It has been two weeks and three days since I delivered my beautiful baby boy. I haven't written out my birth story even though I have started to write it several times.
On Sunday, November 12th, labour began around 8 a.m. with painful contractions every twenty minutes. I posted here a couple times as they were quite painful and they weren't getting any closer. I oozed liquid but I thought that it was related to my yeast infection treatment which I had begun that weekend. The liquid never did gush or trickle like I had thought water would.
These contractions continued and I called my midwife on Monday afternoon. I had thrown up and labour wasn't going as I had expected... I wasn't able to talk through my contractions from the beginning. The midwife told me to drink fluids, take a Gravol and try to rest. She was going to come check me later that afternoon after she made some home visits. She never did come. She called to check back and left it that I should contact her again once contractions were every four to five minutes apart.
I couldn't get any rest because all the pain was in my back and it hurt to stay horizontal once they came. I did get some sleep when my baby's father drove us around for about an hour. We went out to get a sandwich and I stayed at his house for a couple hours that evening. I considered calling the hospital because I felt that something was wrong and my midwife had been rather dismissive. I wasn't sure how long I could keep going with little sleep and the contractions not getting any closer. I did keep going though!
On Tuesday morning around 4 a.m., contractions jumped to every four to five minutes. They stayed like that for a couple hours. My baby's father called the midwife at 7 a.m. and she was at my house by about 8:40 a.m. along with a student midwife who we had met.
The student had me pee on a stick and then she checked me. I was four cms dilated and I honestly thought that I would have been further ahead. I had been shaking for a couple of hours and my baby's father had wondered if I was in transition! After the check, my contractions slowed down and we went into the bedroom. The student gave me a pep talk about letting it all go and allowing my body to do what it needed to do. I brought up the possibility of going to the hospital because I was concerned about making it until the end with enough energy. I couldn't sleep through the contractions and they had estimated that I might be in labour until midnight that night. At the time, I didn't realize that I couldn't just go, get some sleep and come back home for a home birth!
I was determined to have my home birth and didn't give in. I knew better than to go. They gave us time alone and worked out in the dining room area. Then they came in to check the baby's heartbeat and my blood pressure again. At this point, my midwife recommended that I transfer to the hospital. She felt that I needed some pain management in order to be able to sleep and be strong enough for pushing. I knew that my lack of sleep was the worst thing that could have happened but I had been trying to rest since Sunday morning!
I was GBS positive so she felt that I should be on antibiotics as well. (I had enough drugs at home for 16 hours of left but we weren't sure if that would be enough based on how I was progressing.) She left me to have a long bath and think about it for an hour. I had a shower and contractions kept slowing down. My baby's father and I talked about it for what felt like a long time. I never felt pressured but it wasn't what I wanted. We ended up heading to the hospital. I was admitted at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, November 14th.
I was very aware of the possibility of a cascade of medical interventions. That afternoon, I took a ride down that path. I started with laughing gas which did nothing for me. I couldn't handle the back contractions without something when lying down in the bed. They needed me to stay there while they took blood and got the IV hooked up with the antibiotics. When I was finally able to stand up and walk around, I felt sooo much better! Contractions were every two to five minutes apart. This went on for a couple of hours. I got to five-six cms dilated on my own. My waters were broken but the consulting OB suggested that they were low. It is possible that the oozing on Sunday evening was a leak.
By 4 p.m., I had allowed an epidural and an internal continuous monitor. They started a pitocin drip at 4:20 p.m. and it went until 4:26 p.m. My baby's heartbeat dropped dramatically in that time and they had to stop it. I was put on oxygen and his scalp was stimulated. This caused his heartbeat to increase above the normal range and it stayed that way until the end. We just watched and waited. I couldn't believe that everything that I had wanted to avoid was happening and I felt like I had no control.
The next OB started duty at 5 p.m. and she came in to check. She felt that I was getting nowhere fast but she checked me and I had progressed to eight cms dilated. I was happy with that. They didn't feel confident enough to start up the pitocin again so I asked how long they would allow this to go on. She told me that she would let me continue on my own if they tested his scalp pH and it turned out to be fine. She explained that we can control if we have done too much but he couldn't and he had been living through contractions for days now. She wasn't sure why his heart wasn't recovering. If he wasn't okay, there would be a build up of lactic acid.
She did something to his scalp and then everything happened so fast. I saw someone step into the room and approach her. She read out two numbers and then almost screamed that we have to do a c-section *now*. She had told me previously that the OR had been prepared in case I needed a section but I honestly didn't believe it would come to that. (The first OB had made a comment that a baby only comes out one way or the other.)
Everyone started rushing around and my baby's father had tears in his eyes. I was shaved and then rushed through the halls. I remember the OB pushed me from the top of the bed and ran with me through the halls. My baby's father stayed in the room and he would meet me when I was ready for the operation. I ended up in a very bright room that had many people rushing around. My arms were put on two carts, I was hooked up to a blood pressure monitor and I could feel strange feelings on my tummy. The OB told them that they had another mom with a breech baby who was already in the pushing stage but she had made the decision to do me first and read out those two pH numbers.
She told me that I would be alright a couple of times and my midwife was stroking my hair. The student midwife eventually brought in my baby's father who sat by my head. It seemed like no time and the anesthesiologist told me that I would feel pressure on my tummy as they pushed on it to help the baby come out. I could hear him crying and then a suction sound. It was so unreal. After a few minutes, my baby's father was allowed to see him and then they brought him over to me. They were commenting on his head which was very cone shaped. I was out of it and I felt like I was going to throw up.
It seemed like I spent lots of time in there after that and then I was taken to a room. I was there with a nurse for what seemed like hours without seeing my baby or his father. His father had to leave at 10 p.m. as visiting hours ended. My baby wasn't even back with me by that time.
Breastfeeding has been a major challenge due to our time apart after his birth and a lack of consistency at the hospital. As a result, he was admitted into the Special Care Nursery of a different hospital for two days. I am still struggling with this and seeing a lactation consultant.
He has a cut on his forehead as they cut him as they were cutting my uterine wall. His forehead/brow was the presenting part. His head was bulging outside of my cervix from the pressure of days of contractions. He had a head ultrasound which showed two fluid filled cysts. We are still waiting to hear from a special children's hospital for a CT scan.
Introducing my little one!!!
Emerson Elliot Jacob joined us on November 14th at 6:53 p.m. He weighed 7 lbs. and 5 oz.
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q...rsonAtHome.jpg
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q...MommysArms.jpg
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q...OfHisBirth.jpg
He has my chin, cheeks, ears and nose.
On Sunday, November 12th, labour began around 8 a.m. with painful contractions every twenty minutes. I posted here a couple times as they were quite painful and they weren't getting any closer. I oozed liquid but I thought that it was related to my yeast infection treatment which I had begun that weekend. The liquid never did gush or trickle like I had thought water would.
These contractions continued and I called my midwife on Monday afternoon. I had thrown up and labour wasn't going as I had expected... I wasn't able to talk through my contractions from the beginning. The midwife told me to drink fluids, take a Gravol and try to rest. She was going to come check me later that afternoon after she made some home visits. She never did come. She called to check back and left it that I should contact her again once contractions were every four to five minutes apart.
I couldn't get any rest because all the pain was in my back and it hurt to stay horizontal once they came. I did get some sleep when my baby's father drove us around for about an hour. We went out to get a sandwich and I stayed at his house for a couple hours that evening. I considered calling the hospital because I felt that something was wrong and my midwife had been rather dismissive. I wasn't sure how long I could keep going with little sleep and the contractions not getting any closer. I did keep going though!
On Tuesday morning around 4 a.m., contractions jumped to every four to five minutes. They stayed like that for a couple hours. My baby's father called the midwife at 7 a.m. and she was at my house by about 8:40 a.m. along with a student midwife who we had met.
The student had me pee on a stick and then she checked me. I was four cms dilated and I honestly thought that I would have been further ahead. I had been shaking for a couple of hours and my baby's father had wondered if I was in transition! After the check, my contractions slowed down and we went into the bedroom. The student gave me a pep talk about letting it all go and allowing my body to do what it needed to do. I brought up the possibility of going to the hospital because I was concerned about making it until the end with enough energy. I couldn't sleep through the contractions and they had estimated that I might be in labour until midnight that night. At the time, I didn't realize that I couldn't just go, get some sleep and come back home for a home birth!
I was determined to have my home birth and didn't give in. I knew better than to go. They gave us time alone and worked out in the dining room area. Then they came in to check the baby's heartbeat and my blood pressure again. At this point, my midwife recommended that I transfer to the hospital. She felt that I needed some pain management in order to be able to sleep and be strong enough for pushing. I knew that my lack of sleep was the worst thing that could have happened but I had been trying to rest since Sunday morning!
I was GBS positive so she felt that I should be on antibiotics as well. (I had enough drugs at home for 16 hours of left but we weren't sure if that would be enough based on how I was progressing.) She left me to have a long bath and think about it for an hour. I had a shower and contractions kept slowing down. My baby's father and I talked about it for what felt like a long time. I never felt pressured but it wasn't what I wanted. We ended up heading to the hospital. I was admitted at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, November 14th.
I was very aware of the possibility of a cascade of medical interventions. That afternoon, I took a ride down that path. I started with laughing gas which did nothing for me. I couldn't handle the back contractions without something when lying down in the bed. They needed me to stay there while they took blood and got the IV hooked up with the antibiotics. When I was finally able to stand up and walk around, I felt sooo much better! Contractions were every two to five minutes apart. This went on for a couple of hours. I got to five-six cms dilated on my own. My waters were broken but the consulting OB suggested that they were low. It is possible that the oozing on Sunday evening was a leak.
By 4 p.m., I had allowed an epidural and an internal continuous monitor. They started a pitocin drip at 4:20 p.m. and it went until 4:26 p.m. My baby's heartbeat dropped dramatically in that time and they had to stop it. I was put on oxygen and his scalp was stimulated. This caused his heartbeat to increase above the normal range and it stayed that way until the end. We just watched and waited. I couldn't believe that everything that I had wanted to avoid was happening and I felt like I had no control.
The next OB started duty at 5 p.m. and she came in to check. She felt that I was getting nowhere fast but she checked me and I had progressed to eight cms dilated. I was happy with that. They didn't feel confident enough to start up the pitocin again so I asked how long they would allow this to go on. She told me that she would let me continue on my own if they tested his scalp pH and it turned out to be fine. She explained that we can control if we have done too much but he couldn't and he had been living through contractions for days now. She wasn't sure why his heart wasn't recovering. If he wasn't okay, there would be a build up of lactic acid.
She did something to his scalp and then everything happened so fast. I saw someone step into the room and approach her. She read out two numbers and then almost screamed that we have to do a c-section *now*. She had told me previously that the OR had been prepared in case I needed a section but I honestly didn't believe it would come to that. (The first OB had made a comment that a baby only comes out one way or the other.)
Everyone started rushing around and my baby's father had tears in his eyes. I was shaved and then rushed through the halls. I remember the OB pushed me from the top of the bed and ran with me through the halls. My baby's father stayed in the room and he would meet me when I was ready for the operation. I ended up in a very bright room that had many people rushing around. My arms were put on two carts, I was hooked up to a blood pressure monitor and I could feel strange feelings on my tummy. The OB told them that they had another mom with a breech baby who was already in the pushing stage but she had made the decision to do me first and read out those two pH numbers.
She told me that I would be alright a couple of times and my midwife was stroking my hair. The student midwife eventually brought in my baby's father who sat by my head. It seemed like no time and the anesthesiologist told me that I would feel pressure on my tummy as they pushed on it to help the baby come out. I could hear him crying and then a suction sound. It was so unreal. After a few minutes, my baby's father was allowed to see him and then they brought him over to me. They were commenting on his head which was very cone shaped. I was out of it and I felt like I was going to throw up.
It seemed like I spent lots of time in there after that and then I was taken to a room. I was there with a nurse for what seemed like hours without seeing my baby or his father. His father had to leave at 10 p.m. as visiting hours ended. My baby wasn't even back with me by that time.
Breastfeeding has been a major challenge due to our time apart after his birth and a lack of consistency at the hospital. As a result, he was admitted into the Special Care Nursery of a different hospital for two days. I am still struggling with this and seeing a lactation consultant.
He has a cut on his forehead as they cut him as they were cutting my uterine wall. His forehead/brow was the presenting part. His head was bulging outside of my cervix from the pressure of days of contractions. He had a head ultrasound which showed two fluid filled cysts. We are still waiting to hear from a special children's hospital for a CT scan.
Introducing my little one!!!
Emerson Elliot Jacob joined us on November 14th at 6:53 p.m. He weighed 7 lbs. and 5 oz.
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q...rsonAtHome.jpg
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q...MommysArms.jpg
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q...OfHisBirth.jpg
He has my chin, cheeks, ears and nose.
