Saturday morning Feb, 23, I woke with a headache, so I took my blood pressure which was a little high, but considering I was a week overdue I thought I should pay attention to it. I told DH and we decided to do some walking and go for lunch to relax me and to hopefully get something started.
We went for lunch and it was yummy and I swore I could feel some contractions starting, they were slightly painful and tight!
Then we went to Whole Foods which might be my favourite store ever, but I had no energy and my head was throbbing, so we got the basics and left. When we got home I checked my bp again and it was still highish. I called my midwife and she told me to call the hospital, and they told me to come in for observation.
When I got to the hospital they sent me to be observed and my bp had dropped, they did blood tests and pee tests and ruled out pre eclampsia and said it wasn't PIH. Then the doctor did an ultrasound to check her amniotic levels and there was none so I was admitted for an induction. (I learned that a low level is 8 ccs of fluid in various pockets in your uterus, I had 1, they were rather worried)
When I was in the amazingly nice birthing suite I was given the options of several inductions methods, chemical and more "natural", luckily my midwife was there and she could explain them to me. Eventually I decided on a foley catheder induction, which was great for me. It was mostly painless and had me from 1 cm to 4.5 in under 20 minutes.
Then the doctors came in and said I could wait to see if I went into labour on my own or start with pit. At this point we had already been waiting for a doctor to check my dilation (it's a teaching hospital, the doctors check, not the nurses), after the catheder fell out I had really sporatic small contractions, so it was determined that pit was a good choice, and I started with a low dose, which was increased soon after because I figured if I'm going to get going, might as well get going now.
Soon I was having regular, strong contractions. DH called my doula and we had a great time chatting and whatnot between the contractions until I had to stay silent for them. Even then I was able to control myself and manage the pain.
Things continued to progress and I was labouring more and more loudly as time passed. The pain was intense, but I don't much remember it. I know I loved my birth ball and having pressure on my hips. Again a doctor came to check me and I had made no progress. My doula explained that it was okay and I could make all of the progress quickly. So we slogged on and my contractions became more and more intense, I started to feel really nauseas, and started needing to keep a bucket near me. Eventually I puked and I was happy because that meant I could be close, according to stuff I remember reading. Then the attending OB came in to check me and I had made no progress and the baby's heart was decelerating a lot with each contraction.
The doctor knew I wanted a natural birth so he decided to try to add fluid into my uterus, but they would need to monitor me more closly and the baby, so I got 2 internal monitors, one for my contractions and one for the baby. (I was not happy about this) Then he realized that the one for my contractions wasn't placed right and had to do it again, and in the process ripped the one off of the baby, so both had to be replaced. I remember it to be painful.
After it was all sorted the fluid was added to give the baby a buffer and help her deal with my contractions. I was greatful because I thought it would make the labouring easier and let me have a natural birth. However what sucked was that I couldn't move off of my side, so I couldn't be in a position that helped me deal with the pain, and the double peaking contractions. It was now that I started to panic and begged my DH to do something. I didn't want to have an epidural, but I felt so out of control. Luckily I had am amazing doula and she helped me though them. Between her encouraging me and helping me to find my centre, and my DH telling me how proud he was of me and how much he loved me I was able to manage better.
But then the doctor told us that the baby was still in distress and that I needed a c-section. He kept talking to me, telling me the risks of not having one and risks of the surgery and on and on, while I was having a contraction. My doula and DH finally put themselves between him and me to let me deal with the grief and contractions. At this point I remember totally losing my composure and wailing, I cried so hard and screamed through each contraction. Finally I was given some drug to stop the contractions and I was sent off to the OR.
Getting the spinal was strange, and luckily for me I had several contractions (which were manageable) while it was being administered.
After it was done, I had all of the typical things done, and my baby was born.
Later the doctor told me that he saw why she wasn't dropping and why I wasn't progressing. My placenta had a scar all of the way around it, making the outter 25% of it useless, her cord was wrapped around her neck and body, and was full of tiny, tightly coiled veins. All of this combined with no amnotic fluid caused her to get stressed in labour. He explained that she most likely wouldn't have survived a vaginal birth.
I'm happy that she's here and that she's okay. It scares me to think about the 'what ifs'. Like what if I hadn't gone in to the hospital because I had a headache and I didn't get the ultrasound? What if I waited until Wednesday for my OB appointment? It scares me so much.
I'm still trying to decide if this birth was traumatic. I want to say no and be positive, but it was hard. I had so many things pop up that I had to deal with all at once, it was really hard. The hardest thing I've ever done. However I am proud of myself, I did make it though it, and I have the prettiest baby to show for it.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?ai...0&id=515513940
We went for lunch and it was yummy and I swore I could feel some contractions starting, they were slightly painful and tight!
Then we went to Whole Foods which might be my favourite store ever, but I had no energy and my head was throbbing, so we got the basics and left. When we got home I checked my bp again and it was still highish. I called my midwife and she told me to call the hospital, and they told me to come in for observation.
When I got to the hospital they sent me to be observed and my bp had dropped, they did blood tests and pee tests and ruled out pre eclampsia and said it wasn't PIH. Then the doctor did an ultrasound to check her amniotic levels and there was none so I was admitted for an induction. (I learned that a low level is 8 ccs of fluid in various pockets in your uterus, I had 1, they were rather worried)
When I was in the amazingly nice birthing suite I was given the options of several inductions methods, chemical and more "natural", luckily my midwife was there and she could explain them to me. Eventually I decided on a foley catheder induction, which was great for me. It was mostly painless and had me from 1 cm to 4.5 in under 20 minutes.
Then the doctors came in and said I could wait to see if I went into labour on my own or start with pit. At this point we had already been waiting for a doctor to check my dilation (it's a teaching hospital, the doctors check, not the nurses), after the catheder fell out I had really sporatic small contractions, so it was determined that pit was a good choice, and I started with a low dose, which was increased soon after because I figured if I'm going to get going, might as well get going now.
Soon I was having regular, strong contractions. DH called my doula and we had a great time chatting and whatnot between the contractions until I had to stay silent for them. Even then I was able to control myself and manage the pain.
Things continued to progress and I was labouring more and more loudly as time passed. The pain was intense, but I don't much remember it. I know I loved my birth ball and having pressure on my hips. Again a doctor came to check me and I had made no progress. My doula explained that it was okay and I could make all of the progress quickly. So we slogged on and my contractions became more and more intense, I started to feel really nauseas, and started needing to keep a bucket near me. Eventually I puked and I was happy because that meant I could be close, according to stuff I remember reading. Then the attending OB came in to check me and I had made no progress and the baby's heart was decelerating a lot with each contraction.
The doctor knew I wanted a natural birth so he decided to try to add fluid into my uterus, but they would need to monitor me more closly and the baby, so I got 2 internal monitors, one for my contractions and one for the baby. (I was not happy about this) Then he realized that the one for my contractions wasn't placed right and had to do it again, and in the process ripped the one off of the baby, so both had to be replaced. I remember it to be painful.
After it was all sorted the fluid was added to give the baby a buffer and help her deal with my contractions. I was greatful because I thought it would make the labouring easier and let me have a natural birth. However what sucked was that I couldn't move off of my side, so I couldn't be in a position that helped me deal with the pain, and the double peaking contractions. It was now that I started to panic and begged my DH to do something. I didn't want to have an epidural, but I felt so out of control. Luckily I had am amazing doula and she helped me though them. Between her encouraging me and helping me to find my centre, and my DH telling me how proud he was of me and how much he loved me I was able to manage better.
But then the doctor told us that the baby was still in distress and that I needed a c-section. He kept talking to me, telling me the risks of not having one and risks of the surgery and on and on, while I was having a contraction. My doula and DH finally put themselves between him and me to let me deal with the grief and contractions. At this point I remember totally losing my composure and wailing, I cried so hard and screamed through each contraction. Finally I was given some drug to stop the contractions and I was sent off to the OR.
Getting the spinal was strange, and luckily for me I had several contractions (which were manageable) while it was being administered.
After it was done, I had all of the typical things done, and my baby was born.
Later the doctor told me that he saw why she wasn't dropping and why I wasn't progressing. My placenta had a scar all of the way around it, making the outter 25% of it useless, her cord was wrapped around her neck and body, and was full of tiny, tightly coiled veins. All of this combined with no amnotic fluid caused her to get stressed in labour. He explained that she most likely wouldn't have survived a vaginal birth.
I'm happy that she's here and that she's okay. It scares me to think about the 'what ifs'. Like what if I hadn't gone in to the hospital because I had a headache and I didn't get the ultrasound? What if I waited until Wednesday for my OB appointment? It scares me so much.
I'm still trying to decide if this birth was traumatic. I want to say no and be positive, but it was hard. I had so many things pop up that I had to deal with all at once, it was really hard. The hardest thing I've ever done. However I am proud of myself, I did make it though it, and I have the prettiest baby to show for it.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?ai...0&id=515513940
your girl is so beautiful! and yes VERY expressive 
I love the pic of you and her snuggling together. you looked so happy 
