x-posted from Birth Stories forum...thought you guys might like to read it here. Our natural (almost) hospital birth:
January 30th 2007
3am
I set the alarm clock for nearly two hours before our scheduled induction at the birth center - not that I would have necessarily needed to, I don't think I slept more than a few minutes the entire night. I was filled with excitement and nerves - since it was an induction, we were going to have to call a few minutes before our "appointment" to make sure there was a bed available for us. I kept thinking about having to wait...and I do not do well with waiting.
I got up and milled around the house for a bit. I had breakfast and got dressed. Then I watched TV until around 4:20 when I could no longer wait anymore - I called the birth center and anxiously asked if there was a bed for us. Thankfully, there was! I ran and got Les up and he got ready to go.
By this time I was more excited and less nervous. I double checked our bags and then got my mother up to go and sleep with Colin. Colin slept right through. I kissed him and told him good-bye, which was tough. I cried a little bit knowing that his world and ours were never going to be the same. I said a prayer and asked that things would work out and for God to guide us in parenting two boys. I'm sure Les would have thought I was nuts for crying so, so I tried to compose myself before leaving Colin in his room.
4:50am
We're finally ready to go! It's bitterly cold out and the car seems to take forever to heat up. I start to get a little more nervous, which only makes me shiver more. I can't remember a thing that Les and I talked about on the way over - I think he was a little nervous too.
5am
We arrive at the emergency room entrance and check in at the window. To our surprise, they aren't going to admit us right away. I was more than a little upset and disappointed, but tried not to let it show. I thought we were set to have the baby for sure...and now they said they would send us home if I didn't go into active labor. ARGH. I kept telling myself that it HAD to work...I wasn't leaving that hospital without the baby. LOL!
I am given a hospital bracelet and we walk up to labor and delivery. We're assigned a room - LD2 - and meet our "night" nurses. I get changed and they hook me up to the monitors. I'm told that they want to get about 30 minutes worth of readings before starting the Pitocin. One of the nurses prepares to start my IV. Evidently, I have the tiniest veins known to man and it takes many tries (with a baby needle no less) to get one going. At least they are able to get it in my hand - sometimes they have to use a vein in my elbow crook and those are so uncomfortable!
The nurse checks me and I'm still at 3cm and 50% effaced. By this time it's nearly 6:15, and they have gotten enough readings from the monitors, so they start the Pitocin. I ask about what I should expect and am told that my contractions will start to increase in intensity in 20 minutes or so. They will be stronger than natural contractions. If necessary, they will increase the dosage until my body gets in a good and productive pattern.
7:00am
The nurse returns to check my progress and tells me that the Pitocin is working! I'm relieved because this means we are getting admitted!! I'm checked again, but have no real change. I'm told my doctor will be coming around 8 or 8:30 to possibly break my bag of waters. At this point, I can feel the contractions, but they are very manageable. They ask if I want some pain meds, but I say that I'm doing fine without them. Honestly, they felt no more painful than some Braxton Hicks I had had earlier in the pregnancy. It was more of a tightening pressure than any real pain.
8:15am
I meet my day nurse - she is AWESOME!! I had had her before during one of my PTL bouts and she was great then as well. She's incredibly friendly and such a sweetie! The entire time, she was so positive and encouraging. My OB comes in with her and checks my progress. He is pleased with the printouts from the monitors and my rate of contractions. I'm still about 50% and now dilated to 3.5 cms. My doctor says that this is a good starting point. The baby has descended down enough that they break my water and insert an internal monitor - not the kind that attaches to the baby's head - thankfully - Les was FREAKING out over that. The monitor will show more precisely the effectiveness of the contractions and how well the baby is handling them.
Within no more than a half hour, the contractions start to become more and more painful. With Colin, once my water had broken, the contractions were coming one right on top of one another and never gave me a break. This time, I was getting breaks between them - which I really factor as being the reason I was better able to deal with them and not have the epidural.
I felt most of the pain in my lower abdomen and it wrapped around my sides and into my back. I remember crying and being very frantic from the pain with Colin's birth, but this time, I was able to stay more calm. I'm not sure what did it, but I was more at peace with this entire labor.
10:45am
My nurse is convinced that things will move quickly. At one point, I am starting to get shaky and she wonders if I am in transition or complete. She checks and I am 6cm with only a paper thin cervix left!! Wa-hoo!! Things are moving along. She leaves with telling me that I should let her know as soon as I start to feel pressure - she says it wouldn't surprise her if we had the baby before lunch.
11:20am
I think I start to feel the pressure they keep telling me about, but I'm not sure. I feel it whenever I have a contraction, but think that it would be way too soon to be at 10cm. It had only been a few minutes that I was at 6cm. Because I evidently had a really high-powered epidural with Colin, I never experienced the "pressure" - in fact, I never felt a THING after it was administered. I tell Mom and Les about the pressure I'm feeling and Mom gets really excited thinking I'm ready. I tell her it's too soon and we decide to wait.
11:40am
Ok...so the pressure increases as does my mother's insistance that it's TIME, so we ask the nurse to come in. She checks and we're indeed complete!! She says the baby's head is very low and that she'll be right back after calling to let my doctor know. Another nurse comes in to help get the room set up and things move pretty quickly. My day nurse tells me that my OB wants me to start pushing to see how I do, but that we might want to use more of a "lightly practicing" approach because otherwise, she'd have to deliver the baby. LOL! I "practice" half-heartedly once and then we decide that is enough...hahahaha!
12:15am
The doctor arrives and asks for me to push once to see how I do...well, that was all it took because Camden was born on that one push! Thankfully, Les started saying, "There he is - he's right there," so I would know to open my eyes and look. I got to see him being born which was absolutely amazing!! Camden Michael was born into this world at 12:20am. He was really blue in color, but they placed him on my tummy right away. (His apgars would be 8 (due to color) and 9. I kept asking why he was so blue and if he was okay - he hadn't yet started to cry. Everyone assured me that he was fine and about that time, he did whimper a bit. He kept his eyes closed tight and he was still covered in a good deal of vernix. To me, he looked incredibly tiny - it really, really surprised and worried me a bit because he almost looked too small. I just knew he would be bigger than Colin, but at that moment, I never remembered Colin being anywhere near that small.
Les cut the cord and the baby nurse took Camden to get weighed, measured, and cleaned up. The doctor delivered the placenta and then checked me for tears. I had not needed an episiotomy this time- THANK GOODNESS - and was told that I only had a few "abrasions" which wouldn't need stitching. YAY!
Immediately, I felt wonderful - euphoric really. The birth had gone better than I ever could have asked for - Pitocin aside, it had unfolded as my dream natural birth. Everything about it was amazing - from the experience itself to the doctor and nurses...it was just perfect.
It took a while for them to get the baby cleaned up and weighed. When they told me that he was 5 pounds and 15 ounces, I could hardly believe it - he weighed to the ounce what his brother had weighed at birth! He was nearly an inch shorter though - at 18.5 inches - which must have been what caused me to think he was so much smaller.
Finally, they handed him back to me, and Les, Mom, and I were able to get our first good look at him. He was indeed tiny, but so precious. We talked about how he looked nothing like Colin. A huge surprise since from the 4D ultrasound we'd had done, he looked to be the spitting image. Camden, as it turns out, looks like me. Colin is undeniably his daddy all over again, so this worked out well - LOL! - we each have one that looks like us. Hahahaha! Camden's hair is much lighter - a lighter brown than Colin's, yet I think it has some curl to it too. Looking at my baby pictures, Camden definitely bears a resemblance.
As he laid in my arms, I kept thanking God for him being healthy and getting here safely. Immediately, I felt an overwhelming love for him.
The day continued with a few visitors - not many since we had decided ahead of time to limit them. Mom returned home to help my dad with Colin and then to get him ready to come and see us.
My maternal grandfather was the first visitor to come. He held Camden for a while and we had a good visit. It was really special to see him with his great-grandson, but also a little bitter sweet because Nana wasn't there with him. I sure hope she can look down from Heaven and see this little one...I know she would love him so.
Next, my parents, paternal grandmother, and Colin came. Colin was super excited and immediately curious. He wanted to touch and hold Camden...which made my dad nervous...he's the type that thinks newborns are more fragile than they really are - in fact, he probably won't even hold Camden for a couple of months because it scares him to do so. *sigh* Colin actually did really well with Camden. We snapped some pictures and had a couple more close relatives come.
Eventually, it was just the three of us again and we were able to enjoy some time together. Camden proved to be a natural at nursing and latched on immediately. I didn't realize just how much I had missed nursing a baby. It was wonderful.
The day turned into night and around midnight the nurse came to take Camden for his hearing test. He had been having some issues with spitting up and making a little gagging sound, so I asked about it. She told me that because Camden was born so quickly and with little to no time to get the mucus in his lungs squeezed out, he was spitting up as a way to rid if from his system.
Camden was gone for a while, so Les and I tried to sleep. Finally, they came back in with him and told me he had passed.
The next morning, I got up early and got dressed to go home. We had to stay for 24 hours to have Camden's PKU test, but then after that, we were going to be discharged. Camden's doctor came in to check him over and gave him his release around 8am. My doctor made his rounds at 9 and said we were good to go.
At noon, they did Camden's heel stick and then got him settled into his car seat for that to be checked. We gathered our things and headed down to the car. It was a cold day, but sunny. Camden didn't particularly care for his car seat at first, but ended up falling asleep on the way home.
Looking back on this experience, I continue to feel blessed that things went so well. The pregnancy had not been what I had expected, in that it was filled with some not-so-great times in our life, but in the end it was all worth it. We came home with yet another of God's little miracles.
January 30th 2007
3am
I set the alarm clock for nearly two hours before our scheduled induction at the birth center - not that I would have necessarily needed to, I don't think I slept more than a few minutes the entire night. I was filled with excitement and nerves - since it was an induction, we were going to have to call a few minutes before our "appointment" to make sure there was a bed available for us. I kept thinking about having to wait...and I do not do well with waiting.
I got up and milled around the house for a bit. I had breakfast and got dressed. Then I watched TV until around 4:20 when I could no longer wait anymore - I called the birth center and anxiously asked if there was a bed for us. Thankfully, there was! I ran and got Les up and he got ready to go.
By this time I was more excited and less nervous. I double checked our bags and then got my mother up to go and sleep with Colin. Colin slept right through. I kissed him and told him good-bye, which was tough. I cried a little bit knowing that his world and ours were never going to be the same. I said a prayer and asked that things would work out and for God to guide us in parenting two boys. I'm sure Les would have thought I was nuts for crying so, so I tried to compose myself before leaving Colin in his room.
4:50am
We're finally ready to go! It's bitterly cold out and the car seems to take forever to heat up. I start to get a little more nervous, which only makes me shiver more. I can't remember a thing that Les and I talked about on the way over - I think he was a little nervous too.
5am
We arrive at the emergency room entrance and check in at the window. To our surprise, they aren't going to admit us right away. I was more than a little upset and disappointed, but tried not to let it show. I thought we were set to have the baby for sure...and now they said they would send us home if I didn't go into active labor. ARGH. I kept telling myself that it HAD to work...I wasn't leaving that hospital without the baby. LOL!
I am given a hospital bracelet and we walk up to labor and delivery. We're assigned a room - LD2 - and meet our "night" nurses. I get changed and they hook me up to the monitors. I'm told that they want to get about 30 minutes worth of readings before starting the Pitocin. One of the nurses prepares to start my IV. Evidently, I have the tiniest veins known to man and it takes many tries (with a baby needle no less) to get one going. At least they are able to get it in my hand - sometimes they have to use a vein in my elbow crook and those are so uncomfortable!
The nurse checks me and I'm still at 3cm and 50% effaced. By this time it's nearly 6:15, and they have gotten enough readings from the monitors, so they start the Pitocin. I ask about what I should expect and am told that my contractions will start to increase in intensity in 20 minutes or so. They will be stronger than natural contractions. If necessary, they will increase the dosage until my body gets in a good and productive pattern.
7:00am
The nurse returns to check my progress and tells me that the Pitocin is working! I'm relieved because this means we are getting admitted!! I'm checked again, but have no real change. I'm told my doctor will be coming around 8 or 8:30 to possibly break my bag of waters. At this point, I can feel the contractions, but they are very manageable. They ask if I want some pain meds, but I say that I'm doing fine without them. Honestly, they felt no more painful than some Braxton Hicks I had had earlier in the pregnancy. It was more of a tightening pressure than any real pain.
8:15am
I meet my day nurse - she is AWESOME!! I had had her before during one of my PTL bouts and she was great then as well. She's incredibly friendly and such a sweetie! The entire time, she was so positive and encouraging. My OB comes in with her and checks my progress. He is pleased with the printouts from the monitors and my rate of contractions. I'm still about 50% and now dilated to 3.5 cms. My doctor says that this is a good starting point. The baby has descended down enough that they break my water and insert an internal monitor - not the kind that attaches to the baby's head - thankfully - Les was FREAKING out over that. The monitor will show more precisely the effectiveness of the contractions and how well the baby is handling them.
Within no more than a half hour, the contractions start to become more and more painful. With Colin, once my water had broken, the contractions were coming one right on top of one another and never gave me a break. This time, I was getting breaks between them - which I really factor as being the reason I was better able to deal with them and not have the epidural.
I felt most of the pain in my lower abdomen and it wrapped around my sides and into my back. I remember crying and being very frantic from the pain with Colin's birth, but this time, I was able to stay more calm. I'm not sure what did it, but I was more at peace with this entire labor.
10:45am
My nurse is convinced that things will move quickly. At one point, I am starting to get shaky and she wonders if I am in transition or complete. She checks and I am 6cm with only a paper thin cervix left!! Wa-hoo!! Things are moving along. She leaves with telling me that I should let her know as soon as I start to feel pressure - she says it wouldn't surprise her if we had the baby before lunch.
11:20am
I think I start to feel the pressure they keep telling me about, but I'm not sure. I feel it whenever I have a contraction, but think that it would be way too soon to be at 10cm. It had only been a few minutes that I was at 6cm. Because I evidently had a really high-powered epidural with Colin, I never experienced the "pressure" - in fact, I never felt a THING after it was administered. I tell Mom and Les about the pressure I'm feeling and Mom gets really excited thinking I'm ready. I tell her it's too soon and we decide to wait.
11:40am
Ok...so the pressure increases as does my mother's insistance that it's TIME, so we ask the nurse to come in. She checks and we're indeed complete!! She says the baby's head is very low and that she'll be right back after calling to let my doctor know. Another nurse comes in to help get the room set up and things move pretty quickly. My day nurse tells me that my OB wants me to start pushing to see how I do, but that we might want to use more of a "lightly practicing" approach because otherwise, she'd have to deliver the baby. LOL! I "practice" half-heartedly once and then we decide that is enough...hahahaha!
12:15am
The doctor arrives and asks for me to push once to see how I do...well, that was all it took because Camden was born on that one push! Thankfully, Les started saying, "There he is - he's right there," so I would know to open my eyes and look. I got to see him being born which was absolutely amazing!! Camden Michael was born into this world at 12:20am. He was really blue in color, but they placed him on my tummy right away. (His apgars would be 8 (due to color) and 9. I kept asking why he was so blue and if he was okay - he hadn't yet started to cry. Everyone assured me that he was fine and about that time, he did whimper a bit. He kept his eyes closed tight and he was still covered in a good deal of vernix. To me, he looked incredibly tiny - it really, really surprised and worried me a bit because he almost looked too small. I just knew he would be bigger than Colin, but at that moment, I never remembered Colin being anywhere near that small.
Les cut the cord and the baby nurse took Camden to get weighed, measured, and cleaned up. The doctor delivered the placenta and then checked me for tears. I had not needed an episiotomy this time- THANK GOODNESS - and was told that I only had a few "abrasions" which wouldn't need stitching. YAY!
Immediately, I felt wonderful - euphoric really. The birth had gone better than I ever could have asked for - Pitocin aside, it had unfolded as my dream natural birth. Everything about it was amazing - from the experience itself to the doctor and nurses...it was just perfect.
It took a while for them to get the baby cleaned up and weighed. When they told me that he was 5 pounds and 15 ounces, I could hardly believe it - he weighed to the ounce what his brother had weighed at birth! He was nearly an inch shorter though - at 18.5 inches - which must have been what caused me to think he was so much smaller.
Finally, they handed him back to me, and Les, Mom, and I were able to get our first good look at him. He was indeed tiny, but so precious. We talked about how he looked nothing like Colin. A huge surprise since from the 4D ultrasound we'd had done, he looked to be the spitting image. Camden, as it turns out, looks like me. Colin is undeniably his daddy all over again, so this worked out well - LOL! - we each have one that looks like us. Hahahaha! Camden's hair is much lighter - a lighter brown than Colin's, yet I think it has some curl to it too. Looking at my baby pictures, Camden definitely bears a resemblance.
As he laid in my arms, I kept thanking God for him being healthy and getting here safely. Immediately, I felt an overwhelming love for him.
The day continued with a few visitors - not many since we had decided ahead of time to limit them. Mom returned home to help my dad with Colin and then to get him ready to come and see us.
My maternal grandfather was the first visitor to come. He held Camden for a while and we had a good visit. It was really special to see him with his great-grandson, but also a little bitter sweet because Nana wasn't there with him. I sure hope she can look down from Heaven and see this little one...I know she would love him so.
Next, my parents, paternal grandmother, and Colin came. Colin was super excited and immediately curious. He wanted to touch and hold Camden...which made my dad nervous...he's the type that thinks newborns are more fragile than they really are - in fact, he probably won't even hold Camden for a couple of months because it scares him to do so. *sigh* Colin actually did really well with Camden. We snapped some pictures and had a couple more close relatives come.
Eventually, it was just the three of us again and we were able to enjoy some time together. Camden proved to be a natural at nursing and latched on immediately. I didn't realize just how much I had missed nursing a baby. It was wonderful.
The day turned into night and around midnight the nurse came to take Camden for his hearing test. He had been having some issues with spitting up and making a little gagging sound, so I asked about it. She told me that because Camden was born so quickly and with little to no time to get the mucus in his lungs squeezed out, he was spitting up as a way to rid if from his system.
Camden was gone for a while, so Les and I tried to sleep. Finally, they came back in with him and told me he had passed.
The next morning, I got up early and got dressed to go home. We had to stay for 24 hours to have Camden's PKU test, but then after that, we were going to be discharged. Camden's doctor came in to check him over and gave him his release around 8am. My doctor made his rounds at 9 and said we were good to go.
At noon, they did Camden's heel stick and then got him settled into his car seat for that to be checked. We gathered our things and headed down to the car. It was a cold day, but sunny. Camden didn't particularly care for his car seat at first, but ended up falling asleep on the way home.
Looking back on this experience, I continue to feel blessed that things went so well. The pregnancy had not been what I had expected, in that it was filled with some not-so-great times in our life, but in the end it was all worth it. We came home with yet another of God's little miracles.
