It's taken some time to get this birth story out, partly because of life with a new baby 
and partly because I needed the time to process it all.
We were induced at 37 because she had stopped growing (seen via u/s). We were somewhat expecting this so we were as prepared as possible. The pitocin was started at 2pm and I was about 2cm and 75%. As the contraction started to pick up, so did the back labor. My doula and dh were busy at work with lots of counter pressure!! After 12 hrs of really strong and fast contractions we were bummed to hear that I was only at 3cm. Uh! At that point it was clear that if this baby didn't turn posterior the dialation would continue to go really slowly. After lots of thought and some other considerations (regarding upping the pit, etc) we decided for an epidural. Very disappointing but in the end it was a good move.
After having the epi for about 10 minutes I told the mw that I thought my water had broken. She and doula were at the foot of the bed and checked to see... and their faces went white. I had started hemorraghing really badly. I lost the first liter of blood in about 5 minutes, and then a second over the next hr or so. At that point the surgoen was already on the way to the hospital, along with the rest of the surgical staff (we live in a small mountain town, folks aren't on staff 24 hrs). I was in serious shock from blood loss and dh, mw, doula and nurses were getting me unhooked and down the hallway. At some point in there the mw placed an internal monitor on the baby, so we knew she was doing surprisingly well... heartbeat remained strong.
From the time bleeding began til the time she was out was about 36 minutes. Dh got to hold and rock her almost immediately (he was not allowed in the OR, i was totally anesthetized) and got about 2 hrs to bond before I was out of recovery. Surgery went well, considering, and I received lots of blood for the next 6 days in the hospital.
It still seems very surreal. It was a placental abruption that caused the bleeding, which to that extent is very, very rare. It was a reality check, no doubt, and we are all feeling so blessed to be alive and well... both baby and I. It has been hard though to deal with the disconnect that comes with being in shock, then being put to sleep, and then waking up with a baby! There was no transition, no process. But we are dealing, and our little angel is the best healing we could ask for. We have never felt so lucky.
Whoo. That was epic, thanks for those making it thus far!
Hope the picture link works!
http://www.shutterfly.com/view/slide...=1157644658890
and partly because I needed the time to process it all.We were induced at 37 because she had stopped growing (seen via u/s). We were somewhat expecting this so we were as prepared as possible. The pitocin was started at 2pm and I was about 2cm and 75%. As the contraction started to pick up, so did the back labor. My doula and dh were busy at work with lots of counter pressure!! After 12 hrs of really strong and fast contractions we were bummed to hear that I was only at 3cm. Uh! At that point it was clear that if this baby didn't turn posterior the dialation would continue to go really slowly. After lots of thought and some other considerations (regarding upping the pit, etc) we decided for an epidural. Very disappointing but in the end it was a good move.
After having the epi for about 10 minutes I told the mw that I thought my water had broken. She and doula were at the foot of the bed and checked to see... and their faces went white. I had started hemorraghing really badly. I lost the first liter of blood in about 5 minutes, and then a second over the next hr or so. At that point the surgoen was already on the way to the hospital, along with the rest of the surgical staff (we live in a small mountain town, folks aren't on staff 24 hrs). I was in serious shock from blood loss and dh, mw, doula and nurses were getting me unhooked and down the hallway. At some point in there the mw placed an internal monitor on the baby, so we knew she was doing surprisingly well... heartbeat remained strong.
From the time bleeding began til the time she was out was about 36 minutes. Dh got to hold and rock her almost immediately (he was not allowed in the OR, i was totally anesthetized) and got about 2 hrs to bond before I was out of recovery. Surgery went well, considering, and I received lots of blood for the next 6 days in the hospital.
It still seems very surreal. It was a placental abruption that caused the bleeding, which to that extent is very, very rare. It was a reality check, no doubt, and we are all feeling so blessed to be alive and well... both baby and I. It has been hard though to deal with the disconnect that comes with being in shock, then being put to sleep, and then waking up with a baby! There was no transition, no process. But we are dealing, and our little angel is the best healing we could ask for. We have never felt so lucky.
Whoo. That was epic, thanks for those making it thus far!
Hope the picture link works!
http://www.shutterfly.com/view/slide...=1157644658890
...I would like to see her but I couldn't get the link to work 
!
