Hi everyone and happy 2018! It has been a while since my last post so there is a lot of catching up to do. First things first, Evan was born! I wanted to write a post about my labor and delivery. Be forewarned this is a long one but I wanted to have this memory to look back and read about and even show Evan one day.
Here it goes...
Evan's due date was Saturday, December 2nd. That day came and went and so did Sunday. I was so sure I was going to have Evan before his due date with the way I was feeling towards the tail end of pregnancy. I was wrong!
On Monday morning I had an appointment with my OB around 9:30. It started with a stress test which involved me relaxing in a recliner hooked up to a machine with a band around my stomach to monitor Evan's movement. He seemed to be a little tired that morning because even after having some apple juice he wasn't too active. They then brought me in for an ultrasound and while everything looked great he still wasn't moving too much. The doctor came in and said while she usually waits until 41 weeks, I was already overdue and if I was ready to have this baby she was willing to send me to the hospital. Of course I immediately said yes!
We were able to stop home to eat and pack any last minute items in my hospital bag. We were out the door and to the hospital and admitted by 11:30am. Once I was settled in my room the nurses and doctors came in to do routine checks and what not. I was still only 1cm dilated at this point so I was given a pill at 2pm to help soften the cervix. I forget what the pill was called exactly but you can be given up to 4 doses and taken every 4 hours. After taking the first dose there really wasn't much to do but hang out and watch tv. At 6:00 I was given another dose and yet again there wasn't much to do in between but watch tv. While I was taking these pills I was having contractions but they were virtually painless. The only way I knew was because of the monitor I was hooked up to that I could see the patterns.
Later that night when it would have been time for my third dose of this pill, I was not able to be given it due to the frequency of my contractions but again - I did not feel these. Since I was unable to be given a third dose and I was STILL only 1cm dilated (ugh - frustrating!) I was given a morphine shot (that hurt like a bi*#@) in the side of my bum to help me sleep. This all happened around 10-11pm Monday night. They would then re-evaluate me in the morning or so I thought. Of course being in the hospital even with the morphine it wasn't the most comfortable nights sleep.
Come around 2am they did an exam just to check progress. When they did the exam, Evan's heart rate dropped which was scary. They gave me oxygen to bring his heart rate back up and discuss what direction to go from there. Being a centimeter dilated still they were trying to figure out the best plan of action to take. Clearly, my body was not ready for pitocin yet which they said if I were given it, it may not work and if that happens then they would need to administer more fluids to flush it out and then start again - basically that meant labor could be very long. The other option was they would insert a balloon which is a natural way to dilate but in order to place it, it is an invasive process like the cervical exam which Evan did not respond to well.
I decided to wait about 45 minutes as the doctor recommended and chose the balloon process. Thank goodness waiting that window of time brought Evan's heart rate back to normal and the balloon insertion went off without a hitch. I was then able to sleep for a few hours.
On Tuesday, December 5th I woke up around 7am and went to use the bathroom. I'll spare you the details but the balloon process worked and I was then measured at 4cm! Yay, good news!! The doctors then said I would be ready to start pitocin which is the medicine used to jump start labor. After eating the biggest breakfast ever I was put on pitocin. While on pitocin you are unable to eat but I am able to drink and have clear liquids which I was thankful for.
My water broke that afternoon and up until about 3pm I was in and out of napping to rest up since I was going to be having a baby later! My contractions didn't start getting bad until then which felt like veeeeery strong menstrual cramps. I asked for the epidural shortly after that. I was terrified to get it to say the least. You hear horror stories of how painful it is but I will say that in the moment of pain you just want relief. The actual administering of the epidural wasn't as bad as I expected to be honest. I felt like the morphine shot was actually more painful. I was worried about having to sit so still but Benson was a great coach.
The body is very weird. Once I got the epidural I thought it would be instant relief which is was BUT only on my right side! I could still feel contractions on my left side while my right side was numb. I told the nurse and they said that the epidural works with gravity. They had me lie on my left side to have the right side of the medicine trickle down to hopefully numb that side too. If that wasn't to work then they would have to re-place the needle...no thank you! I was so happy that after lying on my left side for about 10 minutes it actually worked and I could no longer feel any contractions, only pressure.
After getting the epidural it was just a waiting game. I was drinking diet ginger ale and eating lemon ice to get some sort of nourishment while watching food network....not the best idea when you can't eat! As time went on my contractions were getting stronger and more frequent. The pressure was starting to get unbearable. The nurses said once I feel like I need to use the bathroom that was my body telling me it was time to push. The pressure was so intense it felt like you need to take the biggest bowel movement of your life! (Sorry if that's TMI but hey, it's true!).
Come 8pm it was go time! I was ready to push and beyond ready to meet Evan! Pushing is so physically and mentally exhausting. I was so thankful that Benson was an amazing coach and the staff were really great as well. The time I started pushing there were about 3 other rooms that started pushing as well so staff was constantly switching between all the rooms. When I pushed it was just Benson and a nurse assisting me. After an hour of pushing I instantly became nauseous and asked for a bucket. I then started to throw up violently in between pushing - NOT FUN! I asked the nurse if this was normal because the feeling came over me so suddenly. She said 90% of women either throw up or poop during labor and I was one who threw up! Thank goodness I just had ginger ale and lemon ice in my stomach.
After getting sick I kept pushing and the nurse said I was almost done. A bunch of nurses and doctors came in the room to help me and deliver Evan! When I thought I could no longer push because of the pain and exhausting, the nurse had taken my hand and brought it down so I could FEEL HIS HEAD! It was a way of letting me know to push through (literally) and that I was almost done. I just had to get though the "ring of fire" which you can probably guess by the name is EXTREMELY painful. A few more painful pushes and Evan was born at 10:07pm weighing 8 pounds exactly and measuring at 19.5 inches long.
I heard Evan and of course I assumed that all was good since he was making noise. Noise is better than no noise right? Once they had him out they knew something was off and unfortunately Benson was unable to cut his umbilical cord because they had to assess him. He was making grunting noises which they said was due to pneumothorax (medical term that in the moment after giving birth I had no clue and was scared out of my mind). Basically Evan had an air bubble in his chest that was making it hard for him to breathe fully. After they quickly cleaned him up they showed him to me for about 30 seconds and then took him away for a chest x-ray. We didn't get a chance to see Evan until about 2 hours later.
In the time that we had to wait to see Evan, they cleaned and stitched me up. Benson and I were nervous because we didn't know what the extent of his condition was. He was admitted to the special care unit and we were able to see him around midnight. Thank goodness his chest x-ray came back cleared but he needed to stay in special care to make sure he didn't develop pneumonia. Benson and I were sad our little boy couldn't stay in our room with us but it was nice knowing he was being closely monitored by such caring staff.
On Thursday we were finally able to have Evan stay in our room with us. Leading up until then we had to venture to the special care unit to feed and visit him. Things were looking great with him and on Friday we were finally able to be discharged! We were so ready to get home after being in the hospital since Monday. We were so excited to bring Evan home!
Since then it has been the adventure of a lifetime and it's only getting better. It's crazy how much love you feel after bringing this little human into the world. It's love you've never felt before and we are totally wrapped around his little finger. Evan is growing everyday and it's amazing to watch him grow. He smiles when we talk to him, loves to cuddle and is loved by all. I can't wait to see his personality develop even more!
As I stated earlier, this post is a long one but I'm glad I wrote it for us to reflect back on. Pregnancy, childbirth, and parenting is a whirlwind but I wouldn't have it any other way.
Thanks for reading!
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