Elliot Arrived 4 weeks early!

AliciaS1411 · June 2012

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Ok ladies, here it goes! (ready for the longest birth story ever?)

One thing its important to know about me is that I was raped in 2007. When it came to getting pregnant and birthing the baby, I knew through therapy in the past that I had to be very in control and I had to make the most informed decisions that I could. That?s why we planned so hard for a Natural Waterbirth, because I felt that that, combined with hypnobirthing, I would be able to remain in control of my body and my birth. I knew I didn?t want an Epi because I HAD to be able to feel my legs and move how I wanted to.

At our 35 week appointment (Wednesday, May 30) we had a growth scan just to check Elliot?s estimated weight. When we got in for the ultrasound, the tech said the fluid was really low. The fluid is supposed to be at 14cm, but ours was at 6. So we were sent to be monitored at Labor and Delivery, given two bags of fluid, and sent home to be rechecked the next day.

The next day we came in for our appointment at 4:20 PM. When they checked the fluid, it had gone down again, to a 2. The doctor came in (My Midwife had the day off) and said that based off of my BP, which had been slightly elevated for the past few weeks, he thought that my body was filtering out fluid and the placenta wasn?t making more. I mentioned that I had been having small contractions for about 4 days, so he went ahead and checked my Cervix. I was 3 cm, 70% effaced, and he could feel Elliot?s head. So we decided to go ahead when an induction since my body seemed favorable for one. I requested that we go home first because I needed to get stuff together and take my dogs to a sitter and the doctor agreed. He said that once I checked in, they?d monitor me over night and break my water in the morning and give me pitocin..

So we went home around 6PM. I was in NO rush to get back. We packed the bags, cleaned the entire house, ate dinner, took a shower, and took the dogs to the sitters. We got to L&D and checked in at 12:30 that night. They hooked me up to fluids, did my GBS test, and gave me sleeping medicine. (GBS came back in the morning- negative! And I had 3 bags of fluid over night)

So they came in at 7 to break my water, and they inserted a vaginal monitor since I had requested not to be strapped down to the typical ones. Within the 5 minutes after they broke my water I had 3 contractions I didn?t even feel. The doctor decided to give me two hours to see how the contractions worked before ordering any pitocin. In the first hour I had 16 contractions and was feeling great. Nothing was painful (yet) and DH and I were just joking around. (AWESOME side note- the nurse we were assigned is a Hypnobirthing instructor!)

By noon, they were starting to get hard to handle. I described what was going on pain-wise, the doctor came to check, and sure enough, LO was sunny side up and I was back laboring. Our nurse helped a lot with suggesting ways to help, and she coached me through some visualization things to help me breath through the contractions. Without her, I probably would have had much more trouble. I had practiced a LOT to breath through them, and it was definitely worth it, but having that nurse was priceless. For most of labor, I stood, bent over the bed with DH standing behind me. At 2, they gave me some medicine to ?take the edge off.? It didn?t help the ctxs at all, but it helped me relax in between them.

Things kept progressing well. They checked me at 2:30 and I was 6cm, 90% effaced. DH was doing AWESOME. He rubbed my back constantly, fed me ice, talked me through the contractions, helped me breath. He really was amazing.
They started setting up the tub..I was REALLY anxious to get into it, and it was taking forever. They accidentally overfilled it, and had to start removing water before we could get in. I decided to lay down for a second, and ended up dosing off. (Bad idea!)

I woke up 30 minutes later in the most excruciating pain I have ever felt in my life. I immediately threw up on the bed, and I was shaking so violently that DH told the nurse he thought I was having a seizure (LOL!) I jumped out of bed and got on my hands and knees. I was trying to control myself and get back into my breathing but I was hysterical. DH was trying to help and I kept yelling at him. (at one point I told him my grandmother could massage better than him while he was trying to rub my back. Remember this, its important later! Lol)

I looked at the nurse and I said that I wanted an epidural NOW. She told me the tub was ready and I could get in, but I was pouring sweat, shaking, and I threw up again in the floor. They brought in my midwife and by this point I was literally screaming at them to give me something. My midwife checked me and I was 9cms, but she went ahead and let the anesthesiologist put in my Epi because I needed to labor down a bit. It took about ten minutes to put in and the entire time I was shaking and fighting to hold myself still.

BUT, They got it in and it washed over my body and I just laid down in bed. I could still feel quite a bit, but it wasn?t painful at all. Just a little pressure. I stayed in bed another thirty minutes and she checked me, and I was 10cm and his head was right there! I had been pushing through contractions without noticing. His heart rate was a little low, so they had me turn from my side to my back and take some oxygen while they got everything ready for me to push. They set up a mirror so I could see everything, which I loved and hated at the same time.

Apparently, and I didn?t know this of course, but I had some bad scar tissue on the inside of my vagina from when I was raped. It was kind of like a loop of skin and my Midwife was afraid it would tear coming out. She asked if I minded if she cut it and I let her. Thankfully to, because it was vascular and it bled like crazy! She stitched it with one stitch and it was time to push!

I pushed for 30 minutes and he was out. On the last contraction I told the nurse and midwife that he was out on the next one and they both laughed and said I?d need more time, but damnit I wanted to meet my baby! He was born on June 1^st, 5:29PM, and they plopped him right on my belly. It was weird, I didn?t cry at all. My husband just sobbed. He was beautiful and alert. The placenta was out less than two minutes later and my midwives exact words were, ?oh wow?no wonder..? As it turns out my placenta was basically dead, as she described it. It was producing fluid..it pretty much wasn?t doing much at all anymore. One side of it was brown rather than the pink they typically are. So it?s a good thing we got him out when we did, because the placenta probably wouldn?t have lasted much longer.

Elliot weighed 6.3 oz, and was 20 inches long. I had no tearing, (!!!!!) and I am completely in love with my boy. We spent the first hour loving on him and doing skin-to-skin (both of us) before they did any procedures. His heart rate looked great, his temp was awesome, and he latched on almost immediately when we tried to BF. (Though he would only suck 2 or 3 times and then fall asleep)

Looking back the next day, I realized that I really did get exactly what I wanted from my birth. No, it wasn?t exactly what we planned, but I realized that the entire time, all I wanted was to be 100% in control of how it went down, and that?s what I got. My midwife was very concerned the next day with how I was feeling because she considered me a much higher risk from PPD, but I told her, and can still say with confidence that I am SO ecstatic and pleased with the way things went. I realized the next day, and told her, that I have had an issue, since the rape, with blocking out things that are painful?and there is about two hours of time from when I was in labor that I just can?t remember! I remember feeling pain, but I can?t remember who was there and what people were saying, and I can?t pull any visuals from my memory. So I know that, had I kept going naturally, I would have been in so much pain that would have I mentally blocked out the birth of my son. I?m still going to be an advocate for Hynobirthing, because the visualizations and the breathing techniques were SO helpful through labor up until I lost control at my transition. The breathing is what gave me the strength to hold still when they were giving me the epidural, and its what gave my husband the strength to remain calm and collected for me.

Things are going great now. I was able to get up three hours after the birth and go to the bathroom and start moving around. I think I stood up for about 4 hours straight once that Epi wore off?I even helped the nurses put away the tub! I haven?t had much pain at all, just soreness and cramping when breastfeeding?and?the bottom of my back is one giant black bruise from DH rubbing and massaging so hard! I told him later that my grandmother definitely could not have massaged like he did?and the poor things shoulders and hands are still bothering him.

Elliot passed all of his newborn tests. The pediatrician was pleased with him. And Thankfully, (I had no idea this could even happen) Elliot was born with a natural circumcision?so all the torment I was going through at the thought of putting in through that was completely relieved. He sleeps great..he doesn?t really cry much either. He just whimpers and scrunches up his face like he?s thinking about it. As far as breastfeeding goes..its not the walk-in-the-park I kind of thought it would be. He latches well, and sucks ones or twice, and then falls asleep or pushes off. I know its going to get better though?I?m just trying to be patient until it does. Jason?s been a major help while breastfeeding, and he?s there right beside me at every one. We got to go home the night after the birth, and our first night home was fantastic. Elliot nursed every 3.5 hours, and slept the rest of the time..So Jason and I were able to get almost 8 hours of sleep each.

So that?s that. Here are some pictures!