toasty6
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Our baby girl is here! Here is our birth story.
At my 40 week appointment, I was 1 cm dilated and 60% effaced. The NP offered to schedule me for an induction if I wanted one. My husband and I were actually thinking of asking for one if I went too far over, so we said sure! They scheduled me for an induction Thursday (yesterday) at 10 pm.
After we arrived, checked in, finished paperwork, they checked me and I was a loose 1, "almost 2", and 70% effaced. I was having contractions irregularly, but on average they were 7 minutes apart I would say. I was to have 2 Cytotec vaginal suppositories, 4 hours apart, and then start Pitocin at 7 am. We started the first Cytotec at 11:35 pm and I was to lay flat and not use the bathroom until an hour later. My nurse warned me that a lot of first time moms take a while to get an effect from Cytotec if they have not already started dilated, but that she was encouraged that I was already almost a 2 and well effaced.
By the time an hour had gone by and I was allowed to use the restroom, my contractions were pretty regular, averaging 2 to 3 minutes apart. I waited an extra 20 minutes before getting up to use the restroom. By this time I was using breathing techniques and trying to relieve the pain in my bottom. I had a BM, but I think using those muscles to go to the restroom may have kick-started the pain. When I had gotten up to go to the restroom, my husband asked me if I felt okay and I kinda moaned and told him eh, okay, just starting to feel these and I gotta poop. By the time I had finished on the toilet, I was moaning loudly with each contraction and feeling a little embarrassed between contractions due to my noise. By the time I laid back down, I was making a fair amount of crazy moaning noises, so my husband went to the nurses station to ask someone to bring me pain medicine. I felt like a wimp for already asking for meds, but he would not take no for an answer; I was obviously really hurting.
The nurse brought me some Stadol and checked me, and I was already 3 centimeters and 80% effaced. I was able to get some sleep for about an hour, and then it began to wear off. She came back in and asked me if I needed more Stadol, and at that time, I was feeling brave and said, "Well, I might be okay for a little bit, the contractions are probably 8/10 on the pain scale......." and at the next contraction the pain bumped up to a 10 and I wasn't able to even finish my sentence due to the pain and pressure. My contractions were coming about 1-2 minutes apart by this time, often one right after the other with no time to breathe and recover in between. My nurse decided to check me, and I was a 4 and 100% effaced. I had already told her I was okay with an epidural if the pain became too much, so she said, "Alright momma, you're in a lot of pain and you are progressing really fast, so let's get you an epidural."
At this time I decided to text Mom. It was not quite 4 am. She was mad I hadn't texted her when the contractions started, but I didn't want to wake her up if it was going to be a long, drawn-out process. She began to head to the hospital while I waited in agony for the epidural. My nurse was pushing fluids because the anesthesiologist wanted me to have a large bolus first, and I had to wait for labs to come back as well. I waited probably 20 minutes (could have been worse but felt like forever) and then they started the epidural. Thank the Lord I had a great doctor and he got it on the first try. The relief was amazing. My legs were really really numb though, which got annoying, but it was worth it to have the pain gone.
By this time, my Mom had arrived, and we were trying to get ahold of my Dad. He had come into town and gotten a hotel nearby, but fell asleep with the fan in his ear. The nurse checked me after the epidural was in, and I was already almost a 6 around 4:00 am. So I was progressing pretty quickly, at the "ideal" 1 cm/hour rate, which was quite uncommon for first-time moms getting a cytotec/Pitocin induction. Needless to say I did not get my second dose of Cytotec.
We finally got ahold of Dad and he arrived shortly thereafter. I was rechecked at shift change at 6:00 and was almost a 7. Progress had slowed but I didn't care one bit because I was feeling good. I was checked again at 8:00 and was still a 7 but my waters were bulging. The nurse asked the doctor if she wanted to break the water, but she said no, since I was comfortable and baby was not in distress, to just continue laboring.
My water broke on its own around 9:00, when my family was down getting breakfast. I was laying on my side and felt a small pop and trickle (as much as I could feel for having an epidural), so I asked a passing nurse to see if my water had broken, which it had, and she checked and I was an 8. The doctor came in at this point and checked on me and mentioned that we may have a baby by lunch time! We were all thinking yeah right, at this rate we will have a baby by 10:00!
I continued getting cervical checks every two hours, and progress slowed down even more, probably due to my epidural. I was a 9 by lunch time, and was complete by probably around 1:30. She was still about an index finger away from my cervix though, so the doctor wanted me to labor down and let gravity work before I started pushing. Around 2:15 I was able to start pushing, and let me tell you what a weird feeling that is, if you have not pushed a baby out before... They would not let me breathe out or groan while pushing, so that I could have the maximum amount of effort put into it, but to me, that seems counterintuitive. I felt like my face was going to explode from holding my breathe and pushing so hard. They kept telling me to transfer the air from my face to my tummy and push her out (hard to describe, but basically my face was turning purple and I tried and tried to push and they kept saying "push like you're having a BM!" and that was the best I could manage).
I pushed for an hour, and would push out her caput, but that was all I could get to present. We could see lots of black hair and her poor swollen head bulging, but she was turned diagonally. With each push, the doctor and the nurse were in there with both hands trying to twist her face so it was easier to get past the bony prominences. Again, thank God for epidurals. Once I pushed for an hour with no real progress though, they had me get on all fours doggy style and would not let me push for probably 30 minutes. Luckily, she was not engaged to the point of no return, so they had pushed her back up and wanted gravity to help while I was on all fours, and were hoping she would twist around while she was up there. I started pushing again, and she popped right back down in the exact same position. They continued to try twisting her, and I pushed for another hour. Near the end of this hour, I was shaking all over, was obviously exhausted, and then her heart rate started dropping to the 80s after I pushed. They quickly threw oxygen on me and made me concentrate on slow deep breaths, and she recovered each time. They only let this happen for 3 pushes, and then the doctor said nope, that's it, we are going to do a C section. (Her heart was only dropping this low while I pushed, but not during a contraction that I didn't push. I'm assuming that's why it wasn't a crash/emergency C section).
I began crying and was so frustrated I wasn't able to get her out myself. Everyone kept reassuring me, and the doctor and nurses were soooo nice getting my spirits lifted.
Eva Leigh Rodriguez was born at 5:23 pm yesterday, Friday August 22, 2014, weighing 7 pounds 8 ounces and measuring 20 inches long. She got 8 and 9 APGARS. NICU and Respiratory were waiting to suction her out but she did not take too long to cry (although it felt like forever). Her first cry was so sweet and so pitiful and amazing and we both burst into tears.
So yep! Sorry this is so long. If I remember I will post a picture later, but I am exhausted. Have not had more than 45 minutes consecutive of sleep in nearly 48 hours... Thanks for reading!!
At my 40 week appointment, I was 1 cm dilated and 60% effaced. The NP offered to schedule me for an induction if I wanted one. My husband and I were actually thinking of asking for one if I went too far over, so we said sure! They scheduled me for an induction Thursday (yesterday) at 10 pm.
After we arrived, checked in, finished paperwork, they checked me and I was a loose 1, "almost 2", and 70% effaced. I was having contractions irregularly, but on average they were 7 minutes apart I would say. I was to have 2 Cytotec vaginal suppositories, 4 hours apart, and then start Pitocin at 7 am. We started the first Cytotec at 11:35 pm and I was to lay flat and not use the bathroom until an hour later. My nurse warned me that a lot of first time moms take a while to get an effect from Cytotec if they have not already started dilated, but that she was encouraged that I was already almost a 2 and well effaced.
By the time an hour had gone by and I was allowed to use the restroom, my contractions were pretty regular, averaging 2 to 3 minutes apart. I waited an extra 20 minutes before getting up to use the restroom. By this time I was using breathing techniques and trying to relieve the pain in my bottom. I had a BM, but I think using those muscles to go to the restroom may have kick-started the pain. When I had gotten up to go to the restroom, my husband asked me if I felt okay and I kinda moaned and told him eh, okay, just starting to feel these and I gotta poop. By the time I had finished on the toilet, I was moaning loudly with each contraction and feeling a little embarrassed between contractions due to my noise. By the time I laid back down, I was making a fair amount of crazy moaning noises, so my husband went to the nurses station to ask someone to bring me pain medicine. I felt like a wimp for already asking for meds, but he would not take no for an answer; I was obviously really hurting.
The nurse brought me some Stadol and checked me, and I was already 3 centimeters and 80% effaced. I was able to get some sleep for about an hour, and then it began to wear off. She came back in and asked me if I needed more Stadol, and at that time, I was feeling brave and said, "Well, I might be okay for a little bit, the contractions are probably 8/10 on the pain scale......." and at the next contraction the pain bumped up to a 10 and I wasn't able to even finish my sentence due to the pain and pressure. My contractions were coming about 1-2 minutes apart by this time, often one right after the other with no time to breathe and recover in between. My nurse decided to check me, and I was a 4 and 100% effaced. I had already told her I was okay with an epidural if the pain became too much, so she said, "Alright momma, you're in a lot of pain and you are progressing really fast, so let's get you an epidural."
At this time I decided to text Mom. It was not quite 4 am. She was mad I hadn't texted her when the contractions started, but I didn't want to wake her up if it was going to be a long, drawn-out process. She began to head to the hospital while I waited in agony for the epidural. My nurse was pushing fluids because the anesthesiologist wanted me to have a large bolus first, and I had to wait for labs to come back as well. I waited probably 20 minutes (could have been worse but felt like forever) and then they started the epidural. Thank the Lord I had a great doctor and he got it on the first try. The relief was amazing. My legs were really really numb though, which got annoying, but it was worth it to have the pain gone.
By this time, my Mom had arrived, and we were trying to get ahold of my Dad. He had come into town and gotten a hotel nearby, but fell asleep with the fan in his ear. The nurse checked me after the epidural was in, and I was already almost a 6 around 4:00 am. So I was progressing pretty quickly, at the "ideal" 1 cm/hour rate, which was quite uncommon for first-time moms getting a cytotec/Pitocin induction. Needless to say I did not get my second dose of Cytotec.
We finally got ahold of Dad and he arrived shortly thereafter. I was rechecked at shift change at 6:00 and was almost a 7. Progress had slowed but I didn't care one bit because I was feeling good. I was checked again at 8:00 and was still a 7 but my waters were bulging. The nurse asked the doctor if she wanted to break the water, but she said no, since I was comfortable and baby was not in distress, to just continue laboring.
My water broke on its own around 9:00, when my family was down getting breakfast. I was laying on my side and felt a small pop and trickle (as much as I could feel for having an epidural), so I asked a passing nurse to see if my water had broken, which it had, and she checked and I was an 8. The doctor came in at this point and checked on me and mentioned that we may have a baby by lunch time! We were all thinking yeah right, at this rate we will have a baby by 10:00!
I continued getting cervical checks every two hours, and progress slowed down even more, probably due to my epidural. I was a 9 by lunch time, and was complete by probably around 1:30. She was still about an index finger away from my cervix though, so the doctor wanted me to labor down and let gravity work before I started pushing. Around 2:15 I was able to start pushing, and let me tell you what a weird feeling that is, if you have not pushed a baby out before... They would not let me breathe out or groan while pushing, so that I could have the maximum amount of effort put into it, but to me, that seems counterintuitive. I felt like my face was going to explode from holding my breathe and pushing so hard. They kept telling me to transfer the air from my face to my tummy and push her out (hard to describe, but basically my face was turning purple and I tried and tried to push and they kept saying "push like you're having a BM!" and that was the best I could manage).
I pushed for an hour, and would push out her caput, but that was all I could get to present. We could see lots of black hair and her poor swollen head bulging, but she was turned diagonally. With each push, the doctor and the nurse were in there with both hands trying to twist her face so it was easier to get past the bony prominences. Again, thank God for epidurals. Once I pushed for an hour with no real progress though, they had me get on all fours doggy style and would not let me push for probably 30 minutes. Luckily, she was not engaged to the point of no return, so they had pushed her back up and wanted gravity to help while I was on all fours, and were hoping she would twist around while she was up there. I started pushing again, and she popped right back down in the exact same position. They continued to try twisting her, and I pushed for another hour. Near the end of this hour, I was shaking all over, was obviously exhausted, and then her heart rate started dropping to the 80s after I pushed. They quickly threw oxygen on me and made me concentrate on slow deep breaths, and she recovered each time. They only let this happen for 3 pushes, and then the doctor said nope, that's it, we are going to do a C section. (Her heart was only dropping this low while I pushed, but not during a contraction that I didn't push. I'm assuming that's why it wasn't a crash/emergency C section).
I began crying and was so frustrated I wasn't able to get her out myself. Everyone kept reassuring me, and the doctor and nurses were soooo nice getting my spirits lifted.
Eva Leigh Rodriguez was born at 5:23 pm yesterday, Friday August 22, 2014, weighing 7 pounds 8 ounces and measuring 20 inches long. She got 8 and 9 APGARS. NICU and Respiratory were waiting to suction her out but she did not take too long to cry (although it felt like forever). Her first cry was so sweet and so pitiful and amazing and we both burst into tears.
So yep! Sorry this is so long. If I remember I will post a picture later, but I am exhausted. Have not had more than 45 minutes consecutive of sleep in nearly 48 hours... Thanks for reading!!
x
right now she is resting after having drank a while 60 (!!!) oz of supplemental formula. We are still getting the hang of breast feeding... She latches fast and furiously for 10 seconds and then detaches or sometimes just falls asleep with nipple in mouth despite stimulation, rubbing cheek, throat, squeezing boob, etc. I am hoping her tune will change once my milk comes in!
I am retaining too much and have to have a catheter for another week. I'm at home but it just makes me feel rubbish. Was left too long pushing and it has damaged it. Hope to god next Monday it is better otherwise I will have to see a consultant.
