Otherwise titled, The longest blog post. Ever.
Ya'll know we decided to be induced on Tuesday the 19th. The night before however, I started having mild contractions about 8-10 minutes apart. They were the most regular contractions I had, and Daniel and I were convinced I would be in natural labor before needing to be induced the next morning.
However, as soon as I went to bed that night, they stopped. Ah well!
I didn't sleep AT ALL that night. I kept waiting for the contractions to come back and my mind was swimming full of baby and labor thoughts. I finally got up at 4:30 to get ready. I of course did my hair and make up, because hello, it is WHO I AM.
We prayed together with my parents before we left. My dad was still in his pj's because he was coming to the hospital later on. I love his reaction when Daniel tried to snap a pic, ha!
We went to McDonalds to eat a big breakfast, because I knew I wouldn't be able to eat or drink much at the hospital. I guzzled as much water as I could on the way. I also ate a granola bar on the way just to pack in some extra calories.
Last Belly Pic!!
Daniel was my paparazzi for the day.
We checked into the hospital at 6:20 am and were put in room 5. They started the IV with fluids in my right arm and it kept hurting long after they put it in. They also put the fetal heart monitor on me and the contraction monitor. The monitor showed I was having contractions already (even though I couldn't feel them), but Paige's heart rate was decreasing with each contraction. They said they couldn't start the Pitocin until she was stable. Because if she wasn't handling normal, natural contractions, then they couldn't induce.
I looked down at my right arm and realized it was all ballooned up. I asked the nurse if that was normal and she was like "No! it's in wrong." So they very quickly start the IV in my left arm. My blood pressure also started getting really low at this point. While this is going on, another guy came in and started taking my blood while they were switching IV's. It was VERY chaotic and stressful!! The second IV blew and there was blood on me and the floor. So then they tried it again on the top of my left hand. This one went in fine. While this is going on, I start feeling really lightheaded like I was about to faint. I thought it was just my blood sugar so I kept asking for some juice....which they would not give me. I was also sweating profusely. I started to freak out a bit. Paige's heartrate was still pretty low and in minor distress. They brought in an anesthesiologist to talk to me about a C-Section if they couldn't get her heartrate to stabilize. He said they could get me in and do it really quick if they needed to. Let's just say the morning was not going like I imagined at all!!!
I finally calmed down, which actually stabilized Paige's heartrate as well. I guess she was just responding to how I was reacting to everything.
Once we were both stable they started the pitocin at 9am. Now, maybe I was just naive or dumb.....but I thought that even though I was being induced the contractions would be similar to a natural labor....the contractions would start every 30 minutes, then go to 20, 15, etc..... Ummmmm NO. They were immediately about 2-3 minutes apart and lasting up to 3 minutes each. They weren't painful to begin with-they felt like what I had been having at home. So I was pretty encouraged that they felt okay and thinking I had this whole labor thing in the bag.
HA! Little did I know.
When I first got to the hospital, I was 50% effaced (despite the fact I was told I was 75% two weeks prior) and dilated to a 2. By noon, I was 2 1/2 cm. Not where I wanted to be, but I wasn't in too much pain. Both our parents were at the hospital with us. I had bought a few magazines to read to pass the time, but there was too much going on to concentrate on reading.
I received several txt messages from friends and family who were praying for me.
I had planned on walking around and not just being strapped in the bed the whole time, but they kept losing Paige's heartrate on the monitor and had to adjust it on me about every 5 minutes. Each time they adjusted it, I pretty much couldn't move at all to try and keep the monitor in place.
Around 1 pm the contractions started getting REALLY strong and very painful. I tried sitting on the medicine ball and also standing up to see if it would help with the pain. It didn't. My body started shaking uncontrollably. I could feel the shaking in my temples and sides of my face all the way to my feet. When the pain started getting really bad, Daniel and I started using the breathing and relaxation methods we learned from the Bradley Method. Daniel was an excellent labor coach!! Our moms both joked that he was putting them to sleep when he was coaching me on how to breathe.
I was very surprised at how much the contractions hurt. We did the breathing exercises with each one. A few times I was shaking so bad I couldn't control my breathing. By 2pm, I was seriously wondering how long I would be able to do this. I kept trying to tell myself to get it under control. I know that millions of women had gone thru this, and that it could be done. But that only helped for a brief period.
I was checked again at 2:45, almost 6 hours of being in labor. I was only dilated to a 3. This is when I realized how much further I had to go and it really was just the beginning. I started talking to Daniel about getting the epidural.....something I never thought I would do. I was so discouraged that after 6 hours I was just a 3, and the pain and shaking was starting to get to be too much.
After talking about it, we decided to get the epidural. They started it at 3:15pm. I remember that by 4:30ish I was feeling really good! I told Daniel I had no regrets at all about getting the epidural. They came and checked me at 4:40pm and I was 90% effaced at dilated to a 5. I was thinking that this was all going to be okay.
My doctor came in about 5pm and wanted to break my water....something I said I would never do until right before it was time to push. But the pain was pretty under control and I figured we might as well, since it would speed up labor. They broke my water and put in a catheter. It was interesting.
I made the joke that we should just have a c-section, since the entire labor had been everything said I wouldn't do: induction, epidural and breaking my water early.
It did speed up labor, but also brought back a lot of contraction pain. I was now feeling the contractions in my stomach and in my groin/pelvis area. Pretty quickly I was experiencing the same level of pain as before I received the epidural. They upped my pain meds but I didn't get any relief. The anesthesiologist said she thought Paige was sitting on a nerve, which was blocking me from feeling the epidural. Sweet. Exactly what I wanted to hear. I was also having double contractions, where I would have two of them together without any breaks in-between.
At 6 pm I was dilated to a 7. I was still in tons of pain, but figured it wouldn't be too much longer. At about 8:30 they said I was at 8 1/2 and started prepping the room for the delivery. I was still in so much pain and just exhausted, I wondered if I had enough energy to push.
Then they came and checked me again at around 9:30 and said I was actually just a 7. They checked me a few times and yes, I was till just a 7. The doctor came in and started talking a C-section. He said when he and the nurses checked me, Paige was still really high. He thought that her head was too big and it wouldn't be able to fit into my pelvis for me to deliver her naturally.
They took me off the pitocin since I wasn't responding to it at all. Daniel and I talked, and I wanted to see if my body would take over labor on its own. I didn't want to make a quick decision to have the c-section, since Paige wasn't in distress or anything.
As soon as they stopped the pitocin, my labor stopped. My contractions were maybe every 10 minutes and manageable. I quickly realized I was stuck at a 7 and getting further away instead of closer.
Daniel and I talked about it, discussed it with our parents and prayed about it. The hard part for me was that we really didn't know if she would fit or not through my pelvis. I was afraid to agree to the c-section then find out later it wouldn't have been a problem. But we also didn't really know what else to do. I knew we could keep waiting to see if I would keep progressing. But when my labor stopped when they took me off the pitocin, I was starting to be convinced I wasn't getting past a 7.
We decided on the c-section and I asked about a thousand questions of the doctors and nurses. I am a huge questions asker. I'm sure it can be annoying at times, but I want to be informed.
Here we are, about to go into the operating room!
Once my contractions calmed down, I felt pretty good. My body was still shaking pretty bad. I told the nurses that I had prayed that I wouldn't tear during labor, but I didn't expect Father to answer in way of c-section, ha! My doctor made a joke that I was the most talkative person during a c-section. I think it was because I was getting so excited about seeing our little girl.
I felt the pulling and tugging, but nothing hurt. I later said the surgery was the easiest thing I had done all day. Daniel was right next to me the whole time. And at 10:56 pm on that late Tuesday night, we heard our little girl cry for the first time!
They took her into another room to clean her off, and Daniel was able to be in there too. It killed me to not be in that room too. Later I found out that she had some fluid in her lungs that they had to suction out.
Here I am seeing Paige for the first time!
And right after this is when I started crying. I realized she was healthy and beautiful and finally here! I couldn't get over how beautiful she was!
They took me back to my room and brought her in so we could do skin to skin before they took her to the nursery to weigh her and do the normal checks and tests. I am so thankful I got this time with her. When I was holding her she grabbed my hand! Melt my heart!!!
Because I had so many drugs in me, I couldn't sit up without being really nauseated. So that made nursing a bit hard, but I was still just thankful to be holding her.
We later found out that she had been in a sideways position and that she would not have been able to fit through the birth canal, meaning we would've been doing a c-section at some point anyways.
I was able to do skin to skin for about 45 minutes, then they took her to weigh her and do the tests. She was 8 lbs and 20 inches long.
Grandpa Steve and Grandma Sherry with Paige.
My dad with Paige.
Originally, I had planned to have a hot dog after I delivered. But since it was so late, everything was closed, and they told me I couldn't eat until the next morning. One nurse said I could have light snacks, but i was just so exhausted by this point, I just guzzled water and apple juice that first night.
Paige had slight jaundice, but nothing too bad. They put her under the lights a few times and double swaddled her.
Paige roomed in with us, and Daniel stayed with me in the hospital. We didn't sleep at all! Paige did, but we were just way too excited and still trying to process everything from the day. The next day we were both so out of it. I would start sentences and halfway completely forgot what I was talking about. I also told the same story over and over because I couldn't remember who I had told or what I had already said. That Wednesday and Thursday are probably the most tired I have been in my entire life.
The first few days were rough physically, dealing with the pain and trying to get in and out of bed was hard. i was also really afraid that my incision would open back up. When the nurses came in to offer me pain meds and ask my pain level, I wanted to laugh. After the pain I had been in the day before during labor, I didn't feel like I could justify taking any pain meds or even give a number to what I was currently feeling compared to what my labor pain had been. (don't worry I did take them) I also woke up during the night completely drenched. I had been warned about the night sweats before, but i'm still shocked at how drenched I am in the middle of the night. Last night even the sheets and blanket were wet.
On Thursday I started making small laps to get me up and moving. I also took a shower, which was difficult to do considering I couldn't face the water because of my staples.
Paige had an ultrasound and the fluid on her kidneys were all gone!!!! Praise Father!!! We also found out that she had peed during the delivery, which made me really happy. This is something we have been praying about for months. Her kidneys are still a little thick, so we're having another ultrasound next week.
We came home from the hospital on Friday afternoon. Here's her coming home outfit!
All ready to leave!
I have tons of thoughts on the emotional aspect of the c-section. But that is another post entirely.
While I would've never thought my labor would go the way it did, I know without a doubt that it went the way it was supposed to.
And that is the story of how Paige Olivia came into our lives!
love
laura
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