So last thursday I had a 4:45 doctors appointment with my OB at which point I was supposed to have the same testing done that I had with Donovan to make sure the baby was doing a.o.k. in there since I was past my due date (by one day). Well my doctor messed up because she told me just to come to my appointment that day for the testing, when in reality the doctor that works with her is apparently the only one that does the testing and she does not work on thursdays, which I didn't know until I was at my appointment. When her assistant told me this, I stopped talking, because I was pretty sure I was going to start crying if I said anything. That or hurt someone. So when my doctor came in she mentioned how there was a misunderstanding. She then listened to the baby with the doppler for an extra long time, which is when I realized she wasn't going to do the testing or try to do the testing herself. I was crushed and nervous. I see lots of happy things at work, but the sad things that you see are the things that you think about when you have worries about your own pregnancy. I was worried that since Dono didn't have much fluid at the end and that was 2 days before the gestation I was at that day, that maybe this baby didn't have much fluid either. I just wanted to be reassured there was enough fluid to keep this pregnancy going and it was clear I wasn't going to get the reassurance I needed.
So the doctor checked my cervix, and I was 3-4cm dilated, 70% effaced, which is a good start. I think she sensed my disappointment, and nervousness and she said "So do you want to be induced tomorrow?". I think it was for no other reason than she knew I was going to break down without a baby soon, or reassurance and since I was postdates, she was going to go for the induction. She also offered we could do it that night, but I said it was up to her because I didn't want to totally inconvenience her. So we called up to labor and delivery and asked if there were any induction slots open for the next day and there was. So she was scheduling me with the crazy secretary that doesn't know much and didn't recognize my name for the 4th morning induction for friday, meaning I would be the 4th person to be called in and you get called in according to how busy they are. Well somehow the charge nurse, who is a friend of mine heard the secretary scheduling my induction and she told the secretary that room 24 (one of our new big, nice rooms) was open then and had her ask Dr Shelton if I just wanted to do it that night. I really did want to do it that night because the nurse I have always wanted to take care of me at some point was working, and I wanted to try to deliver the next day as soon after midnight as I could so I could get an extra night in the hospital since last time I felt like I got robbed from one of my nights since I delivered so late (9:43pm) and then had the nurses in my room a lot that night since I was bleeding more than normal. So anyways my Doctor asked if that was ok with me, and I said it was and so it was decided we would be induced that night.
It is so funny because as nervous as I was before hand about when everything would happen, I was so calm as soon as the decision was made. I called Jenna, had her come over to watch Dono, called Tom and told him the good news and headed home so we could get our things together and pack up. We took a few belly pictures and tried to get a picture of the three of us together as a family of three for one last time but Donovan was not co-operating. So we got a shot of me and Tom and me and Dono and that was the best we could do.
Me at 40wks 1day, right before we left for the hospital.
This was what Donovan was doing instead of posing with us. Throwing a fit at the top of the stairs because he wanted Jenna to go downstairs and play with him and we were preventing that from happening (she was taking our pictures).
Last picture of me and my only child. By the looks of this we had to bribe him with a cookie to get him to comply (but I can't remember for sure, this baby sucks my memory away).
We didn't get to the hospital until right before 7pm and by the time my nurse finished admitting me, starting my IV, and talking to the Dr getting orders, we didn't start the pitocin until 8:35. I was fine with that because I was convinced that I was going to go really fast since my last induction was only 7 hours from start of pitocin to delivery, and I was only 2cm dilated to start and it was my first baby so those usually go slower. So at 9:30 I was already hurting with the contractions on only 2ml/min of pitocin, which is almost nothing. So then I was REALLY scared I was going to go too fast. So I got on the birthing ball to help with the pain, and it did so well, that I almost had no pain. We held off on the pit for a little but then when it became clear I was totally comfortable, we started going back up. Fast forward a couple hours and we are on 6 of pitocin and I am almost sleeping between contractions I am so tired. So I get off the ball to see if I can get a few minutes rest. My contractions were worse in the bed and sometime after 1am I had Sherry recheck me and I was pretty much unchanged. And annoyed. I was in enough pain that I got the epidural, but not as much pain as I was in last time when I got it so it definitely hurt and felt like it took a lot longer to administer than my last one did. Once again when it was done and had fully set up the doctor had to come and give me more pain meds because it had not totally taken the pain away like it should have (this happened last time too). And once again my blood pressure dropped, twice actually, when they gave the initial epidural and then the redose, much like last time.
So anyways I was comfortable but not relaxed. My anxiety was running very high so I spent the rest of the time until delivery resting but never really sleeping, and shaking whenever I would talk to someone or someone would be in the room. When I wasn't distracted I could control the shakes, otherwise, no way. At 2:30 Sherry checked me and broke my water because I was only 4-5 cm dilated and contracting every 2-4 minutes. I think at the highest the pit only got to 10. She checked me again at 5am when I was feeling a little pressure and I was only 6cm, 90% effaced although she said she could stretch me to 7cm. I was so annoyed. I could not believe it was taking this long! And to think, I was telling her to hold off on the pitocin at 9:30 because I thought I was going too fast!!!! So I asked her what we could do to get me delivered before she left at 7am. She said she would have me sit up pretty much all the way upright to see if the baby's head would make the cervix change faster. Then at 6am she would recheck me and if I was any more than I was then, she would have me bear down to see if I could get that cervix to go away. So it was a plan. I started to feel a little more pressure soon after, but nothing as clear as last time so I was not too optimistic. Then at 6 she checked me and I was 10cm, 100% effaced. Then she got all her stuff ready, notified the dr I was complete and had me practice push. Once, then she stopped me because she said I moved the baby really well. (After that, the pressure was very intense so I was counting the minutes that went by until the dr was there.) Then she called the doctor for delivery and by the time she got there and everyone was assembled, it was almost 7. I had to push through 2 contractions, 7 total times and then out popped Reese! And the rest is history!
Last time I had a small postpartum hemorrhage, so this time I warned everyone and had a resident assist with the delivery incase my dr needed an extra set of hands if it happened again. This time I did not have extra bleeding, that is right away. Once all the dust had settled and I was all put back together and had visitors in the room, I noticed that I was bleeding more than normal so I had my nurses all over it. I was bleeding enough that they had another resident see me, and she had to do a quick manual evacuation of my uterus (yes I know this is a lot of info, but this is the way I keep record of things for myself so I don't leave much out) and yes, it is just about as fun as it sounds (read: not fun at all), but luckily my epidural was still in effect enough that it wasn't too terrible. They also gave me another bag of pitocin and started me on an oral medication called Methergine for bleeding that I took every 8hrs for 24 hours total.
As far as recovery goes, the second time is the charm! The next day I was up, showered and in my own clothes by 9am and I felt great! Even later the same day as delivery I was up, moving and feeling good. It makes me look forward to the next time I deliver, since I know that the recovery was exponentially easier. I didn't have near the swelling or pain as last time and that was the worst part. Ok I think I have written enough of the labor story. If you are still reading this you are either 1)myself at a later date 2)my parents or 3)my cousin Ann, a labor and delivery nurse who loves these kind of details. If you are anyone else, congrats! You made it! I admire your patience.
Bottom line, I can't believe how fast a week goes and how much changes so fast. Just this time last week she was still trying to kick out one of my ribs :)I love Reese and I am so glad she is on the outside now!
This was what Donovan was doing instead of posing with us. Throwing a fit at the top of the stairs because he wanted Jenna to go downstairs and play with him and we were preventing that from happening (she was taking our pictures).
Last picture of me and my only child. By the looks of this we had to bribe him with a cookie to get him to comply (but I can't remember for sure, this baby sucks my memory away).
We didn't get to the hospital until right before 7pm and by the time my nurse finished admitting me, starting my IV, and talking to the Dr getting orders, we didn't start the pitocin until 8:35. I was fine with that because I was convinced that I was going to go really fast since my last induction was only 7 hours from start of pitocin to delivery, and I was only 2cm dilated to start and it was my first baby so those usually go slower. So at 9:30 I was already hurting with the contractions on only 2ml/min of pitocin, which is almost nothing. So then I was REALLY scared I was going to go too fast. So I got on the birthing ball to help with the pain, and it did so well, that I almost had no pain. We held off on the pit for a little but then when it became clear I was totally comfortable, we started going back up. Fast forward a couple hours and we are on 6 of pitocin and I am almost sleeping between contractions I am so tired. So I get off the ball to see if I can get a few minutes rest. My contractions were worse in the bed and sometime after 1am I had Sherry recheck me and I was pretty much unchanged. And annoyed. I was in enough pain that I got the epidural, but not as much pain as I was in last time when I got it so it definitely hurt and felt like it took a lot longer to administer than my last one did. Once again when it was done and had fully set up the doctor had to come and give me more pain meds because it had not totally taken the pain away like it should have (this happened last time too). And once again my blood pressure dropped, twice actually, when they gave the initial epidural and then the redose, much like last time.
So anyways I was comfortable but not relaxed. My anxiety was running very high so I spent the rest of the time until delivery resting but never really sleeping, and shaking whenever I would talk to someone or someone would be in the room. When I wasn't distracted I could control the shakes, otherwise, no way. At 2:30 Sherry checked me and broke my water because I was only 4-5 cm dilated and contracting every 2-4 minutes. I think at the highest the pit only got to 10. She checked me again at 5am when I was feeling a little pressure and I was only 6cm, 90% effaced although she said she could stretch me to 7cm. I was so annoyed. I could not believe it was taking this long! And to think, I was telling her to hold off on the pitocin at 9:30 because I thought I was going too fast!!!! So I asked her what we could do to get me delivered before she left at 7am. She said she would have me sit up pretty much all the way upright to see if the baby's head would make the cervix change faster. Then at 6am she would recheck me and if I was any more than I was then, she would have me bear down to see if I could get that cervix to go away. So it was a plan. I started to feel a little more pressure soon after, but nothing as clear as last time so I was not too optimistic. Then at 6 she checked me and I was 10cm, 100% effaced. Then she got all her stuff ready, notified the dr I was complete and had me practice push. Once, then she stopped me because she said I moved the baby really well. (After that, the pressure was very intense so I was counting the minutes that went by until the dr was there.) Then she called the doctor for delivery and by the time she got there and everyone was assembled, it was almost 7. I had to push through 2 contractions, 7 total times and then out popped Reese! And the rest is history!
Last time I had a small postpartum hemorrhage, so this time I warned everyone and had a resident assist with the delivery incase my dr needed an extra set of hands if it happened again. This time I did not have extra bleeding, that is right away. Once all the dust had settled and I was all put back together and had visitors in the room, I noticed that I was bleeding more than normal so I had my nurses all over it. I was bleeding enough that they had another resident see me, and she had to do a quick manual evacuation of my uterus (yes I know this is a lot of info, but this is the way I keep record of things for myself so I don't leave much out) and yes, it is just about as fun as it sounds (read: not fun at all), but luckily my epidural was still in effect enough that it wasn't too terrible. They also gave me another bag of pitocin and started me on an oral medication called Methergine for bleeding that I took every 8hrs for 24 hours total.
As far as recovery goes, the second time is the charm! The next day I was up, showered and in my own clothes by 9am and I felt great! Even later the same day as delivery I was up, moving and feeling good. It makes me look forward to the next time I deliver, since I know that the recovery was exponentially easier. I didn't have near the swelling or pain as last time and that was the worst part. Ok I think I have written enough of the labor story. If you are still reading this you are either 1)myself at a later date 2)my parents or 3)my cousin Ann, a labor and delivery nurse who loves these kind of details. If you are anyone else, congrats! You made it! I admire your patience.
Bottom line, I can't believe how fast a week goes and how much changes so fast. Just this time last week she was still trying to kick out one of my ribs :)I love Reese and I am so glad she is on the outside now!
No comments:
Post a Comment