As I was induced at 37 weeks I will start with what happened leading up to induction....
Before getting pregnant I had high blood pressure - I wasnt on meds for it - drs seemed to dismiss it. During early pregnancy my blood pressure went down to normal range - about the start of 3rd tri it started to increase. It was recommended that I stop working to keep it down. No signs of pre-eclampsia - just bp kept rising. They started to do non-stress tests every tues & fri & scan for fluid levels once a week. I had a growth scan at 32+6 because higher bp can cause the baby not to grow properly. Well the scan showed her weighing about 4 1/2 lbs & was in the 49%ile. I had another growth scan at 36+6. It showed that Megan hadn't really grown - that she was only 4 1/2 - 5 lbs. The dr said it would be best to start induction as the baby would be better off outside vs staying in since she wasnt growing.
I went in to the hospital at 7:00 that night to start cervadil to ripen my cervix. I had been checked the friday before for dilation & was still dilated to 1 when they put the suppository in. I was told to rest & try to sleep which was impossible with all the cramping and unregular contractions that happened through the night. I also had diarreah throughout the night. They had me hooked up to a monitor to keep an eye on the baby's heartrate & my contractions & also were checking my bp every 15 minutes. At 8 the next morning the nurse tried to put my iv in - she messed it up 2ce before going to get another more experienced nurse. The 2nd nurse then spent 20 minutes looking at my veins in bright lights trying to find a spot to go in. Finally after my iv was in the dr came in to check me (still dilated to 1) and started the pitocin. I was still hooked up to the monitors & my contractions became more regular & gradually got more painful. At this point my husband & I were trying to watch tv as it was helping to distract me. My husband was thinking the #'s on the monitor showed how bad each contraction was but that wasnt the case. I would get a really strong contraction and it showed a small # on the machine. Another time I would have a really weak one & the number would keep going up. My dh then would only be supportive if the numbers were high & I was getting annoyed at him. Finally between the nurse & myself we convinced him that only I knew how strong the contractions were - and the monitor didnt show that.
The nurse kept upping the dosage of pitocin every 15 minutes. She would come in and check the baby's heartrate & my contraction sheet then check my blood pressure. Once that was done she would push the buttons on the machine to increase the iv. My blood pressure started to go down the worse my labor got which was surprising. It ended up staying down the whole day! The nurse kept commenting how labor agrees with me as it is assumed that blood pressure will go up when you are in pain. After a few hours with the pitocin I was checked again by the dr. This time it was VERY painful to be checked - I was practically in tears and could hardly stand to lay there. I was only dilated to 2- could stretch to 3 which was very discouraging to me at the time!
Contractions continued to get worse & I started feeling nausaus. They brought me a food tray at 12:00 which consisted of toast, jello, tea, lemon freezy, and broth. I was not hungry while in labor - but the nurse told me it might be better to try to eat some so that if I did vomit there would be something that would come up vs. just dry heaves. So I would nibble on the food but every 5 minutes when someone would come in the room they would try to take my tray - what was their hurry?!?
I wasnt allowed to walk around since being hooked up to all the monitors, but I was allowed to be on the birthing ball so I tried that. It seemed to chang the feel of my contractions - they felt more in front and lower & I didnt feel the tightening up top anymore. I actually asked the nurse if we were sure that I was having contractions and not just cramps! LOL She said from the sound of me that they werent just cramps - and that sometimes contractions can feel different at different parts of labor. We then tried standing up for a while - the nurse raised my bed really high and dh got behind me to rub my back. I would sway back and forth and during a contraction would lean on the bed. It felt best to have dh push really hard on my lower back - esp. with his knuckles. Contractions this whole time seemed pretty close together & was having a hard time getting through each one. The dr then came in to check me again (again was very painful) and I was about a 4 - they decided to break my water which was the strangest feeling to me- the warm gush! The dr told the nurse to double my pitocin or something my dh told me - I missed that whole part was in pain at the time! The dr told me at that time that I could have the epidural any time after that. By the time she left the room my contractions were hitting very hard- I had a tough time getting through them and my body started shaking horribly. My dh kept thinking I was cold- but it wasnt a shivering - it was shaking. I had to have my dh stand right in front of my face & breath with me during this point in labor- it was the only thing getting me through. Then the nurse was instructing him on how to have me breathe slower & try to hold my breathe after a contraction so I wouldnt hyperventalate. DH says that during this point I told him I couldnt do it anymore -LOL. My contractions were almost right on top of each other at that point & were VERY painful. My dh said I should get the epidural & the nurse told me I should try to wait - to experience "true labor". Well I was listening to her instead of my dh at that moment & trying to prove to myself that I could do it without the epidural but in my mind was also realizing that I was in this much pain and was only dilated to 4 - how was I ever going to manage when I got to 8 or 9?
Well I got to the point where I felt that I couldn't manage anymore so asked for the epidural. The dr was in my room at that moment to check my monitor and she had to ask me what I said cause she couldnt understand the words that I said ( i was in so much pain i couldnt make sense.) Once the dr came that does the epidural (around 4 pm)- he explained the risks with getting one & what to expect. He then had decided to give me a shot of something (not sure what) cause my contractions were too hard and too close together that he told my nurse I wouldnt have been able to hold still long enough for him to get the epidural in. During the epidural he asked if it was centered & I could feel that it was too far left which I dont know how I knew that
Once the epidural started working my contractions went from very intense to gradually getting lesser and lesser - where I could feel them but not be in the pain. He told me that with the epidural that I would feel pressure but not pain & gave me the button to push for when I wanted more. He was a terrific dr - was very comforting and direct - very good to deal with while during labor. I then started to relax more and thought I might be able to doze off for a while.
The nurse (new one cause of shift change) stayed in my room to keep an eye on the baby's heartrate after the epidural. She said she would put a catheder in me in a few hours. I then got checked by the dr & was dilated to 4 but was fully effaced finally. She said that we would hope for maybe a cm an hour from then on. The nurse left the room once & I noticed that the baby's heartrate had gone down and then come back up. When she came back I asked her about it - & she said it was normal... that if it got too low that an alarm would go off & I should push the nurse call button if that happened. I also told her I was feeling pain in one spot on my left side so she put a pillow under my right side saying that sometimes that helps to get the epidural flowing to all areas correctly. During that pain I was also feeling lots of pressure - but was thinking that was normal cause the dr who did the epidural said I would feel pressure. My dh and I decided that he should go home to give our cat some food since we would not be home for a few days & dh could get something to eat - since I hadnt let him leave my side all day when I was in pain. They hadnt put a catheder in yet & we assumed we had hours & hours til the baby was born. So dh left and I dozed on and off & the nurse left the room to get some dinner for herself. I would hear my baby's heartrate go down but then it would go back up so I was thinking that there was no alarm & the nurse said it was normal. I was still feeling pressure down low & pain in my bump on the left side. Around 6:00 a different nurse came in the room and introduced herself. She said that if I delivered before 11:30 that night that she would be my charge nurse. I was thinking "yeah right" there was no way I would deliver by then! She then asked if a student could be in the delivery room & I told her I wanted to wait til my dh came back and ask him what he thought. While she was in the room my baby's heartrate dipped again and the nurse went over to check out the monitor. She asked if I had been feeling pressure - and I said "yes Ive felt pressure" (of course cause the epidural man said I would - duh!) Well she then checked me and said "oh my gawd, the baby is right there!" and she went running out of the room! So right away she was back with my dr and my regular nurse + another 2 women who ended up being students (who dh & I let stay for delivery.)
The dr then checked me and basically told the nurse she was right - that the baby was "right there" & we were going to have a baby. Well then I tell them all while freaking out that my husband isnt here - he went to go get food! The nurse says "is he downstairs in the cafeteria?" I tell them no- he went home! The nurse puts the phone on my chest to call him and I dial his cell # with no answer!! I then dial our house # and after 4 rings I hear an automated thing that said our hospital name. I then shout out that I dont know how the phone works & a nurse said - you have to dial 9. Well how would I have known that in all my panic?! All this time everyone in the room was rushing around getting everything ready. My dr then says to give her the phone and what is the phone number - so she calls my dh & says to him that that baby is a zero station and ready to be born - that he must come now! So he tells her he will be there in 5 minutes. When she gets off the phone with him she sits at the end of my bed and says my dh sounded very calm and she was surprised how calm he was (LOL he wasnt really calm he tells me later) and she asks how far away really do you live? I say less than 5 minutes away (she must not have believed dh?) so then she says "ok well then we can wait" What?!?! so if it was more than 5 minutes they wouldnt have waited - omg! Then she says "dont push!!"
So we wait and 4-5 minutes later my dh comes charging in the room & the dr and nurses all get ready that exact second for me to start pushing. I could feel the pressure even with the epidural so thats when they told me to push. When a contraction would start they had me breathe deep then exhale and the 2nd breath is when I would push - would push for count of 10- 3 times then rest til next contraction. DH was holding one leg and a nurse was holding the other. After first pushes the charge nurse said I was a good pusher & they got ready for the baby being born vs.. thinking I would be pushing a lot longer. The nurse asked if I wanted to feel her head - so I did & started crying right there - it was so unreal! 3 contractions total & 8 pushes and Megan Elizabeth was born at 6:16pm. She was crying and they laid her on me. I felt a big gush of emotions when I saw her. DH & I were crying and laughing at the same time. It was the single best moment of my life! DH cut the cord and then I held her and gave her a kiss on her head. She was covered in vernix and the nurse asked if she could take her over to the warmer and wipe her off a bit so I said ok. She wiped her off some and then they weighed her... she weighed in at 5 lbs 14 oz & 19" long- a whole pound above what they said she would! I was shocked & asked them to repeat themselves - and the dr said - yes that the ultrasound was off by quite a bit. They wrapped Megan in a blanket and during this time the dr was massaging my belly and my placenta came out. She said my placenta was on the small side - but didnt go into more details about it. She gave me one stitch -said I had a very minor first degree tear. She also asked the nurse about the lack of catheder & the nurse said - we never got to it! (cause she was born only a few hours after the epidural) So the dr did a catheder at that point to empty my bladder & took it right back out again. Then they gave Megan back to me and dh & I held her and had our first moments with her - she was trying to open her eyes - which was difficult with all the bright delivery spot lights still on. Eventually the dr left & the nurse was doing her scores & shots & then dh gave Megan her bath. I was up going to the bathroom and had a sitz bath about 1 1/2 hours after Megan was born. Before that I just stayed in the bed and took pics of my dh and the nurse doing the footprints, tests, etc but I had a great view (the baby warmer table where they did all those things was only a few feet from me). DH finally a few hours later left to get himself (& me) some well deserved food since he never did end up getting dinner when he went home - he had only been there less than 5 minutes when we got called to come back! Poor guy hadnt even hardly had a bathroom break all day! LOL
Megan was perfect - no issues with being born early. She had one episode the morning after birth where here body temp was dipping a bit so they tried skin on skin but then decided to put her in the warmer for a bit. She was back in my arms within the hour. We had some issues breastfeeding cause I had a reduction many years ago. She had a hard time latching on to me because of that. She was born Wed. night and by friday when we were going home the pediatrician said we should supplement which I was relieved about because Megan had obviously not been satisfied the night before. Since Megan was so little & then had dropped to 5 lbs 6 oz they said they didnt want her losing anymore...and even though I was pumping it wasnt going well. She also had a little jaundice but not enough for them to put her under the special lights. They just said she had to eat more so she could poop and it would correct itself which is exaclty what happened the following week.
I think that maybe the feeling of having a baby could be addictive - cause it was such a rush. I've never felt such joy and awe in all my life. DH & I are so in love with her - makes us wonder why we waited so long to have kids - we are both on
Not sleeping much - but as I have said.... who needs sleep when you get to hold a miracle in your arms. 
Before getting pregnant I had high blood pressure - I wasnt on meds for it - drs seemed to dismiss it. During early pregnancy my blood pressure went down to normal range - about the start of 3rd tri it started to increase. It was recommended that I stop working to keep it down. No signs of pre-eclampsia - just bp kept rising. They started to do non-stress tests every tues & fri & scan for fluid levels once a week. I had a growth scan at 32+6 because higher bp can cause the baby not to grow properly. Well the scan showed her weighing about 4 1/2 lbs & was in the 49%ile. I had another growth scan at 36+6. It showed that Megan hadn't really grown - that she was only 4 1/2 - 5 lbs. The dr said it would be best to start induction as the baby would be better off outside vs staying in since she wasnt growing.
I went in to the hospital at 7:00 that night to start cervadil to ripen my cervix. I had been checked the friday before for dilation & was still dilated to 1 when they put the suppository in. I was told to rest & try to sleep which was impossible with all the cramping and unregular contractions that happened through the night. I also had diarreah throughout the night. They had me hooked up to a monitor to keep an eye on the baby's heartrate & my contractions & also were checking my bp every 15 minutes. At 8 the next morning the nurse tried to put my iv in - she messed it up 2ce before going to get another more experienced nurse. The 2nd nurse then spent 20 minutes looking at my veins in bright lights trying to find a spot to go in. Finally after my iv was in the dr came in to check me (still dilated to 1) and started the pitocin. I was still hooked up to the monitors & my contractions became more regular & gradually got more painful. At this point my husband & I were trying to watch tv as it was helping to distract me. My husband was thinking the #'s on the monitor showed how bad each contraction was but that wasnt the case. I would get a really strong contraction and it showed a small # on the machine. Another time I would have a really weak one & the number would keep going up. My dh then would only be supportive if the numbers were high & I was getting annoyed at him. Finally between the nurse & myself we convinced him that only I knew how strong the contractions were - and the monitor didnt show that.
The nurse kept upping the dosage of pitocin every 15 minutes. She would come in and check the baby's heartrate & my contraction sheet then check my blood pressure. Once that was done she would push the buttons on the machine to increase the iv. My blood pressure started to go down the worse my labor got which was surprising. It ended up staying down the whole day! The nurse kept commenting how labor agrees with me as it is assumed that blood pressure will go up when you are in pain. After a few hours with the pitocin I was checked again by the dr. This time it was VERY painful to be checked - I was practically in tears and could hardly stand to lay there. I was only dilated to 2- could stretch to 3 which was very discouraging to me at the time!
Contractions continued to get worse & I started feeling nausaus. They brought me a food tray at 12:00 which consisted of toast, jello, tea, lemon freezy, and broth. I was not hungry while in labor - but the nurse told me it might be better to try to eat some so that if I did vomit there would be something that would come up vs. just dry heaves. So I would nibble on the food but every 5 minutes when someone would come in the room they would try to take my tray - what was their hurry?!?
I wasnt allowed to walk around since being hooked up to all the monitors, but I was allowed to be on the birthing ball so I tried that. It seemed to chang the feel of my contractions - they felt more in front and lower & I didnt feel the tightening up top anymore. I actually asked the nurse if we were sure that I was having contractions and not just cramps! LOL She said from the sound of me that they werent just cramps - and that sometimes contractions can feel different at different parts of labor. We then tried standing up for a while - the nurse raised my bed really high and dh got behind me to rub my back. I would sway back and forth and during a contraction would lean on the bed. It felt best to have dh push really hard on my lower back - esp. with his knuckles. Contractions this whole time seemed pretty close together & was having a hard time getting through each one. The dr then came in to check me again (again was very painful) and I was about a 4 - they decided to break my water which was the strangest feeling to me- the warm gush! The dr told the nurse to double my pitocin or something my dh told me - I missed that whole part was in pain at the time! The dr told me at that time that I could have the epidural any time after that. By the time she left the room my contractions were hitting very hard- I had a tough time getting through them and my body started shaking horribly. My dh kept thinking I was cold- but it wasnt a shivering - it was shaking. I had to have my dh stand right in front of my face & breath with me during this point in labor- it was the only thing getting me through. Then the nurse was instructing him on how to have me breathe slower & try to hold my breathe after a contraction so I wouldnt hyperventalate. DH says that during this point I told him I couldnt do it anymore -LOL. My contractions were almost right on top of each other at that point & were VERY painful. My dh said I should get the epidural & the nurse told me I should try to wait - to experience "true labor". Well I was listening to her instead of my dh at that moment & trying to prove to myself that I could do it without the epidural but in my mind was also realizing that I was in this much pain and was only dilated to 4 - how was I ever going to manage when I got to 8 or 9?
Well I got to the point where I felt that I couldn't manage anymore so asked for the epidural. The dr was in my room at that moment to check my monitor and she had to ask me what I said cause she couldnt understand the words that I said ( i was in so much pain i couldnt make sense.) Once the dr came that does the epidural (around 4 pm)- he explained the risks with getting one & what to expect. He then had decided to give me a shot of something (not sure what) cause my contractions were too hard and too close together that he told my nurse I wouldnt have been able to hold still long enough for him to get the epidural in. During the epidural he asked if it was centered & I could feel that it was too far left which I dont know how I knew that
Once the epidural started working my contractions went from very intense to gradually getting lesser and lesser - where I could feel them but not be in the pain. He told me that with the epidural that I would feel pressure but not pain & gave me the button to push for when I wanted more. He was a terrific dr - was very comforting and direct - very good to deal with while during labor. I then started to relax more and thought I might be able to doze off for a while.The nurse (new one cause of shift change) stayed in my room to keep an eye on the baby's heartrate after the epidural. She said she would put a catheder in me in a few hours. I then got checked by the dr & was dilated to 4 but was fully effaced finally. She said that we would hope for maybe a cm an hour from then on. The nurse left the room once & I noticed that the baby's heartrate had gone down and then come back up. When she came back I asked her about it - & she said it was normal... that if it got too low that an alarm would go off & I should push the nurse call button if that happened. I also told her I was feeling pain in one spot on my left side so she put a pillow under my right side saying that sometimes that helps to get the epidural flowing to all areas correctly. During that pain I was also feeling lots of pressure - but was thinking that was normal cause the dr who did the epidural said I would feel pressure. My dh and I decided that he should go home to give our cat some food since we would not be home for a few days & dh could get something to eat - since I hadnt let him leave my side all day when I was in pain. They hadnt put a catheder in yet & we assumed we had hours & hours til the baby was born. So dh left and I dozed on and off & the nurse left the room to get some dinner for herself. I would hear my baby's heartrate go down but then it would go back up so I was thinking that there was no alarm & the nurse said it was normal. I was still feeling pressure down low & pain in my bump on the left side. Around 6:00 a different nurse came in the room and introduced herself. She said that if I delivered before 11:30 that night that she would be my charge nurse. I was thinking "yeah right" there was no way I would deliver by then! She then asked if a student could be in the delivery room & I told her I wanted to wait til my dh came back and ask him what he thought. While she was in the room my baby's heartrate dipped again and the nurse went over to check out the monitor. She asked if I had been feeling pressure - and I said "yes Ive felt pressure" (of course cause the epidural man said I would - duh!) Well she then checked me and said "oh my gawd, the baby is right there!" and she went running out of the room! So right away she was back with my dr and my regular nurse + another 2 women who ended up being students (who dh & I let stay for delivery.)
The dr then checked me and basically told the nurse she was right - that the baby was "right there" & we were going to have a baby. Well then I tell them all while freaking out that my husband isnt here - he went to go get food! The nurse says "is he downstairs in the cafeteria?" I tell them no- he went home! The nurse puts the phone on my chest to call him and I dial his cell # with no answer!! I then dial our house # and after 4 rings I hear an automated thing that said our hospital name. I then shout out that I dont know how the phone works & a nurse said - you have to dial 9. Well how would I have known that in all my panic?! All this time everyone in the room was rushing around getting everything ready. My dr then says to give her the phone and what is the phone number - so she calls my dh & says to him that that baby is a zero station and ready to be born - that he must come now! So he tells her he will be there in 5 minutes. When she gets off the phone with him she sits at the end of my bed and says my dh sounded very calm and she was surprised how calm he was (LOL he wasnt really calm he tells me later) and she asks how far away really do you live? I say less than 5 minutes away (she must not have believed dh?) so then she says "ok well then we can wait" What?!?! so if it was more than 5 minutes they wouldnt have waited - omg! Then she says "dont push!!"
So we wait and 4-5 minutes later my dh comes charging in the room & the dr and nurses all get ready that exact second for me to start pushing. I could feel the pressure even with the epidural so thats when they told me to push. When a contraction would start they had me breathe deep then exhale and the 2nd breath is when I would push - would push for count of 10- 3 times then rest til next contraction. DH was holding one leg and a nurse was holding the other. After first pushes the charge nurse said I was a good pusher & they got ready for the baby being born vs.. thinking I would be pushing a lot longer. The nurse asked if I wanted to feel her head - so I did & started crying right there - it was so unreal! 3 contractions total & 8 pushes and Megan Elizabeth was born at 6:16pm. She was crying and they laid her on me. I felt a big gush of emotions when I saw her. DH & I were crying and laughing at the same time. It was the single best moment of my life! DH cut the cord and then I held her and gave her a kiss on her head. She was covered in vernix and the nurse asked if she could take her over to the warmer and wipe her off a bit so I said ok. She wiped her off some and then they weighed her... she weighed in at 5 lbs 14 oz & 19" long- a whole pound above what they said she would! I was shocked & asked them to repeat themselves - and the dr said - yes that the ultrasound was off by quite a bit. They wrapped Megan in a blanket and during this time the dr was massaging my belly and my placenta came out. She said my placenta was on the small side - but didnt go into more details about it. She gave me one stitch -said I had a very minor first degree tear. She also asked the nurse about the lack of catheder & the nurse said - we never got to it! (cause she was born only a few hours after the epidural) So the dr did a catheder at that point to empty my bladder & took it right back out again. Then they gave Megan back to me and dh & I held her and had our first moments with her - she was trying to open her eyes - which was difficult with all the bright delivery spot lights still on. Eventually the dr left & the nurse was doing her scores & shots & then dh gave Megan her bath. I was up going to the bathroom and had a sitz bath about 1 1/2 hours after Megan was born. Before that I just stayed in the bed and took pics of my dh and the nurse doing the footprints, tests, etc but I had a great view (the baby warmer table where they did all those things was only a few feet from me). DH finally a few hours later left to get himself (& me) some well deserved food since he never did end up getting dinner when he went home - he had only been there less than 5 minutes when we got called to come back! Poor guy hadnt even hardly had a bathroom break all day! LOL
Megan was perfect - no issues with being born early. She had one episode the morning after birth where here body temp was dipping a bit so they tried skin on skin but then decided to put her in the warmer for a bit. She was back in my arms within the hour. We had some issues breastfeeding cause I had a reduction many years ago. She had a hard time latching on to me because of that. She was born Wed. night and by friday when we were going home the pediatrician said we should supplement which I was relieved about because Megan had obviously not been satisfied the night before. Since Megan was so little & then had dropped to 5 lbs 6 oz they said they didnt want her losing anymore...and even though I was pumping it wasnt going well. She also had a little jaundice but not enough for them to put her under the special lights. They just said she had to eat more so she could poop and it would correct itself which is exaclty what happened the following week.
I think that maybe the feeling of having a baby could be addictive - cause it was such a rush. I've never felt such joy and awe in all my life. DH & I are so in love with her - makes us wonder why we waited so long to have kids - we are both on
Not sleeping much - but as I have said.... who needs sleep when you get to hold a miracle in your arms. 
