So here is my story of planning a totally natural, drug free birth that turned into a completely medically intervened labor and how in the end i really am okay with it.
Friday morning May 6, i had my ultrasound to measure how big the baby was growing. All along the ultrasounds were saying that he would be a big boy, anywhere from 9 t0 10lbs. So of course when we get there he measured in at 9lbs 4oz. My blood pressure was up and it was decided between the ultrasound doctor and my OB that i should head to the hospital to get things rolling. Now deep in my gut i had a feeling that the baby was not that big, so should have i waited to to let my body do its own thing and go into labor on it's own? Perhaps, but I headed to the hospital instead. As soon as we arrived they got me set up in a labor & delivery room where they planned on giving me Cervidil, in order to get my cervix nice and ripe for delivery. At that point i was only 1/2cen dilated, 75% effaced and the baby had not dropped at all. So for the next 12 hours I laid in bed, waiting for my cervix to ripen. All along I was having contractions, but i didn't feel any of them. I thought, heck if my natural contractions are like this, this will be a breeze. At midnight, 12 hours later they took the Cervidil out and checked my cervix. I was no more dilated than what i was before. sigh. So they had me sleep through the night and would get my started on Pitocin in the morning. I was having pretty consistent contractions, so they didn't want to give me anymore Cervidil. Early saturday morning they had me get up, eat, get ready because once the pitocin started I couldn't eat or drink and just had to chill in bed. So they broke my water and got me started on pitocin. Once the pitocin started then the painful contractions started. And they didn't relent, one contractions after the other and I barely had a chance to catch my breath. I really missed having my own natural (pain free!) contractions! The doctor and nurses started talking to me about getting an epidural. Now my original plan was no epidural, but after they explained some possible complications of birthing a large baby I would probably really do well with an epidural. Plus the painful contractions with the pitocin were out of control. So I go the epidural. I squeezed my husbands hand so tightly while getting the epidural, and not because it hurt, but because my contractions were so severe and i was told to sit as still as i could. Oh and speaking of my husband... he was sick, like food poisoning sick, like throwing up and having diarrhea sick. But he was there by my side when it mattered and i felt awful for him. What a sorry sight we were!
Once i had the epidural, i felt instantly better, but my blood pressure dropped dangerously low. They gave me all sorts of things in my IV to bring my BP back up and keep me from passing out. I just felt really light and woozy, and it felt nice compared to those nasty contractions. Once they got my BP back to normal, it was just a matter of waiting for my cervix to dilate. Finally, I got to 4 cen and everyone was super happy. Then even with the epidural i started having really bad back and butt pain, like really bad pressure. So back to the pain it was. My husband had passed out by then from sickness and i just laid there hoping i would soon have this baby. Every 2 hours they would check my cervix and after staying at 5 cen for more than 4 hours, and realizing the baby's head was already getting stuck in my pelvis, they started talking about a c-section. Around midnight the doctor came in and said, your baby is looking like he is stuck, your temperature is rising and the baby's heart rate is too high.
Honestly, going into this i did NOT want to go the route of c-section, but at this point, i was tired, in pain, sick of laying in that bed (it had been since Friday morning!) and i wanted to see my baby. I made the decision and went with the c-section. They got me all prepped and ready to go. I remember laying there and I was so thirsty and sleepy. Every time they would ask my how i was doing, I would say, I'm okay, just so sleepy. My husband sat my my side as they started the surgery. It took them what seemed like forever, until i heard my doctor say, Here he is! And then I heard the most beautiful cry ever. And i started crying and was just so happy that he was here. I had kept the name a secret so they all started saying, "What is the secret name?" and i said loudly... EVERETT! They started to clean him up and weighed him and he turned out to be 8lbs 3oz! Ha! I knew he wasn't going to be a huge baby! I just laid there content watching him get cleaned up. My husband brought him over and Everett's eyes were so scrunched and squinty and he was beautiful and all mine. Soon they took him away along with my husband and started to sew me back up. They kept talking to me and asking me random questions, but I'm pretty sure it was because i kept falling asleep. I stayed awake enough to puke and started to feel my pain meds wear off! It wasn't painful, but it didn't feel right, so they gave me more pain meds so i didn't feel them sewing me up. Soon they had me in recovery and then they brought me Everett. And oh how i loved him. And oh how i still love him. I wish the rest of my time in the hospital was peachy, but i kept having weird things happening including a late night visit to radiology for a cat scan due to suspicion of a pulmonary embolism. (turns out I was just having fluid build up in my lungs)
By Wednesday 5\11 I was ready to go home and they almost made me stay another day but thankfully my doctor saw how miserable I was and let me go home!
Well, it turns out that my pelvis is super narrow, just like my mom couldn't push me out, I couldn't push my baby out. So i have no regrets for trying to go for a vaginal birth, I also have no regrets for having a c-section. Yes, my baby didn't end up being huge, so i probably could have gone past my due date and went into labor on my own, but in the end I would've just ended up with a c-section anyway. I don't feel like i missed out on a natural vaginal birth, it just wasn't meant to be. And in the end i have the cutest little baby on the earth.
It was a long day and night with this little guy...
But he is so cute it's hard to be crabby for long...
