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Apologies this is long, but my labor was rather complicated for many reasons. 
Baby Payton Agustin Colin arrived on November 5, 2012, at 2:22 pm, exactly a week late! He weighs a (healthy!) 8 pounds 10 ounces and is 22.5 inches long! (The average, the hospital said, is 7 pounds 18 inches, so he really topped the charts!)
Starting on Friday, I had awful cramping in my back, I got about 4 hours of sleep the entire night. I thought it was just him laying on my nerves.. Saturday the cramping was on/off, didn't think much of it. Around 12:30 I started getting awful cramps in my back, I didn't think they were contractions because everyone kept telling me they'd be in my stomach, not my back. Turns out I was in back labor and had no clue!
My boyfriend was sleeping and my stepmom came out around 2:30 am when I told her I was considering going to the hospital. I started getting more severe pains and timed them. They were about 2 minutes and 2-4 minutes apart. This lasted for another hour (till 3:30am) and finally I was in tears and my stepmom told me to wake up my boyfriend, Sal, and have him take me to the hospital.
Sal grabbed my bags and we left. I had about 2/3 contractions on the way there, and was admitted via the emergency room (normal hospital entrance closes at 8). They checked me and said I was about 2/3 cm dilated. They then said they noticed meconium (baby poop) and said that it's common in babies who are overdue. They said it meant he'd need a specialist there immediately after he was born to make sure it wasn't in his lungs.
Then they asked me if I knew my water had broke. I told them I didn't think it had, but they said they thought so, so I think it happened within the hour before I went to the hospital. I'd seen a clear liquid + discharge and thought they were related. I now think it was meconium + my waters breaking.
I was getting contractions and asked if I wanted an epidural, which I did. They told me it'd be half an hour. It was almost an hour later when they checked me, and I'd been screaming and thrashing the entire time. I wasn't having regular contractions and instead having back labor.
If you've never had it, (my) back labor started as a small "fire" in my lower back which would hit really hard into my tailbone, then wrap around to the front with cramps. It was awful because even when the back pain would stop, the contractions in the front continued after.
So after an hour they checked me and I was already at 6 cm! I was so scared they'd tell me I was too far for an epidural. I was crying when I said, "Please let me get an epidural." The nurse apologized for it taking so long, she said the lab results were taking longer than usual and they'd already called twice.
Eventually, I got one (again after crying, they wouldn't let my boyfriend be in the room and I was so scared of being alone) and I felt 100% better. I thought it'd be a lot easier, but no.
It got worse..
They said because they didn't know when my water broke they were going to give me pitocin to make my contractions stronger. Thankfully, I didn't feel that, but I started getting awful pains in my back from being on it for so long. I asked to be turned to my side, and a nurse helped me.. However, almost immediately once they did his heart rate plummeted.
They couldn't get it back up and told me they were going to inject me with a fluid that would "raise" him off his umbilical cord. Luckily, it worked.. Till I asked to be switched onto my other side because the pain would become unbearable on the side I -wasn't- laying on. They said okay, and again, as soon as I flipped, his heart plummeted. They flipped me onto my back and rolled him around till it went back up.
Then, again, this time I moved only an inch or so -- and his heart dropped once again. This time it was only my boyfriend and I in the room and I paged the nurses 3 or 4 times, and I kept crying, "His heart is dropping, his heart is dropping!" I didn't know what to do. The nurses came in and told me to stop panicking because it would stress him out more and cause more problems.. They told me too if it kept up they'd have to think of "alternative methods" of getting him out.. I knew what they meant.
The nurse showed me on the monitor the moment I moved was the moment his heart dropped. I couldn't believe it, it showed me having some type of movement and seconds later his heart going straight down. I was so scared.
Then I finally felt the urge to push really, really badly. I told the nurse and she checked me. I was 9 cm, but tissue on the right side of my cervix was still there. She said I couldn't push because if I did, it'd inflame my cervix and I wouldn't be able to push him out at all. So here I am, 9 cm, dying to push, and being told I can't. I started crying because I didn't know how to make my body not push, it was doing it on its own.
I tried for another 30-40 minutes before paging her again and telling her to please come check me again! She finally did and said I was finally ready to push. I almost cried when she left the room, I was so scared she wouldn't come back, I wanted to push then and now, not later!
The doctor comes in, and somehow there's about 10 people in the room.. The doctors, nurses, and the people who were going to be there to check him for meconium, and obviously my boyfriend. The finally tell me I can push, and about 20 minutes later I see the doctor take out scissors, I knew he was going to give me an episiotomy. They numbed me, cut me, and told me to push again. I did, and 5 minutes later, out came baby!
He didn't cry at first and my boyfriend wasn't allowed to immediately cut the cord because of the meconium. I started crying (I cried a lot!) and I asked, "Why isn't he crying? Why isn't he crying?" They told me it can take a minute, and I was so relieved to hear him scream!
Then, immediately after, my next question was, "Can I have a glass of water???"
The nurses said no, not till the doctor was done, but I think I must've asked them 5 or 6 times anyway! I was so thirsty! My boyfriend was allowed to cut the excess cord off, they said there was no meconium in him, and he was all clear! They placed him into my arms first, then I handed him to my boyfriend.
I asked the nurse if the cord had been around his neck and if that was why his heart kept dropping. She told me, "It was around his neck and his entire body." So basically, every time I shifted, I shifted him onto his cord, and it would cause his heart to drop..
So basically: Back labor, meconium, late epidural, his heart dropped 3 times, being told I can't push for another 40 minutes, and they had to give me an episiotomy to get him out.. It felt like everything was going wrong!
But now he's here, he's doing great, and I couldn't be more in love. He's a GREAT sleeper, he only wakes us up about twice a night, let's hope it stays like that!
Baby Payton Agustin Colin arrived on November 5, 2012, at 2:22 pm, exactly a week late! He weighs a (healthy!) 8 pounds 10 ounces and is 22.5 inches long! (The average, the hospital said, is 7 pounds 18 inches, so he really topped the charts!)
Starting on Friday, I had awful cramping in my back, I got about 4 hours of sleep the entire night. I thought it was just him laying on my nerves.. Saturday the cramping was on/off, didn't think much of it. Around 12:30 I started getting awful cramps in my back, I didn't think they were contractions because everyone kept telling me they'd be in my stomach, not my back. Turns out I was in back labor and had no clue!
My boyfriend was sleeping and my stepmom came out around 2:30 am when I told her I was considering going to the hospital. I started getting more severe pains and timed them. They were about 2 minutes and 2-4 minutes apart. This lasted for another hour (till 3:30am) and finally I was in tears and my stepmom told me to wake up my boyfriend, Sal, and have him take me to the hospital.
Sal grabbed my bags and we left. I had about 2/3 contractions on the way there, and was admitted via the emergency room (normal hospital entrance closes at 8). They checked me and said I was about 2/3 cm dilated. They then said they noticed meconium (baby poop) and said that it's common in babies who are overdue. They said it meant he'd need a specialist there immediately after he was born to make sure it wasn't in his lungs.
Then they asked me if I knew my water had broke. I told them I didn't think it had, but they said they thought so, so I think it happened within the hour before I went to the hospital. I'd seen a clear liquid + discharge and thought they were related. I now think it was meconium + my waters breaking.
I was getting contractions and asked if I wanted an epidural, which I did. They told me it'd be half an hour. It was almost an hour later when they checked me, and I'd been screaming and thrashing the entire time. I wasn't having regular contractions and instead having back labor.
If you've never had it, (my) back labor started as a small "fire" in my lower back which would hit really hard into my tailbone, then wrap around to the front with cramps. It was awful because even when the back pain would stop, the contractions in the front continued after.
So after an hour they checked me and I was already at 6 cm! I was so scared they'd tell me I was too far for an epidural. I was crying when I said, "Please let me get an epidural." The nurse apologized for it taking so long, she said the lab results were taking longer than usual and they'd already called twice.
Eventually, I got one (again after crying, they wouldn't let my boyfriend be in the room and I was so scared of being alone) and I felt 100% better. I thought it'd be a lot easier, but no.
It got worse.. They said because they didn't know when my water broke they were going to give me pitocin to make my contractions stronger. Thankfully, I didn't feel that, but I started getting awful pains in my back from being on it for so long. I asked to be turned to my side, and a nurse helped me.. However, almost immediately once they did his heart rate plummeted.
They couldn't get it back up and told me they were going to inject me with a fluid that would "raise" him off his umbilical cord. Luckily, it worked.. Till I asked to be switched onto my other side because the pain would become unbearable on the side I -wasn't- laying on. They said okay, and again, as soon as I flipped, his heart plummeted. They flipped me onto my back and rolled him around till it went back up.
Then, again, this time I moved only an inch or so -- and his heart dropped once again. This time it was only my boyfriend and I in the room and I paged the nurses 3 or 4 times, and I kept crying, "His heart is dropping, his heart is dropping!" I didn't know what to do. The nurses came in and told me to stop panicking because it would stress him out more and cause more problems.. They told me too if it kept up they'd have to think of "alternative methods" of getting him out.. I knew what they meant.
The nurse showed me on the monitor the moment I moved was the moment his heart dropped. I couldn't believe it, it showed me having some type of movement and seconds later his heart going straight down. I was so scared.
Then I finally felt the urge to push really, really badly. I told the nurse and she checked me. I was 9 cm, but tissue on the right side of my cervix was still there. She said I couldn't push because if I did, it'd inflame my cervix and I wouldn't be able to push him out at all. So here I am, 9 cm, dying to push, and being told I can't. I started crying because I didn't know how to make my body not push, it was doing it on its own.
I tried for another 30-40 minutes before paging her again and telling her to please come check me again! She finally did and said I was finally ready to push. I almost cried when she left the room, I was so scared she wouldn't come back, I wanted to push then and now, not later!
The doctor comes in, and somehow there's about 10 people in the room.. The doctors, nurses, and the people who were going to be there to check him for meconium, and obviously my boyfriend. The finally tell me I can push, and about 20 minutes later I see the doctor take out scissors, I knew he was going to give me an episiotomy.
They numbed me, cut me, and told me to push again. I did, and 5 minutes later, out came baby! He didn't cry at first and my boyfriend wasn't allowed to immediately cut the cord because of the meconium. I started crying (I cried a lot!) and I asked, "Why isn't he crying? Why isn't he crying?" They told me it can take a minute, and I was so relieved to hear him scream!
Then, immediately after, my next question was, "Can I have a glass of water???"
The nurses said no, not till the doctor was done, but I think I must've asked them 5 or 6 times anyway! I was so thirsty! My boyfriend was allowed to cut the excess cord off, they said there was no meconium in him, and he was all clear! They placed him into my arms first, then I handed him to my boyfriend. I asked the nurse if the cord had been around his neck and if that was why his heart kept dropping. She told me, "It was around his neck and his entire body." So basically, every time I shifted, I shifted him onto his cord, and it would cause his heart to drop..
So basically: Back labor, meconium, late epidural, his heart dropped 3 times, being told I can't push for another 40 minutes, and they had to give me an episiotomy to get him out.. It felt like everything was going wrong!
But now he's here, he's doing great, and I couldn't be more in love. He's a GREAT sleeper, he only wakes us up about twice a night, let's hope it stays like that!
congrads his one handsome fella
