Birth Story...Part 1

It's so funny to think back now about all of the anxieties I had about the whole labor and birth experience. I looked up stuff online about what to expect. One of the things I feared the most, turned out to be not that big of a deal in the end.

I was full term on December 19, 2013. I had my 40 week doctor's appointment on the 18th. When I met with the doctor that day, they said I was still only 1 cm dilated and the baby had not dropped. She said she would not let me go more than a week past my due date, but the rate that I was progressing, it looked like I would have to be induced anyways. 

One thing I always thought was that I wouldn't know when I was going into labor. Well, when you get induced you pretty much get to decide when you want to start going into labor. It was a weird emotion because now all of a sudden they're asking you when you want it to happen. I just never pictured it that way. 

Patrick was with me at this appointment, and the doctor left it up to us what we wanted to do. As much as I wanted pregnancy to be over, when the decision was left up to us I almost felt as if I wasn't ready to pull the trigger. Patrick was all for getting this thing started and I was hesitant. He had to remind me how miserable and uncomfortable I had become. I had a mini panic attack in the doctor's office that day, because it was actually going to happen! We had a small window, because the doctor was leaving for the Christmas holiday to visit family, and to finally make up the decision of when I would be induced, I left it up to the OB nurses. The doctor called their office and asked when they had the most staff and it would be easiest for them. They decided I would go in that night at midnight to start the process. 

HOLY. FREAKING.OUT.

It was actually going to happen! I went back to work (yep!), finished the last of the things I needed to get done, then went home to sleep. And gorge myself full of food because after 8 pm that night I couldn't eat anything. My "last meal" as I called it consisted of almost a whole box of mac and cheese, and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Super healthy, I know. Patrick had a meeting that night, and I turned the phone off, took the dogs to my in-laws, and slept. 

My last picture at home before heading in that night...hellooooo fat face and basketball belly.

 

We went to the hospital and got checked in at midnight, and got to put one of those lovely gowns on. I got settled into the hospital bed and Patrick got settled onto the pull-out couch. The nurse gave me a teeny tiny pill that would help get the dilating started...and then we went to sleep. Yep, that's all inducing consists of. I thought it would be a little more exciting than that.

Four hours later, the nurse came in and gave me another little pill to take. After another 4 hours of sleep, they started me on an IV drip with fluids and pitocin, to help speed things up. At this point I couldn't feel any contractions, but apparently I was having them. I had dilated a little more, but not much. It seems the little pills got things started, but they were moving very slowly. 

After hanging out and a couple more hours, they turned up the pitocin. It helped a little bit but things were still progressing very slowly. I was starting to feel the contractions and they were getting uncomfortable. At about 4 pm I finally got my first epidural. Yep, you read that right...the first one. Let me tell you, it was magical! Unfortunately at about 8 pm that epidural wore off...the anesthesiologist had to come back to the hospital. Apparently it had come out, which was why it stopped working. 

At this point, I had technically been in labor for 16 hours and I was only at a 5. At about 10 pm, the doctor said that if I wasn't going to progress any more, they were going to have to give me a c-section because the baby was showing signs of stress from being in labor too long. I had to be given oxygen at this point because my levels were low...

Stay tuned for part 2 tomorrow!!!