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I don't normally post, but I thought my birth story might be of interest to some of you. I could also use a bit of advice. And I am trying to type while holding my 4 day old daughter.
Short story - this was my 7th pregnancy, after three UCs and three miscarriages. It's been a tough pregnancy, with a lot of early bleeding. I found a local midwifery firm to do a "non-diagnostic" ultrasound at 24 weeks to rule out twins. They could only find one. As I run a small store and am constantly with lots of people, there was lots of remarks about my size. In hindsight, I probably should have tried to get another ultrasound.
I'd been having gentle prelabor for about a month, when I decided last Sunday that this was the real thing. Once we got home, though, it wasn't really progressing, and I felt comfortable enough to go to bed. Slept for about two hours, finally got up again around 2:30, clearly in active labor. Since my labors are always long affairs, I decided to let my husband sleep, and headed downstairs to turn on some labor music.
About 45 minutes later, surprised that I was being awfully vocal already, I sat down on the toilet and my water broke. I reached down and caught a small butt, with two legs to quickly follow. One more push and my daughter was out, pink and crying. Yelling for my bewildered husband, I headed to our living room. Easiest birth ever - and I caught her! I was ecstatic.
Within a few minutes, she latched on. As they usually are expelled fairly quickly, I was a bit surprised that my placenta didn't arrive. An hour passed, then an hour an a half and the afterpains I thought I was feeling magnified. Finally, again on the toilet, I tried pushing a little and something popped and lots of clear fluid poured out. Starting to worry a bit, I reached up and felt another butt, then legs slipped out. And then stopped. I screamed for my husband that there was another baby. I tried again to push his head out, but nothing happened. I changed positions, while my husband called 911, and tried pushing again. The 911 operator told my husband that I needed to be on my back, which was completely unhelpful. After another push did nothing, he reached inside and slid a stuck arm down, and the baby finally slid out. I didn't know this is what he did till days later - how he had the wherewithall to do that, with me screaming, is beyond me. He is amazing, in my book.
My son was not breathing, and not responsive, but was pink and looked good. I started rescue breathing - and the paramedics arrived. Literally, I think it was no more than 10 minutes from the time we realized we had another baby coming and their arrival. They immediately got a heartbeat, and intubated him. They somehow talked me into getting on a stretcher, after I delivered that single placenta, and lots of blood. I didn't know it, but they also manged to get my husband to hand over our daughter to them, who arrived at the hospital sometime after me. They decided to medivac my son, although he also arrived after me.
They shipped me to labor and delivery, who about freaked at the amount of blood. I tried explaining that I just need to walk around and release the clots and I would be okay, but they tried massaging my uterus (I about lost it; that was excruciating!) and insisted on a pelvic exam to check my cervix. All was fine, other than their concern about the blood loss. I signed myself out AMA. Meanwhile, my husband and other children had been reunited with our new daughter. It was over an hour till they could tell us anything about our son.
Finally, they allowed us upstairs to NICU. This has to be one of the worst experiences - so see your newborn covered in tubes, on a ventilator, unresponsive. We were grateful that he was stable, at least.
Over the next day, he became much more responsive, and the intubation tube was removed. Because of "possible seizure activity", he had been placed on phenobarbital, and had to wear a cooling cap till yesterday. All blood tests have come back stellar - to our knowledge, all major organs are functioning well. Today - day 4 - after nearly losing it completely in the NICU nursery after the attending told me we couldn't start nursing because he wants to use a bottle first - I finally got to hold him. They will be conducting an EEG in the morning. And an MRI on Monday. I am concerned that he seems very groggy. When he is awake, he will follow you intently, and grasp your hand, but he doesn't cry or exhibit many other facial expressions.
Maybe it's because I am 4 days postpartum, but I have been near (or in) tears all day. Holding our new son didn't help at all, considering his head's all mishapen from lying still on his back for days, and he looks very puffy from all of the fluids they've been giving him. I just want him home, but really I just want a second healthy newborn, and I am terrified about what is going on.
April
Short story - this was my 7th pregnancy, after three UCs and three miscarriages. It's been a tough pregnancy, with a lot of early bleeding. I found a local midwifery firm to do a "non-diagnostic" ultrasound at 24 weeks to rule out twins. They could only find one. As I run a small store and am constantly with lots of people, there was lots of remarks about my size. In hindsight, I probably should have tried to get another ultrasound.
I'd been having gentle prelabor for about a month, when I decided last Sunday that this was the real thing. Once we got home, though, it wasn't really progressing, and I felt comfortable enough to go to bed. Slept for about two hours, finally got up again around 2:30, clearly in active labor. Since my labors are always long affairs, I decided to let my husband sleep, and headed downstairs to turn on some labor music.
About 45 minutes later, surprised that I was being awfully vocal already, I sat down on the toilet and my water broke. I reached down and caught a small butt, with two legs to quickly follow. One more push and my daughter was out, pink and crying. Yelling for my bewildered husband, I headed to our living room. Easiest birth ever - and I caught her! I was ecstatic.
Within a few minutes, she latched on. As they usually are expelled fairly quickly, I was a bit surprised that my placenta didn't arrive. An hour passed, then an hour an a half and the afterpains I thought I was feeling magnified. Finally, again on the toilet, I tried pushing a little and something popped and lots of clear fluid poured out. Starting to worry a bit, I reached up and felt another butt, then legs slipped out. And then stopped. I screamed for my husband that there was another baby. I tried again to push his head out, but nothing happened. I changed positions, while my husband called 911, and tried pushing again. The 911 operator told my husband that I needed to be on my back, which was completely unhelpful. After another push did nothing, he reached inside and slid a stuck arm down, and the baby finally slid out. I didn't know this is what he did till days later - how he had the wherewithall to do that, with me screaming, is beyond me. He is amazing, in my book.
My son was not breathing, and not responsive, but was pink and looked good. I started rescue breathing - and the paramedics arrived. Literally, I think it was no more than 10 minutes from the time we realized we had another baby coming and their arrival. They immediately got a heartbeat, and intubated him. They somehow talked me into getting on a stretcher, after I delivered that single placenta, and lots of blood. I didn't know it, but they also manged to get my husband to hand over our daughter to them, who arrived at the hospital sometime after me. They decided to medivac my son, although he also arrived after me.
They shipped me to labor and delivery, who about freaked at the amount of blood. I tried explaining that I just need to walk around and release the clots and I would be okay, but they tried massaging my uterus (I about lost it; that was excruciating!) and insisted on a pelvic exam to check my cervix. All was fine, other than their concern about the blood loss. I signed myself out AMA. Meanwhile, my husband and other children had been reunited with our new daughter. It was over an hour till they could tell us anything about our son.
Finally, they allowed us upstairs to NICU. This has to be one of the worst experiences - so see your newborn covered in tubes, on a ventilator, unresponsive. We were grateful that he was stable, at least.
Over the next day, he became much more responsive, and the intubation tube was removed. Because of "possible seizure activity", he had been placed on phenobarbital, and had to wear a cooling cap till yesterday. All blood tests have come back stellar - to our knowledge, all major organs are functioning well. Today - day 4 - after nearly losing it completely in the NICU nursery after the attending told me we couldn't start nursing because he wants to use a bottle first - I finally got to hold him. They will be conducting an EEG in the morning. And an MRI on Monday. I am concerned that he seems very groggy. When he is awake, he will follow you intently, and grasp your hand, but he doesn't cry or exhibit many other facial expressions.
Maybe it's because I am 4 days postpartum, but I have been near (or in) tears all day. Holding our new son didn't help at all, considering his head's all mishapen from lying still on his back for days, and he looks very puffy from all of the fluids they've been giving him. I just want him home, but really I just want a second healthy newborn, and I am terrified about what is going on.
April
