Thank you to my friend Kristi, mother of THREE boys (bless her heart!), for sharing her first birth story. The other two are on their way!
__________________________________________________________________________
Did you ever hear a woman say “he was two weeks late?” and feel bad for her?? Do you remember your last weeks of pregnancy; waiting with great anticipation of that due date because you couldn’t possible go passed it? Yea that
was me, only I went waaaay passed my due date, much passed. Two full weeks after my due date, I had to be induced.
Let me back up. About a week before my due date, my doctors noted that my swelling was starting to get pretty bad and my blood pressures were rising. I had to be hooked up to monitors twice a week to monitor baby Logan and make sure he was OK in there – yet they STILL let me go two weeks passed my due date. On February 4, 2004, I got a phone call from Magee’s Admitting department. They were calling to schedule my induction if I didn’t go in to labor. It was scheduled for February 18th, 2004 at midnight. I would get a phone call when they had a bed open and I could go in. Awesome.
The phone call came at 11:30. I immediately freaked out and refused to go. I was wide-awake and terrified. I had always dreamt of going into labor spontaneously so there would be no build up of fear. Oh my water broke, can’t go back now…well there was absolutely nothing telling me to go to hospital other than that mean nurse that called and told me I had to come in and start what is supposed to be the most intense pain of my life, ON PURPOSE!!
Eventually Dave convinced me we had to go or I would end up having the baby at home, not very rational. For those of you that care, I was NOT at all a good induction candidate. My cervix was not soft, nor dilating. I was not effaced at all. Dr.
Shaheen, who I love dearly and is definitely against unneeded cesarean sections, let me know that unfortunately she was not very hopeful for me, as my body was doing nothing. She would still do everything she could to help and try to successfully have a natural birth but to be prepared. I was scared out of my freaking mind. I had never had surgery, I hate needles, I hate my spine, I am cursing Dave left and right for “making me this way.” It was just bad.
The rest is a time line:
1:48AM – Placement of IV, pitocin started.
5:00AM – Not much change – cervix is slightly soft. So it’s something.
7:00AM – Still not much change – contractions are getting stronger, they have pitocin on the highest level they can.
8:45AM – Dr. S. Suggests I let her break my water and see if that will help my body along. She warns me that once they break my water, it is likely that I have to have baby out in 24 hours or less. She is willing to keep waiting it out, but lets me
know I am NOT going home without a baby.
9:02 – the biggest damned crochet hook I have ever seen and she’s going to shove it up me??? Holy crap, please no!!!
9:03AM – Dr. S. asks me one more time if I want my epi first, before she breaks the water as it can be “uncomfortable” (that woman needs to redefine that word…) I refuse.
9:04AM – Water is broken. Yep, that freaking hurt.
9:05 – 11:15 – So much pain, controlled breathing, dilated to 7cm!!!! My body is doing it!!!
11:20 – I can’t handle the pain and decide a needle in my back would be better than this!
11:50 – Epi is in and I’m asleep.
12:30PM – evil nurse wakes me up to check me – I’m at 8cm.
1:00PM – I wake up and feel like I am going to poop out a basketball.
For the next hour my mom and Dave are trying to get the nurse to go get Dr. S. They refused stating they just checked me, there was no way I was ready to push, they would call the epi guy and see what was wrong, blah blah blah. The epidural I had was one shot of meds to numb me, not the one where I push the button every 5 minutes. Anyway, he comes in and decides to give me another dose of medicine. At this point I cannot feel a dang thing. Dave would touch my leg and I would freak out because I could see him touching me but couldn’t feel it, worst feeling ever!! Yet, through that, the basketball feeling was still there and I knew something was wrong.
Dr. S. came in on her own and asked how I was and at that point I was in tears begging her to check me. She was ticked the nursed didn’t get her. In any event, she checked and Logan’s head was almost out of me. No shit. She was screaming to
get peds and throwing on her cool gown and clear face mask begging me not to push at all. Mind you, I couldn’t feel a damn thing AT ALL because of the 2nd dose of med.
So the whole team of peds (he had pooped in his water sac in me and had to have pediatric team there at birth) arrives just as I scream that I can’t hold him in any longer…one swift ittty bitty push and my first born joined the world.
That moment my life was FOREVER changed. If you are a parent you know exactly what I mean.
Dr. S. let me know that my body simply doesn’t make the hormones to induce labor on its own and for future babies, I would not have to wait two extra weeks for induction if the same thing happened…thankfully because I went on to do this two more
times…
Your two-cents here: