I keep trying to sit down and write it out, but things keep distracting me and I'm afraid I'll start forgetting details or that her birth will mesh with the others and I won't remember what happened with whom 
Monday was 37wks. I had checked my cervix the 2 days prior- 50% and easily 3cm with the bag bulging. I could easily feel her head through the bag. Tons of mucous plug coming out and each time I checked, I'd have several hours of honest to goodness ctx, and I knew things were changing in my body. This baby had been telling me that she was ready for a few days, and I had that calm, confident, "Okay, this pregnancy is just about over, get ready for birth" feeling that I've always gotten after the emotional, "I'm so ready to be DONE!" feeling. Monday at 1:30PM, I was really antsy, couldn't concentrate, kept going to other parts of the house were there were no other people, and I knew the time was pretty close. I checked my cervix and guessed 3-4cm, 50% or more effaced and man, the bag was bulging. Right after that, my water broke. I've checked my cervix and swept my own membranes w/all my others, and never had my water break, so that was a new experience. Big trickle and then GUSH all within 30 seconds.
Told DH it was time to go, called my mom to come watch the other kids, and called the on call Dr. He said, "4th baby? Leave NOW! Do not pack a bag, do not make phone calls, leave for the hospital. I'll see you when you get here" Luckily, I had a bag packed, and we threw it in the car and left. Ctx were picking up and I was nervous because I delivered DS 43 min after my OB ruptured my membranes- went from 6-10 in that time frame- and the drive to the hospital is a good 25 min. DH dropped me off at the front door and went to find a parking place. By now, my pants were soaked. And I mean soaked- fluid was dripping out the leg openings, my shoes were soaked and I was leaving a huge trail of fluid with every step. Had to walk through the hospital, ride up the elevator (with 4 men, no less, whose eyes kept getting bigger and bigger) and walk to Triage. The OB on call was there within 3 minutes, and checked me- 4cm, 70%. I told the nurse that I hadn't had my GBS test yet, and she quick did a swab and ran it to the lab- apparantly it takes about an hour to run- it came back negative. Got switched from Triage to L&D really quickly, and had them call my OB at home (poor thing was on call the night before and we woke her up, which I felt badly about).
Told them I wanted my name on the epidural list- I did not want to wait until the pain was unbearable to get one this time. Ctx were hard, but completely managable. The anesthesiologist came in- told him about the complications I had last time and he said he was going to start out cautiously, so as not to repeat the experience I had w/DS. My OB showed up, we chatted for awhile, she went back home to take a nap. The epi wasn't working as well as my others had- I still had really bad pain w/each ctx, right above my pubic bone. Called the anes. back in, he injected more meds into the line and it worked perfectly. I never had any mind-blowing, "I'm going to rip apart" ctx this time-that was a first and I really really liked it. Watched TV, DH worked on his laptop, chatted w/ the nurse (she only had 2 patients), and just hung out. My BP kept going really low (80's over 50's is normal for me)- like in the 50's over 40's and that's never happened before. Camry's heartrate was good, but wasn't picking up after each decel, so the nurse called my OB back- she came, hung out, watched the monitors, and we started me on O2. Baby perked up, and OB went back home to try and nap again. My BP was still wonky, but it did go back up. At 8-something, I was 7cm so they called her back. We hung out some more, and then she looked at the urine bag- it was super bloody. She said, "I bet you're complete" and checked. Sure enough, 10cm, 100%, head was *right there* I pushed for 7 min and she was out. Wide awake, looking all around, latched on for a few minutes. They did have to suction her- she came down so quickly that none of the fluid got forced out of her lungs. And her head was perfectly round- no molding at all. No bruising either. Nurses kept saying she looked like a CS baby.
For the first time, I didn't vomit all throughout pushing which was a very welcome change! but was wicked nauseous. Got the shakes pretty bad after delivery, but that's always happened to me, so I was expecting it. Asked for Zofran and once that was in, I felt tons better.
Transfered to post partum (a good friend is a PP nurse at this hospital and she had called in and told them to give us a room w/2 beds, and 2 flat screen TVs in the quiet area) and we got settled in. DH was so grateful to have a regular bed to sleep in instead of one of those pull out chairs. The nurse told me that I was way more experienced w/newborns and birth than she was, so she would just leave me alone and to please call if we needed anything. I signed off on all the paperwork, even though she didn't go through all of it, which was so nice. At 7AM on Tues, my friend came on shift and she was awesome- just told me to call if we needed anything and left us alone except for vitals on me and baby a few times. Pediatrician and my OB came by- I was able to convince them to let us go before 24 hours (since she was born at 9PM, they were going to keep us till Wednesday morning instead of trying to discharge so late at night) and we got out of there by 6PM on Tuesday, which was super nice. So glad that GBS was negative this time around- saved a lot of stress.
I'm super engorged now and keep having sweats and chills, so am crossing my fingers that mastitis isn't setting in; I've had an abscess in the past, so mastitis is my worst fear this time around. No tearing, no skid marks, just soreness and really wicked hemorrhoids, but it could be much worse- I remember the stitches w/my first- so I'm happy w/how things turned out.
So so so glad to have her in my arms instead of inside me. The lack of sleep is awful- she slept in 20min increments last night- but I've managed a nap most days (not today though- had to get a handle on the housework and work on school projects and spelling test practice) Being able to lie flat on my back, and not pee every 4 minutes is such a relief. And no more nausea, or heartburn, or horrible pain in my bladder or cervix- ah, the relief!
It's weird to think that I'd be 38wks tomorrow- and I'm sitting here, nak'ing
On a purely vain note, I am down to 117.5 lbs, so only 14.5 to go to reach my pre-pg weight! I gained 27 total and was really worried that it was going to be much higher. I lost it all pretty easily w/my other 3, but my metabolism is slower now at almost 36, and I'm not as able to exercise with juggling 4 kids as I was with only a couple, so I'm relieved about that, too. I'm ready to feel "normal", I guess.
I'm loving reading about all the babies who have made their appearances and anxious for those of you still waiting. C'mon Sept babies!!!
Monday was 37wks. I had checked my cervix the 2 days prior- 50% and easily 3cm with the bag bulging. I could easily feel her head through the bag. Tons of mucous plug coming out and each time I checked, I'd have several hours of honest to goodness ctx, and I knew things were changing in my body. This baby had been telling me that she was ready for a few days, and I had that calm, confident, "Okay, this pregnancy is just about over, get ready for birth" feeling that I've always gotten after the emotional, "I'm so ready to be DONE!" feeling. Monday at 1:30PM, I was really antsy, couldn't concentrate, kept going to other parts of the house were there were no other people, and I knew the time was pretty close. I checked my cervix and guessed 3-4cm, 50% or more effaced and man, the bag was bulging. Right after that, my water broke. I've checked my cervix and swept my own membranes w/all my others, and never had my water break, so that was a new experience. Big trickle and then GUSH all within 30 seconds.
Told DH it was time to go, called my mom to come watch the other kids, and called the on call Dr. He said, "4th baby? Leave NOW! Do not pack a bag, do not make phone calls, leave for the hospital. I'll see you when you get here" Luckily, I had a bag packed, and we threw it in the car and left. Ctx were picking up and I was nervous because I delivered DS 43 min after my OB ruptured my membranes- went from 6-10 in that time frame- and the drive to the hospital is a good 25 min. DH dropped me off at the front door and went to find a parking place. By now, my pants were soaked. And I mean soaked- fluid was dripping out the leg openings, my shoes were soaked and I was leaving a huge trail of fluid with every step. Had to walk through the hospital, ride up the elevator (with 4 men, no less, whose eyes kept getting bigger and bigger
) and walk to Triage. The OB on call was there within 3 minutes, and checked me- 4cm, 70%. I told the nurse that I hadn't had my GBS test yet, and she quick did a swab and ran it to the lab- apparantly it takes about an hour to run- it came back negative. Got switched from Triage to L&D really quickly, and had them call my OB at home (poor thing was on call the night before and we woke her up, which I felt badly about).Told them I wanted my name on the epidural list- I did not want to wait until the pain was unbearable to get one this time. Ctx were hard, but completely managable. The anesthesiologist came in- told him about the complications I had last time and he said he was going to start out cautiously, so as not to repeat the experience I had w/DS. My OB showed up, we chatted for awhile, she went back home to take a nap. The epi wasn't working as well as my others had- I still had really bad pain w/each ctx, right above my pubic bone. Called the anes. back in, he injected more meds into the line and it worked perfectly. I never had any mind-blowing, "I'm going to rip apart" ctx this time-that was a first and I really really liked it. Watched TV, DH worked on his laptop, chatted w/ the nurse (she only had 2 patients), and just hung out. My BP kept going really low (80's over 50's is normal for me)- like in the 50's over 40's and that's never happened before. Camry's heartrate was good, but wasn't picking up after each decel, so the nurse called my OB back- she came, hung out, watched the monitors, and we started me on O2. Baby perked up, and OB went back home to try and nap again. My BP was still wonky, but it did go back up. At 8-something, I was 7cm so they called her back. We hung out some more, and then she looked at the urine bag- it was super bloody. She said, "I bet you're complete" and checked. Sure enough, 10cm, 100%, head was *right there* I pushed for 7 min and she was out. Wide awake, looking all around, latched on for a few minutes. They did have to suction her- she came down so quickly that none of the fluid got forced out of her lungs. And her head was perfectly round- no molding at all. No bruising either. Nurses kept saying she looked like a CS baby.
For the first time, I didn't vomit all throughout pushing which was a very welcome change! but was wicked nauseous. Got the shakes pretty bad after delivery, but that's always happened to me, so I was expecting it. Asked for Zofran and once that was in, I felt tons better.
Transfered to post partum (a good friend is a PP nurse at this hospital and she had called in and told them to give us a room w/2 beds, and 2 flat screen TVs in the quiet area) and we got settled in. DH was so grateful to have a regular bed to sleep in instead of one of those pull out chairs. The nurse told me that I was way more experienced w/newborns and birth than she was, so she would just leave me alone and to please call if we needed anything. I signed off on all the paperwork, even though she didn't go through all of it, which was so nice. At 7AM on Tues, my friend came on shift and she was awesome- just told me to call if we needed anything and left us alone except for vitals on me and baby a few times. Pediatrician and my OB came by- I was able to convince them to let us go before 24 hours (since she was born at 9PM, they were going to keep us till Wednesday morning instead of trying to discharge so late at night) and we got out of there by 6PM on Tuesday, which was super nice. So glad that GBS was negative this time around- saved a lot of stress.
I'm super engorged now and keep having sweats and chills, so am crossing my fingers that mastitis isn't setting in; I've had an abscess in the past, so mastitis is my worst fear this time around. No tearing, no skid marks, just soreness and really wicked hemorrhoids, but it could be much worse- I remember the stitches w/my first- so I'm happy w/how things turned out.
So so so glad to have her in my arms instead of inside me. The lack of sleep is awful- she slept in 20min increments last night- but I've managed a nap most days (not today though- had to get a handle on the housework and work on school projects and spelling test practice) Being able to lie flat on my back, and not pee every 4 minutes is such a relief. And no more nausea, or heartburn, or horrible pain in my bladder or cervix- ah, the relief!
It's weird to think that I'd be 38wks tomorrow- and I'm sitting here, nak'ing
On a purely vain note, I am down to 117.5 lbs, so only 14.5 to go to reach my pre-pg weight! I gained 27 total and was really worried that it was going to be much higher. I lost it all pretty easily w/my other 3, but my metabolism is slower now at almost 36, and I'm not as able to exercise with juggling 4 kids as I was with only a couple, so I'm relieved about that, too. I'm ready to feel "normal", I guess.I'm loving reading about all the babies who have made their appearances and anxious for those of you still waiting. C'mon Sept babies!!!
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