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chardonnay24 birth story

chardonnay24chardonnay24 member
in September 2014 Moms
Short version: Eleanor Anne joined us 9/21 at 1:21 am after nearly 27 hours of labor following an induction that started at 41 weeks 6 days. She was 8 lbs 15 oz and 20 inches long and looks a lot like her big brother, who loves his new "Baby Nora".

Long version: I was really hoping to go into labor on my own because I was desperately hoping for a med free birth. My midwife wanted to induce before 42 weeks, so she allowed me as much time as possible. At 41+6, I wasn't having anything more than irregular contractions, so I had to head down to L&D when they called and had a bed ready that evening. We checked in around 10 and got settled into our room. By 10:30, I had the cervidil placed and settled down to watch some TV. I was already 3 cm, so I was crossing my fingers that the cervidil would kick start labor.

Around 11:30, my contractions began getting much stronger and coming closer together. My nurse told me it was a common side effect, so I tried not to get excited, However, they were strong enough that they kept me awake so I remained hopeful. Around 3 am, they had settled into a pattern. At 5, I was struggling to get through them and called my nurse. They had determined that the cervidil had irritated my uterus and were worried about how strong and close the contractions were coming, so they pulled it out. I continued to have strong and regular contractions so my midwife did a check. I was fully effaced and 5.5 cm dilated! She told me I was in active labor and I was so happy to finally do the med free birth that I had wanted. I called my mom and sister and prepared to have this baby!

At 6:30, the nurse asked me if I'd like to labor in the tub. She suspected that the rest of my labor would go quickly if I was able to relax a little because I was already halfway there, having strong and regular contractions, and a STM. I agreed and climbed into the tub, where I spent a good hour. It was absolutely amazing and kind of like being in a spa with candles, music, and jets (except for the horrible pain every 3 minutes or so). Around 8, I went back to my room because my contractions were about 1.5 minutes apart. I didn't want to be checked, but I was told that it would probably be soon. I labored in various positions in my room and tried to breathe and visualize through the contractions. At noon, my midwife wanted to do a check because she felt like it would be any minute. I was pretty disappointed to learn at I was only 8 cm, but she suspected another hour of labor would get me there. They began to prepare the room for the birth.

We did another check around 2 and I was still an 8. My contractions were very strong and close together and I was having a tough time trying to work through them, so my nurse and midwife spent some time working me into positions that would help the baby to descend as she was still quite high. Two hours later, they did another check - still 8 cm. I began to get really discouraged at this point. I hadn't slept in over 36 hours and had spent the last 12 hours working through some pretty painful contractions. I began to doubt myself and my ability to do this med free. I debated with my labor team about getting some pain meds. We decided to go with a shot of fentanyl. It immediately made me nauseous and dizzy and I had to stay in bed strapped to the monitors. It did next to nothing to dull the pain. We hoped that I had made progress, but unfortunately an hour later, I was still an 8. At this point, I begged for an epidural. My team really tried to talk me out of it but I knew that I could make some progress if I could just relax.

The epi was placed and I was very pleased with it this time compared to last time. I could still feel some pain and could even move my legs, but it was enough to allow me to relax. Sure enough, within 10 minutes of placement, I was 9.5 cm. Since there was just a little lip left that my midwife could move, we decided to try pushing. I pushed for an hour and my contractions continued to get stronger and closer together, but she didn't move down at all. We decided to try some different positions on the bed to open my pelvis and help with descent. Two hours later - still 9.5 cm and she hadn't moved down the birth canal at all. We tried pushing again, no progress. At this point, the epidural had worn off and I was exhausted. I begged for a c-section. My birth team reminded me of my desire to deliver vaginally. I decided that if I were going to do this, I needed a full strength epi. My midwife and nurse were really against it because they didn't feel like I could push effectively if I were fully numb, but I insisted on it. The epi was placed and I was able to relax again. My midwife moved me into a couple positions on the bed to really open my pelvis and also started pit because my contractions began to space out.

At 11 pm, the full strength epi was wearing off and baby girl wasn't making any progress. Her head was still very high in my pelvis. Despite the pit, the contractions were not doing enough to move her along. I tried pushing another hour, but at midnight, she began having decelerations after every contraction. My midwife consulted with an OB and they determined it would be best to do a c-section. At this point, I was so exhausted that I didn't care, especially since this was so far from the med free birth that I had hoped for. They prepped me and wheeled me back to the OR and at 1:21, Eleanor Anne came into the world.

It turned out that her little head had been in the wrong position and she was stuck on my pubic bone. She wasn't a huge baby, but it was a combination of size and position that didn't allow her to come out. I feel good in knowing that I did everything possible to avoid this, and in the end, I'm glad that ultimately I have a healthy baby girl. We are in the hospital until Wednesday and had been having some trouble with breastfeeding, but she appears to have gotten the hang of it tonight (hence my middle of the night birth story). Big brother met her and loved her and we can't wait until we can go home and become a family of four!
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