Rowan's bumpy ride (also shared on Jan 2013 board)

Rowan MacAoidh's birth story. *I will say if you are very nervous about complications during labor, you might want to skip this one. Everything works out in the end though* 

On Monday, 1/7, my mom drove up to take me to lunch since I was three days late and going stir crazy. We went to a sushi restaurant (despite all of the advice telling me to eat spicy food) where I had some edamame and ?safe? sushi. When she dropped me off, I was exhausted and went to lie down.

Around 3pm I started having mild contractions, which was new for me since I?d only been having BH. I jokingly told DH that I would never hear the end of it from my mom if I went in to labor after she took me out. I began timing the contractions and they were erratic but averaging about 20 mins apart.

I asked DH to get my bag from the car so I could put the rest of my toiletries and stuff in it, and he says ?why?? I said because we?d probably be going to the hospital in the next 12 hours because the contractions weren?t going away (I thought I?d made that clear). He was like, ?oh!?

By 10:30pm the contractions were still erratic but had been averaging anywhere from 2-7 mins apart for over an hour, mild to medium in intensity. Since we live far from the hospital, I decided to go ahead and call my doctor?s office. The nurse talked to the on call doctor and told me to head on in.

The ride was uncomfortable but we finally made it in, and I learned that I was the first labor of the night. I think that might have played a part in getting admitted so easily. I was 1cm dilated and 80% effaced so I was gowned up and strapped in, and we got down to business. Here?s where the timing gets fuzzy because I was otherwise occupied, but I labored for a couple of hours as the contractions became more intense and closer together. They checked me again and I was at 2cm. I stayed at 2 for a while so they decided to break my water. My sac didn?t want to break either so it was a very strange feeling.

After that, the contractions really started to light me up so they told me I could get the epidural. That part was a piece of cake, and I could have kissed the doctor after that. I even loved the urinary catheter because it was the first time in 9 months that I didn?t feel like I had to pee. Once I was good and numb, they left me so I could try and sleep. Unfortunately, every time I almost nodded off, someone came in to move me or roll me or check me.

Turns out the baby?s heart rate was going down during each contraction, and they were moving me to try and reposition the cord. They only found one position that worked, but then my epidural started pooling and I began to feel contractions again. After another visit from the anesthesiologist, I was numbed back up. Shortly after, however, the OB came in and said that I had been at 2.5cm for several hours and the baby was becoming distressed, so he wanted to do a c-section. He acted very calm like he was asking me, but I could hear the unspoken ?emergency? in his voice.

So we packed up the room and I was wheeled to the OR. DH was taken to go scrub up so I was alone when they were prepping me. I?m not going to lie, I was terrified. I?ve never had major surgery before. There were people surrounding me and asking me questions all at once. My epidural was replaced with a spinal and I was given meds for nausea. The spinal made it difficult for me to expand my chest so I felt like I couldn?t breathe. That?s when I started crying and probably kept on throughout the procedure. They quickly brought DH in to comfort me, and he did great.

A lot is said about the bravery of women who chose to have natural childbirth and it is true. But not enough is said about the bravery of women who have to have a c-section, especially if it was never discussed because all was well. It is very, very scary but you just have to do it for your baby.

I saw them bring the baby out and start working on him, and I started to get worried because they didn?t bring him to me or to DH. Eventually they let DH go over and see him, and even later DH brought him to me so I could at least give him a kiss. I learned later on that he had been briefly intubated and that they had planned on taking him to the NICU (he had an apgar score of around 2 at the very beginning). I?m glad I didn?t know until later how close we may have come to losing him. The cord had been wrapped around his neck twice, and also around his foot. It doesn?t surprise me at all because he never stopped moving.

He ended up perking up very quickly and was able to go to the regular nursery. He was a healthy 7lbs 5oz and 21.5 inches long with a full head of blond hair. After four days in the hospital, we?re all home and settling in. He?s my little miracle baby!