At my last OB appt, the nurse/midwife told me I was dilated to 3-4cm and about 60% effaced. She said I was very "ripe" and I was a good candidate for an induction, if I was interested. At the time, I wasn't sure. I went home and stewed about it for two days. I didn't know how I felt about choosing my baby's birthday, or about using drugs to have the baby faster, etc. etc. I talked with my mom, my husband, my mother-in-law, and got a Priesthood blessing and prayed. In the end, I decided to get the induction. I was feeling pretty miserable, and I felt like it would be really nice to have a scheduled time to go to the hospital instead of timing contractions and wondering if we should go now or wait till they got closer together... lots of uncertainty in that method.
Once I finally decided, I was told that Monday, June 13, the hospital would call between 5 and 6am to tell me what time I should arrive. So, I set my alarm for 4:50am so I could take a shower and get dressed before we left for the hospital. I tried to go to bed at 8pm, but I was too anxious and worried. I even shed a few tears wondering how in the world I would be able to be a mother of 2. I went in to check on Scott and I just started bawling. I knew nothing would ever be the same, and I was really more concerned about my relationship with Scott than anything else. I knew the birth would be fine. My other anxiety was that I would have another horrible experience nursing and have mastitis and thrush again, like I did with Scott and I really felt like I couldn't survive a re-run of that. I did finally get 45 min of sleep here and there over the next few hours, between changing positions and getting up to go to the bathroom. I got up, took a shower, as planned. Then we got the call from the hospital. They wanted us to come between 7 and 7:30am. Oi! But I didn't want to go back to bed and just keep getting frustrated that I wasn't sleeping, so I had some juice (no breakfast allowed) and went downstairs to watch That Thing You Do!
We left for the hospital around 7:15am. We parked, checked in, and then waited. And waited. And waited. I asked if I could get some juice because by 9am, I was already starving. They brought me some in the waiting room. Finally, around 10am, they got me into a delivery room and the paperwork began. Sign this, sign that, etc. Then the head of the OB practice came in on her way back to the office after performing a c-section. She checked me and said I was about 4-5cm and offered to break my water. Luckily, the nurse said, "Can we get her an IV first before you do that?" and I reminded them that I had tested positive for Group B Strep, so I need antibiotics for 4 hours before the baby arrived. "Oh, yeah!" So, my OB went back to the office, and paperwork resumed. Finally I got my IV around 11am. The nurse tried in both my hands and failed both times. They brought in a nurse who used to work in the ER and she brought in a hot pack and did my IV on my forearm near my wrist. It hurt like a mother, but at least the progress had begun.
I just kind of hung out for the next several hours. I chatted on-line, shopped for nursing clothes, watched Netflix, drank juice, etc. The contractions were about 5-6 minutes apart and were not particularly painful. On the pain scale, I would say they were 3 out of 10. Well, the nurse/midwife from my OB practice came in around 1pm and said, "You look way too happy!" So, she had them up my pitocin over the next hour and then came in and broke my water. After about 30 minutes, the contractions were 2-3 minutes apart and about 8 on the pain scale. AH!!! So, after 3 super painful contractions, I requested an epidural. Around 3:30pm, I got one. The anesthesiologist came in Matt held me while I tried my best to hold still while crying through the worst pain in my life. The doctor thought he missed, so he tried again, and as he was trying again, my feet went dumb, so apparently the first epidural worked. So, he only gave me a little dose so it wouldn't last forever. I could still move and feel contractions, but they felt like very mild cramps. He offered to give me more meds, but my midwife said I probably didn't need it. She was right. The meds started working even better for the next hour or so, and I was very happy with the level of feeling I had. I did vomit several times, however. But, I didn't make a mess, I had the barf bag ready and I got it all in! Yay! So, they gave me some anti-nausea medicine, and didn't puke again. Yess! (With Scott I puked several times because of the epidural.)
So I just hung out again over the next hour or so, and then the midwife came in and asked me where I felt the contractions, and they were still kind of in front, and she said they should be in the bum region by now, so she had me roll onto my left side, and put my right leg up in a stirrup. (This was around 4:45pm, I would guess.) She said she'd be back in 10 minutes. Well, in about 3 minutes, it felt like it was time to push. But, I let myself have 3 or 4 of those kinds of contractions because she said she'd be back in 10 minutes, but I finally just hit the call button and said I needed my doc. So, she came in and said that we'd put my legs in position and do a test push and see if it was time. Well, the put my legs up and the nurse said, "There's his head!" in a southern accent. And I laughed. And my midwife said, "Wait, don't laugh, I have to put my gown on and set up." Well, that just made me laugh harder. The nurse said his head was bobbing in and out when I laughed. And then she said, "If you don't stop laughing, you're going to laugh this baby out of you!" So, I tried to calm down while she got ready. Then over the next few minutes, I pushed 2 or 3 times, and out came Bobby at 5:14pm. Ta-da!
That was long. I guess you'll have to remember how thorough I am next time I ask if you want the birth story... if there is a next time.
Any questions???
