Thomas's Birth Story, Part 2

In this part of Thomas's birth story I am going to discuss labor/delivery.  In part 1 I discussed my non-stress test and decision to be induced.

Before I start, I wanted to share my very last picture before having Thomas.  Unfortunately I didn't get a picture on the morning I went into the hospital, but this was taken just a few days before.

Saturday, 11/12/11

Saturday morning started very early, as we had to be at the hospital at 7:30.  Todd and I woke up, got ready, ate breakfast (thankfully the doctor had cleared me to eat some breakfast) and headed to the hospital.  We packed A LOT of stuff... MUCH more than we really needed to, but I feel like that's probably pretty common.  However, maybe not as common... I actually packed some papers thinking maybe I would do some last minute grading while laboring!  HA!  That SO didn't happen.

When we arrived at the hospital they were all ready for us.  I quickly changed into a gown and was hooked up to a fetal monitor, contraction monitor and blood pressure cuff.  I would basically be attached to these things for the ENTIRE time I was in labor (here is just another example of how nothing went as I planned... in my plan I was going to be walking through contractions, changing positions and what not to stay comfortable).

The doctor came in soon afterward to check me and give me drugs to start my contractions.  I was told it would probably take 2-4 doses of drugs (at 3 hour intervals) for my contractions to really get going and my body to take over.

The first set of drugs started some contractions, but they were very spaced out and not too difficult.  Todd and I passed the time by playing cards and watching football (yes, that's right... we watched FOOTBALL while I was in labor... Todd basically thinks I am the best wife ever).

About three hours later I got my second dose of drugs and learned I was no further dilated (not uncommon).  This dose of drugs did exactly what it was supposed to.  It brought my contractions closer together and made it so that I could get the pitocin.  By the time the doctor gave me the pitocin, I was starting to get uncomfortable and my contractions were getting tougher.  I remember her telling me when she gave me the pitocin that my card playing hours were over...

She was wrong.  Despite the pain, Todd and I continued to play some cards (to take my mind off the pain).  But this time around I was having to stop pretty often to breath and get through my contractions.

After some time on the pitocin, I was checked around 6 o'clock only to find I was NO MORE dilated than I had been when I came in!  UGH... at this point I pretty much had a complete mental breakdown.  This was NOT how it was supposed to happen.  My body was SUPPOSED to take over and do what it needed to do so I could actually DELIVER a baby.  The nurse was FANTASTIC.  She talked me through it and just kept me focused on the positive... I was going to have a baby... instead of the negative... it wasn't looking like it was going to be ANY time soon!

At this point I was allowed to take all the monitors off for one glorious hour.  I was cleared to walk around the hallways of the hospital... just as I had PLANNED.

That was siginificantly harder than I expected.  We had planned on doing an hour of hallway walking... I think we maybe made it 30 minutes... and most of that was spent with me bracing the wall fighting through the contractions.  After a much shorter time than expected, I HAD to get back to my room.  I WAS EXHAUSTED.

When I got back my nurses had switched, which I almost had another mental breakdown about... my first L&D nurse had been SO GREAT!  Luckily, I returned to my room to find that my second (and last) L&D nurse was equally fantastic! 

At this point I decided to get some drugs to "take the edge off" the contractions and allow me to maybe rest up for the night ahead.  I don't remember what I was given but it helped a little bit.  I could still feel the contractions but it just made them easier to get through somehow... as if my mind knew I would be able to relax more inbetween.  But despite the drugs, I was still in SUPER pain and SUPER exhausted.

At this point the nurse came in to talk to me about an epidural.  Let me put in here that I DID NOT really want to have one.  It wasn't that I was scared or nervous about what it would do to me/the baby, I simply wanted to try natural.  I didn't like the idea of losing my urge to push... like I said, I wanted to try to keep it natural.

HOWEVER... the nurse told me that my doctor had commented that maybe I should get an epidural to help my body relax.  They thought this would really help my body take over and dilate.  Plus, with the pitocin my contractions were only going to get WAY worse, possibly worse than they would get naturally.

At this point Todd and I decided it was going to have to be epidural.  I was in a lot of pain, both of us were EXHAUSTED, and my body was NOT doing it's job.  Plus, one major reason I had not wanted an epidural was because I wanted to be able to move, walk, etc... and with all the monitors, that wasn't happening.  I came to the conclusion that at that moment, the ONLY real reason I had left not to get the epidural was because I was stubborn and would be able to say I did it all naturally (well, natural being relative to having been induced)... and that was a REALLY bad reason to resist.

So around 9 o'clock-ish I got the epidural... and the worst part of it... getting it!  Youch!  But mere minutes later I was enjoying some sweet relief!  I was also given some benedryl because I had broken out in a rash, so between the two drugs, I was OUT LIKE A LIGHT!  And basically slept on and off for the rest of the night...

Sunday, 11/13/11

At around 1:30-ish, I was woken up to be checked.  I was fairly alert but still kinda sleepy, when I heard the nurse say something to the effect of, "Oh my!  That's a head!  It's time to push!"  Todd and I literally went from basically asleep to WIDE AWAKE in the matter of seconds.  They got me all set up to push and helped me know when my contractions were coming.  After a few contractions, I could actually start to feel them coming.  I don't know if my epidural wasn't strong enough or the contractions were just that strong, but I was actually kinda glad.  Remember, I had said I didn't want to lose the urge to push... so now I had minimal pain but could still feel like I knew when I needed to push.  Todd was a champ, feeding me ice chips and offering words of encouragement.

At some point the doctor came in and things got way more medical!  The best part of the whoe pushing part was this story:

Todd basically send something like "Way to go, babe!" every time I got finished pushing.  At one point after a push, I looked at him and said, "You really need to start coming up with other pep phrases."  At this the doctor just started laughing.  And then she said since Todd was a PE teacher and coach she just kept expecting him to say coach-y things like "Walk it off,"  "Go team,"  or better yet, give me a slap on the rear and tell me "Good Game!"  After that, no matter what he said she would laugh.  It kept the mood light-hearted!

At some point the room was FULL of nurses.  This was when I knew we were close.  The doctor was so encouraging talking about how I had gotten his big head out and was working on the shoulders.  At some point the pain got really intense and I knew we were at the home stretch.  I remember that I was crying, laughing, feeling exhilerated and exhausted all at the same time!  Looking back I can't even really put into words what I was feeling, but I remember thinking "WHY AM I CRYING?  MY BABY IS ALMOST HERE!"  And then I saw him and heard a cry (not sure which happened first)...  Then just a blur of nurses, Todd cutting the cord, and him being wisked off.  At some point someone mentioned he had a fever and would be taken to the nursery to be checked out even more... but I got to hold him for a few (SHORT) minutes before that.

NO ONE could believe his size and Todd and I couldn't get over his head of dark brown hair!

...And then he was gone.  Which officially concludes his birth story. There is so much more to tell about his first few days after birth... but that is another (or many others) post.

The taking of my baby almost immediately after birth was again something that was NOT PLANNED.  I missed those hours of skin-to-skin time I was supposed to have... and that was painful.  But God blessed me with sleep immediately so I really wasn't aware of how painful...  more on that in Thomas's After Birth Story.