I went to my midwife appointment on the 9th for a non stress test (I was 41 weeks). DH wasn’t able to come with me, so I was in charge of DS at this appointment. This didn’t work out well because he was very fussy and clingy and insisted on being on the table with me. He knocked the equipment off a couple times, so we realized that I was going to have to come back later and redo it. DH was able to step away from work a couple hours later and we went in again for the non stress test. The baby wasn’t reacting like the midwife would have liked, so she sent me to have an ultrasound done. At the ultrasound we discovered that I had very low amniotic fluid (5 centimeters is considered low, I had 2 centimeters). So, they told me I needed to go to the hospital to have another non stress test done and another ultrasound. We dashed home to finish packing our bags and jumped in the car for the hospital. When we got to the hospital, they hooked me up to the machine for the non stress test and sent in an expert to do the ultrasound. She confirmed that I did indeed have very low fluid and that while the baby was doing ok, it was not favorable for her to stay in that environment for much longer. I had been hoping to be sent home, but learned at that time that I was checking in and not leaving without a baby. We had already called our families and they were already on their ways.
My midwife showed up and said that she had submitted my case to the on call doctors and was hoping to be able to go forth with using a foley balloon on my cervix. The hope was it would begin labor and help my cervix dilate. The doctors wanted me to try an OCT (oxytocin contraction test) to see how the baby would react to contractions. They understood my desire to have a vaginal birth and wanted to help me achieve this. The test would require the use of the lowest dose of pitocin (something that concerned me with my prior cesarean history). After consulting with my midwife and doula, we decided it would be the best course of action and the only way for me to avoid surgery. I had the OCT and after three contractions, it was determined that the baby was handling contractions fine, so the midwife inserted the foley balloon. My body took over and I began having very regular contractions. After about an hour or so, they were coming about every two minutes. They were also increasing in intensity and duration. I really began to wish that they were spaced further apart.
After about four hours of contractions, the baby’s heart rate plummeted. I didn’t realize it was happening at the time because I was so out of it. My doula immediately jumped up and so did DH. The nurse rushed into the room and they started making me rotate to different sides to try to get the heart rate to come back up. After about three minutes, the heart rate started to slowly come back up, but never reached its former rate. The midwife showed up and called the team of on-call doctors. They came in immediately and reviewed what was going on. I was told that I could refuse a c-section, but they wouldn’t advise it. I agreed with them as the baby’s heart rate still hadn’t resumed its normal rate.
I was immediately put on oxygen and taken to the operating room. They gave me some medicine in my IV so that I could relax during contractions while they were putting in my spinal (I remember thinking while being wheeled to the operating room that the contractions could go ahead and stop now!). The one thing that makes me mad (and my only negative experience) is the person whom I was leaning against while getting the spinal told me “you know, this would have been a lot easier if you would have just gone ahead and gotten an epidural”. What an idiot! The spinal started to take affect quickly and I was numb from the chest down before I knew it. I was still really stressed out and very very scared but just trying to keep it together. This is exactly what I didn’t want to happen, but knew that having a healthy baby at the end was the most important thing. They cut me open (I remember smelling burning – I guess they used a laser) and then led DH in. I felt relieved that the situation wasn’t so dire that I had to be knocked out and without DH.
One thing that was noted before the situation became critical was that the baby appeared to be moving up during labor instead of down. This proved to be true when the doctors tried to get the baby out. It took a good 15 minutes of a LOT of pressure, pushing, pulling, etc. to get the baby out of me. It was very nerve-wracking. I was afraid I was going to end up with a vertical cut. At this point, I just wanted the baby out of me and in my arms. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, I heard the little cry I had been waiting for – what a relief! They had DH go over to see the baby and he came back and told me we have a little girl! Ivy Colleen arrived on May 10, 2007 at 1:15am. She weighed 7 pounds 11 ounces and measured 20 ½ inches long. Her cry sounded so strange – it was loud, but it sounded truncated and like a kitten meowing. After a little while, the pediatric doctor came over and told me they were evaluating her because her cry was a little off and they suspected she either had fluid in her lungs or a piece of mucous. After a few more minutes, they decided to take her to NICU for observation to be on the safe side (but assured me she was fine and they were just being overly cautious). DH decided to stay with me. I was torn – I wanted him to go with the baby, but I felt super vulnerable at the time.
It took about 45 more minutes to close me up and take me to my recovery room. One thing I really like about our hospital is the recovery room for c-sections is the same as for vaginal births. I was able to have all my family with me while I recovered and waited for Ivy to come to me. I was still totally numb (I detest that feeling) and having uncontrollable shakes, but was just so relieved that everything was over and that Ivy was going to be ok. About an hour later they brought her to me – it was just fluid in her lungs (a common side affect for a c-section baby). Me and my doula kicked the family out of the room and got her latched right on and she has been nursing ever since!
I was able to get discharged from the hospital a day early since I was feeling so good. We just wanted to get back to DS – we were missing him horribly. But, when we got home, we discovered that he had been throwing up and having diarrhea. Apparently he contracted a virus from somewhere over the last week (there is one going around). He is getting better and not ejecting body fluids as much, but he is still feeling pretty crummy. He is also feeling very clingy, so we are spending a lot of time just me, him and Ivy sitting on the couch together. So far Ivy is not showing signs of the illness and we are hoping that the breastmilk will keep her safe and sound. We are all in love with her – she is perfect!
My midwife showed up and said that she had submitted my case to the on call doctors and was hoping to be able to go forth with using a foley balloon on my cervix. The hope was it would begin labor and help my cervix dilate. The doctors wanted me to try an OCT (oxytocin contraction test) to see how the baby would react to contractions. They understood my desire to have a vaginal birth and wanted to help me achieve this. The test would require the use of the lowest dose of pitocin (something that concerned me with my prior cesarean history). After consulting with my midwife and doula, we decided it would be the best course of action and the only way for me to avoid surgery. I had the OCT and after three contractions, it was determined that the baby was handling contractions fine, so the midwife inserted the foley balloon. My body took over and I began having very regular contractions. After about an hour or so, they were coming about every two minutes. They were also increasing in intensity and duration. I really began to wish that they were spaced further apart.
After about four hours of contractions, the baby’s heart rate plummeted. I didn’t realize it was happening at the time because I was so out of it. My doula immediately jumped up and so did DH. The nurse rushed into the room and they started making me rotate to different sides to try to get the heart rate to come back up. After about three minutes, the heart rate started to slowly come back up, but never reached its former rate. The midwife showed up and called the team of on-call doctors. They came in immediately and reviewed what was going on. I was told that I could refuse a c-section, but they wouldn’t advise it. I agreed with them as the baby’s heart rate still hadn’t resumed its normal rate.
I was immediately put on oxygen and taken to the operating room. They gave me some medicine in my IV so that I could relax during contractions while they were putting in my spinal (I remember thinking while being wheeled to the operating room that the contractions could go ahead and stop now!). The one thing that makes me mad (and my only negative experience) is the person whom I was leaning against while getting the spinal told me “you know, this would have been a lot easier if you would have just gone ahead and gotten an epidural”. What an idiot! The spinal started to take affect quickly and I was numb from the chest down before I knew it. I was still really stressed out and very very scared but just trying to keep it together. This is exactly what I didn’t want to happen, but knew that having a healthy baby at the end was the most important thing. They cut me open (I remember smelling burning – I guess they used a laser) and then led DH in. I felt relieved that the situation wasn’t so dire that I had to be knocked out and without DH.
One thing that was noted before the situation became critical was that the baby appeared to be moving up during labor instead of down. This proved to be true when the doctors tried to get the baby out. It took a good 15 minutes of a LOT of pressure, pushing, pulling, etc. to get the baby out of me. It was very nerve-wracking. I was afraid I was going to end up with a vertical cut. At this point, I just wanted the baby out of me and in my arms. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, I heard the little cry I had been waiting for – what a relief! They had DH go over to see the baby and he came back and told me we have a little girl! Ivy Colleen arrived on May 10, 2007 at 1:15am. She weighed 7 pounds 11 ounces and measured 20 ½ inches long. Her cry sounded so strange – it was loud, but it sounded truncated and like a kitten meowing. After a little while, the pediatric doctor came over and told me they were evaluating her because her cry was a little off and they suspected she either had fluid in her lungs or a piece of mucous. After a few more minutes, they decided to take her to NICU for observation to be on the safe side (but assured me she was fine and they were just being overly cautious). DH decided to stay with me. I was torn – I wanted him to go with the baby, but I felt super vulnerable at the time.
It took about 45 more minutes to close me up and take me to my recovery room. One thing I really like about our hospital is the recovery room for c-sections is the same as for vaginal births. I was able to have all my family with me while I recovered and waited for Ivy to come to me. I was still totally numb (I detest that feeling) and having uncontrollable shakes, but was just so relieved that everything was over and that Ivy was going to be ok. About an hour later they brought her to me – it was just fluid in her lungs (a common side affect for a c-section baby). Me and my doula kicked the family out of the room and got her latched right on and she has been nursing ever since!
I was able to get discharged from the hospital a day early since I was feeling so good. We just wanted to get back to DS – we were missing him horribly. But, when we got home, we discovered that he had been throwing up and having diarrhea. Apparently he contracted a virus from somewhere over the last week (there is one going around). He is getting better and not ejecting body fluids as much, but he is still feeling pretty crummy. He is also feeling very clingy, so we are spending a lot of time just me, him and Ivy sitting on the couch together. So far Ivy is not showing signs of the illness and we are hoping that the breastmilk will keep her safe and sound. We are all in love with her – she is perfect!
