On Tuesday I had an NST and u/s to check fluid levels. There was no measurable amount of fluid...fluid was present but they can't measure anything with cord in it and that was all the tech could find. It is not unheard of in postdate babies and the concern is the health of the placenta and its ability to sustain the baby. So off I was sent to the hospital for cervidil and pitocin, and I was so disappointed that my body had not started labor on its own, that one intervention was going to lead to another and I'd end up with an epidural or c-section...mainly I was just really scared and angry.
We had about five hours between the dr's appt. and when we were to be at the hospital. So dh and I went home and got all our final preparations done, did some laundry, went on a long walk with the dogs, even DTD to try to get labor kickstarted. At midnight we checked in to the hospital and at two they inserted the cervidil. My cervix was so posterior that they couldn't even get to it when they did my first check, but the cervidil did its job and after six hours, my OB (who rocks!!) decided to leave it in another six, which is really the end of its effectiveness. After twelve hours with the cervidil, I was really thin and beginning to dilate as well as having regular contractions. My OB decided to give me a few hours to see if labor would progress on its own without the pit.Yippee! So dh and I walked miles up and down the LD ward. After three hours I was not progressing and we started the pit. Disappointing, but my OB wanted to make sure I would have enough energy to push and I was clearly not progressing quickly on my own. Regardless, we were in for another long night.
After a few hours on the pit, I was completely effaced and 7 cm. During that time, though, we had the added pressure of trying to get him turned. Despite the fact that he had been head down and anterior for months, suddenly during labor he flipped posterior and started going transverse. The nurses were GREAT!! They pulled out all the stops and helped us try everything they could think of to get him turned, including rounding up an ancient rocking chair for a little trick one of them had heard of. It worked, and so I got into the tub to try to relax and get those last couple cm out of the way.
Of course I have no real concept of time, but it seemed like I had only been in the tub a few minutes when I realized that my contractions weren't getting stronger, they were pushing contractions. I yelled at my dh I NEED TO PUSH and he went sprinting off to get the nurse and OB, who I found out later, threw up their hands and practically squealed like little girls. All three came running back into the room and sat there while I did the first bit of pushing in the tub. Once pushing was well established, they got me out of the tub, took me off the pit, and I kept pushing for another hour or so. Again, I was failing to progress and I was clearly exhausted...as was my wonderful, poor, exhausted dh. They put me back on the pit and -whoa- the pushing contractions started coming fast and furious. So did everything left in my intestines...and I SO DIDN'T CARE!!!
I actually spent some time pushing on the toilet, which is when he started to crown. Can I tell you how hard it is to walk when your baby is crowning? They had to get me off the toilet and back to the bed. To my superwoman OB's credit, she never blinked when I stopped to push through a contraction standing up...she just didn't want him taking a nose dive in the toilet. Can't say much fondly about the ring of fire, but seeing his head, just that first sliver, was all I needed to give me the last burst of energy to get him out.
His head finally emerged, followed almost immediately by the left arm, which he had wrapped around his neck. He started clawing at my leg. DH says it looked like he was trying to use that arm to climb out of me. Only moments later, he was on my chest and screaming his head off. Perfectly healthy, but no bag of waters. Apparently it is not unheard of, what is called a dry birth. The placenta was very healthy, as well. For whatever reason, the fluids were just not there. They kept trying to break my bag of waters to speed labor and to check for meconium, but thought he was just sitting on the bottom of it...nope, there just was no bag of waters.
I had some tearing, I'm exhausted, but I'm holding my little baby boy. After nearly 24 hours from check-in with virtually no sleep, Flynn Harper was born at 11:12 PM on October 25th weighing 7 lbs 10.5 oz. and measuring 20.5 inches long with apgars of 9. We're still figuring out breastfeeding. Sometimes he latches on and feeds really well, textbook. Sometimes he just wants to naw on my nipple and then go back to sleep. We got home just a few hours ago and have gotten settled in. The dogs are being SUPER with him.
We're just one big happy family. And although things didn't go as planned, dh and I were still able to have the birth experience we wanted and maintained control the entire time. We can't say enough good things about the nurses and our OB, all of whom kept reminding us that my body and Flynn's knew what to do and to just trust that. They gave us a boost of confidence when our own started to fail. I am so thankful for them and for my dh, but mostly I am so happy to have my little baby boy in my arms...and now he's crying for his next feeding. Thanks so much for all your good labor vibes...they worked!!
Here are some pictures of my beautiful baby boy!
We had about five hours between the dr's appt. and when we were to be at the hospital. So dh and I went home and got all our final preparations done, did some laundry, went on a long walk with the dogs, even DTD to try to get labor kickstarted. At midnight we checked in to the hospital and at two they inserted the cervidil. My cervix was so posterior that they couldn't even get to it when they did my first check, but the cervidil did its job and after six hours, my OB (who rocks!!) decided to leave it in another six, which is really the end of its effectiveness. After twelve hours with the cervidil, I was really thin and beginning to dilate as well as having regular contractions. My OB decided to give me a few hours to see if labor would progress on its own without the pit.Yippee! So dh and I walked miles up and down the LD ward. After three hours I was not progressing and we started the pit. Disappointing, but my OB wanted to make sure I would have enough energy to push and I was clearly not progressing quickly on my own. Regardless, we were in for another long night.
After a few hours on the pit, I was completely effaced and 7 cm. During that time, though, we had the added pressure of trying to get him turned. Despite the fact that he had been head down and anterior for months, suddenly during labor he flipped posterior and started going transverse. The nurses were GREAT!! They pulled out all the stops and helped us try everything they could think of to get him turned, including rounding up an ancient rocking chair for a little trick one of them had heard of. It worked, and so I got into the tub to try to relax and get those last couple cm out of the way.
Of course I have no real concept of time, but it seemed like I had only been in the tub a few minutes when I realized that my contractions weren't getting stronger, they were pushing contractions. I yelled at my dh I NEED TO PUSH and he went sprinting off to get the nurse and OB, who I found out later, threw up their hands and practically squealed like little girls. All three came running back into the room and sat there while I did the first bit of pushing in the tub. Once pushing was well established, they got me out of the tub, took me off the pit, and I kept pushing for another hour or so. Again, I was failing to progress and I was clearly exhausted...as was my wonderful, poor, exhausted dh. They put me back on the pit and -whoa- the pushing contractions started coming fast and furious. So did everything left in my intestines...and I SO DIDN'T CARE!!!
I actually spent some time pushing on the toilet, which is when he started to crown. Can I tell you how hard it is to walk when your baby is crowning? They had to get me off the toilet and back to the bed. To my superwoman OB's credit, she never blinked when I stopped to push through a contraction standing up...she just didn't want him taking a nose dive in the toilet. Can't say much fondly about the ring of fire, but seeing his head, just that first sliver, was all I needed to give me the last burst of energy to get him out.
His head finally emerged, followed almost immediately by the left arm, which he had wrapped around his neck. He started clawing at my leg. DH says it looked like he was trying to use that arm to climb out of me. Only moments later, he was on my chest and screaming his head off. Perfectly healthy, but no bag of waters. Apparently it is not unheard of, what is called a dry birth. The placenta was very healthy, as well. For whatever reason, the fluids were just not there. They kept trying to break my bag of waters to speed labor and to check for meconium, but thought he was just sitting on the bottom of it...nope, there just was no bag of waters.
I had some tearing, I'm exhausted, but I'm holding my little baby boy. After nearly 24 hours from check-in with virtually no sleep, Flynn Harper was born at 11:12 PM on October 25th weighing 7 lbs 10.5 oz. and measuring 20.5 inches long with apgars of 9. We're still figuring out breastfeeding. Sometimes he latches on and feeds really well, textbook. Sometimes he just wants to naw on my nipple and then go back to sleep. We got home just a few hours ago and have gotten settled in. The dogs are being SUPER with him.
We're just one big happy family. And although things didn't go as planned, dh and I were still able to have the birth experience we wanted and maintained control the entire time. We can't say enough good things about the nurses and our OB, all of whom kept reminding us that my body and Flynn's knew what to do and to just trust that. They gave us a boost of confidence when our own started to fail. I am so thankful for them and for my dh, but mostly I am so happy to have my little baby boy in my arms...and now he's crying for his next feeding. Thanks so much for all your good labor vibes...they worked!!
Here are some pictures of my beautiful baby boy!
c o n g r a t u l a t i o n s !! 
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