Amberyll23
Grace and Hayleigh's Mom!
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Sorry for the length!
Mary Grace, Born October 21 2011
Failed Induction, Elective C-Section
My original due date was set for October 26, 2011; however, due to pre-existing high blood pressure, advanced maternal age and gestational diabetes, it was determined by my doctors that, unless the baby came sooner on her own, I would be induced at a scheduled induction on October 19 2011 at 39 weeks.
October 13, 2011--growth scan showed a possible 8 1/2 lb baby girl, I became concerned due to MD telling me that I had a narrow pelvic area, and that I may not be able to deliver her vaginally due to her size.
October 18, 2011--DH Wyatt's birthday, no baby appearance, but had my bloody show after my final NST. Upon examination, my cervix was not dilated enough for the doctor to be satisfied with just starting pitocin, so the induction was moved until later on the 19th so that a vaginal suppository (prostaglandin)could be used to soften my cervix. Finished up my last day of work before leave!
October 19, 2001 (Wednesday)--spent the day at home with DH waiting for the hospital to call for me to come in. Got the call in the middle of the night and headed into the city. We were checked into the labor and delivery ward and the MD placed the suppository, and told me that they would check me in 12 hours to see if there was any softening of the cervix or, best case scenario, it kick starts me into active labor. DH and I thus settled in for a long night and tried to catch some sleep.
October 20, 2011--12 hours after the suppository and I had ZERO progress. No contractions, no dilation. Cervix was softer, but that was about it. My next option was a drug called Misoprostal, which was a small pill placed directly onto my cervix. A few hours in, I started to feel contractions. By midnight, the contractions were so close together and so painful, I consented to some pain medication through the IV that would only "take the edge off" of the contractions. I did not want anything stronger out of fear of any medication affecting the baby. Within an hour, the pain medication was not doing anything, and the contractions were very close together, one after the other. Doctor performed an exam and, to my dismay, despite all of the contractions and pain, my cervix was STILL not dilating and the baby had not even begun to drop.
The doctor gave me some time to get a shower and order dinner (which was comical, because maternal fetal medicine--the specialists watching over my blood pressure and gestational diabetes--would only allow me to have a "liquid only" diet--so my dinner was beef broth, iced tea, with a side of rasberry flavored ice! I was NOT a happy camper!!)
The doctor and I discussed another round of Miso (you can apparently have up to 3 doses) versus trying out the Pitocin. I agreed with the doctor that another dose of miso may do nothing more than give me more painful contractions without progress, so I consented to start the Pitocin.
October 21, 2011--Pitocin was started about 1 am, and through the night and well into the afternoon, they gradually increased the dosage. Like the other induction drugs, the Pitocin had zero effect on inducing my labor. I was having contractions, but they were not nearly as painful as the ones I had with the Miso, and I could tell that nothing was happening. Throughout the day, I became increasingly sore, tired, frustrated and angry--I had not seen the doctor since 7 am that morning.
Around dinner time, my parents showed up (they live 3 hours away). I began talking with them about how I felt that this was looking more like a C-Section as I did not feel I was progessing.
At around 5:30-6:00 the doctor came in and checked me and, as I thought, no progess. 3 induction drugs and my body reacted to NONE of them!! My options at that point were to continue on with the Pitocin to see if any change (and the doctor was honest and up front, advising that it could take easily another day or two), we could try a ballon catheter to open up my cervix (but this did not guarantee the baby would drop), or I could elect a C-Section. This was a very emotional and hard decision for me to make. Fortunately, Mary Grace, who was on a monitor the entire time, was active and doing extremely well, showing no signs of duress/distress, and I was doing well also as my blood pressure and sugar were in check. After nearly 48 hours though, I had very little energy to continue on the way things were going. We were also still concerned about the baby's size as she was estimated at that point to be close to 9 lbs.
DH and I talked things over, and I elected the C-Section.
After advising the doctor of my choice, things moved very fast. Within the hour, I was whisked into a surgery room for the C-Section, and had my nerve block. Wyatt (DH) was allowed into the room during the procedure and sat by my head the entire time. The anesthesia was not as bad as I thought it would be, just a couple of needle pricks and some wierd sensations going down my legs. During the section, I did feel some pain in my upper chest, so they gave me some pain medication through my IV that helped clear that away. Of course, since I always get a bit loopy on pain meds, I was cracking up the anesthesiologists by telling them I was having an "out of body experience" and everything was a lovely purple and green!
At 7:47 pm, on October 21, 2011, nearly 48 hours after we left for the hospital, our precious Mary Grace was born at 7 lbs, 14 oz and 20.5 inches long---a LOT less than everyone predicted! I remember hearing the attending MD exlaiming "oh, she is not a big baby at all!". After the surgery, the doctor told me I had a lot of fluid, which made my uterus measure larger than Mary Grace's actual size.
There is nothing more wonderous in this world than hearing your baby cry her fist cry upon entering the world. Mary Grace was placed into Wyatt's arms and he brought her around to me to meet her momma. It was instantaneous love.
It has taken me a couple of weeks to get over the C-Section pain and healing. The doctor says full recovery takes about six weeks, but I feel better and better every day. I had always hoped to give birth to my children vaginally, but I would do this all again in a heartbeat for the precious little girl that has been entrusted to our loving care. She is beautiful and perfect in every way!
Here are some pictures of our precious girl!
Mary Grace, Born October 21 2011
Failed Induction, Elective C-Section
My original due date was set for October 26, 2011; however, due to pre-existing high blood pressure, advanced maternal age and gestational diabetes, it was determined by my doctors that, unless the baby came sooner on her own, I would be induced at a scheduled induction on October 19 2011 at 39 weeks.
October 13, 2011--growth scan showed a possible 8 1/2 lb baby girl, I became concerned due to MD telling me that I had a narrow pelvic area, and that I may not be able to deliver her vaginally due to her size.
October 18, 2011--DH Wyatt's birthday, no baby appearance, but had my bloody show after my final NST. Upon examination, my cervix was not dilated enough for the doctor to be satisfied with just starting pitocin, so the induction was moved until later on the 19th so that a vaginal suppository (prostaglandin)could be used to soften my cervix. Finished up my last day of work before leave!
October 19, 2001 (Wednesday)--spent the day at home with DH waiting for the hospital to call for me to come in. Got the call in the middle of the night and headed into the city. We were checked into the labor and delivery ward and the MD placed the suppository, and told me that they would check me in 12 hours to see if there was any softening of the cervix or, best case scenario, it kick starts me into active labor. DH and I thus settled in for a long night and tried to catch some sleep.
October 20, 2011--12 hours after the suppository and I had ZERO progress. No contractions, no dilation. Cervix was softer, but that was about it. My next option was a drug called Misoprostal, which was a small pill placed directly onto my cervix. A few hours in, I started to feel contractions. By midnight, the contractions were so close together and so painful, I consented to some pain medication through the IV that would only "take the edge off" of the contractions. I did not want anything stronger out of fear of any medication affecting the baby. Within an hour, the pain medication was not doing anything, and the contractions were very close together, one after the other. Doctor performed an exam and, to my dismay, despite all of the contractions and pain, my cervix was STILL not dilating and the baby had not even begun to drop.
The doctor gave me some time to get a shower and order dinner (which was comical, because maternal fetal medicine--the specialists watching over my blood pressure and gestational diabetes--would only allow me to have a "liquid only" diet--so my dinner was beef broth, iced tea, with a side of rasberry flavored ice! I was NOT a happy camper!!)
The doctor and I discussed another round of Miso (you can apparently have up to 3 doses) versus trying out the Pitocin. I agreed with the doctor that another dose of miso may do nothing more than give me more painful contractions without progress, so I consented to start the Pitocin.
October 21, 2011--Pitocin was started about 1 am, and through the night and well into the afternoon, they gradually increased the dosage. Like the other induction drugs, the Pitocin had zero effect on inducing my labor. I was having contractions, but they were not nearly as painful as the ones I had with the Miso, and I could tell that nothing was happening. Throughout the day, I became increasingly sore, tired, frustrated and angry--I had not seen the doctor since 7 am that morning.
Around dinner time, my parents showed up (they live 3 hours away). I began talking with them about how I felt that this was looking more like a C-Section as I did not feel I was progessing.
At around 5:30-6:00 the doctor came in and checked me and, as I thought, no progess. 3 induction drugs and my body reacted to NONE of them!! My options at that point were to continue on with the Pitocin to see if any change (and the doctor was honest and up front, advising that it could take easily another day or two), we could try a ballon catheter to open up my cervix (but this did not guarantee the baby would drop), or I could elect a C-Section. This was a very emotional and hard decision for me to make. Fortunately, Mary Grace, who was on a monitor the entire time, was active and doing extremely well, showing no signs of duress/distress, and I was doing well also as my blood pressure and sugar were in check. After nearly 48 hours though, I had very little energy to continue on the way things were going. We were also still concerned about the baby's size as she was estimated at that point to be close to 9 lbs.
DH and I talked things over, and I elected the C-Section.
After advising the doctor of my choice, things moved very fast. Within the hour, I was whisked into a surgery room for the C-Section, and had my nerve block. Wyatt (DH) was allowed into the room during the procedure and sat by my head the entire time. The anesthesia was not as bad as I thought it would be, just a couple of needle pricks and some wierd sensations going down my legs. During the section, I did feel some pain in my upper chest, so they gave me some pain medication through my IV that helped clear that away. Of course, since I always get a bit loopy on pain meds, I was cracking up the anesthesiologists by telling them I was having an "out of body experience" and everything was a lovely purple and green!
At 7:47 pm, on October 21, 2011, nearly 48 hours after we left for the hospital, our precious Mary Grace was born at 7 lbs, 14 oz and 20.5 inches long---a LOT less than everyone predicted! I remember hearing the attending MD exlaiming "oh, she is not a big baby at all!". After the surgery, the doctor told me I had a lot of fluid, which made my uterus measure larger than Mary Grace's actual size.
There is nothing more wonderous in this world than hearing your baby cry her fist cry upon entering the world. Mary Grace was placed into Wyatt's arms and he brought her around to me to meet her momma. It was instantaneous love.
It has taken me a couple of weeks to get over the C-Section pain and healing. The doctor says full recovery takes about six weeks, but I feel better and better every day. I had always hoped to give birth to my children vaginally, but I would do this all again in a heartbeat for the precious little girl that has been entrusted to our loving care. She is beautiful and perfect in every way!
Here are some pictures of our precious girl!
