Those of you who have read my other posts know about the whole last minute toxemia drama. I basically had swelling for a while, then the protein showed up the week I was due, and my blood pressure started jumping all over and the doc and midwife debated about toxemia for a week or so, until the constancy of the proteinuria and b/p confirmed it.
We decided to try castor oil at home first. It did nothing. So we decided induction at the hospital was our next safe step.
I got the hospital at 10am Monday night. They gave me Cervadil to ripen my cervix and I slept with it overnight. In the morning, it had done absolutely NOTHING.
The doctor said my cervix was hard and closed and it looked very unfavorable for a vaginal delivery. It looked like I was doomed for a C section, but they said it didnt hurt to try Pitocin and see if we could progress. Pitocin didnt seem to be doing anything until I got the 2nd to the highest dose. Then we did this lovely game of going from a fingertip, to 1cm, to 2cm, etc. Most people get to start the crummy part of labor at 4 or 5 cm. I got to experience it the whole way. It was unreal. Started pitocin at 6am and Milena was born at 2:11am the next day. Because of my blood pressure, I was basically strapped to a bed. Blood pressure cuff going off every 15 mins. etc. Really pleasant.
We got totally lucky with our nurse on the second shift we were there. She was also a homebirth midwife and friends with my midwife! She let me drink juice and water during labor which was so kind. I was very nauseous and vomiting a lot, and that made things much more pleasant than dry heaves.
I begged for an epidural when I reached 5 cm. Those pitocin contractions rocket through your body like a missile. I have no comparison to regular contractions, but I've heard its worse.....not that its ever easy.
Michael and the midwife tried to negotiate me out of it by telling me "what if we tried one more hour?" You should have seen me. I told them they were out of their g-d minds. It was like they said "what if we try another year." hahaha.
Then by the time the epi was requested, the anesthesiologist was in a C section. So I had to wait an hour anyhow. Then when he showed up, he refused to do it without current blood work. Apparently, the toxemia can affect platelets so they need a platelet count before doing an epi. Then the lab tech came but I'm a hard stick for blood work, so she stuck me 3 times before lancing my finger tip and draining blood out of me that way. It was horrendous. Then they rushed the results through the lab. A new anesthesiologist came in, and thankfully she was really cool and got me all prepped and ready to go so that when the results came back, she could put it in right away.
The epi gave me some relief, and I guess from relaxing I quickly progressed from 5 to 9 cm. I've heard stories about people napping with an epi. Not me! I feel like I had to pee the whole time, and the catheter made it 10 times worse. Also, it seemed to deaden one leg about halfway and the other one about 1/4. Not sure if that was normal or not.
When it was time to push, Milena was presenting oblique in my pelvis. This meant with every contraction, she was ramming into my lower back on the side where the epi was weaker (of course, right?!). I pushed for 3.5 hours. According to Michael, the first hour I was making a lot of progress and you could start to see her hair, etc. Then the second hour, she just made the same little movement up and then back down. I could tell it was going nowhere, because their reactions were less enthusiastic, I could feel the same slight movement up and back down, etc. Also, it was ridiculous cuz I was essentially having to push her toward the ceiling. Could not attempt any other position due to monitors, and blood pressure concerns.
Started to feel doomed. Thought the doctor would come in and call it off at any min. and whisk me into a C section. One nurse clearly gave up on me and went to get him to "evaluate the situation." I saw in my midwife's face that this was not a good thing. She kept telling me we came too far to end up with a C. etc.
All of the sudden, Milena shifted in my pelvis and came erupting up out of me like a volcano! All the nurses started panicking because the doctor was not even at the hospital yet. I was thrilled cuz I didnt want him there!! hahaha. I thought he might cut a huge uneccessary episiotomy or some other doctor move. The nurses were all screaming "HELP!" into the call button and stuff.
Her head came out and the cord was wrapped around her neck. The midwife and Michael are not convinced the nurses made the right call here. They immediately cut the cord at the perineum because it was supposedly too tight around her neck. That of course put the pressure on to get her body birthed so they could work on resuccitating her. Thankfully she came out quickly and didnt get stuck at the shoulders etc. My midwife said she would have tried to unwrap the cord with her finger first, or sommersault the body out (keeping the head close to my leg so that cord is not pulled at all) before cutting it. Its really stupid actually that OBs routinely cut and clamp the cord and THEN get the baby breathing. It makes much more sense to birth them, get them breathing, then cut the life line. Know what I mean? I wish we could have delayed cord clamping for Milena as well.
Anyhow, there was a tense minute or so where they had to get her breathing. Michael was over by the little warmer talking to her while they worked to get her to breathe. Her first apgar was a 6. Then she was a 9. So she pinked up quickly.
I had a second degree tear. Not too bad. The doctor showed up to stitch it. There was certainly some tension between him and the nurses. Apparently one nurse said she's been there 4 years and this was only the 3rd time this has happened. My dad was pissed and yelled at the doc and also at another nurse. I told him again that this was EXACTLY what I wanted
I was only going to have a midwife at home anyhow, and the people there were perfect capable of catching her. I'm pleased that we were able to birth her without the doc. It makes for a nice finale, I think.
Right after Milena was born, they wanted to put me on a Magnesium Sulfate drip. This I fought tooth and nail because it would interfere with breastfeeding. Also my blood pressure was not all that high (it was 140s/90s). High but considered borderline really. It was not necessary. So that was the only bad part. I was being cuffed every 15 mins. following the birth, with the idea that if my b/p was high, I would have the drip. So of course, following a birth (adrenaline, etc.) I was already excited and stressed, and when you are told you have to lower your b/p then it of course will only make things worse. And I had so many people coming in asking me annoying questions right as the cuff tightened etc. It was pretty obnoxious. I told them I would sign a waiver or whatever they needed, and the doc came to talk to me. He was extremely reasonable and said it was a suggestion but I could choose, etc. I felt very respected and never felt that my body got hijacked by the process if that makes sense.
The other silly thing was that they told me that Milena was "LGA" or "large for gestational age." She was born 6 days after her due date (40weeks 6 days) and weighed 8 lbs. 1 oz. So apparently that meant she was too big for her age or something. HAHAHA. They wanted to stick her heel on two occasions to check her blood sugar. I was pissed. Michael told me to knock it off and pick my battles. Stop stressing about it, and concentrate on relaxing so the b/p would come down. So we decided not to fight that one.
The hospital experience completely changed me. I had no clue it was possible to have such a birth. My brother's kids were born in two different hospitals in Dallas and those places were like baby factories. This hospital was so different. Milena never was removed from our sight. Michael could accompany her to the nursery for any tests she had. We declined the hep B vaccine with no hassle. I even declined her bath the first night. I thought she looked just fine, and did not need any more messing with. The staff was incredibly warm and caring, and they came to visit me in postpartum like they were my family. It was amazing. I felt like I bonded really closely with many them. They were giving me hugs and kisses when we left and all that. We kept her in the room with us at all times. There was a GREAT lactation consultant that worked with me and visited us at every feeding. She made sure we got hooked up with a great private room, etc. Everyone just really looked out for us. I feel so lucky things turned out how they did. If I could have the same treatment, I'd definetly have another hospital birth. Just not sure if we got lucky or if it was a repeatable experience.
Milena iS doing great. We are both anxiously awaiting my milk coming in. She is completely into nursing and we are clicking right along with it. We just started CDing tonight (waited until after we were through with meconium). She looks so cute in her Kissaluvs!!
Her dad is in love. He takes her outside for walks in a sling and is totally smitten. We are having a blast.
XOXOXO
Beth
We decided to try castor oil at home first. It did nothing. So we decided induction at the hospital was our next safe step.
I got the hospital at 10am Monday night. They gave me Cervadil to ripen my cervix and I slept with it overnight. In the morning, it had done absolutely NOTHING.
The doctor said my cervix was hard and closed and it looked very unfavorable for a vaginal delivery. It looked like I was doomed for a C section, but they said it didnt hurt to try Pitocin and see if we could progress. Pitocin didnt seem to be doing anything until I got the 2nd to the highest dose. Then we did this lovely game of going from a fingertip, to 1cm, to 2cm, etc. Most people get to start the crummy part of labor at 4 or 5 cm. I got to experience it the whole way. It was unreal. Started pitocin at 6am and Milena was born at 2:11am the next day. Because of my blood pressure, I was basically strapped to a bed. Blood pressure cuff going off every 15 mins. etc. Really pleasant.
We got totally lucky with our nurse on the second shift we were there. She was also a homebirth midwife and friends with my midwife! She let me drink juice and water during labor which was so kind. I was very nauseous and vomiting a lot, and that made things much more pleasant than dry heaves.
I begged for an epidural when I reached 5 cm. Those pitocin contractions rocket through your body like a missile. I have no comparison to regular contractions, but I've heard its worse.....not that its ever easy.
Michael and the midwife tried to negotiate me out of it by telling me "what if we tried one more hour?" You should have seen me. I told them they were out of their g-d minds. It was like they said "what if we try another year." hahaha.
Then by the time the epi was requested, the anesthesiologist was in a C section. So I had to wait an hour anyhow. Then when he showed up, he refused to do it without current blood work. Apparently, the toxemia can affect platelets so they need a platelet count before doing an epi. Then the lab tech came but I'm a hard stick for blood work, so she stuck me 3 times before lancing my finger tip and draining blood out of me that way. It was horrendous. Then they rushed the results through the lab. A new anesthesiologist came in, and thankfully she was really cool and got me all prepped and ready to go so that when the results came back, she could put it in right away.
The epi gave me some relief, and I guess from relaxing I quickly progressed from 5 to 9 cm. I've heard stories about people napping with an epi. Not me! I feel like I had to pee the whole time, and the catheter made it 10 times worse. Also, it seemed to deaden one leg about halfway and the other one about 1/4. Not sure if that was normal or not.
When it was time to push, Milena was presenting oblique in my pelvis. This meant with every contraction, she was ramming into my lower back on the side where the epi was weaker (of course, right?!). I pushed for 3.5 hours. According to Michael, the first hour I was making a lot of progress and you could start to see her hair, etc. Then the second hour, she just made the same little movement up and then back down. I could tell it was going nowhere, because their reactions were less enthusiastic, I could feel the same slight movement up and back down, etc. Also, it was ridiculous cuz I was essentially having to push her toward the ceiling. Could not attempt any other position due to monitors, and blood pressure concerns.
Started to feel doomed. Thought the doctor would come in and call it off at any min. and whisk me into a C section. One nurse clearly gave up on me and went to get him to "evaluate the situation." I saw in my midwife's face that this was not a good thing. She kept telling me we came too far to end up with a C. etc.
All of the sudden, Milena shifted in my pelvis and came erupting up out of me like a volcano! All the nurses started panicking because the doctor was not even at the hospital yet. I was thrilled cuz I didnt want him there!! hahaha. I thought he might cut a huge uneccessary episiotomy or some other doctor move. The nurses were all screaming "HELP!" into the call button and stuff.
Her head came out and the cord was wrapped around her neck. The midwife and Michael are not convinced the nurses made the right call here. They immediately cut the cord at the perineum because it was supposedly too tight around her neck. That of course put the pressure on to get her body birthed so they could work on resuccitating her. Thankfully she came out quickly and didnt get stuck at the shoulders etc. My midwife said she would have tried to unwrap the cord with her finger first, or sommersault the body out (keeping the head close to my leg so that cord is not pulled at all) before cutting it. Its really stupid actually that OBs routinely cut and clamp the cord and THEN get the baby breathing. It makes much more sense to birth them, get them breathing, then cut the life line. Know what I mean? I wish we could have delayed cord clamping for Milena as well.
Anyhow, there was a tense minute or so where they had to get her breathing. Michael was over by the little warmer talking to her while they worked to get her to breathe. Her first apgar was a 6. Then she was a 9. So she pinked up quickly.
I had a second degree tear. Not too bad. The doctor showed up to stitch it. There was certainly some tension between him and the nurses. Apparently one nurse said she's been there 4 years and this was only the 3rd time this has happened. My dad was pissed and yelled at the doc and also at another nurse. I told him again that this was EXACTLY what I wanted
I was only going to have a midwife at home anyhow, and the people there were perfect capable of catching her. I'm pleased that we were able to birth her without the doc. It makes for a nice finale, I think.Right after Milena was born, they wanted to put me on a Magnesium Sulfate drip. This I fought tooth and nail because it would interfere with breastfeeding. Also my blood pressure was not all that high (it was 140s/90s). High but considered borderline really. It was not necessary. So that was the only bad part. I was being cuffed every 15 mins. following the birth, with the idea that if my b/p was high, I would have the drip. So of course, following a birth (adrenaline, etc.) I was already excited and stressed, and when you are told you have to lower your b/p then it of course will only make things worse. And I had so many people coming in asking me annoying questions right as the cuff tightened etc. It was pretty obnoxious. I told them I would sign a waiver or whatever they needed, and the doc came to talk to me. He was extremely reasonable and said it was a suggestion but I could choose, etc. I felt very respected and never felt that my body got hijacked by the process if that makes sense.
The other silly thing was that they told me that Milena was "LGA" or "large for gestational age." She was born 6 days after her due date (40weeks 6 days) and weighed 8 lbs. 1 oz. So apparently that meant she was too big for her age or something. HAHAHA. They wanted to stick her heel on two occasions to check her blood sugar. I was pissed. Michael told me to knock it off and pick my battles. Stop stressing about it, and concentrate on relaxing so the b/p would come down. So we decided not to fight that one.
The hospital experience completely changed me. I had no clue it was possible to have such a birth. My brother's kids were born in two different hospitals in Dallas and those places were like baby factories. This hospital was so different. Milena never was removed from our sight. Michael could accompany her to the nursery for any tests she had. We declined the hep B vaccine with no hassle. I even declined her bath the first night. I thought she looked just fine, and did not need any more messing with. The staff was incredibly warm and caring, and they came to visit me in postpartum like they were my family. It was amazing. I felt like I bonded really closely with many them. They were giving me hugs and kisses when we left and all that. We kept her in the room with us at all times. There was a GREAT lactation consultant that worked with me and visited us at every feeding. She made sure we got hooked up with a great private room, etc. Everyone just really looked out for us. I feel so lucky things turned out how they did. If I could have the same treatment, I'd definetly have another hospital birth. Just not sure if we got lucky or if it was a repeatable experience.
Milena iS doing great. We are both anxiously awaiting my milk coming in. She is completely into nursing and we are clicking right along with it. We just started CDing tonight (waited until after we were through with meconium). She looks so cute in her Kissaluvs!!
Her dad is in love. He takes her outside for walks in a sling and is totally smitten. We are having a blast.
XOXOXO
Beth
: . My second ds weighed 9lbs 4oz at 40 weeks 1 day.
I am amazed at both you and your little girl! 
Brigit was 8lbs 8oz and 41w 1d....midwives said she looked totally normal, and completely ordinary, and exactly term. I have to agree with you - I would have fought that too. I am so glad the rest was good! 
And fear not, meconium comes right out of them! 
