10-11-2009 - Henry Patrick's birth story

My mood while writing this blog: peaceful

Henry Patrick's Birth Story

I never would have thought that this would have all started with what I thought was me peeing my pants. haha

The short version: My water broke on Sunday morning (we think), I went into the hospital at 9 PM. I had regular contractions but they weren't strong enough, so i had to be given pitocin at 1 AM on Monday. At 7:54 AM on Oct 26th, Henry was born. Ten days before his due date and 8 lb 7 oz, 21.5 inches long. He has my long fingers and alot of light blondish hair on his cone head hehe

The long version of the story for those who love all the details:

Sunday AM (Oct 25): All day I felt what I thought was a very leaky bladder. Mike & I debated off & on whether I should even call the Dr. I was afraid they'd want me to go in to be checked just to find out there was nothing the matter. Around dinner time we both decided that just in case i should get it checked out (since there is a risk of infection if you don't have the baby within a day or so of your water breaking). I called & they told me to come on into triage. The nurse got me all set up and the Dr. explained the procedure to check for a rupture of membranes. I was anticipating a not so fun pelvic exam, but when she pulled back the sheet she said, "we won't have to do this test your bag is grossly ruptured." haha Thanks. By this point I am 4 cm and having contractions about every 3 minutes, but they are not very strong. So they admit me and the game plan is set: get the antibiotics I need for GBS (which will take a full 8 hours to process) and then start walking. If we can get the contractions going then great, but if not, then we have to start pitocin. :(

Monday (Oct 26)

Midnight-4AM: By this point Mike, my mom and sister are with me. James is sleeping at home with my dad watching him. They give me an hour or so to walk around but my contractions don't get any stronger so the pitocin goes in around 1 AM. For about an hour I begin to feel them get stronger and stronger. After awhile they are too uncomfortable for me to walk so i get on the birth ball (since my water broke, my plan to try out the tub went out the window). By 2 AM they are soooo strong and incredibly painful. Mike is helping me breathe through them and my mom and sister take turns massaging my back, but it was the worst pain I have ever felt. Not only every contraction (which I swear came 1 right after the other), but even in the short breaks I felt a ton of pressure in my lower back and hips. So I broke down and requested the epidural. It took about an hr from when I requested it until the anesthesiologist got there, once it was in though I was so relieved! I did have some trouble with my blood pressure going down, so the nurse had to give me 3 doses of meds to bring it up and a butt load of IV fluids. After that i also had to keep an oxygen mask on because the nurse said Henry seemed happier when I was getting more air. I have to say though, it was a perfect epi. I must have had a great anesthesiologist. I never felt any more pain, just some pressure and I was still able to move my legs and lift my bottom off the bed (which really impressed the Dr and nurses haha). After I got the epi, my nurse checked me and I was a 6. I couldn't believe after all that pain I wasn't at least 7 or 8!

4AM-7 AM: Not much happens. They do turn the pitocin off though because I guess it did it's job and kick started my labor, but now my body has taken over to do it's job. I try to rest, but can't really fall asleep with an oxygen mask, blood pressure cuff going off every few minutes.

7 AM: Shift change, I get a new nurse and Dr who I am much happier with. The new nurse, whose name is Jennifer checks me and I'm a 9 1/2!!!! She has me push once while she holds open my cervix and it opens to a 10!!! Everything is happening so fast. My 2nd dose of antibiotics is given just in time, the new Dr comes in and checks me to find the baby is "right there." I begin pushing and after just 6 minutes, Henry was here! It was absolutely amazing! Especially since I pushed for 1 1/2 hr with James. He did have his cord wrapped around his neck once, but the Dr took care of that right away. He is covered in vernix and they laid him on my chest but he isn't crying. He starts grunting, so they take him away to the baby table. They say it's OK but have to help clear his lungs or something. (I wonder if this had anything to do with all the drugs I was given or the cord, or just for no reason.) Mike, my mom and sister go over to see him while I am still glued to the bed and delivering the placenta. Finally his breathing is better and I get to hold him skin to skin. I kept rubbing his face and hair and tickling his toes. He was so cute, I couldn't believe this creature just came out of me. I also got to nurse him. He did have low blood sugar, so he had to be given 2 syringes of formula before it was up to a good level.

I had a really small tear, which at first the Dr wasn't going to stitch, but she decided to just to make it tidier.

My birth experience was alot different than I would have expected. I never thought my water would break before I had contractions. I hoped to use the tub to labor in and possibly avoid an epidural. I also never ever anticipated having to be given pitocin. But in this scenario those things couldn't be avoided (well maybe the epi haha but I'm a wimp). It seems like more things went wrong with this labor than my last (low blood pressure, Henry's breathing trouble and blood sugar levels)... but at the same time, this labor was much easier. And afterwards I felt so much better. It didn't go the way I had even loosely envisioned, but at the same time I couldn't have hoped for it to be any better. I'm sure in a few days the exhaustion will catch up to me, but for now I am still in awe of how wonderful everything turned out. I'm so grateful I've had two little boys now who have come into my life.