Duke is here! -- Birth story (the tale of a glorious induction)

Ju111310 · January 2016

I went in for my weekly checkup on Tuesday at 37&3. I was disappointed that I hadn't made much progress from the previous week, cervix was at 3.5 cm & 80% effaced. But my BP had jumped from my normal 110s/70s to 150/100. No protein in my urine, vision changes, swelling, etc to indicate pre-e but my OB suggested that we go ahead and induce at 38 weeks just to be safe since my cervix was favorable. DS1 was born at 38 weeks via spontaneous vaginal delivery so an induction was new and scary to me.

I was terrified about an induction leading to a C section. I almost called her and backed out on Thursday. But then I lost my plug and had a lot of contractions throughout the day & as ridiculous as it sounds, that just calmed my fears about a failed induction leading to C/S.

So me & DH arrived at the hospital at 5 am this morning. They checked me at 4 cm and still 80% effaced. By 6 I had my IV in, labs drawn, fluids going and Pitocin started. I told them I wanted my epidural ASAP so anesthesia was there and had it done by 715 before my contractions even got painful. One stick, minor discomfort, wonderfully successful. I could still move my legs, feel my butt & contractions just without pain. By 845 I was at 6 cm so OB stopped by and broke my water. I was complete at 10 am & labored down for 30 mins while I waited for my OB to arrive. I could feel the pressure to push and the contractions, just pain-less (this was not the experience I had with my epidural with DS1). 5 Pushes and 15 mins later at 1045 am our big boy was born! Duke weighed in at 8 Lbs 11 oz & 21 inches long. He had a tight nuchal cord so I'm very thankful that he was able to tolerate labor and delivery without difficulty. I had no tears or episiotomy, I'm still in shock about how smooth it all went! We did immediate skin-to-skin for the next two hours and he latched right on and nursed like a champ! Thanks for reading my novel