Team Green Birth Story

rdgove · July 2012

Team Green Birth Story
Due Date: Tuesday, July 31st, 2012
On Thursday, July 26th, I dropped my 2.5 yr old daughter off at daycare and came home to take a nap. DH and I had stayed up late the night before and I was exhausted. I slept from about 9am-11:25am when I got up to use the bathroom. I tried to pee, but nothing came out. I went back to bed and as I started to climb onto the bed, I felt a little trickle down my legs, then more, and then even more. I grabbed a towel and immediately called DH to come home from work since my water had broken. I then called my mother since she needed to drive out from MA to take care of DD. I made a few more calls and then started getting things ready. I did my hair, packed toiletries and clothes, and started cleaning up the house (all with a towel between my legs because the water did not stop coming out!).
DH got home, packed up his bag, took a shower, and then helped me finish cleaning up. Since contractions were very weak and happening only every 15-20 min or so, I wanted to labor at home for as long as possible to see if I could get them going naturally, but DH was worried about infection and wanted to start heading over by 2:30pm. We went back and forth for a while and he eventually won. I knew that my OB would want to start pitocin immediately to get the contractions going strong and I really wanted to give birth without meds, so I was very anxious. We quickly ate a little lunch and then drove to the hospital. We arrived by 3pm.
We checked into triage and my doctor checked me: 2cm, 50% effaced. She wanted to start pitocin right away, but I begged her to let me labor for a few hours unassisted to see if the contractions would get going. I asked to walk around, but she told me very matter-of-factly that I was now bedridden since my water had broken and baby was really high up; something about cord prolapse. I convinced her to let me walk to the bathroom a couple of times while I labored, and even that was an argument. DH was great though; he backed me up on everything and tried his best to make sure my wishes were heard.
So I got into a room, settled in, got a hep-lock and starting being monitored. My OB agreed to give me a few hours to labor without meds. Contractions were very inconsistent and menstrual-like until around 7:15pm, when they started to become more consistent (5-6 min apart) and intense. From 7:30-8:30, they got very close together (2-3 min apart), lasting 35 secs to 1 min, and they became unbearable very quickly. They would ramp up for the first 8-10 secs, then hit this unbelievable peak, and then slowly ebb for another 10-15 secs. I got on all fours on the bed and swayed through the contractions with DH putting pressure on my lower back. By 9pm, I told DH that I thought I might need the epidural. They needed to run a bag of fluid and while it was running, all I could do was moan and thrash on the bed during each contraction. At this point, I was 4cm and 80% effaced.
Finally, the anesthesiologist arrived around 9:30pm and by 9:50pm I was feeling much better. I could feel each contraction, but the pain was a 1 or 2 rather than a 10. They also started pitocin, though I really didn't need it. My OB insisted at that point for reasons I don't understand. My body was doing its job and I was progressing, so I really feel it was unnecessary. DH and I hung around for an hour and finally decided to get some rest. But just as we were getting ready to sleep, I started feeling severe pressure. The nurse checked me and I was 6cm. With each contraction, the pressure got worse and worse. Just 20 min later, I called her back and said that I needed to push. She checked me and I was 10cm and complete. She said baby's head was right there. My OB was home, so I had to wait to push - that was hard! Each contraction ramped up the urge; it was so difficult to try and breathe through each one without pushing. I was begging the nurse to let me push or get my doctor here asap!!
Finally my OB arrived, they put my legs up, and a few minutes later I was pushing. The first thing my doctor said when she opened my legs was that the baby was right there (both she and DH said there was lots of hair) and would be out in just a few pushes. We did 3 counts of 10 with each contraction (which I couldn't feel anymore for some reason) and on the 8th push, baby was born! My OB put the baby on my chest and we didn't know the sex, so I kept trying to see between the legs. After a few seconds, the doctor said, "A baby boy!" and I felt so relieved that he was finally here. DH cut the cord and my OB collected the cord blood for banking. The nurse took the baby over to the warmer to clean him off and attach his bracelets. DH went over to him, took pictures, and he grabbed DH's finger while he screamed his head off. I had a small "skid mark" and needed a few stitches. After a few minutes, baby got all wrapped up and I got to hold him while I was being worked on. Then I gave him to DH to hold and the doctor asked what his name was. I looked at DH and asked, "Well, what's his name?" We had been at a loss for a boy's name; we had originally decided on Adam Patrick, then just the day before I decided that I really didn't like that name anymore. I suggested Kayden, but DH wasn't sold on it. We were debating it throughout labor and going through other names as well, but nothing came close to Kayden. So DH looked at me and said, "Kayden Adam" and that was it! I love the name and couldn't be happier that we agreed on it. We call him Kay for short. I nursed Kayden for a few minutes and did some skin to skin time before he went off with DH to the nursery.
After I was done getting stitched and cleaned up, DH followed Kayden to the nursery to get weighed/measured and I got unhooked from all the monitors and tubes. It took over 2 hours from the time I delivered to finally get moved to a recovery room. By that time it was 2:30am and we were beyond exhausted. We had been texting family with updates all night, but we decided to get a few hours of sleep before calling to announce his birth, sex, name, etc. We rested for an hour before Kayden came from the nursery to eat and then we slept another 1.5 hours until the pediatrician came in to report that Kayden looked great. He had a slightly enlarged kidney on our last two ultrasounds in utero, so we decided to have Kay get an ultrasound the next day to check the kidney. After the ped left, DH and I got up and made our announcement calls - everyone was thrilled and relieved that everyone was happy and healthy. Kayden has been doing great! He loves to nurse and sleep (other than the first night home, when he didn't sleep a wink in his co-sleeper and poor DH had to take him downstairs to hold him on the couch so I could rest). I got very little rest in the hospital, so I was excited to come home and be in familiar, comfortable surroundings. Recovery has been so much better this time around; with DD, I was incredibly sore, tired, and developed bad baby blues. I remember being miserable. With DS, I don't even feel like I gave birth just 5 days ago! Other than a little breast soreness and some nipple cracking, I feel physically and emotionally wonderful. Kay is sleeping 3.5/4 hour stretches at night, so that in particular has been really helpful, and he naps very well during the day. He only cries when he's being changed or when he wants the boob. Overall, he's a great baby and we are all in love!