chelle
It's a Good Life
Member since 8/06 15404 total posts
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Isn't it obvious?
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My (extremely long) birth story - Izabella Lucille 6-3-07!! - Grab a drink and snack before you read...LOL
As many of you already know, I had gone to the hospital on Thursday due to strong contractions and bloody discharge. At the office Dr. A sent me to the hospital to have my water broken. According to him I had some scar tissue on my cervix due to a previous procedure I had done about 10+ years ago for cancerous cells. The tissue was preventing dilation and I had been in labor for about 2 days already with nothing happening. He figured breaking my water would release some pressure and help with dilation.
When I got to the hospital Dr. L saw no reason to break my water. She knew that I planned on going natural and didn't feel the need to stir things up. She sent me home after about 3 hours and said to let my water break on it's own. Call her Sunday and let her know where I was at.
We go home Thurs and I'm having strong contractions all night, but they aren't getting stronger so I feel no need to call the doctor. They stop Friday day. Friday night they pick back up again and continue being strong all night into the early morning. Saturday comes around and I'm just having some on and off throughout the day, no pattern. My parents come over for dinner and I resolve to having a glass of red wine (we all joke that's what did it). I go to lie down at about 10 and my contractions start coming and coming and they are about 1-2 minutes apart. At about midnight, with one contraction, my water breaks!! This is FINALLY it! I run out into the hall, wake DH out of a sound sleep on the couch and tell him my water breaks. He jumps up startled and starts running around trying to get everything together.
Typical movie scene He asks if he can do anything for me, get me anything, and I simply answer "Get me a bowl of Cheerios!" I knew I might be in for a long haul and I wanted something in my tummy!!
So we call the doctor and off to the hospital we go. We get there at about 1 am and they're all ready for me, in a FABULOUS labor and delivery room. Dr. V is on call. I get settled into everything and let the contractions begin!! I'm in labor!!! I'm breathing through each one, decide to walk around to help with everything moving along. At this point, they're not that bad. I'm breathing through each one which are coming strong and are about 1-2 minutes apart. For some reason, the walking around made my blood pressure jump VERY high. So with that, I became confined to the bed, lying on my left side SO UNCOMFORTABLE. All I could do was hold on to the side rail and breath through each contraction. I labored like this til about 5 am (about 4 hours).
DR.V checks my "progress" and I'm only at 2cm She wasn't happy and checks my cervix. She told me that the scar tissue is SO TIGHT it's not budging at all. She'll let me labor like this for another hour or two but if nothing happens she will have to cut my cervix She had been trying to manipulate it manually to break it up , but it was just too tight.
7am rolls around and there's no hope Baby's head is literally trying to squeeze through the 2cm dilated hole. She can feel it popping through. So, to spare you from the gory and bloody details, she ended up cutting my cervix in 3 places It automatically made me dilate to 4cm!!! We're back on our way! (or so we think)
My blood pressure went down after the procedure so I was able to sit up and move in the bed, but not walk around. She still wasn't comfortable with that and didn't want it to sky rocket again. She discussed a Magnesium drip, but only if it continued to get worse. Instead she gave me an IV of fluids.
At 8 am - SHIFT CHANGE! And Dr. L comes on (the one from before that sent me home). I was SO happy she would be here to deliver my baby. I am continuing to labor strong and I'm just continuing to breath through them. I'm actually texting people and calling people at this point. Yes, I know, I'm strange! I also had to two Angels of Labor and Delivery with me from the beginning. A woman I know from growing up and anther local woman my family knows. I would NOT have made it through with out them by my side.
DR. L comes on and checks me and I'm only at about 5cm at this time. Baby's heart beat is taking "dips" every now and then but they say it could be playing with the cord, so I STILL can't walk around. Just trying to find comfy positions in bed.
I continue laboring and Dr. L notices that I have taken in 4 bags of IV fluid and had not peed yet!! I know I HAVE to go, but I can't. I tried peeing the bed, I tried to go, I tried everything, Nada. She feels my bladder and jumps back because it's so distended. Well, in goes the catheter At this point everything became quite comical because she was just standing there and it kept coming and coming and coming and coming.... We were all laughing. 3/4 of a GALLON!!!! They checked my urine and there was a bit of protein in it and that combined with my high blood pressure and "brisk reflexes" I was headed into pre-eclampsia. Dr. L decides I have to go on the magnesium drip OK.
My sister (doula) FINALLY shows up and I'm doing pretty well. I'm still texting people through contractions and watching tv and breathing....Labor is moving right along. My sister is doing reiki on my back and belly and it feels SOOOOO good. I highly recommend it! . At this point my back was hurting SO bad, I could barely sit up straight. She helped me through it though.
It's about 2pm now, I think and my contractions started to slow down. They went from 1-3 min apart to 6-7 min apart Dr. L was not happy with this "pattern".She checked me and I AM STILL AT 5 CM!! No idea what's going on.
Dr. L decides she wants to put my on pitocin to get my contractions back and in a pattern. At this point, I'm like "whatever", bring it on. I'm laboring beautifully and handling the pain fine. So in goes the pitocin and the magnesium.
For about 3-4 more hours, the pitocin kickin in, my contractions are on top of one another and strong. I'm getting through them no problem. She likes the patten I've been in and decides to check me. STILL 6 CM!! Not good. She give me 2 more hours to go, upping the pitocin every 20 minutes. Contractions are fierce. I feel TONS of pressure, back pain, down low pain, you name it, I'm in pain. I barely had time to recover from one contraction and on comes another. I feel like I'm finally in "transition" and we're all excited that baby's on it's way and we'll be pushing soon.
She checked me one more time at about 4:30pm and I am STILL AT 6 CM
She isn't happy and says to me that there's nothing more I can do. The scar tissue on my cervix is preventing me from dilating any further and she doesn't feel that if she continues to up the pitocin it would do any good and then we'd risk the health of the baby. I've been at it for almost 16 hours at this point PLUS, the baby had flipped "sunnyside up" so that's why I started having back labor and this + the cervix issue were just not helping me progress.
It came down to it - c-section
Of course at this point I completely lose it. I go into fits of hysterical sobbing. I can't believe I've labored THIS long, the way I have, SO proud of myself and ALL the $hit I have gone through in those 16 hours and now I have to have the c-section.
If she had said, I'll keep uping the pitocin and let you continue until you dilate, I would have. But she saw NO further dilation happening with me and my bum cervix. I respected her decision after I calmed down because she KNEW I wanted to deliver naturally and she was the one in the first place to send me home as to not wanting to interfer. So... it came down to safety and health at this point and there was nothing I could do. I knew she wasn't just doing this just to get me out of there or for her own reasons. She would have let me continue if she could have....
So...after going through EVERY emotion possible at this stage and I'm sure you who have been there know what I mean, they took me down to prep me for the c-section.
It's pretty routine from here. I get prepped and when I'm on the table DH comes in and in about 10 minutes - our BEAUTIFUL DELICIOUS, AMAZING daughter was born.
At 5:19pm she arrived, weighing 6lbs 7oz and 18 3/4 inches. TINY!! I was like, "she can't be mine!" She's too tiny!!" DH went right with her and off they went while I got stitched up and went to recovery.
I got out of recovery at about 7 and FINALLY got to hold my daughter
There's nothing like that feeling in the world!!!!
The whole c-section wasn't bad at all. It's been the recovery part that's been bad. I got an infection at the incision site which caused me to have an IV of antibiotics and an extra day at the hospital. Between you and me, I'd take those 16 hours of labor and then some, ALL over again instead of the recovery pain. OUCH!!
My husband saw things and went through it all with me. He was by my side holding my hand from start to finish. Not only did I fall in love with our daughter, but I fell in love with him all over again and more. He was my rock, my solid ground through it all. He watched me go through hell and back and I just don't have the words to express what I feel for him. He just keeps telling everyone that he's "got a new found respect for woman." He's been SO amazing with Bella too. Talk about Daddy's little princess... OMG!! It melts my heart.
We were finally "released" on Thursday and fresh air and sunshine never felt better to me. Our first night went well last night. Breastfeeding has been a challenge, but we've got it now. With all the exhaustion and being in the hospital, it was just so hard to get comfy, in a groove and to just "be" with my daughter. But we're ALL good now!
And that's MY story No, I didn't deliver the way I wanted, but I did labor that way (naturally) for 16 hours. And due to the complications of my cervix a c-section was needed.... big deal Oh well I say. WE have a PERFECT, HEALTHY, AMAZING daughter.
No need to look back... only time to look forward.
I love you all and I thank you from the WHOLE of my heart for ALL your support and well wishes. The respect and help I've gotten from all of you on LIF is Immeasurable. May all your birth's be safe, happy and healthy ones....See you on the other side!
Message edited 2/20/2008 7:53:08 PM.
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