Baby M's Long Birth Story!

So I am 4 days post-birth and am sitting here with my little guy draped over my shoulder writing this. LOVE it. 

I had been having growth scans since 32 weeks because my blood pressure began to rise my third trimester and they wanted to make sure baby was getting everything he needed from the placenta. With each scan, he slowly dropped in his weight percentile. My OB had basically told me that if he hits under 10th percentile its IUGR and she will induce me right away. My last growth ultrasound at 37 weeks, 5 days showed he was 8th percentile. I went in the next day to her office and she told me to check into the hospital that night for the beginning of induction. Induction was not how I wanted to do my natural labor, but I knew baby was best on the outside rather that the inside.

I checked into the hospital and they started me on a balloon catheter. The balloon stretches you to 4 cm after 12 hours, but it is pretty uncomfortable. I had regular contractions all night long and cramped in between, so never had a real break from the pain. I slept about one hour during the night and they removed the catheter at 5am and started pitocin. The relief after the balloon was out was awesome and the pitocin was easy to handle at first. They started me at a low dose, but slowly had to increase it because my body had stalled. After about 5 hours on pitocin labor, they checked me and I was 5cm. It had taken me 5 hours to go 1cm. They broke my water at noon and checked me about an hour later. They generously gave me 6cm. At this point, I was feeling really good about doing this naturally. I decided to get in the bathtub and labor for awhile. I labored for 3 more hours, was checked by a nurse and was told I was a...6. Ugh. So I stayed in the bathtub a few more hours laboring through what were REALLY intense 90 second long contractions with 30 second breaks. At that point, my OB came to check me and I was a....6. This was about 7pm at night. I had been laboring almost 28 hours between the balloon and the pitocin and had been stuck at a 6 for 5 hours. I was devastated. At this point, I made everyone leave the room. My OB had told me I was growing closer and closer to needing a C-section because my body did NOT want to progress past a 6. The baby was not dropping either. I had a heart to heart with my husband and said that we needed to change the game plan. I thought that maybe my body just couldn't relax (I had also been having back labor most of the day because baby was turned around). I decided to get an epidural so that I could give my body a chance to try to relax. I knew I would need one for a C-section anyway, and I wanted to avoid the section if at all possible. The hospital staff by the way was the opposite of how I thought they would be. They were soooo supportive of natural birth and when I asked what they thought I should do, no one tried to convince me to get the epidural. They just kept saying "listen to your body". After was all said and done, they told me they felt the epidural was the best way to go for me but they wanted me to make that decision. At around 9pm, I got the epidural (I think...I can't remember exact times). It took awhile for the epidural to get to my left side, but eventually I was totally numb which freaked me out because I wanted to feel my legs to push! I asked if they could turn it down and they said "trust me you wouldn't want us to" so I decided to roll with it. I fell asleep about 10pm and was watching my contractions. They weren't amazing, but they were significant. So I thought it would be a few hours. I decided to take nap and try to regain some energy. I woke up at 11:30pm (just an hour and a half later) and the nurse came to empty my bladder with a cath. As she did, the baby's heart rate had some decels. She said that it was strange unless I was really ready to push. So she decided to check me....and there was his head ready to go. I was 10cm and he had dropped in just an hour and a half. I had slept through transition. It was awesome . At this point I was starting to feel my legs again enough to be able to push. I did a couple practice pushes and she felt I was very close, so she went and got the doctor. I pushed for the next 35 minutes. It was the most exhilerating, wonderful experience ever. I felt really awake and alert. I had my husband, mother, mother in law and sisters in the room with me and I would do it all over again with them because they were so supportive. I even asked for a mirror to watch him crowning. It was amazing!! I pushed him out and they had me reach down for him to put him on my chest as he screamed. It was sooo beautiful. He just looked at me and I held him for a few minutes. He was perfectly healthy! (and tiny for 38 weeks...5 1/2 lbs). I had one stitch from a tiny episiotemy, but other than that, my recovery has been SO easy! Even with all the induction and the lack of progression during my labor, it is easily one of the best days of my life. Hope all the rest of you May mamas have good/smooth births.