It all started Tuesday morning when Robert and I went to my doctor appointment at 8 in the morning. We went back, and the first thing that went wrong was that my blood pressure was high. For me 112/60+ is normal and mine came out at 140/79. They took it again and it was 132/66. They weren't too concerned. Then during the ultrasound J (my doctor) said that I had basically no fluid left in with Kaylee, and that my placenta had a lot of calcification in it (also a bad thing). So she said we were going in to have her today. She called the hospital and they said they wouldn't have a bed for us until 11. As I stood there talking to J, I swore I felt like I suddenly pee'd my pants. So I mentioned that I thought my water had just broken. J said to just go in as soon as we could.
We went home, got everything packed in the car, played with the dogs, puppy proofed the family room, and I took a shower. Then we went out to breakfast (something J had suggested) and while we were eating the hospital called to say they wouldn't have a room for us until noon. That was a good thing though because I had scheduled a car seat inspection at 11:30 that day. We went and found out that we actually put it in right!! It was just a little too lose, but other than that we did great. This whole time, I was having some slight contractions, but hadn't felt any more leaking of my water.
Once we got to the hospital we sat in the waiting room for an hour waiting for the room! So at 1 I got into my room, and around 1:45 J showed up to check my progress and to see if my water had actually broken. I was 3cm and about 65-70% effaced, and my water hadn't broken so she broke it. After that very painful exam the nurse started doing my IV. She was putting lidocaine in first to numb it, and it took her 3 tries. Each one felt like a bee sting! Finally she got it, and started my pitocin. My mom got there shortly after, and the contractions started.
I handled them as long as I felt like I could, but because I was on pitocin I was not allowed to walk around! That was because the baby needed to be constantly monitered. Around 4:00 I asked for a birthing ball to sit on to see if that would help, but by 4:30 it hadn't gotten there and I couldn't wait any longer. So I asked for the epidural. Luckily the Women's center had their own, so he was there in about 10 minutes. After the lidocaine for the IV's I was very worried about how much the epidural was going to sting. But it was no where near as painful!! In about 5 minutes I was feeling so much better. My only complaint the whole time with the epi. was that my right leg got SO numb that I couldn't move it, and it almost hurt.
Unfortunately, either my body was taking its time or the epi. slowed down my progress because I stayed at 3cm until around 9:30pm when J came back to check me again. Then she was very excited that I was finally 4cm and 90% effaced. Then I sat at 4 for a LONG time! I went to sleep around 11pm and tried to sleep most of the night. Around 1am the nurse came in and gave me an oxygen mask, turned off my pitocin, and rolled me onto my left side. Kaylee's heart rate kept dipping so they wanted to give her a break from the pitocin. At some point they had gotten special permission to turn it up one higher than the limit.
I went back to sleep, but at some point they came back in and turned my pitocin back on. That was when I noticed that I was starting to get feeling back into my legs and back. Then I started to be able to feel some tingling when the contractions came. At about 3pm I suddenly felt her head slide down into my pelvis and I suddenly was feeling a lot of pressure with every contraction. They still weren't too painful so I didn't push my button that would have given me another little dose of numbing meds. I wanted to wait until I was checked to see how far along I was. That 30-45 minutes was really really long, but I also liked being able to feel what was going on in my body.
My nurse brought in some tylonal and a bag of antibiotics because I was developing a fever (I found out later it was 102!). I didn't feel at all like I had a fever though. When I was checked I was 8cm and 100% effaced! Finally! I woke Robert up, and had him get ready for action because I could tell I was progressing VERY quickly. I pushed my button, and nothing really happened. My right leg got a bit numb but nothing else. So I pushed it again with the same result.....a little more numb but not as much as I wanted. At 4:00 the nurse came back and I told her that I was feeling some major pressure. She checked me for about 2 seconds and said "well that is because you are going to have a baby in a minute!!!" She turned on some lights and had me do a test push. It was going to be a few test pushes, but she stopped me after one, and said that she was going to call my doctor.
That is when I realized that I needed to be more numb if I didn't want to feel everything that was about to happen. I pushed the button a third time, and then a fourth for good measure. That got me just numb enough. I couldn't get rid of the pressure (typical with epidurals) but the contractions weren't painful anymore. When my nurse came back in she said that we were going to let me sit and progress some more on my own until the nurse shift change at 5......a whole hour away. It was a very uncomfortable hour.
Around 5 I started feeling the fever, which had gone up, and I mentally and emotionally started to break down. It took the new nurses (a regular and a nurse in training) FOREVER to get me ready to push, and suddenly my IV stopped working. It was back flowing a little, and nothing was getting into me. They fiddled with it, and I started tearing up because I was so afraid they were going to have to try to give me a new one. I just couldn't handle it. I was in some pretty serious pain from the pressure, and didn't want more pain. Then they decided to flush it (I think) and holy crap that hurt! That got me crying more, and I started to lose it. I just generally felt like crap. Robert got me a cold cloth for my head, but it was doing little to make me feel better. The nurses had me practice push through one contraction (so 3 pushes) and had me stop so the doctor could get there. I remember thinking "what? you haven't called her yet?" I guess they just meant they needed to let her know I was ready to push for real. This was all around 5:30. I got a hold of myself so that I would be able to breathe effectivly when it was time to push.
Finally J got there, and they put my legs up in stirrups. That was the most painful part of the whole labor and delivery. It made the pain from the pressure 1 million times worse so that it hurt all the time rather than just with the contractions. Once she was all ready I pushed through another contraction, and then had to SIT THERE and wait until the next one came. I swear that 2 minutes was the longest ever. On the next contraction, I pushed twice and her head came out which was the greatest feeling in the world because all the pressure pain went away. Her crowning was no where near as painful as I thought it was going to be. Then one little half push and out she came! I watched the whole time from when her head came out until she was out.
This is where things get fuzzy. She was placed on my chest and I remember being suprised by how blue she was, and how slimy! There was nothing wrong with her, she just had a bit of a cone head from being in my pelvis so long. I watched J clamp her cord, and Robert got to cut it. Her cord was VERY thin and whimpy looking. Then she was taken to be weighed and cleaned off. Until that point she hadn't cried at all! Because of the fever I was feeling very drunk and out of it so I am not sure I noticed her first cry. She was completely healthy, and scored 8 and 9 on her apgars. She also had a fever but just because I did. I didn't cry when she came out, I think because I was not "there" enough mentally to feel the emotions. As I was being stiched up, the rest of my epidural wore of and I felt the last couple pokes of the needle down there. I didn't get an epesiodomy but I did get a little 1st degree tear.
So, there you have it! It was one of the best experiences of my life, and I am glad it happened the way it did. I felt just enough of the delivery part to know that I can do it again. I really wish the fever hadn't happened because I would have liked to be more aware and awake when she came out. Jenetta, I can't wait for you to have little Evelyn! I hope your labor and delivery goes smoothly!
