Kennedy Grace's birth story

Copied from May 2012 board

It all started Friday night; I was lying in bed doing my normal kick counts. I remember thinking to myself that I really hadn?t felt DD much that day but since she was a night owl I didn?t think much of it at the time. I barely got the recommended 10 kicks/movements in a one hour period so I was a little worried but figured I?d see what the next morning brought. Saturday morning we took DS to the park and I had DD on my mind most of the morning but was trying to enjoy the moment. We got home and put DS down for a nap and I tried to see if I could get DS to move after eating lunch.  As DH started getting ready for work I mentioned it to him and asked for a couple glasses of cold OJ. After two tall glasses, a bottle of water, and a Cadbury egg DD kicked once. At this point DH was at work and DS was waking up from his nap.

I quickly made the decision that we were going straight to the hospital. I called DH and asked him to meet me at my mom?s and got DS ready for an overnight. We arrive at the hospital around 5 PM. They took me back immediately into triage. They hooked me up to the monitors and took my vital signs.  Even after all this I was expecting a nurse to come in after 10 minutes and say all was well. This time one of the OB residents came back and told me they needed to do an u/s to check my fluid levels. DD wasn?t reactive on the strip and she suspected that my fluid was low. She did a measurement and it was at a level 6, with a level 5 or below being abnormally/critically low. Since I was scheduled for an induction Tuesday and I was already past due she decided to call over to my OB and suggest an immediate induction, which my OB agreed to. 

We were admitted to the ACU (Antenatal Care Unit) for overnight cervix ripening. We started making calls and arrangements for DS to stay with my parents for a few days. DH left to get a few things we needed and to bring additional items to my parents for DS. In the ACU they got me settled in and let me eat dinner before starting Misoprostol (Cytotec). I was starting off at 2 cm and 50% effaced so the goal was to soften my cervix and start dilation before starting Pitocin in the AM. After three doses overnight I was still the same and DD was very high, station +3. They moved me over to L&D to start Pitocin after letting me have some breakfast. I was on the pit all day and right before dinner the OB checked me, no progress. She took me off and let me eat dinner before inserting Cervidil overnight.

Nothing happened over night but around 6 AM I started having contractions that were registering on the monitor. I couldn?t feel them but I was encouraged. The OB came in to remove the Cervidil, I took a shower, and then they started up the pit again. DH & I walked the halls, burning a path in the floor. The new OB on call came on around 10 AM and told me that my contractions were 3-4 minutes apart but she could see I was in no discomfort so she would wait until the afternoon to break my water.

The OB came into my room sometime between 12:30 and 1 PM to check me and break my water. She checked me and to everyone?s surprise I was 4 cm and 75% effaced. I had vomited my toast so maybe that was a good sign after all! She broke my water but I only felt a tiny gush since the level was so low. DH and I decided to really get go on the walking. I was determined to deliver this baby before 5 PM, before the new on-call OB came on. After a few laps I actually started feeling the contractions! My pit was up to 20 mL/hour at this point (maxing out at 30). DH and I were so excited that I was in pain, it was pretty comical. In a matter of no time I went from talking and laughing to being super focused and serious. It got to the point that I couldn't walk through them and had to stop and breathe with each contraction. I decided to move back into the room so I could hunch over the couch and open my pelvis. DH put counter pressure on my back with each contraction, which helped, but given his arthritis it wasn't as effective as when the nurse did it.

DH was very encouraging but was struggling seeing me in so much pain. He asked me if I wanted the epi and I said not yet, expected labor to still continue for several hours. Suddenly the contractions were on top of each other and I was losing focus and control. Four other women were delivering at once and all I could hear was coaching, pushing, and yelling. I tried to block out the noise and even muffled my ears but finally it just became impossible. I called for anesthesia to come administer the epi.

The next 20-30 minutes felt like an eternity. I think I had become so focused on ending the pain that I couldn?t focus on getting through the contractions anymore. The nurse was very encouraging and told me she thought I was getting close to transition. I really didn?t believe her. After nothing happening for so long I just didn?t believe that it was really happening so fast. When the anesthesiologist came in and asked me to sit on the bed the pressure was amazingly painful. I spread my hips as far apart as possible and hunched over to relieve the pressure. She finally started the process and relief was in sight. The meds didn?t take effect immediately and I began to shake all over. I thought it was the epi but the nurse insisted it was transition. I breathed through a few more contractions and then as the pain eased away I became itchy. The nurse put some Benadryl in my IV and told DH and I to nap.

An hour later the OB came in and asked if I felt rectal pressure. I didn't but I felt like DD?s head was right there. She checked me and to everyone?s amazement I was fully dilated and it was time to push!!! With my first push they all yelled, she?s right there!! I thought they were trying to encourage me though and didn't really believe them. DD had a few decelerations so the put me on oxygen to keep up her heart rate. After 20 minutes of pushing Kennedy Grace was born at 4:27 PM on Memorial Day (05/28/12). She had her cord wrapped around her neck 3 times and once around her shoulder. Otherwise, she was perfect in every way! After all of the worry and stress with her two-vessel cord and the emergency induction she was finally here and I felt like I was just given a miracle.