Benjamin's birth story

Benjamin?s birth story

11/28/12

I am a 34 year old first time Mom.  On Tuesday 11/27, I woke up early at 5am and couldn?t sleep- something felt off.  I was 3 days past my due date and generally uncomfortable.  I had a doctor?s appt that day but had still been going to work until something changed?so I worked a half day finishing up a project I was working on, and then drove to meet DH at the 2pm doctor?s appointment.

They took my BP (which has always been normal) and said it?s 150/110 ? you are going to the hospital right now.  We couldn?t believe it ? we didn?t have our bags with us and weren?t really mentally prepared to not go home again.  Anyway off we went to the hospital- I had unwisely skipped lunch and was starving.  They checked me in triage and I was admitted at 3:30pm.  They said due to the high BP the baby and my body were telling them it was time to get him out, so I would be induced that night.

I was moved to a delivery room and after my blood work came back A-OK they said DH could bring me food ? he brought Panera back to my room (and wisely thought to bring something for the nurse as well).  We all chowed down and watched some TV while DH then ran out again to get my luggage from home.  Luckily we only live 7 minutes from the hospital so I encouraged him to sleep at home since he?s a light sleeper.

I took a sleeping pill they offered me and slept from about 12:30 to 3:30am when I needed a bathroom break (such a pain with an IV).  After that I fell back asleep again until I suddenly felt a huge rush of fluid- my water breaking while laying in bed- at 5:15am on Wednesday 12/28.  I pressed my call button and nurses came to help me get cleaned up.  I decided not to wake DH just yet but wait until 6am or so. 

The contractions started almost immediately- bad period cramps ? the first I?d had during my pregnancy (I only had felt mild Braxton-Hicks with no pain before).  I was by myself in the room and feeling kind of lonely having contractions by myself.  So at 5:55am I called DH and told him to come when he could.  I knew that my Dr/Midwife practice had shift change at 7am and I would have a visit around then if not sooner.

The midwife came in around 6:45am and DH was there by then.  She did an internal exam and said I was 2cm?.she then proceeded to do something which was extremely painful ( I was groaning and at one point said ?can you stop for one second? so I could get my breath).  After it was over she said ? I stripped your membranes (ouch and no wonder it hurt).  She then said- the anesthesiologist is here right now- would you like an epidural?  I thought why not- the contractions were painful and I intended to get an epidural anyway and didn?t want to lose the opportunity if he went to a different floor.  So I said yes please! 

The epidural was relatively painless- no big deal.  It just felt like a needle/shot in my back ? after that I didn?t feel a thing.  It was no more painful than having an IV placed.  With that in place I felt one leg start to go numb, and they said: now we?re going to let you rest for a few hours while you dilate.  I relaxed and slept off and on from 7:30am until 1pm.  The epidural worked better on one side than the other, but I guess generally it was effective.  They checked me mid-way and I was at 4cm.  At 1pm they said I was 10 cm and asked if I was ready to start pushing!? 

DH and I were a bit nervous to start pushing after being in a relaxed state for so long- but it was time to get this baby out!  Little did I know the hardest part of all was ahead- I had been thinking all had gone smoothly so far.  The pushing did not.  I pushed hard for 2 hours with no apparent progress.  We tried using the bar, we tried it on both sides and my back.  I was so frustrated that I couldn?t feel any progress.  The epidural was wearing off a bit but they wanted me to feel the contractions so I could push more effectively ? so the pain was also increasing during this time. 

After pushing from 1:30 to 3:30pm the midwife said, OK we?ve tried all the different techniques that we could, and you?re getting tired, let?s call in the Dr. and see what she thinks.  So the Dr. came in and felt around and confirmed the midwife?s assessment that the baby?s head was cocked slightly to an angle, making it possibly harder for him to be pushed out.  The Dr. said, how much energy do you have left ? I suggest you consider trying to have us suction him out- you can try to push longer but you may have less energy by then.  I agreed to letting them use the suction.  HOWEVER, the Dr. said I will only use the suction 3 times (with each attempt being 3 pushes on my part during a contraction) ? after that she said, we?re doing a C-section.  Due to the use of suction, they had NICU reps come down into the room to prep for his arrival.

I did not want a c-section.  We had come so far!  On the first 2 attempts with the suction, the little suction cup popped off of the baby?s head.  The Dr. said- this is it- this is the last attempt- I need you to summon everything you?ve got here.  I prayed and looked at DH and prayed some more and then pushed with everything I had.  During this final attempt, I heard the Dr. and midwives exclaim that they could see his head- so I pushed even harder, felt the ?ring of fire? and then felt a relief as he came all the way out.  Benjamin Robert was born at 3:59pm on 11/28/12. 

They immediately put Benjamin on my chest- I was kind of in shock about everything being over at that point ? and just stared at him and DH.  Later in my recovery room I would bond and fall in love with him- for now I was just in shock.  They weighed Benjamin and the doctor couldn?t believe he was 8 lbs 11 oz.  She said if they had known how big he was (with me being small and a FTM), they would have done a c-section.

SO?.I had between 2^nd and 3^rd degree tearing, many stitches and lost a liter of blood in the first hour after delivery.  It took the Dr at least 30 minutes to stitch me up and I started feeling very ill.  They gave me a drink with sugar in it and encouraged me to eat afterward ? by several hours later I was doing better.

Although I missed the initial skin-to-skin time with Benjamin we started breastfeeding later that night, and with the help of some lactation consultants were able to have success.  They encouraged me to pump right away to further help my milk come in since I had lost so much fluid.  (And it did come in within 3 days). 

So now I?m 12 days post-delivery and still sore from my delivery- I am a bit frustrated by this as I thought I would be feeling better by now!  However, we are so totally in love with Benjamin- he is such a great addition to our life and he makes it all worth it.