Announcing William Carter, born 9-1-06 at 10:29 pm.
He was a primary c-section, weighing 11lbs, 14 ounces (I can grow 'em big.
), so obviously a hospital birth, with a fabulous midwife.
On Wednesday night, August 30th, I was uncomfortable, so I took a bath after supper and did something I didn't do at all during my pregnancy....I took 2 Benadryl to help me sleep. I did sleep some, but was up every hour just uncomfrotable and peeing. I thought all night long, hey, I'm contracting, but was able to go back to sleep, so didn't think much of it.
Then, Thursday morning, I was uncomfortable most of the day. Just couldn't find a position I liked. I needed a couple of things from the store for supper, but I called dh to stop and get them for me (also something I never do...I usually go myself, just to get out of the house, especially late in pregnancy). I ended up taking a bath in the late afternoon, but felt better, cooked supper, made brownies, and finished up some light housework (laundry, etc)
Around 8 pm, I told dh that I was going back up to get in the bathtub (it was just such a good place to be that last few weeks of pregnancy). I was getting more and more uncomfortable there, though, and around 9:30, really started concentrating through contractions. I sent dh to bed to save his strength, then was up and down in the bathtub, the couch, the stairs for several hours. I was listening to some great CDs, though, and doing pretty well.
Around 2 am, I decided I didn't want to do this alone any more, and I woke dh up. He was great, but I decided I was ready for drugs (I had planned on an epidural the whole time), so we decided to get dressed and head for the hospital. We spoke to the midwife, and she was finshing a birth, so would meet us there after a short nap (for her).
Looking back, it was obvious that I was in labor as I got dressed for the hospital in shorts and a T-shirt, but no underwear and no bra. LOL. Dh made himself coffee, showered, and then we got going. He left something in the house, and when he went back inside to get it, I was walking around the street dealing witha contraction. I'm sure the neighbors knew I was in labor. LOL
We got to the hospital, and I was 6 cm. I got an IV, got my epidural, and was actually pretty comfortalbe for a few hours.
Around 8 am, the midwife checked me, cause I was feeling more pressure. I was 8-9 cm. My water broke around this time with thick meconium. My contractions weren't showing up on the monitor (I'm a big girl), and the decision was made to start Pitocin with sort of slowing cervical progress, contractions that were still every 5 minutes, and the meconium, so I consented to an internal monitor so that they could dose that without worrying.
Around 9 or so, I started feeling more pressure, and my epidural gradually wore off. Aagh. Not in my plan. It was attempted to be redone around 4 (!) pm, but that anesthesiologist couldn't get it in. We finally got someone with magic fingers around 8 pm, and I got comfortable again with a pretty heavy redose. This whole time, the baby was persistently posterior, and I did get to an anterior lip (around 3 pm), but was not getting past that. I labored, I pushed, I rested some more, then pushed more for many hours.
Holding dh's hand, repeating something through a contraction (just the same thing over and over through an entire contraction), and really concentrating helped me get through that.
I got a nap (see, the epidural did finally work!) around 8:30, then woke up in pain at 9:30. THe lip was still there, nad I couldn't push past. At that point, with 24 hours of good active labor under my belt, the midwife, dh, and I made the decision to head for a section.
Will was born at 10:29 pm, all 11 lbs, 14 ounces of him. (We had guessed at a big baby, but nothing like that!! LOL)
Going into the section, dh reminded me that having a c-section was still giving birth (he read and pretty much memorized Birthing from Within...God bless that man), that I was no less of a woman, and that he was thrilled to be at my side. He was there the whole time, even by my head before the doc got there. My hands weren't tied down, I could hear all the normal conversationg during the OR (important to me, cause I didn't want to worry that they were quiet cause something bad was happening), and I knew that I was giving birth to my son. I did request a double layer closure on the uterus, which the doc was happy to do.
Dh announced the sex, he went to the nursery with the baby and brought him back to me in the recovery room to nurse, the baby was never under warming lights, we refused Hep B, Vit K, and erythromycin with absolutely no big deal, we roomed in the whole time (the baby went to the nursery for 2 hours the first night to get me a short nap, 1 hour the 2nd night to weigh the baby and assess him), he nurses like a champ. We went home at 38 hours after delivery.
It was a great delivery, and I'm happy with the outcome.
He was a primary c-section, weighing 11lbs, 14 ounces (I can grow 'em big.
), so obviously a hospital birth, with a fabulous midwife.On Wednesday night, August 30th, I was uncomfortable, so I took a bath after supper and did something I didn't do at all during my pregnancy....I took 2 Benadryl to help me sleep. I did sleep some, but was up every hour just uncomfrotable and peeing. I thought all night long, hey, I'm contracting, but was able to go back to sleep, so didn't think much of it.
Then, Thursday morning, I was uncomfortable most of the day. Just couldn't find a position I liked. I needed a couple of things from the store for supper, but I called dh to stop and get them for me (also something I never do...I usually go myself, just to get out of the house, especially late in pregnancy). I ended up taking a bath in the late afternoon, but felt better, cooked supper, made brownies, and finished up some light housework (laundry, etc)
Around 8 pm, I told dh that I was going back up to get in the bathtub (it was just such a good place to be that last few weeks of pregnancy). I was getting more and more uncomfortable there, though, and around 9:30, really started concentrating through contractions. I sent dh to bed to save his strength, then was up and down in the bathtub, the couch, the stairs for several hours. I was listening to some great CDs, though, and doing pretty well.
Around 2 am, I decided I didn't want to do this alone any more, and I woke dh up. He was great, but I decided I was ready for drugs (I had planned on an epidural the whole time), so we decided to get dressed and head for the hospital. We spoke to the midwife, and she was finshing a birth, so would meet us there after a short nap (for her).
Looking back, it was obvious that I was in labor as I got dressed for the hospital in shorts and a T-shirt, but no underwear and no bra. LOL. Dh made himself coffee, showered, and then we got going. He left something in the house, and when he went back inside to get it, I was walking around the street dealing witha contraction. I'm sure the neighbors knew I was in labor. LOL
We got to the hospital, and I was 6 cm. I got an IV, got my epidural, and was actually pretty comfortalbe for a few hours.
Around 8 am, the midwife checked me, cause I was feeling more pressure. I was 8-9 cm. My water broke around this time with thick meconium. My contractions weren't showing up on the monitor (I'm a big girl), and the decision was made to start Pitocin with sort of slowing cervical progress, contractions that were still every 5 minutes, and the meconium, so I consented to an internal monitor so that they could dose that without worrying.
Around 9 or so, I started feeling more pressure, and my epidural gradually wore off. Aagh. Not in my plan. It was attempted to be redone around 4 (!) pm, but that anesthesiologist couldn't get it in. We finally got someone with magic fingers around 8 pm, and I got comfortable again with a pretty heavy redose. This whole time, the baby was persistently posterior, and I did get to an anterior lip (around 3 pm), but was not getting past that. I labored, I pushed, I rested some more, then pushed more for many hours.
Holding dh's hand, repeating something through a contraction (just the same thing over and over through an entire contraction), and really concentrating helped me get through that.
I got a nap (see, the epidural did finally work!) around 8:30, then woke up in pain at 9:30. THe lip was still there, nad I couldn't push past. At that point, with 24 hours of good active labor under my belt, the midwife, dh, and I made the decision to head for a section.
Will was born at 10:29 pm, all 11 lbs, 14 ounces of him. (We had guessed at a big baby, but nothing like that!! LOL)
Going into the section, dh reminded me that having a c-section was still giving birth (he read and pretty much memorized Birthing from Within...God bless that man), that I was no less of a woman, and that he was thrilled to be at my side. He was there the whole time, even by my head before the doc got there. My hands weren't tied down, I could hear all the normal conversationg during the OR (important to me, cause I didn't want to worry that they were quiet cause something bad was happening), and I knew that I was giving birth to my son. I did request a double layer closure on the uterus, which the doc was happy to do.
Dh announced the sex, he went to the nursery with the baby and brought him back to me in the recovery room to nurse, the baby was never under warming lights, we refused Hep B, Vit K, and erythromycin with absolutely no big deal, we roomed in the whole time (the baby went to the nursery for 2 hours the first night to get me a short nap, 1 hour the 2nd night to weigh the baby and assess him), he nurses like a champ. We went home at 38 hours after delivery.
It was a great delivery, and I'm happy with the outcome.
