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November 2014 Moms
lizgrace03
member
@lizgrace03 birth story
lizgrace03
member
First off, thanks to my amazing labor buddy @carafern for checking on me and keeping the board updated!
Secondly, I am here at the hospital and I have my laptop but I have to work from my phone because the hospital's wifi has blocked TB due to it being a sex education site. :P So, if I can't get pics to upload I will upload some when we get home.
Birth Story
TL;DR: Alistair Edward was born on Monday, November 4 at 4:56 am after 18.5 hours of labor. He weighed 8lb 12oz and was 20.5 inches long. He has a beautiful full head of hair and we couldn’t be more in love.
Long Version: DH and I were laying in bed watching The Mindy Project around 10:30pm when I felt a small bit of fluid leak out of me and immediately wondered if my water had broken. It was such a miniscule amount that I decided to wait a bit and see if anything else happened. Derek went to sleep in the guest room and I got up to use the bathroom—then a much larger leak happened and a little water even got onto the bathroom floor. I knew for sure this was my waters breaking. It wasn’t the huge gush you see in the movies, but it was definitely not pee and definitely uncontrollable. I called my doctor and she said it would be ok for me to sleep at home for a few hours before heading to the hospital. I finished packing a few things and laid down. I slept fitfully until about 3am, woke up DH, and we headed to the hospital (about 15 minutes from our house).
Once we arrived, I was put in triage. The nurse checked and, sure enough, my waters had broken so we were admitted right away. We were instructed to walk the halls to try and get labor started, so we walked around for about 45 minutes. When we got back to our room, one of the doctors from my OB practice was there with a dose of Cervadil. She checked my cervix which was completely closed. Turns out, a LEEP procedure I had back in 2009 had engendered some scarring which was making it really tough for my cervix to open. So, we had to induce because I guess there is something like an 18 hour window within which they want you to deliver after your waters break. The nurse had initially said that we would probably end up with a C Section (seems like a theme for me throughout this pregnancy) but I guess they decided to try induction first.
The Cervadil worked very well. I labored in the tub for about two hours and started to make some progress. Around 1, I started to feel pretty uncomfortable and I asked the nurse about an epidural. She checked me and I was still only about 2cm so instead she administered Nubian, a different type of pain medicine that allows you to still move around. Around this time, I started having back labor. The nurse that was on call at the time was fantastic. She and Derek worked with me through some various positions to get through the back labor. I was eventually able to turn him and even sleep a little using visualization. Around 6pm, my doctor called and said I could eat if I wanted since I was still progressing slowly. I ate a turkey sandwich from the cafeteria and it amazingly stayed down throughout the duration of labor and delivery.
At 7pm, the nurses switched and my contractions started picking up. I asked again about the epidural and the new nurse said that the doctor would be in around 9 and could approve it then. When she finally showed up at 9, I was starting to feel a ridiculous amount of pain. She checked and confirmed that I had dilated to a 4 and approved the epidural. The time between her approving the epidural and its actual arrival was incredibly long. By the time the anesthesiologist arrived, I had dilated to a 6. I was shaking all over, losing feeling in my arms, and having hot/cold flashes. DH was great and held my hand through it all. The epidural finally arrived around 11 and the relief I felt was immediate. I told the anesthesiologist he was like Santa Claus, LOL. DH and I were both able to nap until about 2am when I woke up with contractions.
I knew something was wrong when I woke up and told the nurse that I didn’t think the epidural was working anymore. She basically told me to deal with it. In hindsight and after talking to some of the other nursing staff, I should have pushed her harder for either an upped dosage or an alternate solution. However, I was in too much pain to think straight. Things progressed very quickly and before I knew it I was dilated to a 9. That was the worst pain of my life. I won’t describe it other than to say, I truly didn’t know what to do. I was in tears and writhing in agony. And I wasn’t allowed to push until I was fully dilated and the doctor arrived which took about 2 hours.
When the doctor arrived, she confirmed it was time to push. Thankfully, I was able to push him out in about 20 minutes. The nurses and doctor were amazed that I did it that quickly—I think my body just knew that it had to happen fast because things were so dire as far as the pain and pressure. When I pushed him out it was the weirdest and most agonizing feeling I’ve ever had. After he came out, everyone was so happy but I was hurting too badly to really be excited until they put him on my chest. As soon as we started skin-to-skin, he quit crying, I quit crying and we bonded immediately. It was miraculous.
I had a second degree tear and needed a catheter. It sucked to say the least, but the feeling of delivering the placenta was pretty cool actually. It felt like a huge wave of relief. I clung to Alistair the entire time the doctor was stitching me up—I think I needed him as much as he needed me in that moment. When they took him to clean him up, he started crying until they gave him back—it was so sweet!
He weighed in at 8.12 and his Apgars were 9. A super healthy, perfect boy. He has a big head of hair and is just a dream to be around. DH and I are so much in love. If I start thinking about him too much, I cry.
I hated pregnancy. I hated labor. But, it was all worth it x1000 to meet my little Alistair. We are hopefully going to leave the hospital tomorrow night or Thursday morning. What a wild ride!
Secondly, I am here at the hospital and I have my laptop but I have to work from my phone because the hospital's wifi has blocked TB due to it being a sex education site. :P So, if I can't get pics to upload I will upload some when we get home.
Birth Story
TL;DR: Alistair Edward was born on Monday, November 4 at 4:56 am after 18.5 hours of labor. He weighed 8lb 12oz and was 20.5 inches long. He has a beautiful full head of hair and we couldn’t be more in love.
Long Version: DH and I were laying in bed watching The Mindy Project around 10:30pm when I felt a small bit of fluid leak out of me and immediately wondered if my water had broken. It was such a miniscule amount that I decided to wait a bit and see if anything else happened. Derek went to sleep in the guest room and I got up to use the bathroom—then a much larger leak happened and a little water even got onto the bathroom floor. I knew for sure this was my waters breaking. It wasn’t the huge gush you see in the movies, but it was definitely not pee and definitely uncontrollable. I called my doctor and she said it would be ok for me to sleep at home for a few hours before heading to the hospital. I finished packing a few things and laid down. I slept fitfully until about 3am, woke up DH, and we headed to the hospital (about 15 minutes from our house).
Once we arrived, I was put in triage. The nurse checked and, sure enough, my waters had broken so we were admitted right away. We were instructed to walk the halls to try and get labor started, so we walked around for about 45 minutes. When we got back to our room, one of the doctors from my OB practice was there with a dose of Cervadil. She checked my cervix which was completely closed. Turns out, a LEEP procedure I had back in 2009 had engendered some scarring which was making it really tough for my cervix to open. So, we had to induce because I guess there is something like an 18 hour window within which they want you to deliver after your waters break. The nurse had initially said that we would probably end up with a C Section (seems like a theme for me throughout this pregnancy) but I guess they decided to try induction first.
The Cervadil worked very well. I labored in the tub for about two hours and started to make some progress. Around 1, I started to feel pretty uncomfortable and I asked the nurse about an epidural. She checked me and I was still only about 2cm so instead she administered Nubian, a different type of pain medicine that allows you to still move around. Around this time, I started having back labor. The nurse that was on call at the time was fantastic. She and Derek worked with me through some various positions to get through the back labor. I was eventually able to turn him and even sleep a little using visualization. Around 6pm, my doctor called and said I could eat if I wanted since I was still progressing slowly. I ate a turkey sandwich from the cafeteria and it amazingly stayed down throughout the duration of labor and delivery.
At 7pm, the nurses switched and my contractions started picking up. I asked again about the epidural and the new nurse said that the doctor would be in around 9 and could approve it then. When she finally showed up at 9, I was starting to feel a ridiculous amount of pain. She checked and confirmed that I had dilated to a 4 and approved the epidural. The time between her approving the epidural and its actual arrival was incredibly long. By the time the anesthesiologist arrived, I had dilated to a 6. I was shaking all over, losing feeling in my arms, and having hot/cold flashes. DH was great and held my hand through it all. The epidural finally arrived around 11 and the relief I felt was immediate. I told the anesthesiologist he was like Santa Claus, LOL. DH and I were both able to nap until about 2am when I woke up with contractions.
I knew something was wrong when I woke up and told the nurse that I didn’t think the epidural was working anymore. She basically told me to deal with it. In hindsight and after talking to some of the other nursing staff, I should have pushed her harder for either an upped dosage or an alternate solution. However, I was in too much pain to think straight. Things progressed very quickly and before I knew it I was dilated to a 9. That was the worst pain of my life. I won’t describe it other than to say, I truly didn’t know what to do. I was in tears and writhing in agony. And I wasn’t allowed to push until I was fully dilated and the doctor arrived which took about 2 hours.
When the doctor arrived, she confirmed it was time to push. Thankfully, I was able to push him out in about 20 minutes. The nurses and doctor were amazed that I did it that quickly—I think my body just knew that it had to happen fast because things were so dire as far as the pain and pressure. When I pushed him out it was the weirdest and most agonizing feeling I’ve ever had. After he came out, everyone was so happy but I was hurting too badly to really be excited until they put him on my chest. As soon as we started skin-to-skin, he quit crying, I quit crying and we bonded immediately. It was miraculous.
I had a second degree tear and needed a catheter. It sucked to say the least, but the feeling of delivering the placenta was pretty cool actually. It felt like a huge wave of relief. I clung to Alistair the entire time the doctor was stitching me up—I think I needed him as much as he needed me in that moment. When they took him to clean him up, he started crying until they gave him back—it was so sweet!
He weighed in at 8.12 and his Apgars were 9. A super healthy, perfect boy. He has a big head of hair and is just a dream to be around. DH and I are so much in love. If I start thinking about him too much, I cry.
I hated pregnancy. I hated labor. But, it was all worth it x1000 to meet my little Alistair. We are hopefully going to leave the hospital tomorrow night or Thursday morning. What a wild ride!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: @lizgrace03 birth story
What a feeling to have your little blessing all healthy and beautiful in your arms.. I'm so in love with my little one too even before she has arrived. Can't imagine what I'll end up doing when I'll hold her..
God bless
BFP#4 3/17/14 - rainbow Baby BOY arrived 11/10/14 !!
DX: Uterine Septum - Resection 9/5/13 || MTHFR Hetero A1298C || My Chart
I'm sorry your labour was so long and painful, but I'm so glad you were able to bond with your son so quickly.
Congrats!
N14 November Siggy Challenge - Celebration
Nov. '14 January Siggy : Work Sucks!
Me 32-DH 38
Married July 14, 2007 ----- TTC # 1 October 1, 2013
BFP March 7, 2014 ----- EDD November 17, 2014 ---- Baby boy born November 16, 2014
TTC since Sept 2011, Unexplained IF
Oct 12 - Jan 14: 3 clomid/TI cycles, 2 hysteroscopies, 2 IUIs, 1 BFP (MMC @ 12w), 2 more IUIs
Feb 14: Gonal-f + IUI #5 = BFP! (EDD 11/4/14)
Baby boy arrived 11/13/14!
N14 Nov. Siggy: CELEBRATION!