July 2018 Moms
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July Birth Stories
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Post your the story of your little one's birth here! We are all excited to hear all about it!
PLEASE DO NOT POST COMMENTS ON THIS THREAD, ONLY BIRTH STORIES. That way we don't get falsely excited for new stories and come back to a bunch of congrats and questions.
CONGRATS OR QUESTIONS ABOUT BIRTH CAN BE LEFT IN A DIFFERENT THREAD, SUCH AS "RANDOMS" OR OTHER CHECK IN THREADS.
PLEASE DO NOT POST COMMENTS ON THIS THREAD, ONLY BIRTH STORIES. That way we don't get falsely excited for new stories and come back to a bunch of congrats and questions.
CONGRATS OR QUESTIONS ABOUT BIRTH CAN BE LEFT IN A DIFFERENT THREAD, SUCH AS "RANDOMS" OR OTHER CHECK IN THREADS.
Re: July Birth Stories
On Wednesday, June 6th, I went to my final appt. with my OB, I was scheduled for c-section on June 12th. My blood pressure was pretty high so they had me lay down on my side for a retest, they had a medical student check it the 2nd time and I could tell she couldn't get the cuff on right and said it was miraculously down to 120/80. I had been feeling crappy for 2 weeks with stomach pain, shortness of breath, dizziness, etc. I mentioned it to my doctor but he wasn't very concerned and sent me home. Luckily, Thursday I got a call from the hospital saying they needed to do a retest on my blood for the blood disorder I have, but their policy is to also monitor bp and do NST. My bp was high and kept raising higher. My doctor was out of town but the on call doctor admitted me and tried to bring down my bp with magnesium, with the intention of waiting to do my c section until the next day so that they could give me a clotting agent for my blood disorder. My blood levels didn't get any better and I was informed that I wouldn't be allowed to be awake or have anyone in the room with me during c-section. It was really scary and as I was strapped to the table I was seriously wondering if I would make it out alive or if River would but when I woke up, my mom was holding River and I got to see his sweet little face for the first time. They immediately handed him to me for skin to skin contact. The OR nurses said that somehow River had turned breech since my last ultrasound on Tuesday and that he didn't want to come out lol. It took them a minute to get him breathing but once they did, he did really well and has passed all of the tests so far with flying colors. So his official birthday is 6/8/2018, 37 weeks 5 days. He was the exact length and weight I was as a baby; 7 lb 15 oz, 21 inches!
Thank you to all of the ladies that encouraged me throughout this pregnancy. Coming back to California was one of the best decisions I've made as we've had wonderful doctors and the support of my friends and family. I never would have come back if it wasn't for some of the women on here. Also, kudos to second time moms. This c-section has me thinking I'm an only child's mama
We started pitocin at around 5:30 pm; at this point I was still around 3.5 cm dilated, which I'd been since Tuesday. After a few hours on the IV, and sitting on a ball, I was slowly, slowly progressing. My midwife wanted to keep things slow, since I had extra amniotic fluid, and she didn't want to break it until baby had descended far enough to stay down once my water broke, and also avoid a possible cord prolapse. The problem is that the extra fluid also makes my contractions less effective. However, by about 12:30 am, in the middle of a set of contractions that were requiring some focused breathing with my midwife by my side, my eyes popped open--my water actually broke on it's own. (This is my third baby, and the first time that's happened!) Things moved slightly faster after that.
I asked for IV pain meds at around 3:30 or so when the contractions became more than I could handle through breathing. They gave me Stadol, which really only seemed to make me sleepy; my husband was slightly amused that I would put his hand in a death grip during a contraction, and literally be snoring as soon as the contraction was over. This went on for about an hour until I felt like I needed to push; I was only at 9 cm, but my midwife said I could push through if I wanted. I tried to deliver on my side, but baby's head wasn't coming down enough, so onto my back I went. This, oddly, seemed better for him. He was facing neither up nor down, but sideways, so once his head was in the birth canal, my midwife had to start turning him. Amazingly, he was out with about 4 contractions worth of pushing, all 9 lbs 3 oz of him. While I managed not to tear, he did end up with a fractured left clavicle, and some fluid in his lungs. They were able to do the basic exam while he was on my abdomen and we waited for the cord to stop pulsing, (he was crying, but also making noises that cued them to the fact that he had breathed in some fluid) then they brought in NICU to suction him. Thankfully, that was all the intervention he required, and they brought him right back to me for some skin to skin time.
We're home now, and his shoulder is a bit better every day. I'd forgotten how much I hated the after birth cramping; unfortunately, it really is worse the third time around. Motrin is my new best friend, as is lots of water and lots of peeing. Now to settle in to a routine of naps, pumping, bottles, and watching my big boys love on their new little man.
~~Wife to one amazing man~~
~~Mama to 3 crazy boys~~
~~Wrangler of 2 cats~~
So we arrived at the hospital a little before 6am. I got my labs done and and iv placed (after three failed attempts and one blown vein resulting in a huge bruise). Everyone was so comforting and kind. I got prepped and walked into the OR and was really nervous. My OB held my hand as I got the spinal placed. She is seriously the best. Once I was prepped and draped they brought my husband in and he sat right next to me and held mh hand. I had not even realized they had started so that was a positive. She born about 7 minutes later, coming into the world screaming. I burst into tears immediately upon hearing her cry. What an amazing thing to witness her entering the world.
Once she was brought to the warmer the nurse showed us her cord. Which looked good but had TWO complete knots in different places but thankfully loose. They said if I had tried for a vbac it would have ended in an emergency c section in the best case scenario but could have been so much worse. I did get sick a few times during the second part of the surgery but my anesthesia nurse was amazing and he immediately gave me zofran and suggested pain meds which he started early when he could tell I was feeling really uncomfortable during the surgery.
She is beautiful stork bite and all. we are so incredibly in love. She is latching really well which was a struggle for me with dd. They are paying close attention to my supply and helping me so much. I am so so grateful for such a caring and comforting dr, and nursing staff.
I was scheduled on 6/21 at 10am to be induced. Due to a diagnosis of Oligohydramnios (low amniotic fluid). My fluid was at a 3 after my weekly BPP test on 6/19, (normal is 6-25) so they gave me two steroid shots and scheduled my induction.
Its been so nice to meet you all ans bump with you!! Good luck and safe and speedy births to you all!!!!
I had a normal appointment Friday (6/22). I was already monitoring my BP at home after a 24 urine sample came back with elevated proteins earlier in the week. At that point my BP was still normal I had only had one borderline reading at home and my urine was negative for protein. My dr told me she thought I was developing pre-eclampsia and that I would have appointments twice a week and to keep taking my BP at home twice a day. I was also 3cm (from completely closed the week before). DH was playing in a softball tourney over the weekend (and ended up blowing out his knee - but that's a whole different story!). I was out and about and in the heat all weekend and Sunday evening my BP was elevated so I ended up in L&D for monitoring. Urine came back negative for protein and baby was perfect so I was discharged on bedrest.
Monday morning (6/25) I called my dr's nurse line knowing she was out just to update her and check if they wanted me to be seen sooner or just stay on bedrest. The on call dr had me come in for what I thought would just be a quick lab and BP check. My urine was still negative, BP was still elevated, platelets had started to drop, and I was 4cm. My dr was consulted and she made the call to induce me that day! I didn't get to go home, so luckily I had my hospital bag packed and in the car but DH had nothing!
Checked into the hospital around 1pm and got the IV and everything ready just waiting for the orders. The on call dr came in and went over the plan. First cervix check I was at 5cm (before starting any interventions!). Around 2pm I was started on magnesium to reduce seizure risk for my elevated bp, then I did the first round of antibiotics (GBS positive). When they broke my water around 3pm I was already 6cm! Everybody was amazed I was progressing on my own (I think he would have come this week even without the induction). Because of this i refused the pitocin (or rather asked to wait).
I didn't feel much for the first couple hours even though I was contracting and progressing. Around 5:30/6 the contractions became painful so I requested an epidural which I got around 6:30pm. After that I was still feeling a ton of pressure and changed positions a couple times before having them check me again. I was 9.5 with just a sliver left. What seemed like just a couple minutes later a new nurse came in and said she thought it was time to push. I pushed through 2 contractions and he was crowning so they called the dr in - not pushing while waiting was almost as bad as pushing! Once the dr was there I pushed through 1.5 more contractions. Beckett made his arrival at 7:30pm! Just 4.5 hours after getting my water broke and 7lb 11oz after being estimated just over 6lbs a few days before. He stunned everyone! He has been the most perfect and healthy baby!
I had to be on magnesium for another 12 hours after delivery so it was great to be able to finally get up after being in bed 18+ hours! My BP finally came down the evening of 6/26 so we were discharged 6/27 and are now home as a family!
TTC December 2016
BFP 2/28/17 // CP 3/1/17
MFI Diagnosis: Aug 2017
BFP 11/1/17 // DS born 6/18
TTC January 2019
BFP 3/21/19 // D&C (MMC) 5/8/19
Despite getting SPD, developing severe diastasis early and having hemorrhoids for 2/3 of my pregnancy, I felt things went pretty well! until... week 31 when I learned baby was huge (head 93rd percentile & abdomen 90th); week 35 when I discovered my flaky high-risk Ob wasn’t high risk after all; and Week 36 when I learned the baby was breech. This all resulted in a general anesthesia CS at 38+1, which my OB didn’t hold back in harping on the risks to me bc of blood loss & ‘potentially catastrophic outcomes’ for me or baby (bc of increased trauma & bleeding from a CS when I don’t clot efficiently).
Leading up to yesterday’s procedure I was a mess. Like borderline catatonic. Completely terrified of the risks my Ob kept mentioning, and feeling helpless bc the hematologist said my condition is hereditary with no pre-emptive treatmenr options. Everyone who vaguely knows me and those who have the misfortune of riding beside me on the subway saw me meltdown the last 1.5 weeks!
For my CS yesterday (3 hours delayed bc of busy hospital), they had blood and platelets in the OR ready to go for a transfusion and my surgical team was 9 people, including 2 Obs and 2 anesthesiologists! While it’s still early bc of high complication risks of internal bleeding (and I have some weird uneven swelling and possibly worrisome symptoms today), I am beyond grateful to have woken up to my baby boy and DH. Baby as 8lb 3oz, and 90th percentile (I’m 5’6 and petite; husband 6’5”); not sire he’d have made it out on his own regardless! It’s been a bit of a rocky start to breastfeeding bc I didn’t see or hold my baby for almost 3 hours post CS & all hes wanted was sleep so far. Curious what today brings!
Thanks for all your support ladies. Even when I was just lurking, this community helped keep me sane and get through lots of ups downs this year!
ETA 2x bc in trying to be brief parts of this made no sense!
Between 6/23 & 6/24 we were at 2 outdoor parties and I had small headaches throughout the weekend. Sunday night i woke dreamt about a headache i was having it was that bad. When I woke up on 6/25 I knew it was going to be a rough day. I went about my normal routine DS to daycare and off to work. Around 11:45 i called my OB office because the headache was getting worse and I wanted to see if they wanted me to come in earlier than my 230 appointment. .We played phone tag so I just went to my appointment as normal, I told the nurse about the headache as she took me back for the usual checks,weight, BP and urine. when my OB came in i told her about the headache. My BP was elevated in the 140s/80s range. She told me "you earned a trip to triage, sign these consent forms in case we deliver you".
Fast forward an hour and we got settled into triage, I wasnt 100% sure we were going to be having a baby until the OB on all for my office walked in, she said they discussed my history. 1 prior high BP, with protein in urine and contracting so this time i was dubbed pre eclamptic and we were just gonna deliver the baby at 37 + 4. I was excited, DH looked like he was gonna pass out. we let our parents know. DS was with my mom, And then the ball got rolling. I was given 2 tylenol in hopes of avoiding magnesim(which was successful).
we walked over to the OR around 730pm and I Instantally started to get more nervous as soon as I walked in my legs were literally shaking. the anesthesiologist was amazing he explained how I was going to feel and what i was feeling, from there everyone dideverything they could to keep me calm and explain what was happening. My husband was brought in and at 804 PM my daughter was born. I started to feel nauseous and they took care of that right away. DH cut the cord(he wasnt allowed to do so with DS) and they stayed with me in the or until we moved to recovery.
Once in recovery we did skin to skin and she latchedimmediately. She has been nursing like a champ since.Its been a crazy week, but we are settling in as a family of 4 nicely.
Good luck on the rest of your pregnancies. cant wait to read your birth stories!
Edited because mobile didnt post the whole story... good times.
We had been on a cleaning spree all weekend and Monday. So a bunch of bending and carrying going on. Throughout Monday i kept seeing pieces of blood MP and discharge. Towards the end of the afternoon early evening i stated to notice more frequent and painful contractions but not too timeable. Around 7pm despite resting and drinking water my contractions were about 6/7 mins apart and 45s to 1 min long. By 9pm i called the nurse to see if i should come in since i also has the bloody stuff coming out. By this time my contractions were stronger and i was almost crying. We got so lucky that our sitter was willing to come stay at our home while DS slept. So we headed to L&D at 930pm. I was literally crying through contractions! I was disappointed to hear that i was only dilated to 2cm and 80% effaced. Unfortunately my ob was not on call so had to proceed with another for my c section. I am about disappointed with the doctor i got. All my wishes of making it a memorable moment went out the door because she didn’t do that stuff. So no light dimming, no clear curtain but i got my music and immediate skin to skin. Also got my tubal while in there.
Collin was born at midnight! And he looks like a smaller version of his brother. He’s doing well with nursing so far and is a very good sleeper! I’ll be leaving recovery soon. H will have to go home for a bit so DS doesn’t get weirded out without one of us when he wakes. We’ll also need to find someone to stay the night with DS Tuesday night because my parents don’t arrive till Wednesday morning.
I had to tell him of the possibility. We decided to let him take a shower and start actually counting in the next 15 minutes I had 4 more contractions. We decided to head to the hospital.
We arrived around 715- at this point my contractions were getting painful and hard to walk. They quickly put me in a room and saw I was 7cm and 90% effaced and her head was extremely low causing constant pain/pressure.
They said I was too far for regular meds but would have to wait for an epidural due to it being Sunday and they only had one anestiologist and he was down in trauma.... I wont lie I screamed,cried, and cursed for the next 2.5 hours... I was begging for meds or a c-section anything... the nurses and dr were honestly panicky and pissed that I couldn't be helped... that the hospital was so understaffed... finally at around 10:45/11am I recieved my epidural... immediately I felt no pain.. all gone... the checked me at that point I was ready to go... I pushed my daughter out in 3 contractions and can admit I felt nothing it was glorious at that point... she was born 11:22am 6lbs 14oz and 20.5 inches long- I love her so much- but i wont lie this labor was much more traumatic than my first...(where I felt no pain all day because of meds and epidural, but felt pain at the actual delivery because of the epidural wearing off) I hope that doesn't scare new moms- more of a lesson- dont wait or take your time if you want meds.
So I called my OB’s office after hours and was dismayed when they called the OB on call at the hospital and that person advised me to take a warm shower, drink plenty of fluids, and only call back once my contractions were five minutes apart. I argued with the nurse about it, and she said that if my contractions were still preventing me from sleeping after showering, etc. to call back and they would take me in for observation. Contractions still hurt, so at 3:30 am Saturday they let me go to triage.
Had a painful cervical check there and was dilated 2 cm. They wanted me to wait another couple of hours to determine whether I was in active labor, so they kept monitoring me through my painful contractions. Then the original OB who saw me left, and the new one thought I had dilated further, but wasn’t sure, so she wanted one more hour of observation before determining whether to proceed with the section. Finally after another hour she determined I was dilated at 4 cm, and let DH and I know to prepare to deliver shortly (fortunately we had brought our hospital bags with us!).
After another hour or so I was in the OR about to get my spinal. I was nervous about it because there was a woman in there barking orders to the anesthesiologist and nurses telling them to do things a certain way in a loud voice, so she was making everyone nervous, but there was just a little stinging with the lidocaine and a little pressure with the other needle (I spoke about my crazy cat with the nurse holding my hand).
The OB on call said they would talk me through the procedure as they were doing it, but this is where things get blurry, because I don’t remember them doing that. They brought DH in and I felt like I was having an out of body experience, I could barely feel any tugging. As they’re about to deliver the baby in what feels like only five minutes into the procedure, the anal woman yells “A LOT OF PRESSURE!” but I didn’t feel that much but knew the baby would be out in the world soon. Then I hear baby Mira’s first cries—she has a pair of lungs!—and I was so relieved. One of the surgical staff brings her behind the curtain so that DH and I can see her, and the staff person makes a joke, saying, “Boy, she certainly didn’t miss out on any snacks!” She looked beautiful and huge and ended up weighing 8 pounds, 6 ounces. DH cut her cord and held her by my head as they started patching me back together again. DH and Mira were made for each other—he immediately starts talking to her and cooing at her—and I cry a little bit.
I’m being discharged from the hospital tomorrow. I won’t lie, my recovery is a painful one, I’ll leave more details in the c-section thread soon. But it’s all so worth it for our beautiful baby girl, and I’m so glad we could welcome her into the world.
I was scheduled to be induced on Monday, July 2nd, at 6:00 am. (My due date.) My husband was with me the whole time. I got started out on the IV with Pitocin right away. They started it in low doses and raised it every half an hour. My cervix was checked and I was at about 4 cm when I first arrived. The plan was to start Pitocin, get regular/strong contractions, and then break my water around lunch time. I was told the epidural would be administered around the same time as my water breaking. But things almost never go according to plan, do they? The nurse asked me to switch from side to side in bed to see if different positions would get my body and the baby to make some progress in the right direction. I was definitely getting stronger contractions as the Pitocin was being increased, but then baby’s heart rate started dropping a little bit after each contraction. So they checked my cervix again and I was only at 5 cm. They turned down the Pitocin back to where we started so that we could give baby a break. Then they slowly increased it again after baby was showing a steady heart rate. The contractions dropped dramatically when they slowed down the Pitocin and never really got back to where they had been. I sat on a birthing ball and walked around the hallway to try to get baby down farther into my pelvis and help contractions do their job. My obgyn was there to deliver that day, but right before coming to break my water there was an emergency with one of her other patients. So I had to wait another couple hours for her to get back, meanwhile basically laying around with moderately easy contractions and wondering if I would ever get to deliver that same day. Well, my dr came back to break my water at about 3:20 pm, and it was a huge gush of warm amniotic fluid. I immediately started feeling really intense/excruciating contractions. I asked for the epidural seconds after having the water broken, but apparently the anesthesiologist literally just went home. Just my luck. So they called another anesthesiologist but they were 30 minutes away and told the nurses that there was traffic. It didn’t matter. I knew within 15 minutes that my contractions were too close and too painful anyway. There was no way on earth I would have enough time to get the epidural, let alone sit still long enough to have the needle put in. These contractions had me writhing in pain, and I could feel all of the pressure coming down. My husband was talking to me, telling me anything he could think of to help take my mind off the pain. I had made it to 7-8 cm about 20-30 minutes after my water broke, and my nurse was trying to have me roll over onto my hands and knees to relieve the pain. The contractions only got worse though and the pressure made me want to push. I stayed in that position for a little while because my nurse was massaging my lower back, but I knew if I didn’t turn over for my next contraction that the baby was coming out. I turned over onto my back and my dr was about to have me lay down to have my cervix checked. But I just said “I have to push, I’m sorry!” And then my body totally took over. So my dr said “okay, I guess we’re having a baby!” And my body just involuntary started pushing this baby out during my next contraction. I could feel the head move out, but my contraction stopped. I tried pushing on my own once, but nothing happened. The next contraction took over again and before I knew it, my baby had fully emerged. Someone said “Do you want to say what it is?” And my husband said “It’s a boy!” They laid our baby boy on my chest for the next hour while they had me deliver the placenta and they stitched up a little tear from pushing. He latched on to my breast pretty quickly. We named him Hunter, and he was a whopping 8 lbs 14 oz! I still can’t believe how quickly he was delivered after my water broke, or how crazy-different the delivery feels compared to when I had an epidural for my previous birth. I’m so thankful Hunter is finally here and his daddy got to be present for the birth.
For two weeks I had been woken up almost nightly with timetable, uncomfortable contractions that fizzled away. My 1st came a week early, as my due date with this LO came and went, I got extremely frustrated.
On 40+3 I woke up around midnight to mild contractions and had to pee. I went back to bed, didn’t bother timing them because I was so tired. I woke up to a small gush in bed at 1am, thought for a second I peed myself, made it to the bathroom before I had another gush and some MP. By then I knew my water had broken. I switched over a load of laundry and the floodgates opened and I lost a lot more AF. I called my mom and sister, my sister started her way over to my house to stay until DS woke up. Then I woke up DH. He went back to bed (must be nice).
I had somewhat painful contractions ranging from 2-6 min apart, we decided to go into l&d around 5 because my last labor was so fast, even though I wasn’t terribly in pain. I got checked and was only 4cm+70%, not much progress from the 3cm+70% I had been for two weeks. We walked to breakfast at the cafeteria and came back an hour later, by then contractions had picked up and I decided I didn’t want to do this without drugs again. Checked around 8, I was 6+80%. I signed the consent for nitrous gas like I had last time and preemptively signed the consent for an epidural should I decide the gas wasn’t enough.
I got admitted, got the gas as soon as I got settled but it didn’t help other than make me dizzy. Within 15 minutes I asked for an epidural- by now contractions were almost 2 min apart, almost back to back but I hadn’t been checked since triage- it had only been half an hour or so. They made two attempts at an epidural, first was wonky and my ears were ringing, second only took to my left side. By the time they finished attempt #2 and had me lay on my side to try and disperse the medication, they realized that the catheter had started coming out, so I felt everything on the right, and 50% or so on the left. I wish I skipped the epi all together, in the end it was more painful sitting for the procedure with how long it took for how much relief I got from it. They offered me some spinal block or to retry the epi, but wanted to check me first.
By then it was 9:50. And what do you know, baby’s head was right there and ready to go! In a haze I asked him what that meant, how many cm was I? To that he said you’re having a baby it’s time to push! I told them I couldn’t do that because I hurt too much to move lol.
The l&d nurse promised me I wouldn’t have to push for 2.5 hours like I did with DS. She was right, not even 5 contractions later baby Fiona entered the world. It was the most amazing moment, DH, LO and I all cried. She is 7lbs 9oz, 19.5in- smaller than her big brother was, even though she came a week an a half later, now I see why she took her time!
LO was rooting almost immediately, and latched as soon as I could get a good position after delivering the placenta and getting stitched up (got away with a 1st degree tear this time). She nursed for almost an hour before they weighed her and began working on her, then we went to the pp room. She’s so precious, I’m still in awe that she’s ours and we get to bring her home. DS met her this afternoon and was such a sweetheart, I can’t wait to see what a great big brother he’s going to be.
I let my Dr do a cervix check the first time on 7/2 & was 2cm, +2, posterior cervix. I lost a big hunk of MP the morning of 7/4 and more on 7/5 throughout the day, but was still just feeling ‘crampy’ so I didn’t know what to think. My doula was convinced baby would come soon & had me make one last chiro appt for morning of 7/6.
The evening of 7/5 I was going to bed around 9:30 and noticed some more intense cramps. Around 11:30 I woke up and noticed they were consistently every 10 mins, but still felt more like cramps, not what I’d imagined contractions to feel like. I dozed in and out the next couple hours, thinking if it didn’t get any worse I’d still plan to go to my chiro appt in the morning
I was at 37 weeks when I went to the doctor and found out I was 2 cm dilated and ‘thinning out’. The baby had dropped by then – along with it, a new set of complications. First, naturally, was lightning crotch, a jolt of pain. Then, contractions. Fake ones, real ones, steady ones, not so steady ones. Nightime insomnia, and to throw it in there, I was working with a fake-it-til-you-make-it smile. I had a really good support group at work, though, and I can’t complain too much about it.
I lasted another 9 days like that. I thought each new day was going to be the day, but any serious contractions eventually fizzled. I went to my scheduled doctor’s appointment. He did the normal tests, and after 9 days of the contractions, they turned out to not be doing too much. I was still only 2 cm dilated. I did have high blood pressure, that he confirmed twice (once at the beginning of the appointment, another at the end after some calming alone time). He told me then to head to the hospital. He was going to put me on Cervidil for the night, meet up with me in the morning, and start the Pitocin.
DH met me at the house. We ate a dinner. Then checked into the hospital. Compared to my last pregnancy, it’s a pretty large and beautiful hospital. I was given a room immediately, and within the hour, the nurse gave me the Cervidil. I didn’t know what to expect with it, so I was a little un-prepared. There were two parts to the medication. The first one is placement, which feels like a dilation check (only worse), and the second one is like a tampon feeling contraption. After insertion, I had to laid down flat on my back for two hours. That part was harder than it sounds. Since the baby was lying on a nerve, I had spikes shooting down my body and they wouldn’t let me shift to one hip. Once the two hours were up, I felt totally different. My outer vag felt more swollen and heavier than anything I’ve experienced – almost like it was beaten/bruised. I also started feeling heavy period cramps. Contractions happened consistently, but they weren’t as painful as the ones I experienced at home (not yet…)
Over the night, I may have gotten 2 or 3 hours of sleep. I wish I would’ve packed pillows from home. The discomfort from the Cervidil wasn’t so bad, but there was a combination of things preventing me from sleeping – mainly cords, beeping monitors, and not being in my own ridiculously comfy bed.
The next morning, around 8 AM, they started on the Pitocin/Oxycotin. I was barely 3 cm dilated by this point, and the effects of the Cervidil (mainly the super swelling) was gone. The Pitocin drip got the contractions going stronger and more frequent. Not unbearable pain. They continued to increase the amount of Pitocen every 30 minutes, but it didn’t see the change how strong the contractions were. At 2 PM, I dilated to 4 cm. Still played the waiting game. By 6 PM, my contractions felt weaker than they did at 10 AM despite going from about 8 milliunits per minute to 28. Also at 6 PM I noticed a little blood when I went to the bathroom. By this point, I’ve only been allowed ice chips. I’ve officially been at the hospital for 24 hours. I’m hungry, but surprisingly not grumpy. Despite how different my pregnancy was with my first son and this son, I can’t help but laugh at how similar the laboring experience has been up to this point.
They talked about breaking my water since 2 PM, and I’m not sure why we didn’t move forward with breaking my water then. I’m not in a hurry though, and I worry that if we push things too quickly, it could be harmful for the baby. At 6:25 PM, they broke my water. It was surprisingly soothing, and contractions started coming on harder. A lot harder.
I hit 7 cm around 10:30 PM, and I got my epidural then. The epidural was incredible. All my pain was gone immediately. I was able to talk and converse with the people in my room (my mom actually came! I didn’t think she would, but she did).
Around 12:30 AM on the 7th, I was fully dilated. The baby was still higher than they thought it would be and I didn’t really have the ‘urge’ to push. I always thought it was weird how you could have no pain what-so-ever, but you still felt the overwhelming need to push. The nurse wanted to see if we should get the doctor or wait for the urge, and asked me to push through the next contraction. I did. She got the doctor and everything blurred. I pushed with each contraction, and with this being my second child, the pushing came much, much easier for me. At 1:09 AM, Clyde Alexander was born – all screaming 8 pounds 5 ounces of him. The placenta came soon after, and I cradled my new little love. I had a 2nd degree tear. There’s such a difference in pain between my first son, which was a 3rd degree tear, and my second son.
By 6:00 AM, I was feeling more and more pain and we began making laps around the hospital. We got moved to a labor and delivery room and they soon started an epidural. I had a very difficult time getting cervical checks and they thought an earlier epidural would put me at ease. I was soooo happy to get the epidural and, honestly, thought it was less painful and easier for me to get than the initial IV. I had felt a lot of anxiety over the needle and thinking about holding still, but looking back on it, it was one of the easiest parts. They eventually started Pitocin and broke my water. I only progressed to 3 cm, and the doctor who checked next said I could be between 2 and 4 again.
In the late afternoon, they noticed that baby's heart rate would drop after contractions. We tried changing positions many times. By 10:00 PM, the doctor made the decision to do an emergency C-section. I thought I would be a lot more anxious and scared, but I tried to remain steady and calm. They let my husband stay with me the whole time. I am so glad that he and the nurses advocated for that because they often have the father stay out while they prep the mother in the operating room. My husband was (and continues to be) an amazing support. By the time I got into the operating room, it was nearly 11:00 and they were speedy to get baby Benjamin out. That felt like 5 minutes. His cord was around his neck, so I am so glad they did the C-section and got him out safely. We were able to do skin-to-skin as soon as he got out and he rested on me while they closed me up. That was the long part!
After getting out of surgery, Benjamin was able to nurse for a whole hour. I was so happy that he latched quickly, it was one of my biggest concerns when I found out he would be delivered C-section style. We got almost a whole day with him and, then, began to notice he was breathing fast every now and then. After a couple checks, he ended up going for a chest x-ray and bloodwork. There was some fluid in his lung and they can't rule out pneumonia, but it could also be amniotic fluid. They decided to move Benjamin to the NICU. He has had a couple events were he wouldn't breathe. We love him so much and are both trying to keep positive for Benjamin. He was able to nurse for an hour and a half in the NICU just a bit ago and I feel like that is a really good thing. Any thoughts or prayers are welcome. We are praying his health is getting better and we'll be able to take him home soon. It is so hard to be patient and we just want to hold him and love on him. Being a mom is the best feeling ever and we love this boy like crazy.
Around 2p I started bouncing on a ball for contractions while watching Brooklyn 99 for some comic relief. We were kind of waiting for my sister to arrive at the airport at 7p. Around 3:30p or 4p I called the doctor to find out if not feeling her move much was normal, but the doctor said to come in right away. We got ready and waited for my neighbor to come over to watch the kids and took off.
I signed in to triage at 5:10p and baby sounded good on the monitor. My contractions continued to intensify, and I was about 6cm with bulging water, so they kept me.
By 6p I was in my L&D room and they let me continue to labor on my own, while calling anesthesia for the nitrous oxide, which took a while to show up and really didn't work, like I never felt drowsy at all. I did not get pitocin, and they didn't break my water until I was about 7/8cm. When they finally did it, I got up to 10cm with a lip within like 5 minutes.
Contractions were getting really hard and about 1-2 minutes apart but I stayed pretty alert and between them I was able to say polite things to the nurses and doctors and DH and they were all like, "wow, you're like the poster child for labor and being so sweet!"
Finally I was given the go ahead to start pushing if I felt like it and that was intense! I pushed her out in about 3 contractions with a nice 30sec break between them. Pushing her out without meds was crazy tho! Felt like the hugest poop ever, especially when they had to hold her still to unwrap the cord around her neck. I literally said, get her out! Then another hard push and out she came, all 7#10oz and lots of meconium in the fluids. DH accidentally saw the flood that came out after her but he seemed okay, and cut the cord. I did not tear, which is awesome and without the meds I feel great. I didn't want to get out of bed for a while tho...just needed a break.
She has dark hair like her brother did when he was born (but he is now light blonde). She is nursing well and has been super calm.
DH is currently trying to sleep in the dinky chair bed in our recovery room, but I suspect he won't make it all night before he wants to go home. He plans to go home in the morning to see the kids and bring them baby treats. He will bring them and my sister here to see the baby, and we will name her.
DD predicted July 14 and she was right!!
At 4 we settled into our room, the MFM came in and confirmed for me that he had spoken to L&D and insisted they get me in that day, as waiting until Monday was not an option (they don’t do inductions fri thru sun). Midwife came in, Checked my cervix and I was still 2cm. We discussed doing 12 hours (3 doses) of Cytotec orally. She told me to order food while we wait for the Cytotec since the nurses wouldn’t let me eat once we started it. I was continuously monitored all night on the Cytotec. There was a misunderstanding about continuous monitoring,
as the midwife told me it only had to be for 3 of the 4 hours I was on it, and the hospital nurse rudely informed me that this was not hospital policy and I was to be hooked up for the whole 12 hours. This was the first of two bad L&D nurses we had. I requested and got the only portable continuous monitor which was super important to me because I wanted to be able to walk around and get into/our of the shower and tub. I was told it was mine, which turned out to be a lie. More on that later.!
Cytotec gave me some decent contractions that were getting painful and close/regular, but never developed into active labor. They kept fizzling out on me. My H slept peacefully through the night (but of course complained to me about how uncomfortable his couch bed was in the morning) but I was pretty uncomfortable all night. Around 7 they took me off the monitor for an hour and told me to shower and order breakfast while we waited for the midwife to come check me. While we were waiting for our food another nurse came in and told me she needed to “borrow” the portable monitor and that I would need to share it. My new nurse came on and she was awful. When I asked her about why the monitor was taken from me, she said I lost priority to it when I was unhooked for the hour break and another mom claimed it! This was totally not what the midwife told me, she said once it was in my room it was mine. The nurse was nasty and said my midwife group needed to stop promosing their patients things the hospital couldn’t deliver on. Clearly there is tension between the hospital nurses and my midwives. So this set a sour tone for the day and I was really scared of being put on pitocin without the option of being mobile. I knew pit contractions would be intense and I’d need to be able to move around to deal with it.
The midwife finally came around 9 (an hour late, yay more waiting) and said I had dilated to 3 cm. I was bummed this meant we reallly should start pitocin to get things going. I lost it and had an emotional breakdown because of the loss of the portable monitor and needing to go on pit. The bad nurse kept asking when my doula was coming, which we had decided she’d stand by until active labor since it was just waiting around at that point. I felt she didn’t want to really deal with me so she wanted my doula there. Anyway the plan was to start 1 unit of pit and go up slowly. The nurse and midwofe left and more waiting....after 2 hours and me calling the nurses a few times plus my H physically going to ask for her, she finally came in at 11 and asked what I wanted. I said I thought we were starting pit, it’s been 2 hours and nothings happening. She said oh yeah I’m getting it now. Wtf? This was the beginning of this nurse neglecting me all day. I finally got hooked up to fluids and pit a little after 11, and the nurse wasn’t coming in to increase the dose at all. Nothing was happening, contractions were staying 5-7 mins apart and super weak, and it was clear the dosage needed to go up to do anything but again the nurse was just not doing a Dam thing. After 5 hours on pit I was only at 5 units and still nothing was happening. On the one hand I appreciate being slow and conservative with it, but on the other my body wasn’t going into labor and it all just felt like a huge waste of time. The doula finally came around 5:30 because my H finally called her and said I was having a tough time advocating for myself with the hospital staff and even though I wasn’t in active labor, we needed some emotional support. She came and really made all the difference. Also that horrible nurse left at 7pm and the new nurse made all the difference too. She was like girl, I’m going to put you into labor, dont even worry about it.
Around 6:30/7 my midwife came in with the portable monitor!! She talked to the woman who took it from me and convinced her to give it back. Yay! We went for a long walk around the floor with my H and doula and it was mentally amazing to get out of that room. When we got back my new amazing nurse noticed My IV got infiltrated, so the pit and fluids were going into my arm tissue and not my veins. Contractions were dying down. My arm and hand were super swollen. She fixed it and we had to restart pitocon at 1 unit (we’d gotten up to 9 over the course of 8 hours) but the nurse said it was good because stopping and restarting from 1 could push me into labor. She was in there like clockwork turning my dose up every 30-60 mins and she came through on her promise to get me into labor. I am convinced if the day nurse had done her job, my baby would have come a lot sooner than he did. The doula had me walking the floor, bouncing on the ball, rocking etc while we upped the pit and contractions were finally getting stronger and closer. At 11 pm the doula suggested we all try
to rest since things would be picking up and this was our chance to get some sleep. The second I settled into bed and the doula was sticking pillows between my legs, I felt a gush. My water had broken! No rest after all!
The midwife checked me for the first time since 9am and I was 4 cm. She confirmed my water broke and it was starting to flood me from her reaching in there. Contractions were picking up now and we decided to walk some more to keep things going. I was having to stop and breathe through tough contractions. I labored for 4 hours with my H and doula, and I was handling the really intense painful contractions pretty well. I was getting 2-3 minute breaks and was feeling like I could do this. Then around 3:30am things changed. My pit was up to 14 units at that point (max my hospital/midwife goes to is 20, so this was pretty high), and contractions were coming sometimes 2 mins apart but sometimes 30 seconds apart. I was getting no relief and no break. We tried the shower which helped a lot but the monitor kept losing the heartbeat and the nurse had to make us get out. Next the midwife decided to check me again and I was still a 4! She could see things were getting intense, and helped us get into the tub and figure out how to keep the heart rate on the monitor without losing the signal. After 20 mins of laboring in the tub, I realized I couldn’t do this anymore. I thought I had to be in transition because I literally couldn’t go on and felt like I was going to die with every contraction. I also wasn’t getting the relief I needed from the tub and I knew this was our last trick for dealing with pain. I started begging for the epidural and my doula and H were doing their best to be supportive and steer me away from it since they knew it was my goal to avoid it. At that point I honestly didn’t care. I neber could have imagined the pain I was in and I decided if I wasn’t close to 10 cm i was getting it. I was screaming and cursing through every contraction and begging for the epi. I sat on the toilet threw a few contractions and thought the baby was coming but then I ended up pooping. While my H held my hands and tried to tell me not to get the epi. First time pooping in front of him and I didn’t care at all haha. I was screaming at him that I was getting it and he better support me dammit. It was all very dramatic and movie like lol.
The doula went and got my midwife and got me into bed. I was shaking uncontrollably, from the intense labor and hormones. I screamed through some more contractions in bed and demanded the epidural with every break. The midwife came and asked if she should check me, I told her if I wasn’t 9cm I was getting the epi, so she checked me. I was 5cm. That was it, at that point I knew beyond a doubt there was no way my body could relax and dilate 5
more cm in this pain and I wouldn’t make it through hours and hours of this to get to 10. So they called the anesthesiologist and those contractions waiting for him were pure torture. He came pretty quickly and got to work. He missed on the first try and I was screaming through the worst contractions of my life plus his needle hitting a nerve in my back and sending shooting nerve pain all over my back and leg. At the same time. I was telling the nurse I was dying as she tried to hold me still. Finally, it was in and they layed me down. Instant relief. I was shaking beyond control but pain was subside. I was delirious. My right side was totally numb and left was still feeling contractions so I lied on my left side to try to even it out and we all went to sleep. It was around 4am. I was waking up every 2 mins with contractions on my left side which were painful but bearable. The nurse kept coming in and telling Me to push the button to increase the dose. She assured me I was nowhere close to pushing so I had time to let the numbness wearoff before pushing. Then a little before 6, the midwife came in and asked to check me. I was so confused because she had Checked me at 4 and I was only 5 cm. She said she could see from the monitor that the baby was being squeezed down and she had a feeling she needed to check me. Sure enough I was 10 cm and baby had finally dropped to 0 station. it was time to push! I told her I couldn’t, my legs were too numb. She said we’d try a couple practice and if I couldn’t push effectively we could wait a little. Well after a couple practice pushes she said I was pushing really effectively so let’s do this. I pushed for 15 mins and he was out! Only a tiny skid mark that needed one stitch, which I think was partly due to my midwife massaging my perineum between pushes. Baby went straight on my chest and after some stimulation he was crying. Boy was I relieved since my first came out not breathing. His cord was wrapped twice around his neck, and I now glad I got the epi so my body could relax and dilate and get him out before anything bad Happened.
We did skin to skin, delayed cord clamping, and then H cut the cord. Owen had some fluid that needed to be suctioned and they wanted to get his Apgar up so they took him to the warmer for a few mins. Then he came back to me and we did skin to skin for 2 more hours. He nursed within 30 mins. They checked his blood sugar for the first 12 hours and he did great. No more checking now, he passed! He’s nursing great, latching every few hours and doing so well. He’s had 5 meconium poops and 3 wet diapers already in his 18 hours. (First poop was right after he was born as soon as he was placed on my chest haha).
So far I feel pretty good about my labor and delivery. It wasnt what I wanted but I feel like I did everything i could and advocated for myself. My doula said I was the best epidural pusher she has ever seen lol. The midwife said my body was in such intense labor when I got the epi, which explains why the pain was completely unbearable, and that really only came To light how hard my body was working once we saw how fast I dilated. Now that i typed out that incredibly long novel (thanks for reading if you got this far!) I am going to try to let it all go and focus on my new baby and my family of 4 ❤️
I gathered the last few things for my hospital bag, put on some Depends (highly, highly recommend if your waters broken and you don’t want wet pants by the time you get to the hospital). Got triaged, started IV antibiotics for GBS and settled into my room. At that point I was having inconsistent mild contractions so they had me start walking the halls to see if we could move things along. Within a few hours contractions were picking up and getting more intense so I asked for the epidural and got it around midnight. I was at 2-3cm and 50% effaced but because my contractions were coming so close together they didn’t want to give me any pit yet (I was having 6 in 10 minutes!). I made it to 5cm and fully effaced once the epi was in and I could relax and then stalled there for about 2 hours. I did spike a fever, which baby did not like so she was pretty tachy for a while as they tried to get my temp down. We started pit and increased it to 6ml/hr and that was all I needed to get the rest of the way!
By 730am I was complete except for a lip the OB was able to stretch out of the way so we started some practice pushing since I was feeling pressure with each contraction. Of course the OB was done at 8, so they did a quick handover at my bedside and the new guy stepped in with his resident. About this point Summer was having some pretty significant decels with each push that she was struggling a bit to recover from so we started talking assisted delivery. After a few more pushes we agreed on forceps with episiotomy to help her along. Lucky (unlucky?) for me, the tv mounted in the room gave me a perfectly reflected view of everything going on so that was an interesting experience. OB got the forceps into place and on the next contraction we got her out in four pushes at 0834. I could not believe how massive she was! They put her right up on my chest to towel her off while the OB delivered my placenta and started stitching me back together.
Within a few minutes I got very light headed and nauseous as my blood pressure bottomed out at 70/30 from blood loss. They pumped me full of 4L of fluid and I ended up getting a bag of iron because my hemoglobin had dropped to 81 from 128. We did skin to skin for a bit while the OB stitched, then they took her to weigh and measure and otherwise check out (we had NICU RN, pediatrician, the whole team there because of my fever and her decels) while they stabilized me a bit more. They gave her back to me once I was not in danger of passing out anymore and she latched and fed for almost an hour while the OB finished up (the episiotomy didn’t work as well as he wanted so I ended up with a 2nd degree tear too) but so far recovery hasn’t been too bad! She is such an amazing baby, she’s feeding super well and sleeps amazing inbetween feeds. She even gave me a five hour stretch last night after cluster feeding for a couple hours!
we almost lost her...
I came in for my csection which was set for 7:30 am. They had my belly hooked to a heart monitor to observe her prior to surgery. The anesthesiologist came in to discuss the procedure and while she was talking, the baby's heart rate dropped to 50 and wouldn't go up. The nurses unhooked me and ran my bed to the OR. They didn't have time to do the spinal, so they started getting ready to put me under general anesthesia. They had to shove the tube down my throat and actually started cutting before I went under because there was no time to wait...
I found out when I woke up that she was blue in color and wasn't breathing. They got her breathing and put her on machines to help. She stabilized and I woke up shortly after. I was in the worst pain I have ever experienced, it made my first labor and csection with the failed epidural like a walk in the park. They hooked me up to morphine and got the pain under control, and now everyone is doing great.
The doctors said nothing was an apparent cause, ie, no cord around her neck or anything. Their best guess is that she was pinching off the cord by having her head pressed up against the cord and my bones.
Everything is fine now, but if we hadn't been hooked to the monitors when we were, the outcome would have been much worse.... I can't believe how incredibly lucky we are.
This may need a trigger warning if you have not yet had your baby.
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I was scheduled for induction for 7/16 at 7:15 pm. Pulling into the hospital, we were having a conversation about how some women only push twice and baby is here and I said that would never be me. Haha. Once we got up to the room and settled in, the residents checked me and I was 4cm. I had been having contractions most of the day and they were registering 2-4 minutes apart but then went to 2-3 minutes apart. They weren’t really painful at all. They started the pitocin at 11pm at 2 out of 20 and wanted to get me to 10 before breaking my water. For about an hour we talked about starting the epidural but I was hesitant because I wasn’t really feeling any pain... yet. After she upped my pitocin twice (to 6), I just decided to do it before things got bad and it was difficult to sit still. After getting the epidural, I laid on my side with the peanut ball for a while. The nurse walked in to see how I was doing and by the time she got to the other side of the room I felt a “pop” and my water had broken. At first I wasn’t 100% sure because it felt like I was just peeing myself but it was definitely my water. And I may have also been peeing myself. The nurse checked me and I was 7cm dilated. They had to turn down the pitocin because I was having too many contractions at that point. I had also started feeling contractions again so the anesthesiologist came in and upped the epidural. It didn’t help at all and contractions continued to get more and more painful. At this point it was probably like 1am. The anesthesiologist came in again around 2:15-2:30 to up the epidural and it helped calm me down for a very little bit but things just got more and more painful. The nurses then had to catheterize me to empty my bladder so it wouldn’t rupture while I was pushing. I felt it all. It took them 2 tries because baby was so low so the second time they had to simultaneously push him up while inserting the catheter. I was 10 cm dilated and ready to push by the time they were finished. It was probably around 3am. It was also found that I had a swollen cervical lip from my body starting to push on it’s own prematurely. I screamed through contractions for like 15 minutes. It was primal and terrible. The doctor just kept telling me I needed to calm down and push but I was so worked up at that point I physically couldn’t calm myself. I couldn’t breathe and started turning blue. My epidural had completely failed. Finally, the constant contraction I had been having let up and I was able to catch my breath. My next contraction I pushed with all my might and got his head out. I stopped for a second and gave it another push and out came the rest of him. Despite feeling what felt like my urethra splitting in 2, I didn’t end up tearing at all. And I got him out on one contraction in 2 pushes. Traumatizing is kind of an understatement. I think I can honestly say it was one of the worst experiences in my life. Hats off to anyone who wants to try that, but it was not on my bucket list at all. They laid the baby on my chest and I was still having contractions and actually told them “I don’t want him”, and I didn’t do skin to skin until the placenta had passed and the contractions stopped. He started nursing about an hour later and had been doing so good ever since. He is worth the horrible experience, but really makes me consider having any more. I’m not sure I could do that again.
Trigger Warning: Severe Hemorhaging
Also, sorry for the super long story. I am long-winded lol
Let me start by telling you what my birth plan was and WHY it was that way. My plan was to spontaneously go into labor at some point by or before 42 weeks. I was in no rush. I was enjoying being pregnant even though it was a million degrees with no AC lol I wanted a natural childbirth with no medical interventions (unless there was an emergency of some sort). The reason I wanted this birth was because when I was pregnant with my son (I had him in 2015) I had a myriad of problems. I was in and out of the hospital the entire pregnancy. Ultimately, at 38 weeks, my BP was consistently in the triple digits even with medication and there was protein present in my urine, leading to an induction for pre eclampsia. I was able to have a natural birth with him, however, I was on medicine/monitors/IVs the entire 17 hours of labor. I wasn’t even able to stand up out of bed to go to the bathroom. It was the hardest experience of my life and I was DETERMINED to never have a baby in that manner again.
All seemed to be going my way throughout the entire pregnancy this go around, leading me to believe my birth plan was within my grasp. I had started my second pregnancy 100 pounds lighter than I was with my son and in better shape than I was back in my military days. I had zero complications and zero complaints. The doctors saw me every 6 weeks to say hey and send me on my way. I had one ultrasound to check baby’s organs and that was it. I was gaining a TON of weight despite working out 6 days per week and eating healthy but my doctors and I chalked it up to how my body makes babies and I kept doin what I was doin.
Until week 36. That was the first time my doctor mentioned induction for fear of my BP spiking. She said we would address it later if it became an issue. Week 39, my second provider told me the induction was actually to prevent developing pre e for a second time. The longer my pregnancy continued, the higher the likelihood of pre e complications during labor and delivery. After talking to my husband we decided the safety of our second child was worth more than me having my spontaneous labor experience. I was scheduled to be induced two days later, on the 12th of July.
I was already 4cm dilated but baby was high so my hopes of just getting my water broken to get things moving were out the window. They recommended Cytotec to get things going. After that the plan was to break my water and see if my body would take over. I took the oral Cytotec (even though I preferred cervadil as they used it to induce me with my son and it worked beautifully for me by putting my body into full blown labor within an hour of its placement). The Cytotec did its job but baby was still too high so my water would not break when the doctor tried to do it manually. At this point he started pitocin which I was wanting to avoid at all costs. Still, the process was going and it was too late to stop it lol
We started pitocin and things got serious. It wasn’t hard and fast contractions as I expected but I was relying on my 2.5 year old, my husband, and the Trolls playlist to keep me in control and walking/bouncing around on the yoga ball. I did this for about 6 hours while the dosage was gradually increased. They never checked me to tell me “where I was at” and they never asked me if I wanted pain management. I also didn’t ask so I was at least sticking to my plan SO FAR. The doctor came in a little while later, induction had started at 7 am and at this point it was about 5 pm. He was able to break my water and omg there was SO MUCH AMNIOTIC FLUID. I felt SO GOOD afterwards. Until the first contraction hit. Oh man I was HURTING. I kept doing my breathing, walking, swaying, singing, trying to NOT succumb to the pain. After an hour and a half, I couldn’t stand the pain anymore and started crying telling my husband I was going to ask for an epidural. I said I “knew it was nowhere near time to push and I just couldn’t do this for another however many hours”. My nurse came in and tried talking to me but I was basically sitting and ignoring everyone, totally internalising because I was hurting.
At this point I sat on the bed and turned to lay on my side, almost in the fetal position. My body was telling me I needed to do something. I told the nurse I needed to push and since I sad it so calmly she said “it’s not time yet hun, we will let you know”. Well, my body knew what it needed to do lol I involuntarily started pushing. I was apologising and crying to my nurse AS I was pushing and she was calling for the doctor to hurry and trying to get the mesh panties off that I’d been laboring in because the baby’s head was pretty much out. Three solid pushes later, my baby’s head and right hand were out (she was born with her hand next to her face lol I think they called it a compound hand?). One more push and we found out that baby was a girl! That feeling of relief from the pain of transition was glorious. My nurse started apologising to me for not believing me that I needed to push. She said I was being way too quiet and calm to have been ready. Guess my internalising worked a little too well!
Anyway, Everything was great for about 5 minutes. Hubby cut the cord after a few minutes and the doctor started checking me for tears. I had no tears, everything seemed good to go until I started hemorhaging. I was still doing skin to skin when the doctor made it clear we were in a serious situation. My husband was right by my side as people were running around frantically trying to control my bleeding. My 2.5 year old must have known to stay chill because he sat on his chair watching a movie and didn’t make a sound or get in the way the entire time. I don’t even know what all happened because I was very it of it but ultimately, it was about 4 hours before I was pronounced stable. The entire time, though, I was in the perfect position to see the reflection of everything happening in the glass of a picture on the wall. There was so much blood. My doctor pretty much had his entire hand inside of me trying to stop or at least slow the bleeding. They started giving me blood clotting meds and who knows what else. I started reacting terribly to all the medications and was shaking uncontrollably and vomiting. After I was given to all clear, it was another 3 hours before I felt normal. I had my daughter at 6:47 pm but wasn’t allowed to stand up until midnight because I was still bleeding too badly.
I know that there is no way to avoid complications like this and there is no way to predict them but it was definitely the most terrifying thing that has ever happened to me and I NEVER want to go through something like this again. I am so grateful that I had such an amazing medical team taking care of me. All I can think about is “what if I’d had my spontaneous labor and not made it to the hospital in time”. I’m just glad that I never have to know the answer to that “what if”.
Kylie M.
Baby #1 Born 12.16.2015
Baby #2 Due 7.13.2018
I was scheduled for induction early on 7/13 but they warned me that if they were busy they’d delay me. I must have freaked myself out about not getting to go into the hospital because I woke up at almost 3 am with pretty intense contractions. I timed them from bed for a while before I didn’t want to lay down any more. They started off about 10 minutes apart but when I got up and walked around they were only about 2 minutes apart. I’d never been in labor before so I called into the hospital around 3:30. Heard from the on call doctor around 4 and she said to come on in. I was pretty uncomfortable at that point so we hustled and got out the door (luckily we took my kids to my in laws the night before last minute). We got to the hospital and I managed to get into a wheelchair so my DH could wheel me to the elevator. I thought I could probably walk up to L&D but I’m glad I didn’t because it would have taken forever. I got into a room right away and the nurses started getting me hooked up to the monitors and stuff. I didn’t want to lay down for them to find baby well so they did their best to find him with me sitting on the edge of the bed. They did a check and I was 7 cm already! They asked if I wanted and epidural and I said YESS! I was super lucky because although I needed to wait till I got blood work and fluid done there was an anesthesiologist in L&D. The nurses were fabulous at advocating for me and making sure I got my epi!
When the anesthesiologist came in, he scared my H into not wanting to be in the room for the procedure so he left for a bit and my nurse tried to help me stay in position (it’s so hard while you’re contracting!) Anesthesiologist finally got the epi placed and I was sooo much more comfortable around 6:30. H came back in and we relaxed for a while and decided on Lo’s middle name. Almost right away I could feel lots of pressure during a contraction but not the contraction itself. I told the nurse a bunch of times that I could feel it and she said “yeah, it’s probably not time yet, you’ll know when it’s time to push” so I kept it to myself for a while. Well after not too much longer I could tell that my body was trying to get this baby out so I told my H that he needed to go find a nurse. When they got back I got checked and was fully dilated with bulging waters. The doctor came in to break my water and then kind of all hell broke loose. My body started pushing right away so they got me into position to practice pushing. There were like 5 or 6 people in the room and they all watched my practice push and jumped back and told me to stop pushing and threw the bed apart and my doctor got her gown on in record speed and got my legs up on stirrups. Not even 20 minutes after my water broke little man launched into the world! I’m not sure If I had my epidural long enough or if it wasn’t placed well or what happened but I could feel every second of pushing and was pretty much crying because it hurt so bad. But I didn’t tear and baby is healthy! I was so amazed not only to go into labor on my own (on my due date!) but also how fast the whole thing went. It was the craziest morning of my life!
I woke up Tuesday morning (July 17) with mild contractions and when we got to the hospital and all hooked up they could see that I was having contractions already. They started me on pitocin to get things moving quicker and at 830am my OB came in to break my water.
She checked me and I was still only 2cm like I had been for a couple weeks, she broke my water but then kept digging (to put it gently) up there. When she stopped she said she was going to get an ultrasound machine because she wanted to check if those were suture marks she was feeling. Well lo and behold, she was feeling a butt. Baby girl was frank breech.
Since my water was already broke and since I had an anterior placenta this pregnancy there was no option for trying to turn DD so I could deliver vaginally so our planned induction turned into an unplanned c-section. I was terrified to say the least but they got me in right away (Not emergent just had a room ready) and baby girl was out by 9:58am!
Recovery has been tough because cause she couldn’t be with me for 2 hours afterwards and I’m still in the hospital for pain and DD losing too much of her birth weight so I am struggling quite a bit. The positive is baby girl and I are healthy and happy and we should get to go home today!
We got into triage and they hooked me up to the monitor there and baby was doing fine at this point, thankfully! I was worried they would need to take me back for an emergency c-section or something and no one would be with my kids. The MFM came in and I was so happy to see this particular dr. because she’s awesome and she delivered my 2nd baby. There are a couple of MFMs in the practice that I don’t like so it was a huge relief that she was the dr. on call that day. She said that baby looked good now but they wanted to induce because they didn’t want that to happen again and she was safer out than in at this point (38+4). I agreed and they started to get me admitted. They placed the IV and and checked me and said I was 1cm and 50% effaced, and cervix was very soft. Which is what I had been since 36 weeks. I called DH to get the bags and come to the hospital and I called my Dad to come get the kids. After that cervical check I started having contractions on my own. The plan was to break my water and start a low dose of pitocin and see how things went. They wanted to break my water and make sure her cord wasn’t in the way rather than letting my water break on it’s own since I had a high fluid level. Which is likely what caused her to have the long decel during the NST (she compressed her cord). When I got to my L&D room at 10:00am the chief resident checked me and he said I was 2-3 cm and 60% and having contractions about every 10 mins. He tried breaking my water but couldn’t get to it at that point. My Dad showed up at about 10:45 to take the kids. Resident checked me again at 11:00 and said I was at 4cm and he was able to break my water this time. They started pitocin then as well. It was started at a 4 and they increased it a little every 30 mins. I think the highest it got was 14.
DH got there at 12:00 and I was feeling good still. I was feeling the contractions but they didn’t hurt. We walked the halls for awhile (with my giant diaper since my water had been broken). Then I was bouncing on the birth ball because I was feeling the contractions a little more and I had pain going down the back of my right leg. Bouncing on the ball helped a lot and around 2:00 I started getting more uncomfortable. My plan was to wait as long as I could to get the epidural because in my last two births I got it early and it wore off in transition. I told my nurse that I wanted to be checked and I would decide if I wanted the epi or if I would wait longer. Well it got really crazy in L&D as a couple women needed emergent c-sections and the woman in the room next to me was pushing. It was now 2:30 and no one had come in. I told DH to go tell them that I wanted the epidural for sure now and didn’t need them to check me first. They said they would let anesthesia know. At 3:00 I was moaning through contractions which were every 2 mins and feeling a lot of pressure. I feel like I was handling the pain well though despite how intense it was. Finally the nurse came in to check me and anesthesia got there too. She said I was 6-7 cm. I said “ok, I need my epidural now!” DH told them, “I can tell you this baby will be here in like 15 mins”. In my last two births, it went really quickly once I hit 7cm and he could tell by the way I was acting that it would likely be the same this time.
It was really difficult sitting still for the epidural but the nurse was holding my hands and talking me through it. I could feel my body trying to push and she recognized that and said I’m going to call Dr. Smith because I think this baby is going to be here very soon. I laid down on the bed and told the anesthesiologist that I didn’t feel any differently and the epi wasn’t working. I could move everything normally and didn’t feel numb at all. The Dr. came in and she check me and it really hurt so I knew the epi wasn’t working. She said I was 10cm and baby was right there. The anesthesiologist gave me another dose of meds in my epi line and that started working immediately.
I started pushing and could feel the burning sensation of her head crowning but it was definitely dulled compared to what it would be without meds. I pushed for 2 contractions and she was here! It was so crazy fast. My epidural was placed at 3:45 and the extra dose was given about 10 mins later. And then she was born at 4:03pm. The whole induction was 5 hours from when they broke my water and started pitocin at 11:00am. She was 6lbs 11 oz and 20 inches long.
I didn’t have any tearing and she latched on right away. She was actually trying to do the breast crawl which was so cool. My recovery has been amazing and I barely had any swelling (maybe because she came so quickly?). This was by far my favorite birth experience and I feel so proud of myself for going without the epi for so long (but thankful it worked for the pushing stage lol!). She is the perfect addition to our family and she definitely makes me feel like our family is complete.
Me (32) Dx PCOS, DH (32) SA = Normal/mild morph issues
TTC#5 July 2017 - 3rd cycle TTC = BFP on 11/12/17 at 9dpo Beta #1 = 96 at 13dpo - Beta #2 = 207 at 15dpo
3 rounds of Clomid + TI and 3 rounds of 7.5 mg Femara + IUI before our BFP on 11/8/10 at 12dpiui
TTC #2 3rd cycle of Femara 7.5mg+Ovidrel+TI = 4 follies = BFP on 10/12/12
TTC#3 July 2014 - Metformin +TI = BFP at 9dpo - Twins, one baby lost at 5.5 weeks
Macy Annabelle born at 37w4d on 4/29/15. Diagnosed with Cri du Chat and passed away on 6/6/15. Forever in our hearts.
TTC#4 3rd cycle of Metformin + Femara 7.5mg+Ovidrel+TI = 3 follies = BFP on 12/24/16
This is way overdue but here we go...
I had been feeling mild cramping since Sunday 7/8. After we were displaced out of our home due to the power outage from Friday 7/6 to Saturday 7/7 and it being 114 degrees, I figured it was just cramping and didn’t think much of it. We had been house hopping from our parents and it was just stressful. On Monday night 7/10, I still felt a lot of cramping and we took our dog for a walk and after I felt a bit off but went to bed on the couch like I had been doing the past week because it was the only place I could get comfortable.
I woke up at 4:30am on 7/10 to wet pants and at first wasn’t sure if it was sweat or I peed myself. So I went to the bathroom and noticed some pink tinge. I woke up my dh and we called the hospital and were told they didn’t have space for us and that we had to be diverted to a different location. Mind you, we were never warned this could happen. Our original hospital is 7 min drive from us and we were being told to go to the Hollywood location which could be a 30-45min drive depending on traffic. I was so upset and trying to keep it together since I knew I wouldn’t see any of the midwives, nurses or doctors I had been meeting with. I also had to remind my husband to pack his hospital bag. I had just made a list for him the night before of things we still needed to do. I hit 37 weeks on 7/10 so we thought we had at least a few more days to get things together. I also was still working since my job doesn’t allow you to go on maternity leave until 38 weeks. In the flurry of getting everything in the car, I realized we almost forgot the car seat! Our poor dog was so confused too and was just pacing around trying to leave with us.
Luckily there was no traffic yet at the time. I called my mom and she got dressed to meet us at the hospital. We got there about 5:30am. I was dilated 3cm and admitted quickly. We then just had to wait and see how far I could dilate without help from meds. But since my water broke we were told that we had to have him within 12 hours since you can develop an infection. The nurse let me order breakfast since I wasn’t on any meds yet. So I got French toast, walked around the hospital for a while and bounced on my ball. They couldn’t keep checking my cervix so it was kind of just a guessing game. The midwife on shift did some acupuncture on me to see if it would help speed things up naturally. She left the needles in for way too long and I was getting restless, she told me to keep them in for 10 more min but it ended up being like 45 min. When we asked where she was, they said she was at lunch! After she took the needles out, they suggested I order lunch. They didn’t want to check me again until 6pm. That was the longest stretch. I walked some more and my contractions were coming in a lot stronger and more painful. They suggested I take a warm shower so my dh and I went in and I sat in the water for almost an hour it felt like. At around 3pm I tried eating my lunch but the contractions were still bad. They then decided to give me pitocin which made my contractions that much worse. I also was a bit annoyed bc my dh’s family were in the room and I really only wanted my mom and dh there. I didn’t want an audience going through contractions. I tried my best to breathe through it but the contractions were still so bad. I was hanging on to the rail of my bed trying to work through them. Then around 6pm they checked me again and still only 3cm! I was delirious at that point and requested an epidural which I don’t regret at all. I should’ve gotten some sleep then but of course my dh’s family were all piled in my room. At one point there were literally almost ten people in the room and I wanted so badly to just have privacy.
Finally at 10pm I was checked again and was only 5cm dilated. They said it would take a while before I would need to start pushing, probably not before 6am. Our families decided to go home and my mom went home to shower and change and planned to be back around 5am. Her and my dh were the only ones I wanted in the delivery. But I developed an infection and a fever so I had to go on antibiotics and from 10pm-12am my nurse came in a couple of times because the baby’s heart rate was decreasing and she had me switch sides to see if it would help. The third time the doctors came in and checked me around 12:30am and I was 9 1/2 centimeters dilated. They also inserted the internal fetal monitor to keep better track of baby’s heart rate. I immediately had my dh call my mom to let her know the progress and that they expected I would start pushing around 2am. Luckily she had just showered and rushed back. At exactly 2am the nurse had me start pushing through contractions. I will say taking Pilates throughout my pregnancy helped some during pushing. I remembered to tilt my pelvis as I pushed and the nurse said that was helping a lot. The doctor came back to check my progress at 3am and thought we had another hour to go before I was ready but with more pelvic tilts and pushing we were ready 20min later. She paged the doctor and the team came in. It felt like out of a movie. There were three doctors and my nurse with me. A pediatric team on the side since I had a fever and infection and my mom and dh along with some other staff in the background. The doctor had me push a couple of times slowly and by 3:26am he was here. They laid him on my chest and we all burst into tears. I still remember that feeling of having so much pressure right when he was about to come out. It was really emotional. Even my nurse cried! My dh cut the cord and they took the baby to the panda to examine him bc of the fever. He was 6.45 lbs and 19 1/2 inches. It took a while for the doctor and the team to deliver my placenta which they had to take to pathology to test for the infection and I had a second degree tear and it felt like the stitching took forever. But it was finally over!
We got to have our golden hour of skin to skin and decided on his name, Evan Daniel. We had Evan as our only name option besides from possibly naming him after my husband and Daniel is after my maternal grandpa who passed away when I was in the eighth grade.
The whole experience was not what I imagined and we know next time to be a lot more strict on who to allow in our room. But despite what didn’t go as planned, I’m so grateful for my healthy baby boy and the support we have had thus far.
DH pulled up at the curb about 9am, ran to get a wheelchair, barely got me in it, and raced me to the elevators. Meanwhile my water broke so now I'm gushing all sorts of body fluids through the lobby, the elevators, everywhere. Still desperately trying to breathe through the pain. Got to L&D, the receptionist took one glance at me and I was swept away to triage before even being admitted. Contractions were one on top of each other by this point. I was 6cm and 100% effaced. They grabbed a new wheelchair that hadn't been covered everything coming out of me. Got me into a birthing suit and contractions were now coming so fast I could hardly breathe, but somehow managed to howl and scream like some sort of hell beast while I leaned forward on the bed sort of doing a modified squat/dolphin pose sort of thing. Bare ass to the wind, and hallway. By 9:30 I was 9 cm and felt an incredible urge to push. The midwife kept telling me it wasn't time, and DH was standing behind me helping hold me up through the contractions.
I don't even remember the IV going in, and no clue how the nurse got it in with all my writhing. They were able to get the first round of antibiotics going because I'm GBS positive. For the next hour and a half I was basically doing squats and DH says when they told me not to push I started to raise up on my toes while still doing squats. I don't even remember that. I do remember getting so hot I ripped the gown off me and was just in my birthday suit screaming at one point though. At 11am they finally gave me an epidural and a spinal block because it was the only way to slow me down enough to be able to get the second dose of antibiotics otherwise I don't think they were going to give it to me. Trying to stay still while they got the spinal going was so difficult, DH gave me his fist to hold because I had to be so still. I just about broke his hand. He was rock solid for me the whole time. As soon as the spinal started to work, it was like a whole new experience. Now that I no longer felt like I was being ripped apart by hot fire irons and could breathe, they finally started the admit process, 2 + hours after I came in. Signed the consent form for the spinal block and epidural after getting them. DH was finally able to go actually park the car. I was also able to finally see the carnage that was my room, and the hallway and the two wheelchairs I had pretty much destroyed. We hadn't eaten anything since the night before and I only managed a sip of my coffee when things started to get real, but the nurse said that was probably a good thing because otherwise I probably would have vomited otherwise.
We get into the room, set me up and give me a mobile monitor. That was actually pretty cool to have. I kept apologizing because it felt like I was peeing myself and it was embarrassing. I was repeatedly told to stop apologizing and being embarrassed because it's the af and it's going to come out. My mom and dh tagged team walking me through each contraction. Thank God for them! The lower back contractions are like your hips are being ripped apart and then some. HORRIBLE!!! I was offered some pain meds because I wasn't able to get an epidural yet. Finally at 9pm, the ob comes in to check me and asks if I want an epidural. I politely said, yes, please. This made everyone laugh. I'm soooooo happy I got the epidural!!!! The process was easier than I expected. It didn't really hurt and it kicked in right away. I was told I'd need to be rotated from side to side every 30 minutes to make sure the epidural worked. They also put me on pit stating the epidural causes my contractions to slow/stop. By this time I tried to nap, however my body had other plans. I was chattering and shaking non stop. The nurse told me not to fight it because it will only make things worse. My mom then tells me that this happened to her every time she was in labor (4 times). My sister also said this happened to her. Apparently it's our adrenaline kicking in. Around 10pm the midwife comes in, introduces herself, checks me and says she is going to put an internal monitor in to get a better reading of baby's heart rate and my contractions. At this point my contractions are every minute and spiking to 14. I don't feel a thing and its glorious!! The midwife doesn't tell me how far I've progressed. She just said she'd be back to check on me in a few hours. I finally start to doze off...next thing I know it's around midnight or a little after. The midwife comes in to do a check. She doesn't even stick her fingers in half way, when she pulls back out and says, "I'm going to room 8 and when I get back we're having a baby". Everyone except me were bouncing with excitement. I kept thinking holy shit, this is happening. The midwife came back in 10 mins later applied an oil and massaged every time I pushed. At one point she told dh to wash his hands up to his elbows and hurry back. When he returned she took his hand to feel the baby's head. Next thing you know he is helping pull her out. Amelie Violet was born at 1:11am, weighing 7lbs 12oz and 20 inches long. 45 minutes of pushing with a total 14.5 hours of labor. I have a small tear on each side of my inner labia. In love is an understatement.
Edit: Logged into tb on computer to fix typos. May have missed a couple...
7/24 went in for my 40 week and was 1 cm dilated at 70% effaced. doc was able to do a membrane sweep. left and a few hours later had cramping and was uncomfortable but went about my day shopping and getting stuff done. that night into 7/25, woke up all night needing to pee like usual every hour and would have a contraction. at around 4/430 they started to get more intense so at 5am i took a bath. went downstairs to lay on the couch so DH could sleep. 6am started timing the contractions which were 8-10 mins apart. 7am came and they were 4 mins apart lasting for 30-45 seconds. This literally went on until about 10am when DH insisted I call the doctor. I called and they said to come in and get checked. Went in, only at 2cm and the doc (mine was off so saw some other lady) pretty much laughed and said “oh this is nothing” i tried to make it clear i only went in bc DH wanted me to- but it was just uncomfortable and I felt embarrassed. although i did folllow their contraction 5-1-1 rule. i asked when i would know when to come back and she said im having the frequency but just not the intensity- so when they get more intense, to come back.
Around 830pm I started to really feel the pain and DH took me to L&D. They checked me and I was 4cm so they asked me to walk around for an hour before being admitted. Walked, got admitted and stayed at 4cm for a while. Finally got to 5cm and asked for the epidural. Hurt like hell but so worth it. After the epi things slowed so they started pitocin, first 2 then 4 then 6 then 8. Checked me and within 1 hour I went from 6cm to 8cm- AWESOME right?! ....not so much. They went to turn me so the epidural could evenly distribute and all the sudden LO heart rate dropped, spiked, dropped and spiked then stayed high. Docs stopped pitocin but no change in LO heart rate. Told me it was dangerous for her to be in there and needed to get her out ASAP and the only option was a c section. I was horrified, scared and kept refusing. DH told me we needed to do what was best for the baby and everyone promised me I wouldnt feel a thing.
Went in for the c section which they said would be 30-45 mins. Went to take baby out by the head and all the sudden she flipped and they could not get her out. Finally at 6:08pm she was born 7lbs 8oz and 19 1/2 inches long, bht had issues breathing. Thank goodness she was fine.
Afterwards doctors came in and gave us 2 pieces of information/news that again, were unexpected.
A bunch of my worst nightmares came true but she is the best thing in the entire world and I had no idea how I lived before having her.