours and very little sleep later, they removed the Cervadil. An internal exam revealed that I had dilated a whopping ONE centimeter. Argh. 

My doctor decided it was time to step things up. He broke my water (not a bad feeling--very warm!) and started me on pitocin. The nurse came in to increase the pitocin by three units every 30 minutes. The first hour wasn't too bad. I didn't feel any contractions and I wasn't uncomfortable at all. Once the pit was at 12 units, I started to feel it. The contractions were still spaced out and sort of mild, but I was getting uncomfortable. I decided to get out of bed and sit in a chair. It felt better, especially once the nurse gave me a popsicle!

For the next four hours or so, I labored without pain meds. I found that switching my position a lot really helped. I went from the chair to the exercise ball to standing to leaning and rocking. My husband was great through all of this. He reminded me to breathe and was 100% there for me, rubbing my back and holding a cold cloth on my neck. I couldn't have made it that long unmedicated without him!

There came a point when I just couldn't stand the pain anymore. I asked for relief and was given Stadol intravenously. At the same time, they increased my pitocin and the contractions were suddenly one on top of the other. There was no relief and the Stadol didn't do anything for me. I labored for an hour in total pain, begging for an epidural. Finally they examined me and I was at 3 cm. They ordered the epidural. Once it was in, I felt so much better, even though I was shivering uncontrollably.

I rested for an hour or so and the doctor came in with a concerned expression on his face. He was concerned by my slow progress and a few dips in the baby's heartrate. It seemed that a C-section was imminent. My husband and I agreed. I signed the consent forms and was examined one more time. I was up to four centimeters! The dr. agreed to let me try to progress on my own for one more hour. Afterward, he examined me and I was up to five cm! He canceled the C-section and told me to rest more. I was so relieved that I wouldn't be having surgery.

A couple hours later, the nurse examined me and said it was time to push. I was watching the clock. It was about 10 p.m. on Wednesday night. I wanted to have the baby before Thursday arrived. So I started pushing. It was weird because I couldn't feel a thing. I had no idea if I was really doing a good job or if they were just saying that to make me feel better. It seemed like the pushing went on forever and finally, around 11:45 pm the dr. came in to deliver the baby. 

I thought things would move quickly after that, but again, expect the unexpected! My baby's head was turned to the side, so things were complicated. The dr. tried to turn his head manually, but I don't think that worked too well. I watched with frustration as the clock hit midnight. I was in my second day of labor. Ugh.

After 2.5 hours of pushing, an episiotomy and a tear (3rd degree altogether), my son was finally born. And truly, once he was out and they laid him on my chest, the long, painful labor didn't matter anymore.  He was here, he was perfect, and he was ours!

Wyatt Richard weighed 7 lbs., 10 oz. and was 20.5 inches long. He was born at 12:33 a.m. on Oct. 2, the best day of my life.