dapnkap
Our 3 angels
Member since 7/07 4824 total posts
Name:
Karen
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My Birth Story
Ok, I've finally had a few minutes to compose my thoughs and share my birth story! Sorry, but this is long!
I had my 40 week appointment on Thursday, April 17th. Dr. Hanauer told me I was only 2 cm dilated, but my cervix was softening. I asked her if she could speed things up and she said, “no, not really, but let me try”. She gave me an internal and told me to give her a call when I was ready.
On the way home, DH made sure to hit every pothole and bump in the road (of course we were in my car!). We also decided to get Chinese food for dinner, since I avoided it throughout my entire pregnancy.
I go to sleep around 10pm and take my usual spot on the living room couch. Around midnight, I get up to pee and after going I felt something plop out of me. I turn on the lights and low and behold I see my mucus plug. I didn’t bother waking DH because I figured it could be hours or even days before I could go into labor, so I go back to the couch to sleep.
Around 1am, I wake up to these strange feelings in my belly and they seem to be happening over and over. I begin to think if these are contractions, since I have never felt anything like this before. I go into the bedroom to wake DH, who jumps out of bed faster than I have ever seen him move! I tell him I think I’m having contractions and we start timing them. They are all over the place. Sometimes as quick as 3 minutes apart and sometimes as long as 8 or 9 minutes apart.
We try to sleep, but I can’t. By 3am, I’m scared because I have no idea what is going on or what to do, so we call the doctor. Dr. Hanauer calls me back and she tells me it sounds like I’m in early labor and I can either decide to rough it out at home for a few more hours or go to Winthrop to be evaluated. Since I’m scared at this point, DH and I decide to head over to the hospital to see what’s up.
We get to the hospital around 4am and I get evaluated. I’m still only 2 cm dilated, but my blood pressure is through the roof, so they admit me. I get moved to an L&D room where DH and I try to relax, but the contractions are getting stronger and stronger and I certainly can’t relax at this point. By around 6am, I’m still only 2cm dilated and I officially declare myself a wussy and ask if I can get an epidural, which I receive a couple hours later.
Ahhhh, heaven! What an amazing thing! Now, I admit that I am not good at handling pain, but anyone who is on the fence about getting an epidural, get one. It takes the edge off the contractions and was able to relax me. It didn’t hurt at all to get it and I was able to watch my contractions on the monitor and not feel them! How amazing! On top of that, it speeds up dilation! I went from 2cm dilated to 7cm dilated in less than 2 hours. Dr. Dolisi was on call and he was so nice and said I was making good progress. My blood pressure had also gone down and the baby was doing just fine.
After another 2 hours or so (around noon), I am 9cm dilated and the doctor is impressed with my progress. He tells me to continue to relax and that the baby should be here sometime this afternoon! Around 2 or 3pm, Dr. Hanauer comes and says she’s here to deliver my baby (she had come after her office hours were over). I start pushing and I felt like I wasn’t getting anywhere. Because of the epidural, I couldn’t really feel the contractions and was having a hard time pushing at the right times. They were going to give my pitocin to make me feel the contractions, but after 2+ hours of pushing and seeing the position of the baby, both doctors felt that this baby wasn’t going to come out the easy way. I was also so exhausted that I could barely move anymore. I started to get upset and everyone tried to calm me down. By 5pm, both Dr. Dolisi and Dr. Hanauer and my husband and I decided, it would be in my (and the baby’s best interest) to have a c-section.
So, off I went to the operating room. I have never had surgery before so this was an entirely new and strange experience for me. The operating room table is so small, I felt like I was going to fall off! And they strap your arms down! They put this big curtain up and these heating blankets on your arms. It is so weird. I got more drugs, don’t know what they were, but before I knew it, they were opening me up. You don’t feel anything, but you feel like something is happening. It’s such a strange feeling. Both Dr. Dolisi and Dr. Hanauer performed the surgery and delivered my baby.
At 6:09 pm on April 18th, Samantha Lorraine came into this world! She is just stunning with red hair and blue eyes. She came out sucking her thumb! I got sick from the drugs and felt lousy, but seeing my little girl for the first time just made my heart melt. DH was so good with her and holding her and bringing her to my head. I hated that I couldn’t hold her, but I knew she was good and everything was OK.
I spent 4 days in the hospital and was on a liquid diet for 3 of them. The staff at Winthrop was amazing! The nurses in L&D work so hard and the nurses and staff in the maternity ward were really nice and helpful. I have not one complaint. I would suggest ponying up the extra money for a private room though. I did not and my first 2 nights were horrible. Luckily, I had a double room all to myself for the last 2 days and I think it is worth it (especially if you have a c-section) to have a private room. The double rooms are really small and when both you and your roommate have visitors, it is very loud and crowded in there.
So, that’s my story. Good luck to all the moms-to-be and congrats to all of the new moms, especially all the April moms! I hope you all enjoy your Mother’s Day!
Message edited 5/8/2008 4:47:04 PM.
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