I had my baby boy Oliver Henry on 2/20/23. Went in with contractions on 2/19 at 9 pm at 10 min apart after laboring for a couple hours at home. When they put the fetal monitor on my belly, they were concerned about baby's heart rate during contractions and mentioned the possibility of an emergency C-section which took me off guard and freaked me out. The nurse mentioned they thought it was something to do with the umbilical chord.
They admitted me and got me to a room where my contractions got closer together. I continued to progress and they continued being concerned with baby's heart rate dips. Doc broke my water at around 2 am. I got an epidural to take the edge off of the pain and stress I was feeling. I hadn't had an epidural before, but this felt like a good decision and I think it helped a lot. Pushing was difficult and the first few pushes didn't feel productive at all, but eventually the baby got into a better position and pushing got intense. They had me holding my breath while pushing which didn't feel great. The doc and the nurses were all saying, "You have to push. Get this baby out." It still seemed like they were very concerned. My husband was very encouraging.
Our baby was finally born at 4:51 am. After he came out I felt relief, but I didn't feel as proud as I felt after giving birth to my daughter 3 years ago. This had just been a rougher birth experience for me. My baby had the umbilical chord wrapped around his neck three times. They checked him out and everything seemed to be going pretty well. We live in Colorado and due to the elevation, many newborns need supplemental oxygen. Oliver needed oxygen for about the first 10 hours of his life, but eventually they weaned him off and he could stay with us in our room. Our daughter seems to really enjoy having him (and us) home now. I'm apprehensive but hopeful for our adjustment to being a family of four. 🧡
My water broke when we got a big snowstorm in just before midnight on Wednesday. I laid back down and contractions soon started. They were somewhat regular on and off so I wasn't able to sleep. I had people get the kids in the morning while I was still in early labor and the midwives and doula came as well. I got in the pool when things got more intense and was really thankful to be laboring during daylight. The hypnobirth tracks really helped train my mind and when I went to a negative place, I was able to rebuke fear and ungodly pain out loud and thank Jesus because I was having joy and laughing through contractions. I was experiencing the contractions as pressure and power instead of pain. It was amazing! That was a lot harder to do the last couple hours though and I kind of lost it a little towards the end. I got out of the pool thinking I would push on the bed. My midwife didn't tell me I was only 8 centimeters dilated. I was just trying to escape every place because my midwife and husband were trying to fold me into a ball instead of allowing me to put my head back and flail. I ended up back in the pool and had to muster up a lot of strength to push this baby out because it's been 5 years and she wasn't going to slide out like some of the previous ones. Definitely the hardest part for me this time because I didn't think I would be able to do it and I was having to do all sorts of acrobatic stunts that I'm not accustomed to at 41 years old . Finally when her head started coming out, I pushed more than I should have because I was afraid she would slide back up again. My midwife had to help get her out a little. I thought I was destroying my vagina but didn't care at the time. That took almost 20 minutes and she was born at 1:18 pm. I was just kind of in shock but happy when she came out and I finally got my water birth baby after 4 attempts. Surprisingly I only had a tiny tear and no stitches needed. My cervix prolapsed again so I probably will seek pelvic floor therapy. Overall we are both doing well and birth was a good experience.... although I can say I would rather not do it again. Half a dozen times is good. Willow is my biggest and harriest baby and eats well. I'm super happy! Since we didn't want the placenta, my midwife is donating it to someone she knows who is giving it to rescue dogs in Turkey (as food) to help aid in the rescue efforts. I'm 1/4 Turkish so extra glad that Willow can help with family members we never met.
@kamays54 I'm so sorry you had to go through all the needle failings and what not! I'm glad it ended with you being satisfied with the c section. I think I would be too after all that. It sounds like it was a hard experience but you were a warrior and have a scar of honor to prove it.
Okay, I’m finally attempting to write down what happened, lol 😂 So, last Monday 2/13 I went in for my day before my due date checkup and was still not showing much in the way of contractions or dilating. The doctor who examined me checked to see that I was barely 1cm dilated and she probed around with her fingers to check the cervix, making me squirm really badly. She said I was still really thick, not really dilated at all and I would probably just have to wait a few more days. Typical timeframe for me.
After that, I went over to the NST area and they followed me and baby for a bit, seeing that I was having some more noticeable contractions. One in particular seemed to impact the baby’s heart rate a bit, and he took a little longer to recover, so they ran it by the doc on duty to send me over to L&D. In L&D, they hooked me up to another NST machine and they eventually decided that it would probably just be safest to stay and try to have the baby with a little induction help versus going home and waiting. Needless to say, the hospital takes forever on this stuff, and it took quite a while to move from the diagnosis area to our actual L&D room.
Once we got over there, they started me pretty immediately on Petosin to ramp up my contractions and inserted the balloon to try to help me dilate. I had the balloon in for a full 24 hours before we removed it on Valentine’s Day evening! Right about the same time, I requested my epidural before things got too crazy with pain, and the balloon basically came out on its own as my muscles relaxed a bit. The midwife checked me and figured out I was about 4cm dilated and then, while feeling around for my cervix, she accidentally broke my water. Unfortunately, that sent the baby into a bit of stress, so they filled me with an IV of saline to allow him to shift around and calm down. About four hours later, just a little after midnight on Valentine’s Day, with the Petosin ramped all the way up, I went into a relatively quick and smooth labor, and Finn was born at 1:20am on 2/15. He was my biggest by weight at 7lbs10oz, but still shorter than my oldest daughter at 21”. was so happy to get the opportunity to try for a VBAC and have it actually work. After the midwife broke my water and they started worrying about baby, I was okay getting a c-section if needed. Honestly, coming home to my toddler, I’m especially glad I was able to avoid the c-section because I’ve been having to pick her up a bit, too, and healing would have been tough.
Following his birth, Finn had to get treated in the NICU for jaundice, but overall nothing too crazy. Glad to have everybody home and healthy now!!❤️❤️❤️
@cpk3535 that’s so great that you didn’t have to have a c section. Not being able to pick up my kids has been so hard. A week after Hayden was born my other son broke his leg and it has sucked so much not being able to pick him up.
@angbaby83 Oh, poor baby, a broken leg?!? I’m so sorry 💔 Yeah, my 3yo has been demanding a bit of extra baby treatment, which would have been so tough with the healing from c-section. I was actually pleasantly surprised that I had any induction options at all- some docs had implied that I was somewhat on my own because of my last c-section.
Oren Walter, born 2/20/2023 at 1:30 PM, 7lb 14 oz, 20" long
As you may remember, with my first, I sustained a 4th degree tear after a quick labor. 4.5 hours from 1st geeky contraction to when she was born, 30 min in the last stage. Our main goal this time was to not have that happen! We weighed all the options, C-section, vaginally both spontanious VS induction. Ultimately decided on induction at week 39. It wasn't totally what I wanted, since I know that if the body isn't ready, inductions can be tricky. Regardless, it made sense. My doctor explained that since I have epilepsy, she was nervous about me getting stuck on the island and having a home birth, and same with if I had a 4DT again. Plus the induction would just slow everything down and give my body a chance to stretch out .
So week 39 came around on Sunday the 19th and we went on for my induction at about 11. They got me started on misoprostal tablets every 4 hours at 130 PM. They didn't check my dilation so not sure where I started. After 2 doses I think I was at a 2 which was really disappointing. No real solid contractions. Regular ever 3 minutes but not much pain. After a boring 16 hours my midwife came in and inserted a foley catheter (which was awwwwful). But after a couple of hours it got me to 4.5cm dilated. I was having stronger contractions every 1-2 minutes but still was only on like a 2 for pain scale. I don't remember what time it was, but maybe 2 hours after, I went to use the bathroom and just gushed blood. I'm talking, scary on the floor gush. I brought the nurse in and she wasn't too concerned, but then I stood up and it happened again and she was worried at that point. My doctor was in a c-section so everyone was kind of scrambling to decide what to do. Vitals on me and baby were good, so they somewhat stopped panicking. I was pretty scared, I really thought something was wrong (with me specifically). They kept telling me and Daniel not to worry, that the baby was fine and Daniel stopped and said, "I understand, but I'm worried about my wife, no one has mentioned her". I thought that was sweet.. I decided to get an epidural just so I could focus a little better and get my mind in a better place. They transported me to the delivery room, I got an epidural, and my doctor finally came back and checked me, and I was at a 7. She thinks the bleeding was from dilating so quickly. I hated the epidural. The numb legs was awful, but obviously the relief was nice too. I let the nurses know about an hour later that I was getting a lot of pressure and thought I was about ready, she kind of nudged it off and said if the pressure gets really intense then to let her know again. Soon after, they lost the babies heart rate and were worried, then it dawned on them that maybe he had moved down so they couldn't read him anymore. Sure enough, they checked and he was right there, ready to go. Doc came immediately in, they got me on my side in a hurry. She knew my birth plan and was great about everything I wanted- perianal pressure with a hot compress, side lying and moving positions every so often (which there was no time for) and no coached pushing. Within 3 pushes and 12 minutes he was here! (And with zero tearing! Or minimal enough for no stitches) It was amazing and such a cool feeling with the epidural. Despite not enjoying the feeling of the epidural, I loved being able to feel each movement of the baby with the pushes. With Isla, I was in too much pain doing it naturally to be able to really focus in on where she was at, but this time I had let the epidural wear off just enough to where I could feel exactly how he was moving down and rotating that I had super controlled pushes and it was just an overall enjoyable experience. I hated pushing with Isla, but now, if we were to have a third (which were not) I would look forward to this part! I have such a 50/50 perspective on if I like birth with epi or without. I like laboring without the epidural, because they don't cause me too much pain, and I like the freedom of being able to walk around and move, but pushing with an epidural was way more enjoyable. Oren nursed immediately for an hour. I opted for delayed tests, no eye goop, and no bath and I think it really helped with bonding. We've been at home since Tuesday and he has had weight gain issues. I started supplementing with donor milk and thankful my milk came in pretty quickly so he is now eating well but we're still fighting some jaundice and doing daily weigh ins. We have a midwife coming to our house every couple of days which has been so much better then going into the doctor for all the postnatal and pediatric visits. So, that's that!! 😍
@nwshay yay for no tearing! We’ve had weight gain issues too (my little guy lost a ton of weight initially.) I’ve had to go for numerous weight checks and have been generally frustrated by the process since it seems like he’s eating well.
@nwshay Congratulations!!❤️❤️❤️ I’m glad both of us with epilepsy in the group made it through safely with our little guys. Honestly, your blood gush story sounds exactly like what happened at the end of my last pregnancy. In my case, it was a placental abruption with the baby kicking the placenta off the wall of the uterus (which I honestly didn’t know much about until this pregnancy and reviewing my records). I also wasn’t in noticeable labor when it happened, so it was kind of scary and shocking. Did they mention that as a possible explanation to you? And I totally agree with your husband- doctors seem to care very little about mom’s wellbeing. While I’m glad that they watch for baby, I find it a little offensive that my first doctor’s appointment follow-up is over the phone a month after labor. Crazy…
@cpk3535 my midwife has already been back to see me twice and it's only been 5 days. I have another follow up next week and one next month. That's crazy the variance in care we get. I definitely feel looked out for and taken care of outside of the hospital setting. I wish that was the standard care for the majority of people who have their babies in hospitals.
I asked them if placental abruption was a possibility and they said that based off of everyone vitals, they didn't think that's what was going on.
I agree! Daniel was appalled too. Like, obviously our focus is on the baby, but I'm a person too!
Over the phone? What the hell can they tell over the phone? That's crazy. Like @seeds_of_joy I have had multiple visits at home with my midwife. But I did collaborative care. It's been so nice!
Re: Birth Stories
They admitted me and got me to a room where my contractions got closer together. I continued to progress and they continued being concerned with baby's heart rate dips. Doc broke my water at around 2 am. I got an epidural to take the edge off of the pain and stress I was feeling. I hadn't had an epidural before, but this felt like a good decision and I think it helped a lot. Pushing was difficult and the first few pushes didn't feel productive at all, but eventually the baby got into a better position and pushing got intense. They had me holding my breath while pushing which didn't feel great. The doc and the nurses were all saying, "You have to push. Get this baby out." It still seemed like they were very concerned. My husband was very encouraging.
Our baby was finally born at 4:51 am. After he came out I felt relief, but I didn't feel as proud as I felt after giving birth to my daughter 3 years ago. This had just been a rougher birth experience for me. My baby had the umbilical chord wrapped around his neck three times. They checked him out and everything seemed to be going pretty well. We live in Colorado and due to the elevation, many newborns need supplemental oxygen. Oliver needed oxygen for about the first 10 hours of his life, but eventually they weaned him off and he could stay with us in our room. Our daughter seems to really enjoy having him (and us) home now. I'm apprehensive but hopeful for our adjustment to being a family of four. 🧡
After that, I went over to the NST area and they followed me and baby for a bit, seeing that I was having some more noticeable contractions. One in particular seemed to impact the baby’s heart rate a bit, and he took a little longer to recover, so they ran it by the doc on duty to send me over to L&D. In L&D, they hooked me up to another NST machine and they eventually decided that it would probably just be safest to stay and try to have the baby with a little induction help versus going home and waiting. Needless to say, the hospital takes forever on this stuff, and it took quite a while to move from the diagnosis area to our actual L&D room.
Once we got over there, they started me pretty immediately on Petosin to ramp up my contractions and inserted the balloon to try to help me dilate. I had the balloon in for a full 24 hours before we removed it on Valentine’s Day evening! Right about the same time, I requested my epidural before things got too crazy with pain, and the balloon basically came out on its own as my muscles relaxed a bit. The midwife checked me and figured out I was about 4cm dilated and then, while feeling around for my cervix, she accidentally broke my water. Unfortunately, that sent the baby into a bit of stress, so they filled me with an IV of saline to allow him to shift around and calm down. About four hours later, just a little after midnight on Valentine’s Day, with the Petosin ramped all the way up, I went into a relatively quick and smooth labor, and Finn was born at 1:20am on 2/15. He was my biggest by weight at 7lbs10oz, but still shorter than my oldest daughter at 21”. was so happy to get the opportunity to try for a VBAC and have it actually work. After the midwife broke my water and they started worrying about baby, I was okay getting a c-section if needed. Honestly, coming home to my toddler, I’m especially glad I was able to avoid the c-section because I’ve been having to pick her up a bit, too, and healing would have been tough.
I asked them if placental abruption was a possibility and they said that based off of everyone vitals, they didn't think that's what was going on.
I agree! Daniel was appalled too. Like, obviously our focus is on the baby, but I'm a person too!
Over the phone? What the hell can they tell over the phone? That's crazy. Like @seeds_of_joy I have had multiple visits at home with my midwife. But I did collaborative care. It's been so nice!