Hey June Mamas!!
I have missed you all in the last week or so since I posted. As you may have already guessed, I had the babe! He was born on Tuesday, June 14th at 10:47 p.m. checking in at a hefty 9 lbs, 7 oz & 21.5 inches, in what turned out to be quite a whirlwind event. On Monday the 13th, I went in for my second NST, at which time they also did an ultrasound to check the amniotic fluid levels. It showed only one small pocket of fluid a good bit below the level they consider safe (they want to see at least 5 inches of fluid in there; I had 3.58 inches), and my midwife told me she wanted me in the hospital that afternoon to start inducing because when she checked me, I was no more effaced or dilated than I had been at my appointment the previous Thursday. She couldn't even sweep my membranes due to how thick and closed I was.
You can imagine how upset we were, because I had been dreading induction, and suddenly we were being told we really didn't have a choice if I wanted my baby to be safe, and I had a few hours to get myself together. To her credit, my m/w did tell us to go home and do everything we could think of naturally to get the labor going so that we could avoid drugs if at all possible. So we went to see the acupuncturist one more time, I upped my dosage of matrigin to help the cervix to ripen, I started black cohosh tincture, I used my breast pump like crazy, and I did castor oil compresses (I may be forgetting something here, but you get the picture). By the time I got to the hospital at 6:00 that evening, my cervix had thinned a bit more (from 50% to 70%), but still no dilation. The m/w said she was willing to wait until 10:00 p.m., but if things were still going as slowly at that point, she wanted to do something. We decided if it came to that, we would start with cervidil and give it the standard 12 hours to get labor going (she suggested cytotec, but I was NOT about to go down that road).
By 6:30 a.m. the next morning, my surges were definitely stronger and more regular, and it seemed labor had finally begun. My doula came back (she had gone home to sleep), my MIL came over (she had flown in the night before), and we all started walking all over the hospital as we had the night before and continued some of the natural efforts of the previous night (cohosh, etc.). Things did pick up some and I did start to dilate. I was having strong back labor and my surges were very consistent. But around 2:00 p.m. or so, everything stalled, and I was stuck at 2.5 cm. So then I heard those dreaded words--we're going to have to use pitocin. I felt like my biggest fear was about to materialize--I was going to get a pitocin drip, have labor from hell, beg for an epidural, and not have the waterbirth I had been dreaming about for 9 months. I shared this with my m/w, and even though she said she really understood where I was coming from, she really felt the baby's and my health were most important. She also said (and I will be grateful to her for this forever) that I was not giving myself enough credit and that watching me labor all day, she knew I was stronger than I realized, and the pitocin did not necessarily have to be the kiss of death to my birth plan. I finally went ahead and consented to the pitocin. Labor picked up intensely, but it was manageable, especially with the support of my husband, doula, and MIL.
As the pain of my surges began to intensify, so did the back labor, and I asked to be injected with the little water globules in my lower back. They gave me relief for a good hour---totally worth it! Then when things intensifed again a little later, I asked for a TENS unit, and it basically got me through to the point when things had FINALLY gotten far enough along that I could get in the tub. I was about 5/6 cm at that point, and the m/w also did break my water bag at that point in case there was meconium (we would not have been able to do the birth in the tub had there been mec in the fluid, again b/c of baby's health). The fluid was clear, we moved into the tub, which was delicious, and then things got going for real and before I knew it, I was pushing out my perfect baby boy.
He had a hand up by his shoulder, so after I got the head out and they figured out why the shoulders weren't coming, I had to stand up out of the water (w/ a head hanging out between my legs--hello!!!) and brace myself against the side of the tub so the m/w could get hold of the little guy, and then he slid right out. It was by far the most incredible experience of my life. They put him right on my belly, but then my MIL cut the cord pretty quickly (my husband was too busy holding me and the baby and said he didn't care about cutting it), because since there had been a bit of a delay between the baby's head and the rest of him coming out, he didn't cry right away and they wanted to take him to stimulate him. I then delivered my placenta quite quickly, and we all headed back to the room. I had lost a good bit of blood, so the m/w was checking me to make sure everything was okay--it was--and I had to get a few stitches (the hand by the shoulders created a couple of tears and a skid mark).
I have not been able to post until this point (I am impressed with those of you who posted so soon after your births!) because Jean-Luc is such an avid nurser (my milk came in after 36 hours), and I don't get much sleep or time to myself. I'm slowly coming back to my senses, though, and feeling more than ready to reconnect with the world.
Here are some pictures of us:
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y27...educedsize.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y27...educedsize.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y27...educedsize.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y27...educedsize.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y27...educedsize.jpg
I have missed you all in the last week or so since I posted. As you may have already guessed, I had the babe! He was born on Tuesday, June 14th at 10:47 p.m. checking in at a hefty 9 lbs, 7 oz & 21.5 inches, in what turned out to be quite a whirlwind event. On Monday the 13th, I went in for my second NST, at which time they also did an ultrasound to check the amniotic fluid levels. It showed only one small pocket of fluid a good bit below the level they consider safe (they want to see at least 5 inches of fluid in there; I had 3.58 inches), and my midwife told me she wanted me in the hospital that afternoon to start inducing because when she checked me, I was no more effaced or dilated than I had been at my appointment the previous Thursday. She couldn't even sweep my membranes due to how thick and closed I was.
You can imagine how upset we were, because I had been dreading induction, and suddenly we were being told we really didn't have a choice if I wanted my baby to be safe, and I had a few hours to get myself together. To her credit, my m/w did tell us to go home and do everything we could think of naturally to get the labor going so that we could avoid drugs if at all possible. So we went to see the acupuncturist one more time, I upped my dosage of matrigin to help the cervix to ripen, I started black cohosh tincture, I used my breast pump like crazy, and I did castor oil compresses (I may be forgetting something here, but you get the picture). By the time I got to the hospital at 6:00 that evening, my cervix had thinned a bit more (from 50% to 70%), but still no dilation. The m/w said she was willing to wait until 10:00 p.m., but if things were still going as slowly at that point, she wanted to do something. We decided if it came to that, we would start with cervidil and give it the standard 12 hours to get labor going (she suggested cytotec, but I was NOT about to go down that road).
By 6:30 a.m. the next morning, my surges were definitely stronger and more regular, and it seemed labor had finally begun. My doula came back (she had gone home to sleep), my MIL came over (she had flown in the night before), and we all started walking all over the hospital as we had the night before and continued some of the natural efforts of the previous night (cohosh, etc.). Things did pick up some and I did start to dilate. I was having strong back labor and my surges were very consistent. But around 2:00 p.m. or so, everything stalled, and I was stuck at 2.5 cm. So then I heard those dreaded words--we're going to have to use pitocin. I felt like my biggest fear was about to materialize--I was going to get a pitocin drip, have labor from hell, beg for an epidural, and not have the waterbirth I had been dreaming about for 9 months. I shared this with my m/w, and even though she said she really understood where I was coming from, she really felt the baby's and my health were most important. She also said (and I will be grateful to her for this forever) that I was not giving myself enough credit and that watching me labor all day, she knew I was stronger than I realized, and the pitocin did not necessarily have to be the kiss of death to my birth plan. I finally went ahead and consented to the pitocin. Labor picked up intensely, but it was manageable, especially with the support of my husband, doula, and MIL.
As the pain of my surges began to intensify, so did the back labor, and I asked to be injected with the little water globules in my lower back. They gave me relief for a good hour---totally worth it! Then when things intensifed again a little later, I asked for a TENS unit, and it basically got me through to the point when things had FINALLY gotten far enough along that I could get in the tub. I was about 5/6 cm at that point, and the m/w also did break my water bag at that point in case there was meconium (we would not have been able to do the birth in the tub had there been mec in the fluid, again b/c of baby's health). The fluid was clear, we moved into the tub, which was delicious, and then things got going for real and before I knew it, I was pushing out my perfect baby boy.
He had a hand up by his shoulder, so after I got the head out and they figured out why the shoulders weren't coming, I had to stand up out of the water (w/ a head hanging out between my legs--hello!!!) and brace myself against the side of the tub so the m/w could get hold of the little guy, and then he slid right out. It was by far the most incredible experience of my life. They put him right on my belly, but then my MIL cut the cord pretty quickly (my husband was too busy holding me and the baby and said he didn't care about cutting it), because since there had been a bit of a delay between the baby's head and the rest of him coming out, he didn't cry right away and they wanted to take him to stimulate him. I then delivered my placenta quite quickly, and we all headed back to the room. I had lost a good bit of blood, so the m/w was checking me to make sure everything was okay--it was--and I had to get a few stitches (the hand by the shoulders created a couple of tears and a skid mark).
I have not been able to post until this point (I am impressed with those of you who posted so soon after your births!) because Jean-Luc is such an avid nurser (my milk came in after 36 hours), and I don't get much sleep or time to myself. I'm slowly coming back to my senses, though, and feeling more than ready to reconnect with the world.
Here are some pictures of us:
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y27...educedsize.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y27...educedsize.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y27...educedsize.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y27...educedsize.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y27...educedsize.jpg
