Birth Story

Over the course of the week since my first unplanned L&D visit, I'd gotten used to a pattern of contractions becoming more regular over the course of the day only to disappear entirely by the following morning, so when I noticed my contractions were 5-7 minutes apart on Sunday night, I didn't think much of it. However, in getting ready for bed, I did realize that they were becoming much stronger than usual so I began timing them. By 1 :30 AM, they were 3-4 minutes apart and strong enough that I couldn't talk or walk through them so we prepared to go to the hospital. By the time we arrived, they were 2 minutes apart so the nurses brought me to a room immediately. However, I was still only 5 cm. dilated and 90% effaced when they checked me around 3 AM (I'd been 4 cm/70% on Friday) so I figured I had a long ways to go. After 5 attempts and 4 blown veins, the nurse finally got my IV antibiotics started (I'm GBS positive), and the monitoring began.

Unfortunately, my blood pressure was quite high so my doctor decided I needed to remain confined to bed for the whole of labor and dictated which side I could lie on and when. This wouldn't have been a big deal if I hadn't planned on a natural birth that required me to be able to move around, and the pressure in my back soon became unbearable as I fought the urge to push. With each contraction, I grew more unable to focus on my breathing and relaxing as I just concentrated on not pushing since I wasn't 10 cm. yet. Finally, I knew I wouldn't be able to keep fighting the urge without either getting an epi or being allowed to at least sit up, and since the latter wasn't an option, I told the nurse I wanted an epi. While C and I were really disappointed, I know that these were unexpected circumstances with not being allowed to move, and I managed to labor to 9 cm. without anything, so I feel OK about it. Getting the epi wasn't as bad as I'd expected, though I was unable to keep from pushing during contractions several times, which stressed me out because I didn't want to hurt anything. The doctor came in shortly after the epi, confirmed that I was almost 10 cm., and broke my water to help relieve some of the pressure.

It's a good thing that I did get the epi because, even though I was at 10 cm. by around 5:30 AM, I couldn't have another IV of antibiotics until 7:30 and it'd take an hour for that to be administered so I had to just labor down for over 3 hours because they wanted me to have 2 doses of antibiotics. Even this ended up working out, though, because by the time I was allowed to start pushing, the head was at +2 and the epi was weak enough that I wasn't in pain but I could still feel the urge to push and move my legs. Since they never were able to pick up my contractions on the monitors, being able to feel the pressure was crucial since no one could tell me when to push. Once they let me start pushing, things moved quickly. I had to wear the oxygen mask due to some distress from Ethan, but that was probably the most uncomfortable part because pushing wasn't that hard. After only about 40 minutes of pushing, the head was out and the doctor told me to stop pushing. I did, but Ethan had other plans, apparently, because the rest of his body slipped out on its own, much to the doctor's surprise!

We had planned on delaying cord clamping and having him on my chest for the first hour, but since the cord was so short he would only reach my lower abdomen, we agreed to go ahead and have the cord cut so that I could actually hold him. I also wanted to breastfeed in the first hour, but the nurse who had been so helpful during labor ended up being much less supportive after he was born and kept telling me he wasn't interested in nursing so I should go ahead and let her call the nursery to come check him out. I finally gave in just a few minutes shy of the full hour, but I still regret not having breastfed until a couple of hours after he was born.

So while my birth didn't exactly go as hoped, I still am happy with the experience and obviously am thrilled with the result! Ethan is such a good baby, rarely crying, sleeping very well, and latching like a pro most of the time. I had supply issues that required a formula supplement for 3 days (just 1.5 oz./day by an at-breast tube feeder) in order to rehydrate him and treat some mild jaundice, but my supply seems to be increasing with fenugreek and pumping, and he's gained back some of the weight he lost. All in all, we're doing well!

Popping my L&D cherry

Well today certainly didn't go as planned. It began as expected with me going to my 39 week appointment. I had contemplated throwing the hospital bag in the car just in case but decided that was silly and unnecessary. Little did I know... So I get back with the nurse, and she takes my blood pressure. She looked concerned and switched to the other cuff. She shook her head and finally said it was coming back high. 170/100 to be exact. Yikes! So she had me lie on my left side until the doctor came in. The doctor did the usual drill, including an internal, and discovered I'm 3 cm dilated and 70% effaced. When she took my blood pressure again, it was only down to 150/90 so she decided I needed to go to L&D for monitoring and for induction if they couldn't get it down.

As I walked over, I called C and my mom. C wasn't sure whether to come or not, so I told him I'd keep him updated. My mom was panicked, of course. I got up to the L&D waiting room and after a little while they brought me back to a room. After talking to the nurse, I decided I wanted C there so he headed over. They got me hooked up to the monitors and put the blood pressure cuff on to take a reading every 15 minutes. After about an hour or so, someone came in to wheel me down to get an ultrasound, which was unexpected. Everything looked great on the u/s, thankfully. He's definitely head down, and the tech said he was "right there" so she predicted pushing wouldn't be an issue. She confirmed the 3 cm. dilation, and I'm pretty sure she confirmed the gender. She was being sort of cryptic about the whole thing, which was annoying, but I think she would have said something if the original u/s was wrong, especially since we discussed it. Anyway, they brought me back to the room and hooked me back up, and C decided to grab some lunch, close things down at work, and get the hospital bag from home just in case. After another hour, the nurse had me turn on my left side for another hour's worth of readings. Those two hours were definitely lonely since C had left, the nurse rarely came in, and there wasn't much on TV. Plus, I had to pee horribly (TMI?) and was too shy to use the call button to have the nurse take the monitors off. I can promise I won't be that bashful once I'm actually in labor, but everything felt so weird today since it was all unexpected.

Finally the doctor came in. She was pleased that my blood pressure was coming down once I was on my left side (it got down to about 130s/80s) so she sent me home with orders for strict bed rest until I deliver. She was predicting that I'll probably go into labor in 3-4 days, even being on bed rest, but if I don't go on my own, I'm scheduled to be induced on Tuesday, so in exactly one week. I have to go back for a blood pressure check on Friday to make sure they don't need to induce earlier.

Apparently, I was having contractions as regularly as every 7 minutes, but I had no clue. I thought I noticed a couple, but it was hard to tell since I was so uncomfortable to begin with. This of course only increases my fear that I'll be in active labor without realizing it...

As anxious as I am to meet the little guy, I'm sort of glad that today didn't result in an emergency induction. Now I have a better idea of what things are like in L&D so I can better prepare. Plus, I'd only eaten a bagel for breakfast, and I cannot imagine laboring without any fuel. As it is, I still have a headache from lack of food!

So that's the plan. I can only get up to go to the bathroom and take one shower a day, which could get rough, especially around lunch time. Hopefully I'll go into labor soon on my own, but if not, I'll be induced on Tuesday. In other words, I have one week of pregnancy left, max. Wow.

39 Weeks

How far along? 39 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: No clue. I haven't been on a scale all week, and I don't go to the doctor until tomorrow.
Maternity clothes? Yup, and my already limited wardrobe is further impeded by maternity clothes that no longer fit comfortably.
Stretch marks? There aren't any new ones, but the existing ones are lengthening, for lack of a better term, and have basically taken over my belly.
Sleep: Sleep is touch-and-go. I'm having more trouble getting to sleep at night, I'm waking up earlier, and I still want to nap constantly.
Best moment this week: I don't really have one. All the days just blend together. There have been a lot more strangers commenting on my belly, though, which is always fun.
Movement: He's still wiggling around in there, even throwing the occasional punch and kick.
Food cravings: Anything and everything, especially if it's sweet or fruit.
Gender: Boy
Labor Signs: I'll hopefully find out about progress tomorrow. I was hopeful I might be in early labor today after we walked around the state museums for a few hours, but I suck at timing contractions so I can't tell if they're regular, increasing, or even real. I've had cramping most of the day and been in a decent amount of pain periodically, but I have no clue if it means anything or not, which probably means it means nothing. So much for going into labor on Labor Day.
Belly Button in or out? In, shallow, and slit-like.
What I miss: Not over-analyzing every twinge in my abdomen. I feel like I'm back in 1st tri again!
What I am looking forward to: Being positive I'm in labor (can you tell I'm frustrated right now?)
Weekly Wisdom: No one stays pregnant forever. View each child you encounter as proof!
Milestones: 39 weeks and still cooking!