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Little Ella FINALLY makes her debut...

832 views 9 replies 8 participants last post by  Surfacing 
#1 ·
Ella Kathleen Wade born last friday July 30 at 5:32 pm weighing 7.2 oz and 20 in. She was born at 42 weeks via induction and we are completely in love with her!!!!!


As many of you know from the "still waiting" thread, the last 2 weeks of prodromal labor was really hard on me. Constant painful contractions that never turned into anything was more than frustrating. At 42 weeks my doc wouldn't let me go any longer and offered a foley catheter as a last ditch effort to make me go into labor on my own, as I did NOT want Pitocin. I was 1.5 cm when I went to the office on Thursday. They put it in and I was immediately in SEVERE pain, I mean contractions on top of each other so bad that I couldn't breathe or catch a breath in between them. I guess this does not happen to everyone because another woman in the office was scheduled for an induction the next morning like me and she was 42w and getting the foley too. Anyway, she walked out of there like everything was cool.... and I was sobbing hysterically and had to have dh come get me from the doc bc if I had driven I would have had an accident for sure. They told me that happens sometimes for 1-2 hours after the catheter and to either go home and take a bath with a glass of wine, or check into the hospital which was right across the street. I opted to go home because I would rather labor at home anyway, and she said most people sleep with the catheter so, this is what I did. After I get out of the bath, blood was dripping out of the catheter and all over the floor, this I cannot handle. 3 hours later contractions are severe and 3 min apart. Still crying from that foley....damn that thing hurt so bad!!!! So, Wade and I go to the hospital and I have my doula come and meet us bc I'm thinking "this is it". They take out the foley after only 3 hours and I'm 6cm. No wonder I was in so much pain! That thing stretched me from 1.5 to 6 in such a short period. 8 hours later, contractions slow to 5-7 and then 10 min apart. Again with the contractions resulting in no labor. They offer to start my pit at 2 am and I decline. 9 hours of hard labor was too exhausting for me. I needed to sleep. I sent my doula home and told her to come back at 8.

This is where it gets really hard for me. This is my first baby, and I have always dreamed of natural childbirth. I had an easy uncomplicated pregnancy so I never dreamed of being in this position. However, having many friends with children who have had and not had pit. induced births, I had decided that I was not going to fight the pitocin pain. If I had to get induced I was going with the epidural. Well that's not exactly how it went.

My midwife offered to start pit and turn it off after a while to see if my body "caught on" and kept going on it's own. I think we know how that went. As soon as she turned it down I stopped contracting. I kept going as long as I could but the pain was unbearable. I mean I was literally clawing at dh's chest screaming "HELP ME!!!!!!" The finally called the anesthesiologist at 7 cm to administer the ep. I have never felt so relieved and so disappointed at the same time. I was mad at myself for not being able to handle the pain, but so happy to be out of it as well.

The next 2 hours were easy breezy. We just hung out and talked until it was time to push. because I couldn't feel her coming down they didn't have me push until her hair was showing. I pushed maybe 5 times and there she was! All I could do was look at her and cry. I know we all feel the same, and people have babies every day. But when it's you, it's amazing!!!! I cannot stop looking at our little angel. She's happy and healthy. We got off to a rough start with the breastfeeding leaving me with scabbed and sore nips,
but I had a LC come out and we're getting it now. This has been the most beautiful and exhausting week of my life!

I'm so happy but can't help but feel disappointed in my birth process. I know that I did everything I could to start labor naturally, and I'm trying not to be sad about it, knwim? I guess birth is unpredictable, and we can only plan our own labors so much. But at the end of the day, we have a beautiful healthy baby and could not be happier!
 
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#4 ·
Congratulations!!


I know how you feel about not wanting an induced birth, but it sounds like you did the absolute best you could with the hand you were dealt, and had a wonderful outcome! Try not to be disappointed -- it sounds like your baby is doing great!
Wonderful news, really!
 
#5 ·
Congratulations, mama!!!!!!
I hope you are very proud of yourself, you should be. You have every right to be disappointed that things didn't go as you dreamed they would but you also have every right to be so proud of yourself for working as hard as you did to have a natural birth AND for doing what you felt in your heart was best for you and your babe. And now she's here! Finally! Isn't that moment of birth absolutely indescribable?!
 
#7 ·
Back again...

Quote:
I'm so happy but can't help but feel disappointed in my birth process. I know that I did everything I could to start labor naturally, and I'm trying not to be sad about it, knwim? I guess birth is unpredictable, and we can only plan our own labors so much. But at the end of the day, we have a beautiful healthy baby and could not be happier!
Please don't feel disappointed mama!!! You said you did everything you could...that is the key! If you gave the effort for the birth you dreamed of 100% then there's no option for failure
The bottom line is your last sentence right there...a beautiful happy baby (and a healthy mama!!). Wish I could give you a big hug
Every birth is different, magical, amazing in its own way. I'm the biggest proponent of natural birth with no intervention, and I'm happy to congratulate you on a WONDERFUL outcome from what sounds like a transformational birth experience. Don't let anyone, including yourself, doubt that what you did was anything less than someone else's birth experience.

I'm so happy for you, I've been watching and waiting for this very update from you! The "Still Waiting Thread" stands behind you
 
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