On Monday October 5th I went for an ultra sound to check out how the baby was doing. The ultra sound was going really well until the tech checked for the last aspect, which was practice breathing. No matter what, me sitting, laying down, or even just waiting she just would not practice breathing. So with that I failed the biophysical exam.
The tech said she would be calling in to the midwives and that they would most likely want me to come into the hospital for further testing. I knew this meant once I went into the hospital I wasn’t coming out until there was a baby. The midwives had already been talking about induction or c-section because they were already unhappy with me being past 40 weeks as a boarder-line gestational diabetic and a VBAC. Of course the midwives wanted me to come right in but it was after 3pm and I still hadn’t had lunch yet and I was under the impression that there was no immediate danger so I went out to lunch with my mother and called my husband at work so that he could meet us at home. When the midwives called me they were a little pissed that I wasn’t rushing to the hospital but I knew I needed to give myself the fuel necessary to birth this little girl so I kept to my plan.
Dan and I arrived at the hospital around 6pm and were not even seen until after 8pm. Each step of the exam took tons of time with long waits in between. Just before midnight they moved us into a labor and delivery room. Our wonderful doula Caitlin arrived and they broke my water. Almost instantly I went into fairly regular more serious contractions. I was so thankful the Caitlin was already there when they broke my water because I felt like I needed her right away. She talked me through the contractions with breathing and looking right into her eyes. I tried the same method with my husband and he was so nervous he just started to laugh. I was especially thankful at that moment that he was not going to be my only support person.
As the contractions became stronger I started to feel them more and more in my back. I have two herniated discs and they cause pain down my legs. I tried every position the doula recommended and the pain was just overwhelming me. I was rapidly becoming exhausted and I was convinced that if something didn’t change soon I was not going to be able to push when the time came and I would end up with a c-section. Some where in all of this I threw-up and my legs started to shake. The leg shaking was not helping me cope with the contractions.
At about 3am, in the middle of one of the most horrible contractions I pushed the button for the nurse. I didn’t talk to the doula or my husband first, I just pushed the button. When the nurse came in I called out “I want an epidural!” I had made only one request before labor started and that was that I did not want to be offered an epidural, so they were a little surprised that I was now demanding one, so they asked if it would make a difference if they checked me to see how far along I was and my answer was “No, just call the anesthesiologist.”
The anesthesiologist was a cranky woman with a heavy Russian accent, and I will love her forever. At first the epidural was only working on one side. The anesthesiologist adjusted the epidural and it started to work on both sides. I could totally still move my legs, I bet I could have even stood if I wanted to, but I didn’t try to. After the first hour I was given a button that allowed me to get an extra dose of medication every ten minutes if I needed it. I could still feel the contractions but they totally manageable now. I was able to relax for the next few hours.
I breathed slowly and relaxed through the contractions. It was the most incredible feeling. I could feel the contractions but they were not too much. I could feel the baby moving down, I could even feel my pelvis spreading. I kept telling the doula that I felt like if I reached down I would feel my baby girl. The doula asked me if I felt like I needed to poop, and I said I didn’t and she said something about how wonderful it was that I could feel progress but until I felt like I was going to poop we had some time. Figuring I wasn’t that close to delivering the doula left the room for a minute to make a quick phone call. After she left my room my epidural machine started to beep, the nurses buzzed in that an anesthesiologist would be right in to reset the machine. Taking advantage of the alone time I pulled back the sheet and reached down, I was amazed at what I felt so I asked my husband to take a look. He told me he could see a head and hair. I pushed a little and asked him if that did anything, and he started to get all flustered and told me to stop what I was doing or he would have to catch the baby. I asked him to tell the nurses that I was crowning. Dan went out into the hall and the nurses immediately told him the doctor will be right in (meaning the anesthesiologist). My husband goes “Ah, no, my wife is crowing I need the midwife.” The nurses didn’t listen to him at all and were just like “sure.” My husband came back into the room and started to frantically look around the room for something to catch the baby with, because he was convinced no one was coming. The anesthesiologist walked in and was like “Wow, that’s a head.” And then continued to fix the epidural machine, and then leave. I was like are you freaking kidding me. I told my husband to call the doula’s cell phone and ask her to come back because I was crowning. Caitlin (the doula) came back into the room and was like “So where is the midwife?”
Caitlin then told the nurses we needed the midwife and they listened to her and a nurse came in immediately. Then people started to move. I demanded that they remove the urinary catheter and the nurses were like “that catheter is the only thing holding that baby in.” and I was like “Yeah, take it out….” The nurse made me wait a few seconds while she got some things together and took out the catheter. The midwife still hasn’t come in at this point and the nurses are starting to get excited saying “Today might be a nurse catch day.”
Then the midwife came in and at that moment it occurred to me there was no way I was going end up with a c-section and I started to cry and laugh. Laughing I pushed Abigail most of the way out and then I felt like I was going to rip so I started to make this low moaning like sound so that I still had good control and didn’t push too fast. I reached down and tried to support my opening, to help avoid ripping, as I slowly pushed Abigail the rest of the way out. After her head was clear I thought the rest of her body would just slide out but I found her shoulders were quite painful too. When she slid out the midwives told me to reach down and pick up my baby. I reached down and pulled my little girl up onto my tummy. She was so beautiful, I was expecting a slimy blood covered creature, but instead I got a perfect red faced beauty.
In the end I had a one inch first degree tare (which means it was only skin that tore no muscle) that everyone keeps telling me is no big deal but it still feels pretty uncomfortable. While the midwife sewed up my tare I stared to breastfeed Abigail. I was thrilled that she had such a great latch on right from the beginning.