January 2015 Moms
MaPetiteFamille
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Adele's birth story - My blizzard baby! (Long)
MaPetiteFamille
member
On the evening of Monday, 1/26, a "historic blizzard" was predicted to arrive in the Northeast. A travel ban was issued for Tuesday and Wednesday, and 2-3 feet of snow were predicted. Needless to say, I was a bit freaked out: my EDD was 1/25. DH and I asked my MIL to spend the night at our place with DD1 so that we could leave asap if I went into labor. Sure enough, I started feeling mild menstrual-like cramps lasting 30 seconds every 8-10 minutes at around 9:30 pm. Not wanting to risk driving overnight during the peak of the storm, we timed them for a while and decided to head out at 10:30 pm before the travel ban went into effect.
The midwife on call wasn't terribly impressed by my mild, infrequent contractions. To be honest, neither was I, but I didn't want to end up on the local news. DH and I decided to check into a hotel close to the hospital and call the midwife back when things picked up.
I got a decent night's sleep and by 8 am my contractions were coming every 4-5 minutes and lasting about a minute each. We drove for about 15 minutes in some pretty treacherous conditions to the hospital but made it there safely. I was 4 cm, 70% effaced at -2 station, which was a little disheartening, but at least they admitted me.
I labored in my room with DH for a while, used the exercise ball and was doing well until around noon, when contractions started to get really intense. They were coming every 2 minutes and I was sure I was approaching transition. We were all surprised when the midwife checked me to find I was still only 5 cm. She determined the baby was OP, just like DD1 had been. I wasn't sure I could handle another marathon unmedicated labor, so I asked for an epidural. They hooked me up to an IV and to the monitor, and the anesthesiologist arrived at around 1:30. That's when the fun really began. Despite two attempts, the epidural wasn't working. Worse yet, I couldn't move through my contractions with all the monitors I was wearing. They called a second anesthesiologist, and the third time was the charm. He told me I had a shallow epidural space and that I'd be at a greater risk of a spinal headache because of how he placed it. But at least it worked. By around 3:00, I had total relief.
Of course, about an hour after starting the epidural, my contractions had decreased in frequency to about every six minutes. Since the baby was tolerating labor well, the midwife suggested starting Pitocin if things didn't pick up in an hour or so. They didn't. They started me on Pitocin at the lowest rate possible and almost immediately my contractions started coming every two minutes. I couldn't feel them at all, but they reassured me that they were long and strong. I started shaking, and they told me this was a sign of transition. We did some repositioning in an attempt to turn the baby from a posterior to an anterior position, and with the second position my water broke in a gush. They helped me get cleaned up, and when they left, I noticed that my perineum was bulging. I asked DH to let them know, but I think something was lost in communication because 20 minutes went by and still nobody came to check me. I said to DH, "go tell them I feel like there's a head in my vagina." I wasn't sure if that was what I was actually feeling, but it definitely got them in the room. And, it turns out, I was right! Adele Flora was born five minutes later after only five or six pushes. I had no tearing at all, presumably because she did most of the work herself.
We're both doing well now. Breastfeeding is going well except for a shallow latch that I think we've made some improvement with. The after pains are so much worse with the second pregnancy, though. DH and I are thrilled and are so in love with our little girl. Most of all, we are glad that we all made it to the hospital and through labor and delivery safely.
Here she is! 8 lbs, 9 oz, 20" long. Born at 40w 2d on 1/27/15 at 6:32 pm.
The midwife on call wasn't terribly impressed by my mild, infrequent contractions. To be honest, neither was I, but I didn't want to end up on the local news. DH and I decided to check into a hotel close to the hospital and call the midwife back when things picked up.
I got a decent night's sleep and by 8 am my contractions were coming every 4-5 minutes and lasting about a minute each. We drove for about 15 minutes in some pretty treacherous conditions to the hospital but made it there safely. I was 4 cm, 70% effaced at -2 station, which was a little disheartening, but at least they admitted me.
I labored in my room with DH for a while, used the exercise ball and was doing well until around noon, when contractions started to get really intense. They were coming every 2 minutes and I was sure I was approaching transition. We were all surprised when the midwife checked me to find I was still only 5 cm. She determined the baby was OP, just like DD1 had been. I wasn't sure I could handle another marathon unmedicated labor, so I asked for an epidural. They hooked me up to an IV and to the monitor, and the anesthesiologist arrived at around 1:30. That's when the fun really began. Despite two attempts, the epidural wasn't working. Worse yet, I couldn't move through my contractions with all the monitors I was wearing. They called a second anesthesiologist, and the third time was the charm. He told me I had a shallow epidural space and that I'd be at a greater risk of a spinal headache because of how he placed it. But at least it worked. By around 3:00, I had total relief.
Of course, about an hour after starting the epidural, my contractions had decreased in frequency to about every six minutes. Since the baby was tolerating labor well, the midwife suggested starting Pitocin if things didn't pick up in an hour or so. They didn't. They started me on Pitocin at the lowest rate possible and almost immediately my contractions started coming every two minutes. I couldn't feel them at all, but they reassured me that they were long and strong. I started shaking, and they told me this was a sign of transition. We did some repositioning in an attempt to turn the baby from a posterior to an anterior position, and with the second position my water broke in a gush. They helped me get cleaned up, and when they left, I noticed that my perineum was bulging. I asked DH to let them know, but I think something was lost in communication because 20 minutes went by and still nobody came to check me. I said to DH, "go tell them I feel like there's a head in my vagina." I wasn't sure if that was what I was actually feeling, but it definitely got them in the room. And, it turns out, I was right! Adele Flora was born five minutes later after only five or six pushes. I had no tearing at all, presumably because she did most of the work herself.
We're both doing well now. Breastfeeding is going well except for a shallow latch that I think we've made some improvement with. The after pains are so much worse with the second pregnancy, though. DH and I are thrilled and are so in love with our little girl. Most of all, we are glad that we all made it to the hospital and through labor and delivery safely.
Here she is! 8 lbs, 9 oz, 20" long. Born at 40w 2d on 1/27/15 at 6:32 pm.
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