*if you haven't read part one of the birth story, do that first!*
Around 10:45am after spending some time in the rocking chair, contractions increasing in oh-$h!t-that-hurts-ness, I requested an epidural. Nurse Courtney checked me right before my epidural and I was only about 5 cm dilated. Bummer. All that pain and not a lot of progress since I started the induction process at 4 cm. I tried not to be too discouraged by that fact. *sigh*
Between 10:45 and 11:45, my sense of humor was mostly gone, I was fighting tears with each contraction, and I wondered why oh why did I think this (having another baby) was a good idea?! Only one person could stay with me while I was getting the epidural. I chose BFF/Doula Amy. Scott would have had issues with them describing in detail what was happening. "Okay, cleaning your back now, it'll feel cold. Quick poke and a sting with some numbing medicine..." That's probably where we'd have lost Scott. And Brooke, poor Brooke didn't get a vote. Sorry Brooke.
Getting the epidural was mostly uneventful. I mean, it's not FUN having someone stick a needle in your back while you're cringing in pain from contractions but they want you to remain absolutely still...but the pain relief afterwards made it seem worthwhile. By 11:45am, the epidural was on board and working. GLORY. For a little while after, I still had a hot spot on one side where I could still feel each contraction, but a (small) hot spot was better than feeling my whole uterus contract each time. After a while, the hot spot went away, thankfully.
My epidural was awesome because I had pretty great pain coverage but I could still move my legs well. They felt tingly and weird, but I could easily move them. That proved incredibly helpful later.
I asked Courtney to check me again not too long after the epidural was in full effect. When she did at 12:25 pm, I was 10 cm! Side note: I've read a lot of stories and heard a lot about how an epidural can slow or stall your dilation in labor. I'm just not one of those people. From my first delivery to my last, I dilated much, much quicker once I've had an epidural. Pre-epidural, I'm too tense and fighting the contractions, despite my best efforts to breathe, stop tensing up, etc. I guess I'm one of those women that post-epidural FINALLY relaxes enough to allow my body to do it's thing. Less than an hour after getting the magnificent pain-reducing juice in my back, we were ready to start pushing. There was excitement in the room. We were all hopeful we were close to meeting this baby! I might get to eat lunch! (Did I already mention that they don't let you eat when you're in labor?)
12:30 or so, I started pushing. Pushing is a strange thing. "Push like you're having a bowel movement. Push all in your bottom." These are the types of things labor and delivery nurses say. I appreciate the instruction, but with my fantastic epidural, I couldn't tell exactly how to push. This, for me, is the only down side to the epidural. It numbs up all the nerves that my body uses to tell my brain how to push the baby out. Maybe this is what people mean when they say epidurals can slow down or stall your labor. It certainly can prolong the pushing process.
Anyhoo...I started pushing. Mark's heart rate would dip periodically with a contraction or sometimes afterwards, but usually recovered well enough that we weren't TOO concerned. The baby's heart rate is the best indicator during the pushing process of how they are tolerating getting borned. For the first while, I was on my back while pushing. Scott was by my head. Amy helped me hold a leg. One of my two nurses helped hold the other leg. This was seriously a group effort! It became obvious after the first 15 minutes or so that this wasn't going to be a quick process.
BUMMER.
Fourth baby. Everyone thought this might go quickly. *sigh* With my first baby, I pushed 3-3.5 hours. Second and third babies, 1.5 hours. Apparently I just don't pop these kids out...
In the first hour, I did a lot of rotating to the left side and right side in between contractions to see if it would help Mark come on down. (said in best Price Is Right voice) I didn't open my eyes much during the first hour. During pushing or in between, I just felt wiped out. And we were just getting started! After an hour of pushing and not a lot of descent of Mark's head, my nurses suggested me taking a break, using this huge, green, peanut-looking thing to position my legs (supposedly opening up my hips, widening the birth canal) and see if it would help things progress. I was all for taking a break!
Amy says it was maybe 20 minutes that I "rested" with the green peanut awkwardly between my legs. Then it was time to push again. I had no real concept of time at this point. This time the nurses suggested I try "knees to chest" pushing position. Let me tell you how GLORIOUSLY HUMILIATING this position is. Imagine wearing nothing but a hospital gown that opens in the back and then get on your hands and knees in the bed. The only item of clothing I was wearing, the lovely hospital gown, was now draped on the bed under my elbows and knees and it's AWFULLY BREEZY BEHIND ME. Amy very kindly covered my heiney with a sheet. Poor everyone in that room. The arse-flag was flying high. Mark's heart rate did the best in this position, so we spent a decent amount of time pushing this way.
Dr. Brooks came and checked on me a few times in the course of all the pushing. Part of the problem why Mark wasn't making his way down the birth canal was because he was crooked. Ideally, babies are born (if mom is on her back), facing down, towards the floor. This allows for the absolute smallest diameter of their head to pass through mom's pelvis first. Think of putting a shirt on a toddler. It is easiest if you're standing over a toddler, putting a shirt on them, for them to look towards the floor, the "crown" of the head coming through the shirt first. Same concept, if that makes any sense. Sometimes, though, babies are born "sunny side up", facing the ceiling (if mom is on her back). This makes for a tougher delivery, more back-labor, and a larger diameter of the head to pass through mom's pelvis. Mr. Mark was being all kinds of special. Or stubborn. He wasn't facing up OR down, but kinda crookedly towards the side. This fact, combined with his Davidson-large-head, meant Mark wasn't going anywhere fast. Dr. Brooks made multiple attempts to help Mark rotate. Read: Doctor's whole hand buried in places you don't even wanna know. THANK GOODNESS FOR THAT EPIDURAL. Amy said she was glad Dr. Brooks has small hands, for my sake.
ZOIKS.
From 2pm - 3pm there was a LOT of pushing, rotating me to the left, right, hands and knees, back to my back, me holding the end of a sheet while someone held the other end to help me push (like tug of war). We were trying everything. Mark was.not.moving. It wasn't that it was just taking a long time for him to come out. He wasn't budging. This was a problem. Although he was tolerating all the pushing (for the most part), he needed to show SOME movement. Dr. Brooks left the room at 3pm and said she would give me 30 more minutes to try and push him out and then I would need to have a c-section. This was INCREDIBLY disheartening to me.
In a last-ditch effort to get this baby out, I asked them to turn off my epidural.
DUNT.
DUNT.
DUHHHHHHHNT.
If I was going to have a c-section after three previous vaginal deliveries, I wanted to know I had given it EVERY.LAST.OUNCE. of effort to prevent it. I had been trying really hard up to this point. But this was it. 30 more minutes. That's all I had. I had my support people text others to pray specifically that Mark's head would turn and that we could avoid a c-section.
Very reluctantly, the nurses turned off my epidural. In no time at all, I was feeling the full force of my pitocin-induced contractions. I wasn't comfortable before the epidural was turned off. After? I was pretty much sobbing all the time. It hurt so freakin bad. I cannot fathom how so many women have natural child birth.
THAT CRAP HURTS.
I remember seeing tears in Scott's eyes too. We were all so very tired and scared this was going to end in a c-section.
Whereas before I had my eyes closed all the time, these last 30 minutes, between the sobbing, I was focused, eyes open, on point. Because I could feel EVERYTHING, I was able to push more effectively. I was able to feel what was a good push and what wasn't. I definitely felt like I was giving 110%. And yet, Mark still wasn't moving. *more tears*
Just moments before 3:30pm, Dr. Brooks came back in the room. She was coming to tell me that it was time to call it. Time to head to the back for a section. We'd done all we could do, but 3ish hours of pushing with NO PROGRESS was not good.
Literally AS Dr. Brooks walked in the room, the miraculous happened. Mark's head rotated and down he came. The nurses were yelling at Dr. Brooks, "He's moving! He's moving! Get ready!" The room was a zoo of activity. Lots of people scurrying about. After Mark started moving, he was born in no time. Maybe two pushes, because once he started moving I couldn't really STOP pushing. At 3:30pm, out he came. (that part hurt too)
The first thing I said to Mark, through tears, was "Mark!?!? Why did you DO THAT TO ME??!" He was too busy wailing to hear me.
The whole room was ecstatic. He finally was born. Vaginally. HOORAAAYYZZ!! I attribute my avoidance of the c-section to two main things:
1) Divine intervention. It could only have been the Lord himself that rotated that baby's head when he did.
2) Turning off the epidural for maximum effectiveness while pushing.
Whatever the contributing factors, I was just SOOOOOO relieved he was here and healthy (apgars 8/9!). He weighed 9 lbs 5 oz. (5 oz bigger than my biggest baby) 38.5 cm head. (that is HUGE) 22 inches long.
Thankfully I only had a 2nd degree tear. Google it if you'd like. Not a big deal at all considering how freakin big he was.
PHEW.
Sometime immediately after Mark's dramatic entrance into the world, Scott leaned down and said "Okay! I'll do it! They can chop my balls off!" Translation: He would agree to having a vasectomy. He is deathly afraid of needles and wasn't willing to consider this option before. We knew we were done having babies after this, but who was going to get a permanent fix was still up in the air. Apparently the dramatic, emotional, physically exhausting and excruciatingly painful delivery of Mark convinced Scott that I'd been through enough.
Scott's procedure is scheduled for Feb. 17th. :)
Showing posts with label Birth Story. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Birth Story. Show all posts
Saturday, February 4, 2017
Monday, January 30, 2017
Attending a Friend's Delivery
The following is what you should know if you are invited to be present for a friend's delivery, according to Brooke. This perspective is particularly important if you have never birthed a baby yourself.
1) There will be things you see. You cannot unseen these things.
2) There will be things that you smell. You will not forget these smells.
3) Wear close-toed shoes in the delivery room. Trust me. Things splash.
4) Sometimes you look away and look back and there's a placenta in a trash bag on the floor. Pro tip: focus on the momma.
5) When people need things, get those things. Examples: food for the husband/support team, a break from the room, pressing the silence button on the baby warmer alarm.
6) The lady bits that you see are unlike real-life human lady bits. Don't be alarmed by your friend's bits. You can still be friends after you see your friend's bits. Mainly because you haven't really seen your friend's bits.
7) Sometimes laboring friends have to go to the bathroom, especially after they've been put on fluids. Offer to help (push an IV pole) or stay out of the way.
8) Prepare yourself for the emotional gut-punch of going from normal, friendly banter to the excitement of the first push to the frustration that the d@&! baby won't come out to writhing agony and gnashing of teeth to sobbing joy when that little human finally arrives. The emotional hang-over is unparalleled.
9) If, before this day, you wanted to have children, that will remain unchanged. If, before this day, you were confident that you did NOT want to have children, that too will remain unchanged.
10) After that baby pops out (HA. As if it's like uncorking champagne) maintain eye contact with someone. Anyone. Just maintain eye contact. Because there are too many things that you can't unsee. Stitches. Bodily fluids evacuating the uterus. Again with the placenta. #PTSDisreal
11) After her water is broken, any jokes that result in laughter will also result in fluid leakage. This will feel disgusting to the mother, which fuels the friend/comedian's desire to make her laugh.
12) There are a LOT of fluids involved. Fluids in bags being infused through IVs. Fluids in bodies being expelled by lady bits. And fluids in babies that get expelled onto nurses and doctors immediately following delivery.
Things that parents need immediately following delivery:
1) Food. At least one meal has been skipped. People need food.
2) Not to answer 74 questions. Just because the pushing is over, doesn't mean everything is gravy.
3) Some quiet time. Alone. By themselves with the new baby. Medical staff exempted.
4) Whatever they ask for. Take pictures. Tap dance. Whatever the parents need in that moment.
1) There will be things you see. You cannot unseen these things.
2) There will be things that you smell. You will not forget these smells.
3) Wear close-toed shoes in the delivery room. Trust me. Things splash.
4) Sometimes you look away and look back and there's a placenta in a trash bag on the floor. Pro tip: focus on the momma.
5) When people need things, get those things. Examples: food for the husband/support team, a break from the room, pressing the silence button on the baby warmer alarm.
6) The lady bits that you see are unlike real-life human lady bits. Don't be alarmed by your friend's bits. You can still be friends after you see your friend's bits. Mainly because you haven't really seen your friend's bits.
7) Sometimes laboring friends have to go to the bathroom, especially after they've been put on fluids. Offer to help (push an IV pole) or stay out of the way.
8) Prepare yourself for the emotional gut-punch of going from normal, friendly banter to the excitement of the first push to the frustration that the d@&! baby won't come out to writhing agony and gnashing of teeth to sobbing joy when that little human finally arrives. The emotional hang-over is unparalleled.
9) If, before this day, you wanted to have children, that will remain unchanged. If, before this day, you were confident that you did NOT want to have children, that too will remain unchanged.
10) After that baby pops out (HA. As if it's like uncorking champagne) maintain eye contact with someone. Anyone. Just maintain eye contact. Because there are too many things that you can't unsee. Stitches. Bodily fluids evacuating the uterus. Again with the placenta. #PTSDisreal
11) After her water is broken, any jokes that result in laughter will also result in fluid leakage. This will feel disgusting to the mother, which fuels the friend/comedian's desire to make her laugh.
12) There are a LOT of fluids involved. Fluids in bags being infused through IVs. Fluids in bodies being expelled by lady bits. And fluids in babies that get expelled onto nurses and doctors immediately following delivery.
Things that parents need immediately following delivery:
1) Food. At least one meal has been skipped. People need food.
2) Not to answer 74 questions. Just because the pushing is over, doesn't mean everything is gravy.
3) Some quiet time. Alone. By themselves with the new baby. Medical staff exempted.
4) Whatever they ask for. Take pictures. Tap dance. Whatever the parents need in that moment.
*thus sayeth Brooke*
Have you attended a friend's delivery? What would you add to this list??
Thursday, January 5, 2017
Mark's Birth Story, Part 1
Disclaimer: This post will be honest, detailed, and at times down right graphic. Be advised.
After waiting and waiting to go into labor on my own, I agreed to be induced on Wednesday, December 14th. 40 weeks plus 6 days. BFF/Doula Amy was able to make it down from Raleigh to join the fun on this momentous day. My MIL was also in town to help kid-wrangle while we were at the hospital. Between my parents and my MIL, there was a one-to-one grandparent to kid ratio for James, Reese and Amy's one year old Henry.
BFF/Doula Amy
On the morning of my induction, I was instructed to call before 5am to make sure they had room for me to come in that morning. Calling before 5am sounds a little painful, but when one is up every 1-2 hours to pee due to bladder capacity of 25 mLs, it's no problem at all. Reese came in our room about 4am (one of the rare moments I really was sleeping) to ask "How long till it's a sunny day?" Translation: When is it time to wake up? How much longer do I have to stay in bed?? I told her it was still a while until she could get up, so GO BACK TO BED. I went ahead and called the labor and delivery unit at the hospital about 4:30, since I was already awake! They said it was fine for me to come on in at 6am.
YAY!!! HERE WE GO!!
I was so nervous that they were going to have too many laboring mommas already and that I wouldn't be able to be induced that day. Alas, we were green lighted. I got in the shower and started getting ready.
Against doctor's orders, I ate a bowl of cereal around 5am. I wasn't supposed to eat anything after midnight, but who can labor/deliver a baby on a totally empty stomach?? I knew the risks (what if I had to have an emergency c-section and had recently eaten...my risk for aspiration and complications related to that would drastically increase), and chose to take the gamble.
Amy, Scott and I left for the hospital about 5:30am. MIL Gail was at the house with all three kids sleeping.
When we arrived at the hospital, they quickly got us into a room and had me change into a gown. The night shift nurse brought in the stuff to start my IV. Four attempts and another nurse later, I finally had an IV. I tried to be very understanding. I know what it's like to have good IV days and bad IV days. Today, two plus weeks later, my bruises from the failed attempts are finally healed. I looked like a drug addict for a couple of weeks with the bruising on my forearms!
Around 7am the nurses changed shifts and our day shift crew came to see us. Courtney, my labor and delivery nurse and her preceptor, Anna Katherine introduced themselves and continued with the getting ready process for induction. I was honest when Courtney asked me the last time I ate something (5am).
About 7:30am my final support person arrived on the scene, Brooke. I told her her role was social media correspondent and comedic relief. Boy did she ever exceed expectations on both accounts! Brooke brought with her some breakfast for Amy and Scott. They kindly stepped out of the room to eat so I wouldn't drool over their Bojangles that I couldn't have.
Social Media Correspondent/Comedic Relief Brooke
Dr. Brooks (OB doctor) came to see me about 8:10am. She checked my cervix, broke my water and ordered the pitocin to get the labor party REALLY started. When she said she was going to break my water, I suddenly got really nervous. Up to that point I mostly felt excited. I was nervous about whether the fluid would be clear or have meconium. And if it had meconium in it, would the baby tolerate labor as well or not and what if what if what if... I was THRILLED to find out that I was already 4 cm dilated (instead of the ZERO centimeters I had been for weeks!) and that the amniotic fluid was clear.
Let's pause for moment and talk about when one's water breaks (or is broken for you by a doctor). The copious volume of warm, squishy, odorless fluid that emerges from one's body is disgusting. It feels like you peed on yourself, but you know you didn't. Even though I was sitting on several absorbent chux pads that were changed almost immediately after Dr. Brooks broke my water, the eewy, squishy, gross feeling didn't go away. And as an added bonus, every time I laughed, sneezed, coughed, had a contraction or otherwise increased abdominal pressure, more fluid would leak out. So.very.icky. I realize that water breakage during labor is a very natural thing, but so are a lot of gross things. Like okra smoothies. Ew. Comic-relief-Brooke made me laugh on purpose just to watch my face cringe from the fluid leakage feeling. She's a mean person. Meanwhile BFF/Doula Amy was extremely kind and helped changed the chux pads frequently so I didn't have to sit in the yuck. Scott was being helpful by playing some game on his phone.
My dear husband, Scott
Cringing from the fluid leakage every time Brooke made me laugh.
Pitocin was started at 2 milliunits/minute between 8:15 and 8:30 or so. Within moments of that being started, my contractions became quite noticeable. Not mind-numbing painful, but NOTEWORTHY. After pitocin started, the baby's heart rate got a little more flat with less variability (normal rises and falls in the heart rate) than is desired, so we repositioned me a lot to see if that would improve his heart rate. In most cases, it did. *phew* We were just getting started, it wouldn't be good if he ALREADY wasn't tolerating labor!
Courtney and Anna Katherine asked me about an epidural. Said I could have it whenever I wanted. I debated about this for a bit. I didn't want to get the epidural right away, before I was even really hurting, but I didn't want to wait too long either and get to the mind-numbing-pain stage. Trying to guess the sweet spot in between, though, was tricksy. The anesthesiologist stopped by to talk about the epidural so whenever I was ready for it, we could proceed. I went ahead and started getting the liter of fluid bolus required pre-epidural. Fun fact: epidurals can cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure, so to counteract that they give moms a big fluid bolus to help keep the blood pressure up. Thanks to all the fluids, BFF/Doula Amy and I made several trips to the bathroom together.
Amy, in between doula-duties
Amy apologized for staying in the bathroom with me while I went, as this isn't something we typically do in the history of friendship. But with my IV pole and tubing, contraction/baby heart rate monitor cords, blood pressure cuff, chux pads, etc, I could NOT go by myself without dipping some sort of medical equipment in the toilet on accident. I should've felt weird having a friend in the bathroom with me, but I didn't. I knew I needed the help! As a side note, I know Courtney and Anna Katherine appreciated Amy being there because they didn't have to come in my room every single time I needed to potty! Dr. Brooks wanted me to have a urinary catheter, but I declined that. As long I was still able, I would get up to the bathroom (with Amy's help of course)
By 9am, I was rating my pain at about a 6 out of 10. The pitocin was at 4 milliunits/minute by that point. Shortly after that, Courtney brought me Zantac and Alka Seltzer. I didn't fully understand the necessity of those meds, but it was something to do with protecting my stomach after I got the epidural. Whatever. As those meds are pretty low risk, I didn't decline them. The alka seltzer tasted like ocean water. SOOOO salty. Blech.
After one of my bathroom trips, I decided to not get back in the bed, but try out the rocking chair in the room. I was a lot more comfortable in that chair than I was in the bed, at least for a little while.
*to be continued!*
While you wait for me to write up the next segment of Mark's birth story, go check out these blog posts:
My third birth story, Reese Katherine in 2012
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Reese's Delivery Story, Part 3 (the finale!)
I bring you the conclusion to my labor story. And actually, this is the only part of the story that includes LABOR. Go figure...
Allow me to introduce you to the cast of this story:
9:26am Facebook post: Houston...we have pitocin. I repeat, we have pitocin.
Amy arrived on the scene around 9:30am. She brought with her a McDonald's sweet tea. Yum. I consumed this beverage in mass quantities during this pregnancy. I figured my labor day should be no different. The pitocin got started pretty quickly as evidenced by my next facebook post:
10:33am It's getting real up in here folks. PAIN. There is pain.
Because of the significant change in frequency and intensity of the contractions, Ashley checked my cervix.
10:46am 4 cm....FOUR CM!!!!!! :(
Much like when my cervix was checked the last time, I was really, really disappointed to hear I was only 4 cm! The pain was getting intense. I was sure I'd made a lot of progress! And yet...only 1 more cm. This little girl was taking her sweet, sweet time getting here.
In the next hour, my pain level went way, way up. I requested an epidural and Ashley made sure I got one in a timely fashion, God bless her. Dr. Alvarez was in the room at this point. He had been there for a little while. He and Scott were having a grand time joking back and forth. I'm not sure there has ever been a more comedic labor and delivery room. When I wasn't wincing in pain, I enjoyed the entertainment. While I was getting my epidural, though? I almost kicked both of them out of the room. I had zero sense of humor during that time. But before I was able to utter the words, the magic medicine was taking effect and the pain was easing up and I no longer felt like causing anyone harm.
11:53am The epidural has landed. :)
Part 1 of this story
Part 2 of this story
My 1st birth story, Chloe born in 2004
My 2nd birth story, James born in 2011
Allow me to introduce you to the cast of this story:
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| Jenn, Nightshift Labor and Delivery Nurse She took fantastic care of me during the overnight hours. |
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| Ashley, Dayshift Labor and Delivery Nurse Quite possibly THE most important person in the room because of all she does! |
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| Dr. Alvarez, Obstetrician and Comedian The comedic value provided by this man was highly appreciated. Also, his medical expertise was helpful, too... |
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| Amy, Friend, Photographer, Doula, Sweet Tea Deliverer, Cheerleader #3. She wore many hats in my delivery room. Voted "Least Likely to Faint" of my support people. |
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| Nikki, Sister, Friend, Cheerleader #2 "Sisters, Sisters...there were never such devoted sisters!" She has been present for each of my deliveries. Third time is a charm, right?! |
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| Scott, Husband, Cheerleader #1, The One Responsible for My Condition, voted "Most Likely to Faint" of my support people. |
On Wednesday evening, November 7th, I was flitting about the house taking care of last minute details. Vacuuming one more time. Emptying trash cans. Finishing up laundry. Changing the sheets. You know, nesting. Nesting is also known as doing all those things that may not ever get done again after the baby was born. I noticed a lot of contractions that got my attention during my cleaning frenzy. Scott, too, was doing things he thought might never happen again after the baby--watching football. :) I got in bed around 10pm, but wasn't able to sleep because of all the contractions. When Scott came to bed around 11:00pm (thinking he was going to sleep), I told him we may need to time some of these contractions. He whimpered a little at the idea of not sleeping, downloaded a contractions app on his ipod touch, and started timing things for me. For the next hour and a half, we timed contractions. They were consistently 3-5 minutes apart and strong enough that I couldn't sleep through them. We debated about what to do next. Both of us were nervous about waiting too long to go to the hospital. This was my third baby and it hadn't been that long since baby #2. This could be a fast labor. I.DO.NOT.WANT. a home birth. Or a car birth. Or a parking lot of the hospital birth. The only reason I was hesitating about calling my doctor was that I wanted to be sure it wasn't a false alarm. I'd had some rather convincing stretches of contractions in recent weeks that never went anywhere. Was this another practice run for my uterus? Scott told me later he was more worried about me NOT getting an epidural than he was about me having a baby at home. Smart, smart man...
Around 12:30am, after hemming and hawing for a bit, we decided to call my parents to come over and stay with James while we went to the hospital to get checked. I got in the shower while we waited for them. When they arrived, I called my doctor and let him know what was up. I would not enjoy his job, by the way. Receiving phone calls at all hours of the night would pose a significant "be nice" challenge for me. Pregnancy alone poses a significant "be nice" challenge for me. Dr. Alvarez, although sleepy sounding, was quite pleasant and agreed I should go to the hospital and let them see if I was truly in labor. At this point I was able to talk/walk through the contractions, but they were definitely notable. When we left for the hospital, I called my other two support people who were going to be in the room with Scott and I--Nikki and Amy. These wonderful ladies had been "on call" for me for the last few weeks, awaiting the "IT'S TIME" phone call from me. When I called I told them I didn't know if it was time yet, so sit tight for now, but that we were headed to the hospital to find out. I'm not sure that they got much sleep after that.
We arrived at the hospital around 1:45am. Jenn was my nurse. She was wonderful. I know a lot of labor and delivery nurses at my hospital since I work with them, but I didn't know Jenn. That's okay, though. She was superb. The first thing she did was check my cervix. I told her I was 2-3 cm in the office earlier that day. After she checked me: still 3 cm. <sigh> I was pretty disappointed by that news. All that contracting with no cervical change means not real labor. Sad. I took comfort in the fact that they wouldn't send me home, since I was supposed to come in later that morning to be induced. She started my IV, drew all my lab work, hooked me up to the contraction/baby monitors for about 15 minutes, and then around 3am sent us walking for about an hour. We moseyed all over that hospital. I figured the security guards probably had a blast watching us on their cameras. We were pretty darn tired, which led to a lot of humor as we walked. When we came back from our almost hour long walk, Jenn put me back on the monitors to see what was happening with my contractions. There wasn't a lot of change in the contraction intensity or frequency after walking, so she didn't check my cervix. We had the option to go walking again for another hour, but dude. We were tired. Sort of like walking, we opted to rest instead. I was really grateful for Jenn's attention to detail. I only had to be monitored for 15 minutes out of every hour. Since I was staying in the bed to rest, she could have just left me attached to the monitors, but she didn't. She disconnected everything so I could rest better. Thank you, Jenn! Scott was zonked out in the recliner. I dozed off and on for the next 45 minutes. About 5am, Jenn reconnected the monitors. Unfortunately my contractions had decreased in both frequency and intensity. I mean, good for me since I got to sleep a little bit, but bad since this baby WAS.NEVER.COMING.OUT.
6:26am text to Amy: "I'm going backwards it seems. Walked for ab 45 min starting at 3am. Monitored for 15 min. Then dozed off/on from 4:15ish til 5. Monitoring again now. Ctxs spread out during the last hour...haven't been checked again (no need yet!)."
Amy's response: "Boo! I was getting nervous you had already had the baby...baby Reese is going to be a tricky one!"
By this point, it was clear that it was going to take being officially induced (giving me pitocin) to get labor started. Induction would likely happen on day shift, as was the plan the day before. Scott and I could have stayed home. My parents, us, Nikki, and Amy all could have slept a little better than we did. Hindsight really is 20/20.
7am brought a change of the guard. Jenn reported off to Ashley, my dayshift nurse. We would await word from Dr. Alvarez before proceeding.
7:52am Facebook post: Alrighty...the latest and greatest: At the hospital since 2am. Contracting all night long, but no established ACTIVE labor. Curses. At least we're here and awaiting pitocin. Hopefully I'll just need a whiff of it to get labor really started!
*For the non-medical folks: pitocin is given through an IV. One does not "inhale" pitocin, just for the record.*
Around 12:30am, after hemming and hawing for a bit, we decided to call my parents to come over and stay with James while we went to the hospital to get checked. I got in the shower while we waited for them. When they arrived, I called my doctor and let him know what was up. I would not enjoy his job, by the way. Receiving phone calls at all hours of the night would pose a significant "be nice" challenge for me. Pregnancy alone poses a significant "be nice" challenge for me. Dr. Alvarez, although sleepy sounding, was quite pleasant and agreed I should go to the hospital and let them see if I was truly in labor. At this point I was able to talk/walk through the contractions, but they were definitely notable. When we left for the hospital, I called my other two support people who were going to be in the room with Scott and I--Nikki and Amy. These wonderful ladies had been "on call" for me for the last few weeks, awaiting the "IT'S TIME" phone call from me. When I called I told them I didn't know if it was time yet, so sit tight for now, but that we were headed to the hospital to find out. I'm not sure that they got much sleep after that.
We arrived at the hospital around 1:45am. Jenn was my nurse. She was wonderful. I know a lot of labor and delivery nurses at my hospital since I work with them, but I didn't know Jenn. That's okay, though. She was superb. The first thing she did was check my cervix. I told her I was 2-3 cm in the office earlier that day. After she checked me: still 3 cm. <sigh> I was pretty disappointed by that news. All that contracting with no cervical change means not real labor. Sad. I took comfort in the fact that they wouldn't send me home, since I was supposed to come in later that morning to be induced. She started my IV, drew all my lab work, hooked me up to the contraction/baby monitors for about 15 minutes, and then around 3am sent us walking for about an hour. We moseyed all over that hospital. I figured the security guards probably had a blast watching us on their cameras. We were pretty darn tired, which led to a lot of humor as we walked. When we came back from our almost hour long walk, Jenn put me back on the monitors to see what was happening with my contractions. There wasn't a lot of change in the contraction intensity or frequency after walking, so she didn't check my cervix. We had the option to go walking again for another hour, but dude. We were tired. Sort of like walking, we opted to rest instead. I was really grateful for Jenn's attention to detail. I only had to be monitored for 15 minutes out of every hour. Since I was staying in the bed to rest, she could have just left me attached to the monitors, but she didn't. She disconnected everything so I could rest better. Thank you, Jenn! Scott was zonked out in the recliner. I dozed off and on for the next 45 minutes. About 5am, Jenn reconnected the monitors. Unfortunately my contractions had decreased in both frequency and intensity. I mean, good for me since I got to sleep a little bit, but bad since this baby WAS.NEVER.COMING.OUT.
6:26am text to Amy: "I'm going backwards it seems. Walked for ab 45 min starting at 3am. Monitored for 15 min. Then dozed off/on from 4:15ish til 5. Monitoring again now. Ctxs spread out during the last hour...haven't been checked again (no need yet!)."
Amy's response: "Boo! I was getting nervous you had already had the baby...baby Reese is going to be a tricky one!"
By this point, it was clear that it was going to take being officially induced (giving me pitocin) to get labor started. Induction would likely happen on day shift, as was the plan the day before. Scott and I could have stayed home. My parents, us, Nikki, and Amy all could have slept a little better than we did. Hindsight really is 20/20.
7am brought a change of the guard. Jenn reported off to Ashley, my dayshift nurse. We would await word from Dr. Alvarez before proceeding.
7:52am Facebook post: Alrighty...the latest and greatest: At the hospital since 2am. Contracting all night long, but no established ACTIVE labor. Curses. At least we're here and awaiting pitocin. Hopefully I'll just need a whiff of it to get labor really started!
*For the non-medical folks: pitocin is given through an IV. One does not "inhale" pitocin, just for the record.*
7:53am Facebook post: Scott and I have moseyed around this hospital a LOT. Ready to get this show on the road.
8:03am Facebook post: Did you sleep last night? Did you eat breakfast this morning? You win x2.
I knew when I left my house at 1:30am that I should probably eat something because they don't let you eat when you get to the hospital. But I was hurting and it was the middle of the night. I wasn't exactly hungry. By 8am, I was regretting that decision... Scott had a chance to go get breakfast, so I encouraged him to do so around 8am. No sense in BOTH of us getting no sleep and no food.
I knew when I left my house at 1:30am that I should probably eat something because they don't let you eat when you get to the hospital. But I was hurting and it was the middle of the night. I wasn't exactly hungry. By 8am, I was regretting that decision... Scott had a chance to go get breakfast, so I encouraged him to do so around 8am. No sense in BOTH of us getting no sleep and no food.
9:26am Facebook post: Houston...we have pitocin. I repeat, we have pitocin.
Amy arrived on the scene around 9:30am. She brought with her a McDonald's sweet tea. Yum. I consumed this beverage in mass quantities during this pregnancy. I figured my labor day should be no different. The pitocin got started pretty quickly as evidenced by my next facebook post:
10:33am It's getting real up in here folks. PAIN. There is pain.
Because of the significant change in frequency and intensity of the contractions, Ashley checked my cervix.
10:46am 4 cm....FOUR CM!!!!!! :(
Much like when my cervix was checked the last time, I was really, really disappointed to hear I was only 4 cm! The pain was getting intense. I was sure I'd made a lot of progress! And yet...only 1 more cm. This little girl was taking her sweet, sweet time getting here.
In the next hour, my pain level went way, way up. I requested an epidural and Ashley made sure I got one in a timely fashion, God bless her. Dr. Alvarez was in the room at this point. He had been there for a little while. He and Scott were having a grand time joking back and forth. I'm not sure there has ever been a more comedic labor and delivery room. When I wasn't wincing in pain, I enjoyed the entertainment. While I was getting my epidural, though? I almost kicked both of them out of the room. I had zero sense of humor during that time. But before I was able to utter the words, the magic medicine was taking effect and the pain was easing up and I no longer felt like causing anyone harm.
11:53am The epidural has landed. :)
11:58am Epidural + Tea = Happyhappyhappy
11:59am Oh em geeeez. I heart epidurals.
I'm not one of those women that is good at listening to my body during labor, allowing it to do it's thing, going with the flow, relaxing, visualizing ocean waves, etc. I'm more like scrunch my face up, grip the sheets so tightly my fingernails make little half-moon dents in my palms, question my sanity for ever going through this more than once kinda woman. I require medication through an epidural to endure labor.
12:14pm 5 centimeters! Wow. LIGHTNING SPEED LABOR. :) Also, water eez broked. All by itself. Eeeeeeewwww. Doula Amy and dearest love responsible for my condition Scott are eating lunch (not in my room cuz that would be mean).
Nikki arrived to our labor and delivery party after getting off work around 12ish. We couldn't have a baby without her!
Each time I was checked, I was surprised by the oh-so-slow pace that I was moving along. Everybody said it would go so much faster since this was the third time. I didn't find that to be the case. The only reason it mattered is because I'm impatient. Baby Reese was tolerating labor just fine. I was making acceptable progress to the medical powers that be. It was just me that was wishing things would hurry on up!
I enjoyed much comfort and laughter and a little bit of a nap from the time I got the epidural until it was time to push. The way my body works with epidurals, I have great pain relief of my abdomen. The contractions are barely noticeable. However, when the baby gets low enough and it's time to actually push that baby OUT, my nether-regions are not quite as numb as I'd like them to be. I'd like them to be completely numb. But they tend to be not really numb at all. Bummer. This shocked me and upset me during James' delivery. This time I was more prepared for it. I knew it would hurt. I knew I had to suck it up and press on.
1:36pm 9.74 CM!!!! Its down to the final stretch. Pun intended. (posted by Scott)
This was the first time I was (positively) surprised by my progress. Finally, we were almost there!! Again for the non-medical peeps--the dilation of a cervix is checked by someone's fingers. Sorry, that's gross, but it is what it is. Nobody's fingers can measure a centimeter to the hundredth. I think Ashley probably announced I was greater than 9 cm and Scott took some math liberties with what she said. Like I said before, humor was the name of the game in this delivery room.
About 2:15pm it was time to push. Ugh. This was the part of the labor I hoped would just FLY by. You can already guess, though, based on this baby girl's progression through the rest of labor, it did not go quickly.
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| Pushing is hard. For me and for Scott. |
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| I'm not screaming, although it looks like it here. But I am hurting. |
With both of my previous deliveries, I ended up having a vacuum used to help me deliver. Most people cringe at the thought of a vacuum being applied to their baby's head. I, however, had had two great experiences with vacuums. My babies suffered little to no ill effects, nor did I. Sometime after the first few pushes with baby Reese, I started asking about the vacuum. Dr. Alvarez and the rest of the room down played the idea. "You can do it!" they all said. For the next hour and a half, I pushed, requested a vacuum, and they all encouraged me otherwise. Amy was holding my left leg. Nikki was either beside my leg or sitting close by in a chair (so as not to pass out from the grossness of labor). Scott was up by my head, helping hold my shoulders and talking sweetly to me...well, you know...when he wasn't making jokes. :) At one point Ashley rolled over a mirror so I could see what was going on when I pushed. This is not something I particularly WANTED to see, mind you. Nobody wants to see that. However, she and Alvarez thought it might help me push more effectively, and they were right. Once they brought the mirror over, Scott repositioned the hat on his head to completely block his vision from seeing anything past my shoulders. He, too, was trying to avoid passing out from the grossness of labor. Nikki and Scott were both successful at not passing out, by the way. Kudos to them! :) *patpat*
Just before Reese was finally borned, I was pretty much sobbing in between contractions. Why? It hurt. A lot. I hadn't eaten in forever. I hadn't really slept in forever. Labor hormones are crazy. Bringing a baby into the world is an emotional experience. Pick your reason. That's why I was sobbing.
Finally, WITH NO VACUUM assisting me (not for lack of asking, mind you), baby Reese was born at 3:46pm. The first thing Dr. Alvarez said after she was born and he was holding her was "BRUISER!" She was a big, big baby. When they put her on the scale and it said she weighed 9 pounds, I could not believe it. Everybody was so congratulatory that I had done it without a vacuum! Wasn't I so proud?! That made me laugh. I didn't care if I did it without a vacuum. I just wanted her OUT. I didn't think I could do it without one. But the rest of the room was very proud, so that's good. Most women like to celebrate giving birth naturally, no epidurals or drugs. We celebrated no vacuum. To each their own...
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| New babies are slimy and blue. This is normal. |
Major kudos to Amy for getting some awesome pictures WHILE holding my leg as I pushed. She is quite the talented woman!
Looking back on the experience, I was most grateful for the people who were there. As an extroverted person, I like having company to do anything. Grocery store shopping. Fingernail painting. Errand running. And having a baby. Obviously, due to the nature of the beast, not just anyone can be in the room during my delivery! Each person pictured at the beginning of this post played a huge role in my delivery. I was so glad each of them got to be there. Ashley is someone I knew from work prior to this delivery. I greatly respect her and appreciated her most excellent care and her participation in the humor-fest. Dr. Alvarez is a hoot. He's hilarious. I loved how he and Scott interacted. Also, I completely trust him with my life and the life of my child. I've seen him deliver a lot of babies, some smooth deliveries, some not, and therefore can appreciate his expertise. Nikki, my dear sister, and I have been through hell and back together. She is not a fan of medical environments, but has braved it on three occasions to be in my delivery room. She's so brave and I loved having her there. Amy is now in a category of friendship that few ever attain (most don't want to, I would imagine). That would be the "I've seen you naked" category. That brings with it a certain bond, doesn't it?? I can't thank her enough for sacrificing her time, leaving her own children to be with me all day long! And then there's Scott. Oh Scott. Like Nikki, he does not enjoy medical things at all. He hates needles and blood, two key ingredients to any labor and delivery! But he did what he needed to do (hat tilting and all) to stay by my side through this. I can't quite find the words to describe what it means to me for him to be there...so I'll just say I was very, very grateful.
8:57pm BA here. Wow oh wow what a day. I'm not gonna lie...pushing out babies is not my favorite thing ever. Despite the RIDICULOUSLY cute product at the end. Baby Reese is doing well. Momma is beyond tired. Blessed, tired. G'nite.
Some more pictures...
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| GIRL am I glad to see you! |
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| Sweet girl. |
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| Sweet, big, big girl. |
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| Not gonna lie, labor hair is pretty fantastical. |
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| Bestest OB in the world. |
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| Happy family. |
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| She looks quite pleased with herself. |
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| Reese Katherine Davidson 11/8/12 @ 3:46pm 9 lbs 0 oz 21.5 inches long 38.5 cm head |
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| So happy! |
Part 2 of this story
My 1st birth story, Chloe born in 2004
My 2nd birth story, James born in 2011
Reese's Delivery Story, Part 2
I don't want to forget any details of my third labor and delivery story, plus I like to tell really long stories (exhibit A and exhibit B), so here's how it went down...
On Sunday night (the 4th)/early Monday morning (the 5th) before Reese was born on Thursday (the 8th), James woke up crying. When I went in his room to check on him, he was scratching himself all over through his pajamas. When I unzipped them to see what was up, I discovered he had a rash all over his body. Poor guy. I'd be itchy, too. I gave him some Benadryl and sat with him in the rocking chair. His tired, itchy body was draped over a pillow on my legs so I could scratch his back while we waited for the Benadryl to take effect*. He didn't have any other symptoms that I could tell. No runny or stuffy nose. No coughing. No vomiting or diarrhea. Nothing. Just a rash that clearly bothered him. He fell back asleep within 30 minutes and I went back to bed, making mental plans to go to the pediatrician's walk-in hours the next morning. A few hours later, at a more reasonable morning hour, I took James to the doctor to check out this rash. At my pediatrician, if you want to get a mysterious rash checked out, they make you enter the office through a side "possibly contagious cootie" door. That's not what they call it, of course, but it's what I call it. At this point, the rash was from his neck down to almost his ankles and wrists (not on his palms or soles of his feet). The doctor looked him over well and determined it was a viral rash that would just have to run its course. She recommended I give Benadryl as needed for the itchies, but other than that, watch him and wait it out. So home we went. I was thinking, "Umm...baby girl, maybe you should gestate for a few days because we've got unidentified cooties going on out here..." Monday evening, James' cheeks were really flushed, like he'd been slapped on both of them, although I assure you he was NOT. He didn't have a fever, though. I didn't think much else about it. He was so.very.itchy. I felt bad for him. The Benadryl didn't seem to be keeping the itchies away. Or at least not all of them.
Tuesday, November 6th, I went to my 40 week OB visit. I was so sad that I even had to go to that appointment. During that visit, the doctor scheduled me to be induced the next Monday, November 12th, if I didn't go into labor before. He also stripped my membranes, which hurt like a mo-fo, but I was very hopeful it would help trigger labor. The doctor said I was 3 cm dilated. I asked him if I was 2 cm mere moments ago, before he stripped my membranes since it felt like he had just forced my cervix from 2 to 3 cm! He laughed and said no. I walked out of the office thinking, "Well, at least we have an end point in mind now. November 12th I'm being induced, if no labor before..." Quick background: My OB office doesn't schedule inductions for being overdue until 41 weeks. For me, that was Sunday, November 11th. The hospital at which I was going to deliver does not schedule inductions on weekends, thus the November 12th induction date. The rest of that day I definitely felt very crampy and lots of contractions, but none that rallied together to head towards labor.
Wednesday morning, November 7th, my mom texts me this message:
"Google Fifth's Disease and see what you think."
So I did. From the CDC's website:
"...rash on your face and body... After several days, you may get a red rash on your face. This is called "slapped cheek" rash. This rash is the most recognized feature of fifth disease. It is more common in children than adults...A pregnant woman who is infected with parvovirus B19 can pass the virus to her baby..."
Since40+ week pregnant women are notoriously less than rational human beings, I started to freak out. I immediately called James' pediatrician to ask if the doctor thought he might have Fifth's Disease. The flushed cheek rash didn't show up until after she saw him, so I wanted her to have that information. I also called my OB office to ask if they were concerned at all about me being pregnant and my son possibly having this virus. And then I called my mom to fuss about getting me all worked up. (please refer to my previous statement about being rational...)
The pediatrician called back before lunchtime and said that she didn't think that's what James had due to the appearance of the rash. Apparently Fifth's Disease comes with a lacy-looking rash, which isn't what his looked like. I waited and waited to hear from my OB. Around 3pm, Dr. Alvarez called me. He said even if James did have it, it wouldn't be a big deal for me at 40 weeks pregnant. #1 - I had probably been exposed to it as a child and therefore already had immunity to it. #2 - It's more problematic during the first trimester, not the 3rd. However, since this was causing me concern, he already called the hospital and got me an induction scheduled for the next day, November 8th. I was stunned. Tomorrow?! But I...wait...what if... NEVERMIND. Let's do this! We hung up the phone and I was suddenly filled with excitement and nervousness. TOMORROW. "I'm having a baby TOMORROW." Scott was home from work by the time I got off the phone with Dr. Alvarez. I let him know the new plan. He felt the same way I did. FINALLY. The end is in sight! (Every day when he would leave for work, he would tell me "Please call me today. Please go into labor." And every day when he would get home from work he'd say "You didn't call me." I assured him I was more disappointed than he was that I didn't go into labor.) We made some phone calls to let our parents and friends know what the plan was. Excitement filled each of those conversations. We finished packing our hospital bag. I packed a bag for James, as he was going to stay at my parents' house while were in the hospital.
I was
nervous. How would it go?
excited. I can't wait to meet this little girl!
a little anxious about being induced (having never been induced before).
and relieved this was all going to be over soon.
*I had to google "take affect vs take effect" because I wasn't sure which to use...still not sure I made the right choice...making English teachers cringe everywhere, sorry...
--------------------
Labor story to be continued! For now, some pregnancy pictures by the lovely and talented Nikki Graham:
On Sunday night (the 4th)/early Monday morning (the 5th) before Reese was born on Thursday (the 8th), James woke up crying. When I went in his room to check on him, he was scratching himself all over through his pajamas. When I unzipped them to see what was up, I discovered he had a rash all over his body. Poor guy. I'd be itchy, too. I gave him some Benadryl and sat with him in the rocking chair. His tired, itchy body was draped over a pillow on my legs so I could scratch his back while we waited for the Benadryl to take effect*. He didn't have any other symptoms that I could tell. No runny or stuffy nose. No coughing. No vomiting or diarrhea. Nothing. Just a rash that clearly bothered him. He fell back asleep within 30 minutes and I went back to bed, making mental plans to go to the pediatrician's walk-in hours the next morning. A few hours later, at a more reasonable morning hour, I took James to the doctor to check out this rash. At my pediatrician, if you want to get a mysterious rash checked out, they make you enter the office through a side "possibly contagious cootie" door. That's not what they call it, of course, but it's what I call it. At this point, the rash was from his neck down to almost his ankles and wrists (not on his palms or soles of his feet). The doctor looked him over well and determined it was a viral rash that would just have to run its course. She recommended I give Benadryl as needed for the itchies, but other than that, watch him and wait it out. So home we went. I was thinking, "Umm...baby girl, maybe you should gestate for a few days because we've got unidentified cooties going on out here..." Monday evening, James' cheeks were really flushed, like he'd been slapped on both of them, although I assure you he was NOT. He didn't have a fever, though. I didn't think much else about it. He was so.very.itchy. I felt bad for him. The Benadryl didn't seem to be keeping the itchies away. Or at least not all of them.
Tuesday, November 6th, I went to my 40 week OB visit. I was so sad that I even had to go to that appointment. During that visit, the doctor scheduled me to be induced the next Monday, November 12th, if I didn't go into labor before. He also stripped my membranes, which hurt like a mo-fo, but I was very hopeful it would help trigger labor. The doctor said I was 3 cm dilated. I asked him if I was 2 cm mere moments ago, before he stripped my membranes since it felt like he had just forced my cervix from 2 to 3 cm! He laughed and said no. I walked out of the office thinking, "Well, at least we have an end point in mind now. November 12th I'm being induced, if no labor before..." Quick background: My OB office doesn't schedule inductions for being overdue until 41 weeks. For me, that was Sunday, November 11th. The hospital at which I was going to deliver does not schedule inductions on weekends, thus the November 12th induction date. The rest of that day I definitely felt very crampy and lots of contractions, but none that rallied together to head towards labor.
Wednesday morning, November 7th, my mom texts me this message:
"Google Fifth's Disease and see what you think."
So I did. From the CDC's website:
"...rash on your face and body... After several days, you may get a red rash on your face. This is called "slapped cheek" rash. This rash is the most recognized feature of fifth disease. It is more common in children than adults...A pregnant woman who is infected with parvovirus B19 can pass the virus to her baby..."
Since
The pediatrician called back before lunchtime and said that she didn't think that's what James had due to the appearance of the rash. Apparently Fifth's Disease comes with a lacy-looking rash, which isn't what his looked like. I waited and waited to hear from my OB. Around 3pm, Dr. Alvarez called me. He said even if James did have it, it wouldn't be a big deal for me at 40 weeks pregnant. #1 - I had probably been exposed to it as a child and therefore already had immunity to it. #2 - It's more problematic during the first trimester, not the 3rd. However, since this was causing me concern, he already called the hospital and got me an induction scheduled for the next day, November 8th. I was stunned. Tomorrow?! But I...wait...what if... NEVERMIND. Let's do this! We hung up the phone and I was suddenly filled with excitement and nervousness. TOMORROW. "I'm having a baby TOMORROW." Scott was home from work by the time I got off the phone with Dr. Alvarez. I let him know the new plan. He felt the same way I did. FINALLY. The end is in sight! (Every day when he would leave for work, he would tell me "Please call me today. Please go into labor." And every day when he would get home from work he'd say "You didn't call me." I assured him I was more disappointed than he was that I didn't go into labor.) We made some phone calls to let our parents and friends know what the plan was. Excitement filled each of those conversations. We finished packing our hospital bag. I packed a bag for James, as he was going to stay at my parents' house while were in the hospital.
I was
nervous. How would it go?
excited. I can't wait to meet this little girl!
a little anxious about being induced (having never been induced before).
and relieved this was all going to be over soon.
*I had to google "take affect vs take effect" because I wasn't sure which to use...still not sure I made the right choice...making English teachers cringe everywhere, sorry...
--------------------
Labor story to be continued! For now, some pregnancy pictures by the lovely and talented Nikki Graham:
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Reese's Delivery Story, Part 1
Since it's taking me for.ev.er to type up my birth story, I've decided to break it into more manageable pieces. I'll start with the ending!
Reese Katherine Davidson
Born: November 8th, 2012 at 3:46 pm
9 lbs 0 oz
21.5 inches long
38.5 cm head
For me, this was a BIG baby. Very big. Eight ounces bigger than my biggest baby. Her head was 2 cm bigger than James' huge noggin. Wow. Just wow.
Her name comes from my mom's middle name and my mother in law's first name. Sweet baby Reese is a tribute to these two wonderful ladies. :)
Her name comes from my mom's middle name and my mother in law's first name. Sweet baby Reese is a tribute to these two wonderful ladies. :)
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Birth Story
If you want the short version:
James Benton Davidson
6/8/11 at 5:23am
7 lb 15 oz
21.5 inches long
36.5 cm head
The slightly longer winded version:
Since I was 37 weeks pregnant, I would routinely have contractions, typically on a night before I worked the next day. Scott and I would time them on his iPod touch contraction app. They would be anywhere from 4-10 minutes apart. Not really painful, but noticeable. Sometimes they would last all night, sometimes just a few hours. All this would do is confuse me! How am I going to know when the REAL DEAL is happening when we have all these false starts all the time??
Fast forward to Tuesday, June 7th. I went to my weekly appointment at my OB. Side note: At 36 weeks, I was a fingertip-1cm dilated and 70-80% effaced. At this appointment, I'm 2 cm dilated. Hooray! At that rate of dilation, my baby would be born sometime in August... I was having contractions on this particular Tuesday, but again, who knew if they would lead anywhere or not. When I was checking out of the OB office, they made me an appointment for the next week, in case I was still pregnant. I made it abundantly clear that I would NOT be coming to that appointment. I had zero intentions of making it to 41 weeks.
That afternoon, I met up with my sister Nikki to take some pregnancy pictures. 39 weeks, 6 days pregnant. I figured that was a good time to document my hugeness. :) We went to the Rose Garden near NC State. It was 5:30pm and a million degrees outside. If I have a "glow" about me in the pictures, I assure you it's sweat.
I was having some more contractions all during the photo shoot. Sometimes we would have to wait a second to take a picture because I was having a hard time SMILING during the contraction. Deep down I was hoping this was the real deal, but I'd gotten my hopes up before and it didn't lead to labor. Soooo....I tried to ignore the contractions and not think about it! Scott met up with us at the Rose Garden and we went to dinner at Cantina 18, my new favorite restaurant. During dinner I asked him to bust out the iPod and time some of these contractions. They were about 4-7 minutes apart during dinner. I had a hard time eating dinner. This was hugely disappointing, since I was so excited about eating there. We boxed up the rest of my dinner to go and headed home. I just wanted to be home. Scott and I had driven separately. I was very sad about that as I drove home. During that 15 minute drive home, at least twice I got white-knuckled on the steering wheel during a contraction. I have a stick-shift car, by the way. YOU try shifting gears and negotiating a clutch, gas and brake while contracting. Fun times. Despite the increasing intensity of the contractions, I was still in denial. I figured this would fizzle out, as it had before, and I would be at work the next morning.
I was having some more contractions all during the photo shoot. Sometimes we would have to wait a second to take a picture because I was having a hard time SMILING during the contraction. Deep down I was hoping this was the real deal, but I'd gotten my hopes up before and it didn't lead to labor. Soooo....I tried to ignore the contractions and not think about it! Scott met up with us at the Rose Garden and we went to dinner at Cantina 18, my new favorite restaurant. During dinner I asked him to bust out the iPod and time some of these contractions. They were about 4-7 minutes apart during dinner. I had a hard time eating dinner. This was hugely disappointing, since I was so excited about eating there. We boxed up the rest of my dinner to go and headed home. I just wanted to be home. Scott and I had driven separately. I was very sad about that as I drove home. During that 15 minute drive home, at least twice I got white-knuckled on the steering wheel during a contraction. I have a stick-shift car, by the way. YOU try shifting gears and negotiating a clutch, gas and brake while contracting. Fun times. Despite the increasing intensity of the contractions, I was still in denial. I figured this would fizzle out, as it had before, and I would be at work the next morning.
When we got home, I asked Scott to take a walk with me. We'd walked miles and miles around the neighborhood and surrounding area in the past few weeks. This walk was a bit slower than usual. We would stop during contractions. We really focused on timing the contractions during the walk. If this WAS leading somewhere, I wanted facts to be able to tell the doctor when I called. After our walk, I continued timing things until about 9pm-ish. I knew I needed to go to bed if I was going to work in the morning. Problem: I couldn't sleep through these contractions. Scott said I should call the doctor. I wasn't sure if I should, but I did. I called and left a voicemail for the on-call doctor. The person that returned my call was one of my coworkers that works in the Birth Center Operating Room.
Renee said: "Betty Anne, why are you calling up here asking if you should come in when you know you need to be here?!"
I told Renee: "I'm NOT sure I need to be there, that's why I'm calling to ask the doctor!"
Renee said Dr. Beatty wanted me to come in and be checked. Alright! I hung up with Renee and got in the shower. My thought: "If this is for real, I'm gonna be CLEAN!" Scott gathered a few last minute items left to pack in our "hospital bag". As we were walking out the door, I told him I forgot to eat! We both knew they wouldn't let me eat once I got to the hospital, and therefore I should eat right before I got there, but I had no appetite (just like at dinner). Foregoing the eating, we headed to the hospital. We were fully prepared to get checked and then sent back home. See how I was still having trouble believing this was happening?!
I called my friend, Sarah, an L&D nurse who happened to be working that evening. She said she would be available for me by the time I got there. Sarah and I went to school together at Wake Tech. I was VERY excited that she could potentially be my L&D nurse. We got to the hospital just before 11pm. When Sarah checked me, I was 3.5 cm!
Hooray!
My cervix was actually changing!
They weren't going to send us home!
And finally the false alarms were OVER!
I was NOT going to work in the morning!
So much to be excited about! Oh, and also, these contractions HURT. That is not exciting, but a reality of labor. Sarah got us moved into our L&D room, started my IV and fluids, and got me situated on the monitors for a bit. Dr. Beatty came in and checked me about 45 minutes after Sarah did. I was 5 cm. Things were MOVING! For some reason, I felt it was important to go for a short walk while I was in labor. Sarah said after I had been on the monitor for about 20 minutes and the baby looked good, I could go for a walk. Sarah and Dr. Beatty both mentioned that my bag of waters was bulging and might break at any moment. If it broke, my labor might speed up. My concern was that I would miss my opportunity for an epidural. I had NO DESIRE to go au naturel for this experience. So off we went to walk. Scott pushed the IV pole. I was solely responsible for putting one foot in front of the other. We stopped to talk to some of my coworkers in the hallways as we walked, my face contorting with each contraction. That must've been a pretty sight. :) We walked for less than 15 minutes before I was all done and ready for an epidural. We got back to the room (the very SAME room that I delivered my daughter in, how cool is that?!) and Sarah called for the anesthesiologist. He was in the OR and would be a few minutes. Oh joy. Sarah checked me again: I was 7 cm. Moving right along! <last time, I got an epidural at 2 cm. I felt accomplished that I made it much further this time!> I was sitting up on the side of the bed, ready and waiting to receive the glorious relief of the epidural. I was practically levitating off the bed during contractions. I was thinking "You so damn stupid. <said in best Dr. Bailey voice from Grey's Anatomy> Why did you go walking?? Now you're hurting more than ever and you have to wait for an epidural!!" It wasn't too long, in reality, before the blessed epidural-placing doctor arrived. I just happened to be measuring time in contractions. As in, "I hope he gets here before the next one..." I said that at least a handful of times. I offered for Scott to leave the room for the epidural. Our goal for this labor and delivery experience was for Scott NOT to pass out. I didn't mind at all if he skipped this part. He insisted on staying. Sarah had him sit in a chair in front of me, so he couldn't see anything happening to my back. Sarah was great and told me minute by minute what the doctor was doing and what to expect. I was a little nervous that the epidural would hurt a lot, but it wasn't bad at all. Some funny feelings at times, but nothing like the contractions I was feeling. I guess it's all about perspective. :) Within moments of having the epidural in place, I felt relief. AHHHHHHHHH. So. much. better.
Scott said he got a little swimmy-headed briefly from Sarah's descriptions of what was happening and what I should expect, but he hung in there. Good job Scott! After retrieving a recliner for Scott to nap in, and making sure my vital signs were stable and baby looked good on the monitor after the epidural, Sarah let Scott and I rest/sleep for about an hour and 15 minutes. I'll let you figure out which one of us rested and which one of us SLEPT. Sarah said Dr. Beatty was coming at 3:30am to break my water. At 3:29am, it broke on its own. Eewwwwww. Even with the epidural, I could tell I was sitting in a swimming pool of fluid. Yuck. Scott woke up to hear Sarah saying "Yep, your water definitely broke!" and watching her change out all the padding beneath me. Again, he didn't pass out. Yay! They checked me again: 9 cm. In a few minutes, it would be time to push. Scott got on the phone to Jacqui and Nikki, both of whom wanted to be there when the baby was born. We told them if they wanted to be here, they better hurry!
Scott said he got a little swimmy-headed briefly from Sarah's descriptions of what was happening and what I should expect, but he hung in there. Good job Scott! After retrieving a recliner for Scott to nap in, and making sure my vital signs were stable and baby looked good on the monitor after the epidural, Sarah let Scott and I rest/sleep for about an hour and 15 minutes. I'll let you figure out which one of us rested and which one of us SLEPT. Sarah said Dr. Beatty was coming at 3:30am to break my water. At 3:29am, it broke on its own. Eewwwwww. Even with the epidural, I could tell I was sitting in a swimming pool of fluid. Yuck. Scott woke up to hear Sarah saying "Yep, your water definitely broke!" and watching her change out all the padding beneath me. Again, he didn't pass out. Yay! They checked me again: 9 cm. In a few minutes, it would be time to push. Scott got on the phone to Jacqui and Nikki, both of whom wanted to be there when the baby was born. We told them if they wanted to be here, they better hurry!
We waited to start pushing until both Jacqui and Nikki got there. (less than 30 minutes)
Just after 4am, we started pushing. Whereas before the epidural was providing me great pain coverage, during the pushing part, it hurt all the time. This was very unfortunate for me! On the up-side, I could feel a little better how to push. But on the down-side, it HURT! During this phase, I felt like my knowledge of how this process goes worked against me. What I mean by that: After the first few pushes, Dr. Beatty left the room. Because I work in this environment, I know that when the doctor leaves the room, it's because they anticipate pushing will take a little bit and they are not immediately needed. When Dr. Beatty left, my heart sank. This was not going to be 4 pushes and the baby is born. Bummer. Guided by my brilliant nurse Sarah and encouraged on by my "team" of Scott, Nikki and Jacqui, the pushing continued. Dr. Beatty was in and out of the room periodically. Sarah and Dr. Beatty assured me the baby was making progress and was moving (slowly) down. I accused them of lying to me. Note to self: it's ALWAYS a good idea to throw out wild accusations at your health care providers when you are in a most compromising situation <stirrups>. I asked, in an accusatory tone, if this baby was making progress, why is Dr. Beatty still in a sweatshirt instead of gowned up? And why is the L&D table still covered up? Again, my knowledge worked against me. I should've just listened to them and kept pushing. I did keep pushing, but it was with much skepticism. When you are at this point in the labor process, it's really important to keep in mind that 1) bazillions of women have done this before you. It HAS been done before. It CAN be done again. and 2) YOU. CAN. DO. THIS. I wasn't feeling so much like I could do this. I thought I needed help. More than once I requested Dr. Beatty use a vacuum extractor. Nobody in their right mind REQUESTS the doctor use a vacuum. There are risks to mom and baby with such a device. They are only used when necessary. But I requested one. That gives you an indication of how less-than-hopeful I was feeling about this situation. After an hour and 9 minutes of pushing (I know, that's really not that long...) Dr. Beatty agreed I was a good candidate for a vacuum. After 3 pushes through 1 contraction with the vacuum on his little noggin, James Benton Davidson entered the world at 5:23am. Scott, who had been so amazingly encouraging throughout the whole process, was even more so now. Whispering sweetly in my ear, he assured me I did a good job. For a multitude of reasons, I could not WAIT for my baby to be born. One of the reasons? I was anticipating MUCH relief of the pain I felt all through the pushing phase. This did not happen. As soon as he was born, my pain level shot through the roof. I started sobbing. Some thought it was tears of joy that my precious son had been born. But mostly, it was because I was hurting so badly! I'll have to ask Sarah and Dr. Beatty their thoughts on why my pain went UP after he was born. Fairly quickly they numbed me up with some lidocaine, which provided me almost instantaneous relief. My breathing slowed. I stopped sobbing. I could listen to the greatest sound, my baby boy testing out his lungs. Now I was crying tears of joy. He was finally here. Scott was in awe, I'd say. He did NOT pass out. He didn't watch the birth, but at least he didn't pass out. He held my shoulders during each push and would strategically place his head right behind mine. His voice was right by my ear during every push. Nikki was holding one leg, Sarah held the other. Jacqui was Nikki's pinch hitter when she needed a break. This was truly a team effort. Everybody was on camera duty when James was born. My coworkers from Special Care, Lori and John, were in the room for delivery since a vacuum was being used. Oh, and James pooped (meconium) right before he was born. The presence of meconium also earns you a Special Care Nursery team at delivery. Thankfully, James screamed the moment he was born and didn't let up for a little bit. His lungs were great. He hardly even had a red mark on his head from the vacuum, since it was only on his head for about a minute. Apgars (for those that care) were 8 and 9. Pretty standard. :)
my doulas, Jacqui and Nikki
Just after 4am, we started pushing. Whereas before the epidural was providing me great pain coverage, during the pushing part, it hurt all the time. This was very unfortunate for me! On the up-side, I could feel a little better how to push. But on the down-side, it HURT! During this phase, I felt like my knowledge of how this process goes worked against me. What I mean by that: After the first few pushes, Dr. Beatty left the room. Because I work in this environment, I know that when the doctor leaves the room, it's because they anticipate pushing will take a little bit and they are not immediately needed. When Dr. Beatty left, my heart sank. This was not going to be 4 pushes and the baby is born. Bummer. Guided by my brilliant nurse Sarah and encouraged on by my "team" of Scott, Nikki and Jacqui, the pushing continued. Dr. Beatty was in and out of the room periodically. Sarah and Dr. Beatty assured me the baby was making progress and was moving (slowly) down. I accused them of lying to me. Note to self: it's ALWAYS a good idea to throw out wild accusations at your health care providers when you are in a most compromising situation <stirrups>. I asked, in an accusatory tone, if this baby was making progress, why is Dr. Beatty still in a sweatshirt instead of gowned up? And why is the L&D table still covered up? Again, my knowledge worked against me. I should've just listened to them and kept pushing. I did keep pushing, but it was with much skepticism. When you are at this point in the labor process, it's really important to keep in mind that 1) bazillions of women have done this before you. It HAS been done before. It CAN be done again. and 2) YOU. CAN. DO. THIS. I wasn't feeling so much like I could do this. I thought I needed help. More than once I requested Dr. Beatty use a vacuum extractor. Nobody in their right mind REQUESTS the doctor use a vacuum. There are risks to mom and baby with such a device. They are only used when necessary. But I requested one. That gives you an indication of how less-than-hopeful I was feeling about this situation. After an hour and 9 minutes of pushing (I know, that's really not that long...) Dr. Beatty agreed I was a good candidate for a vacuum. After 3 pushes through 1 contraction with the vacuum on his little noggin, James Benton Davidson entered the world at 5:23am. Scott, who had been so amazingly encouraging throughout the whole process, was even more so now. Whispering sweetly in my ear, he assured me I did a good job. For a multitude of reasons, I could not WAIT for my baby to be born. One of the reasons? I was anticipating MUCH relief of the pain I felt all through the pushing phase. This did not happen. As soon as he was born, my pain level shot through the roof. I started sobbing. Some thought it was tears of joy that my precious son had been born. But mostly, it was because I was hurting so badly! I'll have to ask Sarah and Dr. Beatty their thoughts on why my pain went UP after he was born. Fairly quickly they numbed me up with some lidocaine, which provided me almost instantaneous relief. My breathing slowed. I stopped sobbing. I could listen to the greatest sound, my baby boy testing out his lungs. Now I was crying tears of joy. He was finally here. Scott was in awe, I'd say. He did NOT pass out. He didn't watch the birth, but at least he didn't pass out. He held my shoulders during each push and would strategically place his head right behind mine. His voice was right by my ear during every push. Nikki was holding one leg, Sarah held the other. Jacqui was Nikki's pinch hitter when she needed a break. This was truly a team effort. Everybody was on camera duty when James was born. My coworkers from Special Care, Lori and John, were in the room for delivery since a vacuum was being used. Oh, and James pooped (meconium) right before he was born. The presence of meconium also earns you a Special Care Nursery team at delivery. Thankfully, James screamed the moment he was born and didn't let up for a little bit. His lungs were great. He hardly even had a red mark on his head from the vacuum, since it was only on his head for about a minute. Apgars (for those that care) were 8 and 9. Pretty standard. :)
As soon as he was deemed fine and dandy by the Special Care team, they handed him back to me. We tried breastfeeding first and then just spent some quality time skin to skin. I was completely head over heels in love with this boy. He just got here, but that didn't matter. All it took was a second. :)
I couldn't have asked for a better group of people to be present for James' birth. Both on the coworker side of things as well as the family/friends side of things. I was so grateful for each person there and the role that they played.
Dr. Beatty and Sarah
All in all, the process went much faster than last time. We got to the hospital around 11pm and he was born around 5:30am. Last time, I was in the hospital for 12 hours before my sweet little girl made an appearance.
We're doing well at home. Getting to know each other. Enjoying being a family. Feeling very, very blessed.
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