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Birth story...

Aubrey

By Aubrey,
in General Education Discussion Board

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Aubrey

Aubrey

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as much as I can manage, anyway, while I've got 2 hands free.

 

NST Mon AM, mw checked, & while I wasn't having contractions, there was enough progress that she sent me over to the hospital. After reading about induction & cancelling my appt Sat night as a result, I'd taken a bunch of herbs, etc. Sat I came down w/ the cold the kids had, so I was glad not to be in the hospital, but by that eve or Sun...something shifted emotionally. It felt like time, like the baby NEEDED to be out, by whatever means. I double-checked my dates & realized they might be off...by as much as 3 days, the wrong direction. I was probably *already* 2 weeks overdue.

 

We got to the hospital & the Incredibly Fun Machine that measures baby heartbeat/contractions said I was in active labor. Contractions 3min apt. I couldn't even feel them. I got giddy at even the *possibility* of a less painful labor. After an hr of check in (in the labor room)--in which the nurse praised nearly every life decision that came up (no, I've never smoked, & maybe that's not a big deal, but I do love a gold star when I can get one, & she was generous w/ hers), she asked if I had a birth plan.

 

I tend to be very literal. I had 2 birth plans, one of which I wrote in response to the cytotec/inducement debacle. I'd decided on the way over, though, to hide it. I didn't want to upset anyone from the get-go, but I had it printed if I thought it would help. :D

 

So I told her that. She'd been...sort-of drill-sergeant before that, but when I told her I'd hidden my birth plan, she changed completely. I've never seen anyone laugh like that. She asked to see it, & things went pretty well from there.

 

Two hrs or so after we got there, mw offered to break my water, which seemed like a good idea. She said there was no time table after that, but in retrospect...I don't see how that can be. Whatever.

 

They actually left me alone to labor (I asked for that), & dh read aloud to me from a dinky sci-fi book my bro has been begging me to read for years. It was awful, & I loved the entertainment. Besides reading, we'd stop & argue the book's literary elements. Dh was not wise enough to not argue w/ a woman in actual labor WITH a lit degree, so it was all the more entertaining a conversation. :D While walking, laboring, using the birthing ball. We may have been a spectacle, but since they left us alone, it didn't matter.

 

So the continuous fetal monitoring that we hippies decry in the hospital? They hooked me up once w/ an apology, left it on for 20 min or so, & I fell in love. The thing prints out pics of your contractions, so it became like a game. Big contraction, printout, pass Go, get $200. Dh would predict, measure, comment. No cheering allowed.

 

And not being able to move around? Turns out I don't actually want to. So when they came to unhook me, they taught dh how to read the monitor instead. I'm afraid I was gushing at that point. I LOVE that machine. Again, though, the nurse (& now the mw, too) sort-of gawked at me & commented that I was coping well. Do you know how MUCH better I like the compliment/encouragement "You're coping well" than "You're doing great"?? It acknowledges the fact that I. AM. NOT. DOING. ANYTHING. (other than coping). I've never been told that I was coping well. I really, really liked that. And...may have said so enthusiastically.

 

So the hospital does things differently. They give you this mesh bag w/ holes that turns out to be a form of underwear. In the Platonic sense of 1000 degrees removed from the real thing. Then they give you a feminine product that has a single strip of sticky stuff that's supposed to stick to a couple of those mesh strings.

 

If you've never experienced this before, however, you don't realize how laughable the whole situation is until you try to go to the bathroom. Upon standing, you look down & wonder what could have possibly happened to that feminine product that, w/ your water broken, is rather necessary for standing or advancing. Looking around, you realize to your horror that it has fallen out & is, in fact, in the toilet. So between contractions, you panic, looking around for a replacement (not in the bathroom, unfortunately) & trying to decide (in a brain-fogged state) whether to fish it out or flush & pretend you don't know what happened.

 

That's all I'll say about that. More than I should, in fact.

 

You get the gist. Eventually, mw offers a "whiff" of pit because her shift ends in 2 hrs. I can have the next mw on duty, but she hates for me to have to change care...& she really wants to deliver the baby. Between her awesomeness & the Nurse Who Descended From Heaven She was So Great, I agreed--I didn't want to switch people. Partly, we were past the point of laughing, & I didn't feel like I had the energy to develop a good rapport w/ new people. And it might seem odd if I suddenly started shouting at them, "I never smoked, you know!"

 

Contractions got harder when they hooked me up, but mw had also done a vigorous exam after they'd stalled. The room turned to 1000 degrees, I was drenched in sweat, felt light-headed, thought I might black out or die or something. And that was between contractions. It was so bad, I thought it was an allergic reaction to the pit, but turns out, the needle in my hand wasn't hooked to anything yet. Apparently, that's high-altitude, low-oxygen labor.

 

After that, it got worse...must feed babe...

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Aubrey

Aubrey

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So, pain-wise, this one was by far the worst ever. I've always been told that inhibition goes away during birth, but I've never experienced that until this one. Before it got bad, the pain of the heplock was the most annoying--they said they put it in my hand instead of my arm so I'd be free to move around during labor, but all I could think is--how will I hold the baby w/ this crazy thing in my *hand*?

 

I have had 5 natural births because I don't like needles. This is the first time I've had the two up-close to compare. Childbirth is much worse than a needle. By the time it was over, I came to the conclusion that people who forego epidurals are crazy. Certifiably. WHY would I DO that??? (And, no, I did not have anything w/ this one, either.) The nurse suggested another position at one point early on, & I told her that that position didn't hurt. She wasn't sure what to say to that, but asked if I made things harder for myself on purpose at home. Don't you think that's a silly question to ask a woman having her 5th natural birth? Of COURSE I make things harder for myself on purpose. :lol:

 

At the very end, though, when I was at least as desperate to get the baby out as I was w/ #1--fast, hard birth & no experience, the baby's heart rate dropped really low, really long, & suddenly I was aware of all the people in the room & the shift to emergency mode. I had to *move.* I'm still not sure why exactly--somehow it helped him get out faster? Anyway, once he was out, they saw the knot in his cord. A "true" knot. What other kind is there? But it was long enough & "juicy" enough (ICK!) that he was fine.

 

The shift change brought a nurse who thought it would be a good idea to spend the next 2 hrs telling me all the dead baby stories she knew. :svengo: For the last 30 min, she ranted about how they were all because of homebirths, how irresponsible that is, & how we would have lost ours if we'd had him at home. I do see that it's good that we were at the hospital this time, BUT I don't see that they ended up intervening, kwim? I decided not to point this out to her, because...while she was very troubling, she had the air of ignorance, of one just trying to make conversation.

 

So then you get the fake clothes: hospital gown that's open down the back w/ giant holes in the front, mesh underwear, etc., & a wheelchair so they can parade you through the halls to the post-partum department. You take the wheelchair partly because it's part of the costume. :glare: Nurse stops in front of the nurse's station & goes, Oh! I should get a sheet or something & cover you up! But then she looks at me & decides I'm covered enough.

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Aubrey

Aubrey

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Part 3

 

I can't remember why they suctioned him out the 1st time. He was spitting up a lot? But they put a tube down his throat into his stomach to clear him out. Very sad, but...if it's something he needed--& at that point, I wasn't completely sure--I was glad to be in a place where they could do it.

 

Then he went all day not eating well. I've had a couple of them do that before. I thought the nurses were silly to be so protocol-ish about it, threatening MORE heel pricks to check him if he didn't eat w/in a certain amt of time. He was just sleepy. And the 4 they'd already done (after saying he needed 3) were just because he was big, to check for diabetes. I could have told them he didn't have diabetes, it's just genetic. All my babies were big & thinned out.

 

But I finally called for help when I couldn't get him to latch on. His nurse that day is my next favorite after L&D. She tried different things, & she couldn't get him latched on, either. They took him back & suctioned his belly again, this time through his nose. I guess it's not a big deal, all in all, but wow, that's a lot of tubes, & I felt awfully sorry for him.

 

He ate almost every hour after that. I'm probably skipping around now, but I'm waiting for dh to give me news from NICU, so I'm less focused. They took him an hour ago for his...I don't know, weight check & genetic screening. He's almost 36 hrs old & hasn't had a wet diaper, & his stomach is tender to the touch, so they're going to xray his belly to see if there's blockage or he's dehydrated or what.

 

I can't tell how big a deal the NICU thing is yet. I'm relatively calm & expecting barely more than mundane news, but...will you guys pray a little? Thanks.

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Lorien

Lorien

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Shoot. Dh just came in & said they're taking him to NICU for xrays...

 

Hope everything is okay with your little guy!

 

I enjoyed your birth story. Thanks for sharing! I am due in 6 weeks and am feeling slightly eager for things to start happening here too! :001_smile:

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BatmansWife

BatmansWife

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You get the gist. Eventually, mw offers a "whiff" of pit because her shift ends in 2 hrs.

 

When I read that....I seriously thought the mw gave you a hug and your nose was in her armpit. :lol: "A whiff of pit".....:lol:

 

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

 

Hoping all is well with baby.....let us know as soon as you can!

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LauraGB

LauraGB

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:grouphug: Thinking of you two and waiting for updates.

 

For what it's worth, one of my kids (I can't remember which one anymore - I think it was dd) didn't make a sound when they were born - lots of rushing around, lots of suctioning, time in the NICU. Now it's impossible to shut either of them up.

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melissel

melissel

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Oh my dear, thank you for the story. I'll be keeping you both in my heart until you have some good news for us. FWIW, DD6 did some odd things after she was born too, not the least of which was vomiting bright, grass-green liquid repeatedly over her two days in the hospital. They ended up having to do something to her--I can't remember what, made her drink something and then scanned her intestines etc. She was completely fine, they had no idea why she did that, she never did it again after that second day, and we ended up with a great ped because of it.

 

Congratulations on your sweet boy! :grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

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