hellojello25
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- Sep 9, 2015
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So it's been a while since I posted here as I have been busy learning how to take care of my little guy, but since he is currently down for a nap, I thought I would type up and post his birth story (finally), and so here it is:
Saturday, 4/23:
I left work early on my last day as I was having tightenings in my lower abdomen. The contractions were coming pretty regularly late into the evening, so even though they weren't painful, I decided to call the doctor. She decided that I should go to the hospital because I was a week overdue at that point and scheduled to be induced the next day anyways. Dan, my boyfriend, and I arrived at the hospital at 10 pm after I had taken a shower. Once we arrived, my IV was placed in my wrist (not the best place for pushing, as I later found out) and the night doctor came in and checked my cervix. Basically no dilation. She spoke to my doctor and they decided to put the pill on my cervix to try and get me to dilate.
Sunday, 4/24:
-2:30 am: the pill was inserted into my cervix
-6:45 am: My cervix was rechecked. Still not much dilation.
-7:15 am: Another pill was inserted into my cervix
-11:50 am: I was given an ultrasound to make sure the baby hadn't flipped to being breech as they had been getting his heartbeat down low and it suddenly flipped to being up high. He was still head down though.
-12:20 pm: My cervix was rechecked. Still not dilated, so my doctor decided to try the tampon with cervadil on it. But first, they gave me a break to eat some food and relax with Dan. He went downstairs and got some mac and cheese for me, which is my favorite. Love that man!
-1:40 pm: I was hooked back up to the monitors.
-2:50 pm: The cervadil tampon was placed.
-7 pm: Started getting contractions again. They had stopped sometime before during the night.
-9 pm: The nurse gave me a sleeping pill.
Monday, 4/25 (Alex's Birthday!):
-12 am: I went to the bathroom. The nurse said the contractions were still 5-10 minutes apart.
-2:30 am:: The tampon with the cervadil fell out with more of the mucus plug.
-2:40 am: My cervix was checked and I was almost 3 cm dilated and almost 50% effaced. The doctors decided to start the pitocin drip.
-3:15 am: The pitocin drip was started.
-7:50 am: Once the pitocin drip reached about 13 ml/minute, I was starting to experience some real pain. I asked for some Stadol, which makes you nap between contractions.
-9 am: My cervix was checked again. I was 3 cm dilated and 70% effaced. I couldn't take the pain of the contractions any longer and asked for an epidural.
-9:30 am: The epidural was placed.
-12:15 pm: My cervix was checked again. I had dilated to almost 5 cm and was still 70% effaced.
1:26 pm: My water broke while I was taking a nap. Meconium was present so I was informed that NICU would be present at the birth to make sure that he didn't inhale anything.
-1:50 pm: My cervix was checked. There was no change.
-2: 45 pm: I was now 5 cm dilated and 80% effaced. An internal monitor was placed to better track the strength of the contractions.
-4:10 pm: My cervix was checked again. I was at 6 cm and 80% effaced. The scalp monitor was placed on Alex as his heart rate kept dropping during the contractions.
-5 pm: The pressure on my pubic bone started to increase with each contraction, which had happened right before my water broke as well. I informed the nurse and they put more medicine in the epidural port, however over the space of 10 minutes, the pain got worse.
-5:30 pm: The nurse checked my cervix even though she was skeptical, but I was in some serious pain and it felt like I had to poo. She and I were both surprised to find that I was fully dilated and ready to push. I don't remember much, but I know that he dropped quickly and there was still some cervix in the way of his head, so I had to wait to push through a few contractions so he didn't tear me badly. It was awful. Then she asked me to give a little push and he almost came flying out. It took a few pushes to get the head out. The doctor walked in right then and Dan said that he saw what was happening, rushed to put on his gown and face mask, and turned around just in time to catch the little guy. I do know that once his head was out, they made me stop pushing to suction out his mouth and nose, but the order of things is a little blurry in my head because everything happened so fast.
-6:02 pm: Alexander James was born! The NICU nurrses/doctor took him immediately to the bassinet to make sure he hadn't inhaled any meconium and Dan went with them. I didn't get to see him for almost 10 minutes while the doctor delivered the placenta and sewed me up (only one small scratch!).
Alex was born at 9 lbs 15 oz and was 23 inches long. Dan and I were (and still are) completely in love with the little guy. He did have a bit of jaundice and had to spend a day under the lights, but we were able to leave with him on Thursday. He lost 10 ounces during his hospital stay, but had gained all that back plus 0.5 oz a week later at his pediatrician appointment. We brought him to the doctor again a few weeks ago as he was projectile spitting up (turns out its just some reflux and was completely normal) and he was already almost 11 lbs. His 1 month appointment is on Tuesday and he's been eating like a horse, normally 5.5 ounces of either formula or breastmilk (he has tongue and lip tie, so breastfeeding is a challenge for us), so it'll be interesting to see how much he weighs then.
All in all, his birth turned out to be a great experience and went much quicker at the end than I thought it would. Basically, the nurse explained that it probably went so fast because my body finally recognized what was happening and started helping. And she told me that if I go into labor naturally with my next child, I will need to get to the hospital ASAP. I dilated from 6 cm to 10 in about half an hour and then pushed for about 20 minutes, and he is my first child, so I would tend to agree with her lol.
Saturday, 4/23:
I left work early on my last day as I was having tightenings in my lower abdomen. The contractions were coming pretty regularly late into the evening, so even though they weren't painful, I decided to call the doctor. She decided that I should go to the hospital because I was a week overdue at that point and scheduled to be induced the next day anyways. Dan, my boyfriend, and I arrived at the hospital at 10 pm after I had taken a shower. Once we arrived, my IV was placed in my wrist (not the best place for pushing, as I later found out) and the night doctor came in and checked my cervix. Basically no dilation. She spoke to my doctor and they decided to put the pill on my cervix to try and get me to dilate.
Sunday, 4/24:
-2:30 am: the pill was inserted into my cervix
-6:45 am: My cervix was rechecked. Still not much dilation.
-7:15 am: Another pill was inserted into my cervix
-11:50 am: I was given an ultrasound to make sure the baby hadn't flipped to being breech as they had been getting his heartbeat down low and it suddenly flipped to being up high. He was still head down though.
-12:20 pm: My cervix was rechecked. Still not dilated, so my doctor decided to try the tampon with cervadil on it. But first, they gave me a break to eat some food and relax with Dan. He went downstairs and got some mac and cheese for me, which is my favorite. Love that man!
-1:40 pm: I was hooked back up to the monitors.
-2:50 pm: The cervadil tampon was placed.
-7 pm: Started getting contractions again. They had stopped sometime before during the night.
-9 pm: The nurse gave me a sleeping pill.
Monday, 4/25 (Alex's Birthday!):
-12 am: I went to the bathroom. The nurse said the contractions were still 5-10 minutes apart.
-2:30 am:: The tampon with the cervadil fell out with more of the mucus plug.
-2:40 am: My cervix was checked and I was almost 3 cm dilated and almost 50% effaced. The doctors decided to start the pitocin drip.
-3:15 am: The pitocin drip was started.
-7:50 am: Once the pitocin drip reached about 13 ml/minute, I was starting to experience some real pain. I asked for some Stadol, which makes you nap between contractions.
-9 am: My cervix was checked again. I was 3 cm dilated and 70% effaced. I couldn't take the pain of the contractions any longer and asked for an epidural.
-9:30 am: The epidural was placed.
-12:15 pm: My cervix was checked again. I had dilated to almost 5 cm and was still 70% effaced.
1:26 pm: My water broke while I was taking a nap. Meconium was present so I was informed that NICU would be present at the birth to make sure that he didn't inhale anything.
-1:50 pm: My cervix was checked. There was no change.
-2: 45 pm: I was now 5 cm dilated and 80% effaced. An internal monitor was placed to better track the strength of the contractions.
-4:10 pm: My cervix was checked again. I was at 6 cm and 80% effaced. The scalp monitor was placed on Alex as his heart rate kept dropping during the contractions.
-5 pm: The pressure on my pubic bone started to increase with each contraction, which had happened right before my water broke as well. I informed the nurse and they put more medicine in the epidural port, however over the space of 10 minutes, the pain got worse.
-5:30 pm: The nurse checked my cervix even though she was skeptical, but I was in some serious pain and it felt like I had to poo. She and I were both surprised to find that I was fully dilated and ready to push. I don't remember much, but I know that he dropped quickly and there was still some cervix in the way of his head, so I had to wait to push through a few contractions so he didn't tear me badly. It was awful. Then she asked me to give a little push and he almost came flying out. It took a few pushes to get the head out. The doctor walked in right then and Dan said that he saw what was happening, rushed to put on his gown and face mask, and turned around just in time to catch the little guy. I do know that once his head was out, they made me stop pushing to suction out his mouth and nose, but the order of things is a little blurry in my head because everything happened so fast.
-6:02 pm: Alexander James was born! The NICU nurrses/doctor took him immediately to the bassinet to make sure he hadn't inhaled any meconium and Dan went with them. I didn't get to see him for almost 10 minutes while the doctor delivered the placenta and sewed me up (only one small scratch!).
Alex was born at 9 lbs 15 oz and was 23 inches long. Dan and I were (and still are) completely in love with the little guy. He did have a bit of jaundice and had to spend a day under the lights, but we were able to leave with him on Thursday. He lost 10 ounces during his hospital stay, but had gained all that back plus 0.5 oz a week later at his pediatrician appointment. We brought him to the doctor again a few weeks ago as he was projectile spitting up (turns out its just some reflux and was completely normal) and he was already almost 11 lbs. His 1 month appointment is on Tuesday and he's been eating like a horse, normally 5.5 ounces of either formula or breastmilk (he has tongue and lip tie, so breastfeeding is a challenge for us), so it'll be interesting to see how much he weighs then.
All in all, his birth turned out to be a great experience and went much quicker at the end than I thought it would. Basically, the nurse explained that it probably went so fast because my body finally recognized what was happening and started helping. And she told me that if I go into labor naturally with my next child, I will need to get to the hospital ASAP. I dilated from 6 cm to 10 in about half an hour and then pushed for about 20 minutes, and he is my first child, so I would tend to agree with her lol.
congrats x
