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March 2014 Moms
AshleyO925
member
My long overdue TG birth story (AshleyO925)
AshleyO925
member
Sorry for the novel, but I finally have a chance to write this out!
I ended up not being able to have a med free hospital birth as I hoped, but with all the complications, I am glad with the way things turned out. It took me about a week of sadness to get over my birth not going as planned, but my baby is here happy and healthy and that is all I could ask for.
Contractions started at 9 PM on Friday 3/14. I stayed home and labored through them until about 3 the next day when they started getting about 4 minutes apart and increasing in intensity. When we went to the hospital they checked me and I was only 2.5 cms dilated! This was very frustrating as I had been in labor for 16 hours and had progressed 1.5 cms. They ended up admitting me because LO was tachycardic through some of the contractions.
They also would not allow me to move around because they needed her to be on the monitor constantly with her fluctuating heart rate. This is when I started having issues with pain management because I could not get comfortable stuck in a bed. They kept having issues with baby's heart rate and made me change positions onto each side which I found even more uncomfortable. Then they had to give me oxygen because baby's heart rate still was not stabilizing.
After 4 more hours, they checked me again. I was barely at a 4 and I was completely worn out and stressed out with all of the issues going on with LO. I had been crying and could not calm down enough to get through contractions because there was talk of c-section and fetal distress etc. I finally agreed to the epidural so I could rest and hopefully dilate the 6 more cms I needed to.
Once the epidural was in, I felt much better and could relax although it was only working on one side. The OB broke my water, but then saw meconium in the fluid. They told me the NICU would need to be at the delivery and I would not get to hold my baby. The midwife would cut the cord immediately and pass the baby to the NICU nurses. Once again, this made me very distressed and I started feeling the pain more and more on the side the epidural was not working on. The nurse anesthesiologist re-dosed me and I had some relief. I was checked 2 hours later and I was at a 6.
Then the nurse had me turn to my side to get the epidural to flow to that side at which point I felt very strong contractions. The baby's heart rate still was not tolerating the contractions so I had to sit up again. At that point I was 8 cms. About an hour and a half later I felt the sudden need to push as my epi had mostly worn off at this point. The nurse checked me and I was complete! She had me start practice pushing and the baby's head was already crowning so she told me to stop and wait for the midwife and NICU team. It was nearly impossible to not push. As soon as they were set up, I pushed for about 6 minutes and out came baby. They suctioned her and she started crying immediately so she did not have to go anywhere. My husband announced it was a girl and they put her on my chest. I cryed hysterically when I saw her and couldn't believe my instinct about her being a girl was right the whole time and that she was perfectly healthy.
Although I did not get the birth I was planning, I am happy with how things turned out. I think the epidural allowed me to relax enough to quickly progress from a 4-complete in about 6 hours instead of the 20 hours of early labor I had to go through to get to a 4. I do hope to try for med free next time, as long as I am not in labor for 26 hours again!
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Re: My long overdue TG birth story (AshleyO925)
I'm glad you took the time to process about your birth. So important for staying in a healthy place!