Matthew’s Birth Story
First, for those of you that just want to see our little bean:
Matthew's First 10 Days.
By the way, I now have the FLU FROM HE## and will not be able to update the sticky for a few days while I recouperate... haha isn't this a riot....
Birth Story, split into days:
Saturday April 22- I feel a lot of pressure today. DH and I go to a family member's engagement party. I'm so tired and my legs are absolutely throbbing so we leave early. I have a lot of trouble sleeping tonight, get maybe 3 hours or so.
Sunday April 23- I feel pressure and my back is killing me. This is not abnormal, but now I can't eat. I feel nauseas and can hardly stand up. I attribute it to the bad fish at the party last night. I MUST have food poisoning.
Early hours of Monday April 24- Lots of pain now. Not regular so I'm not thinking contractions and I really don't feel them in a wave, just constant pain. I still believe I've got food poisoning. Hubby gets up with me several times. I sit on the birth ball with him behind me. I get only about 1 hour of sleep total.
Monday April 24, 12pm- The pain has become so intense I'm screaming and crying. For about an hour I'm having contractions every 5 minutes lasting WAY long. Like 1 1/2 minutes long. Then they stop. This doesn't feel like labor pains to me because again, now its just constant pain. Plus, I really feel nothing in my abdomen, just my lower back. At noon I agree to let hubby get me to the midwives. I'm convinced I must be having a very weird labor or there is something seriously wrong with my colon.
The mws check me and I'm 2-3 cm 90% effaced. They want me to go to the hospital to rule out preterm labor. They say my belly is all tender. We rush home to pick up the half packed birth bags "just in case." DH tells my parents what is going on. Meanwhile I wait in the car screaming and crying because the pain is still fairly constant.
Upon arrival at the hospital we refuse to have anyone do an internal until the mws arrive. After they do they tell me I'm now at 3cm and almost 100% effaced. They confirm I'm in labor but say I'm dehydrated and need to go on iv fluids. I don't want it but agree since they have to administer antibiotics anyway with my group b strep coming back positive. They tell me they're 98% sure there will be a baby today or tomorrow. I am in labor. I get a sonogram to check on bean's breathing. He looks to be doing fine.
I'm admitted. DH, my mom, and best friend are there for support. I continue to have fairly regular contractions for the next two hours or so. I'm checked and I'm now at 4cm. Then things get weird. I start having contractions irregularly, 5 mins, 7 mins, 3 mins. The last 30 secs, 1 1/2 mins, 3 mins... I'm checked again a while later and I'm still at 4 cm. They decide to keep me overnight for observation but I'm told I'll most likely be discharged in the morning. I'm still having what I feel are 3-4 minute contractions. I'm exhausted and very hungry. My mw says she'd prefer it if I do not eat. I'm feeling weak. They get me juice. The juice is from concentrate and tastes horrible but I down it. All I want is to eat. Finally after irratic contractions for what seems like hours the mws allow me to have a granola bar I brought with me. Contractions start up more regularly, then wane again.
My mom and best friend go home for the night. To ease the pain DH and I jump in the shower. Contractions slow to a crawl, maybe once every 20 minutes feeling as though they're lasting 4 minutes. The hot water feels sooo good. I wish I could use the bathtub in the birthing room, but with baby premature it is no longer an option.
DH stays the night but he's exhausted and falls asleep. I fall asleep too after being reasurred that they'll only monitor me if I'm awake. My nurse goes on break and a new nurse comes in and wakes me every 20 minutes. After being woken 2-3 times I cannot fall back asleep. At 5 am the mw on call, not my favorite one, says she'll be releasing me after my next dose of antibiotics at 8am. I'm tired, in pain and starving. I ask her how I'm supposed to just go home with contractions that last 3-4 minutes... I can deal with pain if I know its got an end, but now they're acting like I could go through this for weeks. I'm still at 4 cm but I'm back down to 80% effaced. If I'm not having the baby any time soon I need pain management, If I am I don't want any because I want baby to have the best chance possible. There are no answers. I send DH to get me breakfast at 7:30. A new nurse comes in "You're EATING?!?" she says. I'm like, uhhhh yeah, I've had a granola bar since Saturday and its Tuesday morning, you're not feeding me and I'm going to be released in an hour. I freakin deserve some bacon... She rolls her eyes.
So count up the hours folks... I've now had about 4 hours and 40 minutes sleep in 72 hours...
My next antibiotics are given. Then Pat the nurse from earlier RIPS the heplock out of my arm. The sheets and floor are sprayed with my blood. I still have a bruise there today.... They give me a final sonogram and say the baby is slightly posterior. I don’t know if I never hear this or it just doesn’t register that this is why all the pain. Of course, it doesn’t explain why contractions have slowed to a crawl…
I'm discharged and told to take benedryl to help me sleep. I want to cry when I see the discharge papers say I'm being discharged with "no babies."
We go home, I take benedryl and sleep for about 2 hours before the pain resurfaces and I can no longer lay down. I'm on my feet, on the birth ball, in the tub, etc. I'm soooo tired. Every time I lay down I find myself up and walking again due to the pain. I take another benedryl and sleep another 2 hours. DH is trying to help, but what can he do. After all, I'm not in labor, right?
Now I feel like a bad mom because I just want baby out. I know he's premature and feel sooo guilty for wishing him born already, but I'm just so tired and can't imagine how I'll survive 5 more weeks of this.
I do not sleep Tuesday night.
Wednesday April 26. Things are very hazy for me from here on out. I am beyond exhaustion. I’m handling the pain, but pain without any end in sight is almost unbearable. I have a chiropractor appointment scheduled this morning. I cannot sit without pain. I can hardly feel my stomach, only my back. I sit on the birth ball… get in the tub. DH thinks that these are contractions and they’re about 5 minutes apart. I think I’m in the seventh circle of hell…. I’m not in labor, so why all the pain??? I try to get out of the tub to get dressed for the chiropractor. It takes me 10 minutes. I don’t want to wear a skirt because he’ll see right up it and I can’t wear pants because it hurts too much. DH calls the mws office for advice. They tell him to bring me straight to the hospital and they’ll meet us there. Obviously we cancel the chiropractor, much to my chagrin if I’m not in labor.
In the car I am screaming in pain. Hubby tells me to let it out, its okay to scream. Apparently I tell him I feel like I’m pushing. I have no recollection of this, only the pain from being forced to sit.
At the hospital we are met by Peggy, one of the mws I really like. She checks me I’m still 4cm, my contractions are still irregular, however she says baby is completely posterior. This explains the pain. She says if she didn’t hear Monday’s story she would think I’m in labor. She admits me and tells me I should take Stadol, a sleeping medication. She says if I’m not in labor then the Stadol will stop the contractions… if I am in labor nothing will stop the contractions and I NEED rest to push naturally and avoid a cesarean if it is labor. I ask if it will hurt the baby, she says not at all, there is no pain relief, just sleep. It takes about another hour before they get me a room. During this time I pace the floor, I use the bathroom, I scream in pain because I’m too exhausted to deal… I hear some jerk of a doc in the hall basically make fun of me for not having an epidural. Hardy har har jacka$$… Finally there is a room. Stadol finally gets hooked up and here’s where I pretty much draw a blank.
From here on out I can only open my eyes very briefly, even during pushing. I am not able to get out of the bed again due to the exhaustion. My contractions NEVER become regular. They can be between 2 and 15 minutes apart lasting 30 seconds-1 min 45 sec…
I know that I apparently woke and said I was in great pain. My mw checked me and I was stalled at 7cm when DH finally agreed to let her break my water because it had been bulging for hours. I do not blame him, it had been days that I was in labor and I trust my mw. Very soon after I’m at 10cm and can start pushing. I’m told that I really was conscious through the pushing. I pushed well and only worried toward the end that I was too exhausted to continue. The pain was an afterthought. The nurse commented that doctors would have probably made me have an episiotomy, but my mw had worked on stretching me for an hour resulting in only a superficial tear that is healing beautifully. I was never offered drugs so I didn’t need them. After almost 3 hours of pushing Matthew finally came at 8:48pm. He was 5 lbs 6 oz and 17.5 inches long. I could hardly see, but he was beautiful.
I could tell you about the horrors of the hospital after his birth, but suffice it to say, Matt is now home and is an exclusively bf baby. He’s going to need some work since he’s still a preemie. Even now he’d only be at 37 weeks 2 days gestation. We’re just so blessed to have him.
First, for those of you that just want to see our little bean:
Matthew's First 10 Days.
By the way, I now have the FLU FROM HE## and will not be able to update the sticky for a few days while I recouperate... haha isn't this a riot....
Birth Story, split into days:
Saturday April 22- I feel a lot of pressure today. DH and I go to a family member's engagement party. I'm so tired and my legs are absolutely throbbing so we leave early. I have a lot of trouble sleeping tonight, get maybe 3 hours or so.
Sunday April 23- I feel pressure and my back is killing me. This is not abnormal, but now I can't eat. I feel nauseas and can hardly stand up. I attribute it to the bad fish at the party last night. I MUST have food poisoning.
Early hours of Monday April 24- Lots of pain now. Not regular so I'm not thinking contractions and I really don't feel them in a wave, just constant pain. I still believe I've got food poisoning. Hubby gets up with me several times. I sit on the birth ball with him behind me. I get only about 1 hour of sleep total.
Monday April 24, 12pm- The pain has become so intense I'm screaming and crying. For about an hour I'm having contractions every 5 minutes lasting WAY long. Like 1 1/2 minutes long. Then they stop. This doesn't feel like labor pains to me because again, now its just constant pain. Plus, I really feel nothing in my abdomen, just my lower back. At noon I agree to let hubby get me to the midwives. I'm convinced I must be having a very weird labor or there is something seriously wrong with my colon.
The mws check me and I'm 2-3 cm 90% effaced. They want me to go to the hospital to rule out preterm labor. They say my belly is all tender. We rush home to pick up the half packed birth bags "just in case." DH tells my parents what is going on. Meanwhile I wait in the car screaming and crying because the pain is still fairly constant.
Upon arrival at the hospital we refuse to have anyone do an internal until the mws arrive. After they do they tell me I'm now at 3cm and almost 100% effaced. They confirm I'm in labor but say I'm dehydrated and need to go on iv fluids. I don't want it but agree since they have to administer antibiotics anyway with my group b strep coming back positive. They tell me they're 98% sure there will be a baby today or tomorrow. I am in labor. I get a sonogram to check on bean's breathing. He looks to be doing fine.
I'm admitted. DH, my mom, and best friend are there for support. I continue to have fairly regular contractions for the next two hours or so. I'm checked and I'm now at 4cm. Then things get weird. I start having contractions irregularly, 5 mins, 7 mins, 3 mins. The last 30 secs, 1 1/2 mins, 3 mins... I'm checked again a while later and I'm still at 4 cm. They decide to keep me overnight for observation but I'm told I'll most likely be discharged in the morning. I'm still having what I feel are 3-4 minute contractions. I'm exhausted and very hungry. My mw says she'd prefer it if I do not eat. I'm feeling weak. They get me juice. The juice is from concentrate and tastes horrible but I down it. All I want is to eat. Finally after irratic contractions for what seems like hours the mws allow me to have a granola bar I brought with me. Contractions start up more regularly, then wane again.
My mom and best friend go home for the night. To ease the pain DH and I jump in the shower. Contractions slow to a crawl, maybe once every 20 minutes feeling as though they're lasting 4 minutes. The hot water feels sooo good. I wish I could use the bathtub in the birthing room, but with baby premature it is no longer an option.
DH stays the night but he's exhausted and falls asleep. I fall asleep too after being reasurred that they'll only monitor me if I'm awake. My nurse goes on break and a new nurse comes in and wakes me every 20 minutes. After being woken 2-3 times I cannot fall back asleep. At 5 am the mw on call, not my favorite one, says she'll be releasing me after my next dose of antibiotics at 8am. I'm tired, in pain and starving. I ask her how I'm supposed to just go home with contractions that last 3-4 minutes... I can deal with pain if I know its got an end, but now they're acting like I could go through this for weeks. I'm still at 4 cm but I'm back down to 80% effaced. If I'm not having the baby any time soon I need pain management, If I am I don't want any because I want baby to have the best chance possible. There are no answers. I send DH to get me breakfast at 7:30. A new nurse comes in "You're EATING?!?" she says. I'm like, uhhhh yeah, I've had a granola bar since Saturday and its Tuesday morning, you're not feeding me and I'm going to be released in an hour. I freakin deserve some bacon... She rolls her eyes.
So count up the hours folks... I've now had about 4 hours and 40 minutes sleep in 72 hours...
My next antibiotics are given. Then Pat the nurse from earlier RIPS the heplock out of my arm. The sheets and floor are sprayed with my blood. I still have a bruise there today.... They give me a final sonogram and say the baby is slightly posterior. I don’t know if I never hear this or it just doesn’t register that this is why all the pain. Of course, it doesn’t explain why contractions have slowed to a crawl…
I'm discharged and told to take benedryl to help me sleep. I want to cry when I see the discharge papers say I'm being discharged with "no babies."
We go home, I take benedryl and sleep for about 2 hours before the pain resurfaces and I can no longer lay down. I'm on my feet, on the birth ball, in the tub, etc. I'm soooo tired. Every time I lay down I find myself up and walking again due to the pain. I take another benedryl and sleep another 2 hours. DH is trying to help, but what can he do. After all, I'm not in labor, right?
Now I feel like a bad mom because I just want baby out. I know he's premature and feel sooo guilty for wishing him born already, but I'm just so tired and can't imagine how I'll survive 5 more weeks of this.
I do not sleep Tuesday night.
Wednesday April 26. Things are very hazy for me from here on out. I am beyond exhaustion. I’m handling the pain, but pain without any end in sight is almost unbearable. I have a chiropractor appointment scheduled this morning. I cannot sit without pain. I can hardly feel my stomach, only my back. I sit on the birth ball… get in the tub. DH thinks that these are contractions and they’re about 5 minutes apart. I think I’m in the seventh circle of hell…. I’m not in labor, so why all the pain??? I try to get out of the tub to get dressed for the chiropractor. It takes me 10 minutes. I don’t want to wear a skirt because he’ll see right up it and I can’t wear pants because it hurts too much. DH calls the mws office for advice. They tell him to bring me straight to the hospital and they’ll meet us there. Obviously we cancel the chiropractor, much to my chagrin if I’m not in labor.
In the car I am screaming in pain. Hubby tells me to let it out, its okay to scream. Apparently I tell him I feel like I’m pushing. I have no recollection of this, only the pain from being forced to sit.
At the hospital we are met by Peggy, one of the mws I really like. She checks me I’m still 4cm, my contractions are still irregular, however she says baby is completely posterior. This explains the pain. She says if she didn’t hear Monday’s story she would think I’m in labor. She admits me and tells me I should take Stadol, a sleeping medication. She says if I’m not in labor then the Stadol will stop the contractions… if I am in labor nothing will stop the contractions and I NEED rest to push naturally and avoid a cesarean if it is labor. I ask if it will hurt the baby, she says not at all, there is no pain relief, just sleep. It takes about another hour before they get me a room. During this time I pace the floor, I use the bathroom, I scream in pain because I’m too exhausted to deal… I hear some jerk of a doc in the hall basically make fun of me for not having an epidural. Hardy har har jacka$$… Finally there is a room. Stadol finally gets hooked up and here’s where I pretty much draw a blank.
From here on out I can only open my eyes very briefly, even during pushing. I am not able to get out of the bed again due to the exhaustion. My contractions NEVER become regular. They can be between 2 and 15 minutes apart lasting 30 seconds-1 min 45 sec…
I know that I apparently woke and said I was in great pain. My mw checked me and I was stalled at 7cm when DH finally agreed to let her break my water because it had been bulging for hours. I do not blame him, it had been days that I was in labor and I trust my mw. Very soon after I’m at 10cm and can start pushing. I’m told that I really was conscious through the pushing. I pushed well and only worried toward the end that I was too exhausted to continue. The pain was an afterthought. The nurse commented that doctors would have probably made me have an episiotomy, but my mw had worked on stretching me for an hour resulting in only a superficial tear that is healing beautifully. I was never offered drugs so I didn’t need them. After almost 3 hours of pushing Matthew finally came at 8:48pm. He was 5 lbs 6 oz and 17.5 inches long. I could hardly see, but he was beautiful.
I could tell you about the horrors of the hospital after his birth, but suffice it to say, Matt is now home and is an exclusively bf baby. He’s going to need some work since he’s still a preemie. Even now he’d only be at 37 weeks 2 days gestation. We’re just so blessed to have him.
Cindy... BTW, your pix link didn't work...
I hope all is going well. Welcome little Matthew! 
: coming your way. Take care of yourself Cindy!
