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Birth story
Jul. 6th, 2007 10:29 amI didn't sleep at all Sunday night, knowing that I was going to be induced and meeting my baby boy the next day. When I finally did start to get sleepy, the alarm went off, bright and early, at 2:55am. The induction was scheduled for 4am, and we had to call an hour ahead of time to make sure there were beds available. I ate a huge bowl of Cheerios while Steve loaded up the car, and then we were off!
We got to the hospital at 4:15, and sat in the lobby for about 30-45 minutes while they got my paperwork all together. They finally called me back and we got settled in room 7. The first order of business was changing into a gown, and getting hooked up to an IV, fetal monitor, and contraction monitor. Since I tested positive for Group B strep, I was also put on penicillin.
The pitocin started at around 6 or 6:30am, and I was relieved to discover that it really wasn't bad. I was checked at that time, and I was 3cm dilated. The nurses told me that the doctor would be coming over at 7:30 to break my water, and at 7:30, with no sign of the doctor, my water decided to break on its own. The doctor showed up about 15 minutes later, checked me, and told me I was at 4cm, giving me the go ahead for the epidural whenever I needed it. I was still relatively comfortable, so I decided to hold out as long as I could. In the meantime, I kept myself busy by getting on the Nintendo and updating you ladies from the hospital. I'm glad you all enjoyed them!
Contractions started getting harder, and I really had to breathe through them. Steve was instrumental in reminding me to breathe, so I'm glad that he was there. At one point, I had a really strong contraction and said "that's it." I was ready for my epidural. I've heard horror stories of women having to wait an hour for an anesthesiologist to come in, but I was lucky to have mine show up about 5 minutes later. What a godsend he was! I totally flinched when they gave me the numbing medicine, which is so unlike me, but once the catheter was inserted, I felt a shock down my right leg, and then it felt really warm. My left leg soon followed, and I felt so much better. I was checked again, and was at 6cm, so I'm glad I was able to hold out as long as I did, yay me!
There were some scary moments with Owen during contractions, because he would have some late decelerations, so I had to change positions a lot. A few times, his heart rate went into the 90's, and it kinda freaked me out a little. It always picked back up though, so we were good to keep going.
Contractions continued on, and at the next check a short while later, I was at 7cm. At that point, Steve went out to the waiting room to tell the parents what was going on. I was still feeling pretty good, thanks to the epidural, and I continued to play on the Nintendo. Soon, I started feeling these awful pains in my bottom area, which were really strange. They got really intense really fast, and I was anxiously waiting for Steve to return so that he could help me through them. Half an hour went by and there was no sign of Steve, and I was getting pissed. I was in a lot of pain at that point, and I was all alone in the room. He finally showed up, and I ripped him a new one, yelling at him for abandoning me. I started crying and he apologized.
The nurse came by to check me, and I was 10cm, it was go time! All of that pain must've been the transition, because I went from 7cm to 10cm really quickly. I was a little upset that I was feeling so much pain, but I figured that's just what happens. I wasn't sure if the epidural wasn't working, or if it just wouldn't work on that pain. Regardless, I wasn't having a good time at that point.
Since I was fully dilated, the nurse had me start pushing. I think it took me a while to get the hang of it, because I felt like I was going to have a cerebral aneurysm everytime I pushed. The doctor would come in every now and then to check on the pushing, and then go back to the office, which was literally a 3-minute walk from the hospital. Because of the late decels Owen was having, they had me push every other contraction, which was torture. I kept wretching because I was trying not to make my body push, but I couldn't help it.
I pushed for about an hour and a half, and at 4:09pm, Owen Nathaniel was born! Steve cried and I didn't, of course. The reason it took so long for him to come out was because he was sunny side up, and lodged against my pelvic bone, which is also the reason for the hematoma on his head. The cord was wrapped loosely around his neck, but that didn't seem to affect anything. Steve got to cut the cord, and he did so well! We were both afraid he would pass out, but that wasn't the case.
Owen and I both got cleaned up, and I got stitched up, as I had a partial third-degree tear, ouch! They handed Owen back to me, and we just looked at each other. After a little while, we attempted breastfeeding. He latched on, so the experience went pretty well, though he didn't seem too interested once he was there. He was then weighed, and we found out we had a big boy on our hands, at 8lbs 9oz! His Apgars were 8 and 9.
After the cleanup, the parents started coming in. First, the grandmas came in, and they totally fell in love with him, of course :). Lots of doting. Then the grandpas came in, and Steve finally got to hold him to show him off. My dad was completely enamored, and Steve's dad didn't really react. He's not into babies, so I didn't take it personally.
When everyone got a good look, they were sent out of the room so that I could be transferred to the postpartum area. I got settled in the wheelchair, with my completely dead right leg, and off we went! We weren't able to get a private room, but they try to stagger the rooms so that you spend as much time along as possible before they bring in a roommate. Luckily for us, we only had a roommate for about the first hour we were there, and then we didn't have anyone else the entire time. Because of that, Steve was able to stay with me the whole time, though he had to sleep across 3 chairs at night, as they wouldn't let him sleep in the other bed.
Recovery in the hospital was a little tough, but not too bad. I had a hard time getting out of bed, so Steve took care of all the diaper changes those first nights. He was so wonderful in the hospital, I don't know what I would've done without him. We stayed two days, and went home Wednesday afternoon. We left the hospital at 3:30, and they were getting the other bed ready for someone. On the way home, we hit Steve's work so that he could add Owen to our insurance, and then we parked over by his office so that people could come out and look if they wanted. After his office, we went to CVS to fill my prescriptions, and then we hit Taco Bell to grab something to eat really quickly.
And then we were home!
We got to the hospital at 4:15, and sat in the lobby for about 30-45 minutes while they got my paperwork all together. They finally called me back and we got settled in room 7. The first order of business was changing into a gown, and getting hooked up to an IV, fetal monitor, and contraction monitor. Since I tested positive for Group B strep, I was also put on penicillin.
The pitocin started at around 6 or 6:30am, and I was relieved to discover that it really wasn't bad. I was checked at that time, and I was 3cm dilated. The nurses told me that the doctor would be coming over at 7:30 to break my water, and at 7:30, with no sign of the doctor, my water decided to break on its own. The doctor showed up about 15 minutes later, checked me, and told me I was at 4cm, giving me the go ahead for the epidural whenever I needed it. I was still relatively comfortable, so I decided to hold out as long as I could. In the meantime, I kept myself busy by getting on the Nintendo and updating you ladies from the hospital. I'm glad you all enjoyed them!
Contractions started getting harder, and I really had to breathe through them. Steve was instrumental in reminding me to breathe, so I'm glad that he was there. At one point, I had a really strong contraction and said "that's it." I was ready for my epidural. I've heard horror stories of women having to wait an hour for an anesthesiologist to come in, but I was lucky to have mine show up about 5 minutes later. What a godsend he was! I totally flinched when they gave me the numbing medicine, which is so unlike me, but once the catheter was inserted, I felt a shock down my right leg, and then it felt really warm. My left leg soon followed, and I felt so much better. I was checked again, and was at 6cm, so I'm glad I was able to hold out as long as I did, yay me!
There were some scary moments with Owen during contractions, because he would have some late decelerations, so I had to change positions a lot. A few times, his heart rate went into the 90's, and it kinda freaked me out a little. It always picked back up though, so we were good to keep going.
Contractions continued on, and at the next check a short while later, I was at 7cm. At that point, Steve went out to the waiting room to tell the parents what was going on. I was still feeling pretty good, thanks to the epidural, and I continued to play on the Nintendo. Soon, I started feeling these awful pains in my bottom area, which were really strange. They got really intense really fast, and I was anxiously waiting for Steve to return so that he could help me through them. Half an hour went by and there was no sign of Steve, and I was getting pissed. I was in a lot of pain at that point, and I was all alone in the room. He finally showed up, and I ripped him a new one, yelling at him for abandoning me. I started crying and he apologized.
The nurse came by to check me, and I was 10cm, it was go time! All of that pain must've been the transition, because I went from 7cm to 10cm really quickly. I was a little upset that I was feeling so much pain, but I figured that's just what happens. I wasn't sure if the epidural wasn't working, or if it just wouldn't work on that pain. Regardless, I wasn't having a good time at that point.
Since I was fully dilated, the nurse had me start pushing. I think it took me a while to get the hang of it, because I felt like I was going to have a cerebral aneurysm everytime I pushed. The doctor would come in every now and then to check on the pushing, and then go back to the office, which was literally a 3-minute walk from the hospital. Because of the late decels Owen was having, they had me push every other contraction, which was torture. I kept wretching because I was trying not to make my body push, but I couldn't help it.
I pushed for about an hour and a half, and at 4:09pm, Owen Nathaniel was born! Steve cried and I didn't, of course. The reason it took so long for him to come out was because he was sunny side up, and lodged against my pelvic bone, which is also the reason for the hematoma on his head. The cord was wrapped loosely around his neck, but that didn't seem to affect anything. Steve got to cut the cord, and he did so well! We were both afraid he would pass out, but that wasn't the case.
Owen and I both got cleaned up, and I got stitched up, as I had a partial third-degree tear, ouch! They handed Owen back to me, and we just looked at each other. After a little while, we attempted breastfeeding. He latched on, so the experience went pretty well, though he didn't seem too interested once he was there. He was then weighed, and we found out we had a big boy on our hands, at 8lbs 9oz! His Apgars were 8 and 9.
After the cleanup, the parents started coming in. First, the grandmas came in, and they totally fell in love with him, of course :). Lots of doting. Then the grandpas came in, and Steve finally got to hold him to show him off. My dad was completely enamored, and Steve's dad didn't really react. He's not into babies, so I didn't take it personally.
When everyone got a good look, they were sent out of the room so that I could be transferred to the postpartum area. I got settled in the wheelchair, with my completely dead right leg, and off we went! We weren't able to get a private room, but they try to stagger the rooms so that you spend as much time along as possible before they bring in a roommate. Luckily for us, we only had a roommate for about the first hour we were there, and then we didn't have anyone else the entire time. Because of that, Steve was able to stay with me the whole time, though he had to sleep across 3 chairs at night, as they wouldn't let him sleep in the other bed.
Recovery in the hospital was a little tough, but not too bad. I had a hard time getting out of bed, so Steve took care of all the diaper changes those first nights. He was so wonderful in the hospital, I don't know what I would've done without him. We stayed two days, and went home Wednesday afternoon. We left the hospital at 3:30, and they were getting the other bed ready for someone. On the way home, we hit Steve's work so that he could add Owen to our insurance, and then we parked over by his office so that people could come out and look if they wanted. After his office, we went to CVS to fill my prescriptions, and then we hit Taco Bell to grab something to eat really quickly.
And then we were home!
