I wanted to share my birth story of my youngest in hopes that it would be of encouragement to anyone out there who is either afraid of giving birth or is disheartened by the medical system as a whole.
I was at home with my oldest on May 29. I had to call into work because the babysitter I had lined up for him had canceled so I got to stay home, 38 weeks pregnant, with him and color and watch cartoons (awesome, right?). I had an OB appointment later that day, and I figured it would be just a routine check like it had always been, in and out in under 15 minutes. Well, it didn’t happen like that. I had developed preeclampsia and needed to go to the ER across the street. So, I scoop up my little nugget, and we head over. Doctors confirmed the preeclampsia. My husband arrived straight from work right in the middle of all the proceedings to find out his wife would be induced. To someone who had not been greatly experienced in birth and babies, my husband took everything rather well. The nurses put me in a wheelchair and wheeled me over to the birthing suite and the induction began. Doctor prescribed Cytotec to make my cervix ready for birth. Oh my goodness, that made me so sick. To combat nausea, I really like to walk around and take deep breaths, but I wasn’t allowed to do that in light of my health complications. I was bed bound until this baby decided to make her appearance.
Contractions started around 2 AM on May 30. They weren’t bad, and I was able to get some sleep. 6 AM rolled around, and the doctor thought the Cytotec had done its job well enough for me to start a Pitocin drip. I was also positive for Group B Strep so I was put on an antibiotic as well. I was miserable. I couldn’t use the birthing tub. I couldn’t walk around. The only thing I could do was turn from one side to another in my bed with the help of a nurse. I could not lay on my back. I could not sit up. By 1 PM I was crying and screaming. I couldn’t handle the contractions anymore. I screamed at the nurse to get me an epidural (bless her heart she was so patient and kind).
I was in heaven with that epidural. I actually slept a little. While I had the epidural, the doctor came and broke my water. Baby was starting to be in distress because meconium came out along with the amniotic fluid. Epidural wore off after an hour. The anesthesiologist had to come and give me more medicine. My body kept burning through it too quickly. With the epidural, I was able to relax and dilate from a 3 to an 8. By 9 PM, I was fully dilated. The nurses came in, and we started pushing. I could not feel my legs or my bottom, but I could feel the contractions.
My husband excelled at this part of the birth. He was cheering me on. He was giving me water. He would tell me to keep pushing. He was very good at counting to 10 (LOL). He was cheering our baby on, too. God bless that man of mine. I pushed for two hours, and he was right there. Never left. Completely constant in his help and support of his wife and baby.
After two hours, I had made very little progress. I was exhausted. The doctor came in and said the baby was too far up for a forceps delivery. He said because of my exhaustion, preeclampsia, high fever (I began developing one right before pushing), and the fetal distress of the baby, that we needed to go in for an emergency cesarean. My husband and I consented. My husband gowned up, and the nurses prepped me for the OR. The anesthesiologist came in and said he could not give me anymore medicine through my epidural because I had already had so much, it would be very dangerous for me. My epidural had worn off enough that I could still feel pain. They had to put me under in the OR, and my husband could not come in.
At 11:57 PM on May 30, our little blessing was born. I was so jealous my husband got to see her first. Her head was too large to fit through my pelvis. Poor little girl had a cone head from all the pushing and bruises around the front and back of her head. It was 2:30 AM when I finally met our daughter.
Nothing prepares you for a love like this. She was absolutely perfect, and oh my goodness did she have a set of lungs!!! Honestly, I was very nervous to meet her even though I had carried her for nine months (weird, I know). I held her so much. I didn’t want anyone else to hold her. We just snuggled those first few days while I recovered. Everyone kept telling me not to hold her so much or she would get used to it. I didn’t care. Oh my goodness, that little squish was all mine, and I held her. Despite the pain and recovering from major surgery, I was in heaven in the hospital being with my family and holding our newest member.
In a future post, I will go through the things I experienced in my postpartum days. Everyone tells you about giving birth. No one truly prepares you for the days afterward.
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