Birth Story- Induction due to pPROM

I was scheduled to be transferred from antepartum to labor and delivery on December 2^nd at 6pm to start the induction. Labor and delivery was swamped though so I didn?t end up going over there until 8pm. The family all left shortly after because everyone thought it was going to be a long time before Kendall arrived. My doctor told me it probably wouldn?t be until late afternoon on the 3^rd. I was hooked up to the monitors (which were wireless) and was showing some small regular contractions only when I lay on my back. Nothing was tracing when I lay on my sides. DH made up his bed and I waited for my nurse to bring in the first dose of Cytotec. The plan was for me to get 3 does of Cytotec 4 hours apart and then start Pitocin at 6am the following morning. I had been checked by a resident 2 days prior due to some spotting and my cervix was still closed. I wasn?t checked at the start of the induction because they didn?t want to cause an infection since I was ruptured. They assumed I was still closed.

At 10pm I got my first dose of Cytotec. By 10:45pm I was feeling some strong contractions, but nothing was tracing on the monitor. I figured I was being a big baby. At 11pm my nurse took me off the monitor with plans to put me back on when I got the 2^nd dose at 2am. I?m sure my nurse thought I was going to be a difficult high maintenance patient when I told her I was having a lot of contraction pain even though nothing was tracing. She switched me to the other monitor since I was on a wireless one and still nothing was tracing. She took me off and told me to call her if my pain worsened. 15 minutes later I was in a TON of pain. We never took a birthing class because I had been in the hospital for the last 10 weeks. I tried doing the things I?ve seen on TV, but nothing was helping. DH kept telling me to try to lay down and sleep (we both still thought I was being a wuss). I wanted to call the nurse in. The contractions I was having were on top of each other, never really going away. I was begging DH for a c-section because I assumed this was early labor and there was no way I?d be able to go through the "real" thing. At midnight I called her, she came in and put me back on the monitor. I was having HUGE contractions. She immediately ran to get the resident to check me. At first she said 7-8cm, it totally freaked us out. I begged her for an epidural so she checked me again and changed it to 5cm. I?m thinking it was just so I could get it. The anesthesiologist was there within 5 minutes. Epidurals are an amazing thing. I went from being a total wreck to smiling and laughing in a matter of minutes. It did cause me to get really itchy, but that was nothing compared the pain I was having. My doctor got there right after the epidural was in and checked me. He said I was at an 8-9 at 12:45-1am. They told us to call the family if we wanted them there, we weren?t sure they were going to make it because things were moving soooooo fast. My doctor totally didn?t expect this. At 1:15 I told them I was having a lot of pressure like I had to poop. My doctor checked me again and I was at a 10, time to push!!!

Kendall was turned and facing my side. My nurse had me use a squat bar to get her to turn. Now I had NO strength whatsoever. I had been laying in a hospital bed for more then 2 months and got short of breath walking 10 feet. Pulling my now much heavier self up and bearing down was no easy task. We pushed like that for about 45 minutes, which luckily got her to turn. After that I was allowed to push laying on my back which was much easier for me. Around 2:30am I spiked a fever of 102 and Kendall?s heart rate jumped from 140?s to 180?s. My doctor figured that I probably got an infection from being checked so frequently. It was crazy how fast that happened because it?s what we had been trying to avoid for the last 10 weeks. I got a dose of antibiotics and Tylenol that thankfully brought my fever and her heart rate down a bit. I pushed for another 45 minutes with my doctor, a resident, my nurse, and Kyle and yelling at me to push harder. Looking back now it?s quite funny. I swear there were like 2 sets of hands in me trying to get her come down faster. At 2:50am a doctor and 2 nurses from the NICU arrived ready to assess Kendall.

Our little miracle arrived at 3:08am weighing 5lbs 10z and 19inches long. She screamed and cried just like I hoped for. I was watching her monitors while my doctor and resident sewed up my 3^rd degree tear. Her vitals were perfect and she never needed any oxygen?.thank god!! The steroids I received did their job and her lungs were mature. They brought her over to DH and I to hold for a few minutes before they took her to the NICU. She was perfect in every way. DH went with her while I got fixed up. They were repairing my tear for almost an hour. It was the WORST part of the entire pregnancy. I had to get a foley catheter because I was so swollen. At 4:45am I was moved to postpartum. I was begging to go to the NICU to see Kendall. I had to wait until 6am because they needed to assess how I was doing before I could leave the floor. DH took the grandparents down to see her and they came back with great news. She was in B pod, which is essentially their special care nursery. It?s the last stop for babies before they get discharged from the NICU.

Her NICU stay was very uneventful. She had to go under the phototherapy lights twice, which was really hard for me. I couldn?t take her out to hold her and she was miserable just lying in her isolette naked. She had to stay a week for IV antibiotics due to the fever I spiked. Her IV?s went bad every day, I hated that she had to be poked so often. Her poor heels are all scabs from the heel sticks. Overall though, these things are nothing compared to what she would have gone through if born at 25 weeks like everyone expected. We are so happy to have her home. She?s perfect! She?s eating double what she ate when she was discharged. I can?t wait for her appointment on Thursday to see how much she has gained. She poops and pees like a pro.