This pregnancy has been much different from what I expected pregnancy to be. There was a time in the middle where everything felt good, but other than that I have just felt uncomfortable and nervous. Starting at 30 weeks I started getting too many braxton hicks contractions. From that point on I began worrying about my little girl. At 34 weeks I was sent to the hospital for a second time to be monitored for contractions. I was diagnosed with a possible UTI and put on antibiotics and ordered to drink more water. At that point I really started to take it easy. Resting on the couch most days and pulling back from ministry. At just before 36 weeks I mentioned to my NP that I had been having 8-10 BH contractions an hour for several nights. So they had me come in go be checked for preterm labor the next morning. There my OB started me on nifedipine to stop contractions. That slowed them down for a few days. At my next check up they noticed I had high BP, so they ordered blood tests. The following day I was feeling dizzy so I called into the office and they had me come in to check my BP again. It was still elevated and my blood tests came back indicating high uric acid. So they sent me straight to the hospital to be monitored. While there my BP was normal but they had me do a 24-hr urine catch and come back the next day for more monitoring. My BP was normal that time too so they sent me home, later finding my urine to be protein-free.
My dr had just gone out of the country so my next appointment would be with her OB husband. My BP was barely elevated at that monday appointment and so he wanted me to come back for another appointment Thursday (38 weeks) and said at that point we would quit nifedipine and go onto a BP med.
I passed my mucous plug wed morning and started having loose stools. I quit nifedipine Wednesday night knowing that Thursday I would be 38 weeks and allowed to go into labor. At my thursday appointment I was checked and at a one super high up. No dropped baby... :( so knowing that usually comes a couple of weeks before birth, I was disappointed. The dr (mine was out of the country) said I had about a 45% chance of going into labor after passing my plug. My BP was normal so we did not decide to do medication for it (I personally believe the nifedipine was actually giving me high BP but the dr said that's not possible as it is also an anti hypertensive med. I still think it did because I had no issues before or after using it).
...So we decided to walk around the new wal mart and try to get her to drop. We bought some grapefruit juice because I couldn't stop thinking about it after walking by the first time. We got back in the car, I chugged the juice and we headed home.
Friday morning at around 4am I could no longer sleep through my " braxton hicks" (or so I thought they were). Then I noticed cramping that came rhythmically with them that made me feel like I had a period and diarrhea, so I was starting to think maybe these could be the real deal! I let Caleb sleep because that's what every other birth story has said they did, and when he woke up at around 7:30 I told him I thought maybe we were in for the real thing within the next couple of days.
He was going to go into work for a couple of hours but decided it was not necessary and that he would stay home. And so we had a long day of just kinda sitting around. I would get a contraction then have to pee right after ( that hand towel never dried all day). We walked around the block twice but baby was still really feeling high. I hoped that didn't matter too much. Caleb went out and bought me a bunch of early labor appropriate foods and I just kinda snacked and nibbled all day. In the evening we decided to watch "wind talkers"-pausing for my increasingly strong contractions. I would be bouncing on my birthing ball and one would come so I'd drop to my knees, grab the ball and rock while Caleb pressed on my lower back. Then I would use the restroom and come back. We would turn the movie on and watch again for a 5-11 minutes before another contraction came and we would start again. ( that movie took forever!) I kept being discouraged because after a few 6 or 7 min spaces we would have a 9 or 11 minute space. It was getting close to midnight and I knew I would not be able to sleep more than 6 or 7 minutes at a time if we went to bed. But then suddenly with about 5 min left of our movie i had a few two min gap contractions. They came a lot stronger. Suddenly I knew we needed to head over to the hospital. I was really afraid we would get there and be sent home because I could feel she was still quite high. But Caleb's parents live within five minutes of the hospital so we figured we could just go there and wait it out if we had to.
We checked into the hospital and got hooked up to the monitors, and come to find out our contractions were four minutes apart! Also I was dilated to a 3! They had me walk the halls for an hour and when I got back I was at a 4! So they admitted me and we got a room! They asked if I wanted an epidural. I said I'm not sure and I want to see what my body can handle. The contractions were bearable with breathing and lower back counter pressure. I lost track of time as contractions increased in strength. The nurses were very supportive that I wanted to go as natural as possible, and they even let me stay out of bed as long as I stayed within the cord reach of the monitor machine and IV.
After a several hours I requested that they check my progress. I was at a 6 and feeling very painful contractions so I finally asked for something to dull the pain. They gave me a shot that made my eyes cross and let me rest.
An hour later my contractions came back full strength and I was at about 6 or 7cm. So I got another of those shots and the same thing. I slept for an hour then woke to extremely painful contractions I was now moaning and breathing loudly through. They hurt so badly at that point I was up on my toes and feeling like I was going to lose my mind. I no longer wanted counter pressure but just gentle rubbing on my lower back and pelvic joints. I lost it and just started crying saying "i don't think j can do this" because the " breaks" between contractions were around 30 seconds and even then the breaks were not comfortable, while the contractions were lasting around two minutes. I was afraid my water would break and the contractions would get even worse, so it was impossible to relax down there.
Finally when the nurse came in and checked me I was at an 8 ( if she stretched me). So we asked to see if it was too late for an epidural. They said no! And he got there within about three contractions! The hardest part was sitting on the edge on the bed and keeping my back bowed as he inserted the catheter (sitting through a contraction felt 10x worse than leaning and rocking through one). I felt almost immediate relief.
They shut off the lights and we slept for a couple of hours. I was so exhausted by that point because I had been awake for 30 hours. When I woke up I noticed NCIS was on TV so I watched passively with the sound off. After a while the nurse came in and checked me. I was at 9cm with just a buttery lip left keeping it from being a 10. As she checked me my water finally broke. The nurse had me do a couple of practice pushes to see if we could move the cervix lip. I think as she set things up for pushing I rested a little longer. When she came back to check me I was 10cm!! So she paged the dr and had me start to push. Baby moved down quite quickly! So much that the nurse after maybe 12 pushes went out to check and be sure the dr was coming! I pushed till the baby crowned ( i got to touch her head) then had to wait as the dr arrived and got everything situated. Waiting to push was hard but just a lot of pressure. Breathing through the contractions helped.
Finally I was told I could push, and after about 6 more pushes baby Olivia came!! They put her right on my skin and she was just perfect!! I kept talking to her and kissing her. I noticed she has my funny ears :) Then I noticed Caleb falling over. He must have looked at the situation down below. I would have done the same thing if I could see it. He had passed out and all I could think was how funny it was. The nurses panicked and called in more to help him. Poor guy... He woke right up very pale but was aware. So that distracted me pretty well from my stitches. I had a second degree tear.
Baby Olivia almost immediately started squirming and scooting toward my breast which I thought was pretty incredible. I had missed my breastfeeding class so it was all on her before the lactation consultants visited us later. She latched on easily and nursed for a bit before getting cleaned up by the nurse.
They took Caleb away down to ER to be sure his head and elbow were alright after his fall so I just tried to rest while Olivia sat under the heating lights.
When Caleb came back he got to hold her (without spotters).
We rested for probably an hour more before some family and up.
We were so proud!
I was so impressed with the staff and nurses. They supported me through every decision and never even offered me interventions, but just followed my lead. I am so happy with my labor. I accomplished what I came to do- to do what my body could do, and not try to be a hero. I feel I can relate to the raw pain of natural childbirth but also I can relate to those who opt for pain relief. It was such an empowering experience! Although next time I think I will get the epidural closer to the beginning on transition instead of a few hours into it. :) that is, unless I am handling the pain alright!
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