Alexander James' (Mostly) Natural Birth

This is an update to the Extreme Edema & Natural Childbirth thread I posted a few weeks ago.  A quick recap:  I was hospitalized on June 25th for high BP and mild pre-e.  I also had GD.  I stayed on hospital bedrest, and the plan was for me to be induced on July 22nd, at 37 weeks. 

Well, while visiting with friends in my hospital room, my bag of waters burst spontaneously on July 8th at 7:20 pm.  I was wheeled down to L&D and hooked up to the EFM.  Baby was doing well, and I began to have contractions.  We had a nurse that was very natural birth friendly, and she suggested that I walk the halls, take a shower, and use the birthing ball.  Unfortunately, because of the edema, I was barely able to walk, so I stayed in bed except for numerous trips to the bathroom.  The doc didn't want to check me, since my water had broken, but they did a quick ultrasound to make sure baby was still head down.  Baby's head was so far down, the doc was unable to see it.  Next thing I knew, the doc was in our room saying we needed to start Pitocin because I wasn't in labor, and since my water had broken, we needed to hurry to get the baby out.  DH and I were resistant to starting Pitocin, since I was having timeable contractions, and I resented the doc saying that I wasn't in labor.  He said that although I was having contractions 2-4 minutes apart, they weren't coming quickly enough, and weren't as strong as he would like.  We declined the Pit, and decided to continue laboring naturally.  The doc started sending other docs in to tell us how dangerous it was that we weren't speeding things up with Pit, even though the baby was being continuously monitored, and was doing just fine.  The whole situation was pretty frustrating, but DH did a great job advocating for us.  In the end, we agreed to do the Pit after I had been laboring for about 6 hours.  They started it at a 2, but it never got above 5, because my body did a great job progressing from there.  I also had Mag Sulfate because of high BP.  The Mag made me a little sleepy, so every once in a while I was able to sleep in between contractions.  Interestingly, my BP was the lowest it had been in weeks while I was in labor.  I was checked and told I was at a 6 around 7 am, and less than two hours later I was really feeling the urge to push.  The nurse was right there, and kept telling me not to push until she got a doctor to come in and check me.  It is so hard not to push when your body wants to!!  To my surprise, the doc checked me and said I had just a lip left before I was complete.  She told me to just breathe through a few more contractions, and then I would be able to push.  Her and the nurse left, and it was just my husband and I for what felt like hours, although I think it was about 10-15 minutes.  I was trying so hard not to push, and I kept saying, "When are they coming back?!?  I need to push!!"  They finally came back and I was able to push.  It felt so great to finally be able to push, and to feel the excitement of finally getting to meet our baby.  He was out after 4 or 5 contractions.  Pushing him out was the greatest feeling in the world!  I felt so relieved to be done and to see his handsome face, and hear his cry.  They put him on my chest and DH and I oohed and ahhed while they gave me a local and repaired my 2nd degree tear.  Tearing was the part I feared most about childbirth, but I honestly didn't feel it when it happened, and being stitched up wasn't too bad.  It was definitely uncomfortable, but at least I had a cute baby to distract me.    Baby's temp was 1/10th lower than they wanted it to be, so he had to go to the NICU for a few hours.  He was able to stay in the room with us for two hours before going to the NICU, and when he did, DH went with him.  Because I had to be on Mag Sulfate for 24 hours following delivery, I was not allowed to go to the NICU without a nurse, and there wasn't one available to take me down there.  I went back to the room I had lived in while on bedrest for the past 2 weeks, and took a nap and ate while baby and DH were in the NICU.  Because of all of the swelling, my body immediately started trying to rid itself of all of the extra fluid, which caused problems with my bladder.  I had to be given a catheter a few hours after birth, which was not pleasant.  Long story short, they ended up taking the catheter out the next day, but I was still having a problem with urine retention, so I was sent home with the catheter.  I went back 7 days postpartum, and had the catheter removed.  I was relieved to finally get rid of it!  Other than that, my recovery has been pretty easy. 

By 9 days postpartum, I had lost all 48 lbs I had gained while pregnant, most of which was gained those last few weeks because of fluid retention.  I feel like a whole new person!  It is so nice to be able to walk unassisted, to get in and out of bed by myself, and to be able to get dressed without help.  Alexander had a one night stay at the children's hospital at 5 days old because of high bilirubin levels, but he has been doing great since then.  We are still working on breastfeeding, and have a really great Lactation Consultant that is helping us out.  I am so glad that I was able to experience his birth without any IV drugs or an epidural.  I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to do it with the Pit and being confined to the bed.  I couldn't have done it without my DH.  He was such a fantastic coach.  I think it was definitely worth it for us to take the Bradley classes.  Alexander is already lifting his head up, and scoots himself around in his Pack n Play bassinet.  He weighed in at 6 lbs 4 oz and was 19 inches long at birth.  Not bad for 35w 1d!  We are so in love with our precious baby boy.