11.3.09
Hazel’s Birthday …..Intro to Summer
1 year ago
Monday, November 30, 2009
birth day
Here's my birth story in great detail. It's a bit long so please bear with me...
I had my weekly doctor's appointment on Wednesday, October 28 at 10:30 am. The doctor said that I was 2.3-3 cm dilated and I was "pretty thinned out." She asked if she could strip my membranes and that 50-60% of the time that helps put women into labor. Since I was three days past my due date I was ready to do anything to help induce labor. After my appointment I headed back to work.
Around 3:30 I had some cramping, which later I realized was the beginning of my contractions. I wrapped up things at work and headed home. I started to keep track of how far apart my contractions were. For the first few hours there weren't very regular - anywhere from 12 to 25 minutes apart. But they weren't going away. Bryan and I decided that tonight was probably the night we were going to head to the hospital and have this baby!We decided that we needed to eat some dinner since they wouldn't let me eat once I get checked into the hospital. We double checked our bag to make sure that we had everything we needed. As my contractions grew closer together, I hopped into the shower before we called the hospital to see if we should head in. The doctor called back almost immediately. She said it sounded like I was in active labor and that I can come in when I'm ready. I was ready! By the time we were walking to the car and heading to the hospital my contractions were 3-6 minutes apart and were pretty painful.
We arrive at the hospital, check in, get put into a room in triage and they hooked me up to the monitors to make sure I was really in labor. My contractions are pretty painful and after having a contraction I look up at the nurse and tell her I'd like the epidural as soon as I get brought upstairs to the delivery room. She laughs and says okay. In the mean time they are testing my urine and blood to make sure everything looks okay. They told me my blood pressure was elevated but that it could because of the pain.After about 45 minutes of being hooked up to the monitors they determine that I'm really in labor and wheel me upstairs to my delivery room. We get upstairs around 9:30 or 10 pm. They took blood work and sent it to the lab. This was normal procedure but they were concerned about my blood pressure because it kept going up and that there was a lot of protein in my urine.
After about 1.5 hours the labs came back and the results did not look good. We had now been at the hospital for 2.5 hours and I had wanted an epidural since we walked in the door. The nurse then said that based on the results that they through I had preeclampsia and that they were going to have to put me on magnesium. They also wanted to run more blood tests as my platelet count was low and the anesthesiologist would not do an epidural as they were afraid of me bleeding out. They started the magnesium and pretty much right away I started feeling side affects. The first side effect was that I started to get really hot a sweaty. I also was really loopy and super tired. Luckily I didn’t get the double vision or muscle loss that sometimes accompanies these other symptoms.
We ended up waiting another 2 hours for the next set up labs to come back. Our nurse was calling the lab every 5 minutes to get the results and trying to expedite the process knowing how much pain I was in and how much I wanted (needed) that epidural. (On a side note our nurse was amazing. Actually all the nurses I had during my stay were amazing). At this point I had been in severe pain for over 4.5 hours and when the results came back I was borderline being able to get the epidural because my platelets were so low. The anesthesiologist had to get approval from the attending anesthesiologist in order to do the procedure, but it was APPROVED!!! Thank God because I had no idea if I could make it the rest of the day/night without one.
At this point all I wanted was an ice cold glass of water. Heck I would have taken any type of water but all I could have was ice chips. I remember begging Bryan to let me sip the melted water from the ice chips. He refused each time I pleaded. I had no idea at the point it would be 10 more hours before I got a glass.
It was now Thursday, October 29th and around 1:30 am I received the epidural. It was like night and day. Before I had constant pain every 5 minutes to afterwards I was asking the nurse if I was having a contraction. It was pretty crazy. Sometime after 1:30 am they told us to rest for awhile. The lights in the room were dimmed low and the magnesium made me really calm and very sleepy. Bryan and I slept until about 5 am. I passed right out. Sometime around 3:30 or 4:30 am is when the Dr came and broke my water. It was at that time they found out that the baby had pooped in the womb. The doctor explained that they would have to bring in a special team of doctors for the baby once it was time to start pushing. We were also told that we wouldn’t hear the baby cry right away because they would have to suction out her lungs to ensure that she didn’t swallow any of the meconium.
They started the potocin shortly after they broke my water to help speed up the process since I had made much progress since I had gotten the epidural. Around 5 am the doctor came in and said it would be time to start pushing soon. They said that the baby’s head was at a plus 1 and slightly turned to the side. And that I could push soon or that since I was exhausted from the magnesium that I could go back to sleep for a bit longer and wait to see if the baby’s head would drop further to a plus 2. Of course I opted to go back to sleep! At this point that is all I wanted to do was sleep. For all I cared they could wake me up after the baby was born.
At 7:00 am the nurse and doctor came into tell me it was time to start pushing within the hour. They also informed me that at 7:30 it was also time for the nurses and doctors to switch shifts. Of course this happens minutes before I start pushing. I was pleasantly surprised that the new nurse and new doctor (which I hadn’t met at my OB office yet) were both great!It was time to start pushing. Bryan was sitting in a chair just when he was told to grab a leg. He was not expecting this. For most of the time it was Bryan holding one leg and the nurse holding the other. There was also a student present for some of the time. I was so tired that during some of the pushes I actually fell asleep. The first hour of pushing actually went by fast (I think the snoozing helped).
At some point they had some midwives come in to have me change positions as Kaitlin head was sideways. The goal was to get her to turn naturally. In the end that didn’t seem to do anything but make me more tired and nauseous.
I pushed for the next 3 hours. I was told I was a great pusher. When it was time to actually push her out, the room quickly turned from a quiet serene place into something much more chaotic. The over head lights turned on and the room filled up with doctors, nurses and students.
By the third hour, I was spent. The doctor said her head was right there and they could see hair. They told me that with assistance they could get her out in a few pushes. They hooked up the vacuum and within 4 more pushes she was out. Kaitlin Paige was born at 10:35 am. She was 6 lbs 13 oz and was 21.5 inches long.
After Kaitlin was born, they rushed her off to the side and they started working on her to make sure she didn’t ingest any meconium. I got teary eyed and told Bryan to go to her. He looked down at me and said he wanted to stay here with me and that the team of doctors was taking care of her. After a minute or two we heard her first cry.
I was told that since Kaitlin’s head was sideways is why it took so long to push her out. She probably would have been out in half the time if she wasn’t sideways. All I wanted was to see the baby (and get that glass of water). I was really loopy and tired from the drugs. Bryan captured a great picture of me meeting Kaitlin for the first time.
With a normal pregnancy they only keep you in the delivery room for about 2 hours after you deliver your baby. I had to have more labs taken to check my platelets to make sure it was safe to take out the epidural. I ended up being the delivery room for another 4-5 hours. I think the theme of the delivery was “waiting on labs.”
Unfortunately I had to stay hooked up to the magnesium for 24 hours after I delivered to ensure that I didn’t have any seizures from the high blood pressure.
Here are some of the first pictures of Kaitlin in the hospital.
I had my weekly doctor's appointment on Wednesday, October 28 at 10:30 am. The doctor said that I was 2.3-3 cm dilated and I was "pretty thinned out." She asked if she could strip my membranes and that 50-60% of the time that helps put women into labor. Since I was three days past my due date I was ready to do anything to help induce labor. After my appointment I headed back to work.
Around 3:30 I had some cramping, which later I realized was the beginning of my contractions. I wrapped up things at work and headed home. I started to keep track of how far apart my contractions were. For the first few hours there weren't very regular - anywhere from 12 to 25 minutes apart. But they weren't going away. Bryan and I decided that tonight was probably the night we were going to head to the hospital and have this baby!We decided that we needed to eat some dinner since they wouldn't let me eat once I get checked into the hospital. We double checked our bag to make sure that we had everything we needed. As my contractions grew closer together, I hopped into the shower before we called the hospital to see if we should head in. The doctor called back almost immediately. She said it sounded like I was in active labor and that I can come in when I'm ready. I was ready! By the time we were walking to the car and heading to the hospital my contractions were 3-6 minutes apart and were pretty painful.
We arrive at the hospital, check in, get put into a room in triage and they hooked me up to the monitors to make sure I was really in labor. My contractions are pretty painful and after having a contraction I look up at the nurse and tell her I'd like the epidural as soon as I get brought upstairs to the delivery room. She laughs and says okay. In the mean time they are testing my urine and blood to make sure everything looks okay. They told me my blood pressure was elevated but that it could because of the pain.After about 45 minutes of being hooked up to the monitors they determine that I'm really in labor and wheel me upstairs to my delivery room. We get upstairs around 9:30 or 10 pm. They took blood work and sent it to the lab. This was normal procedure but they were concerned about my blood pressure because it kept going up and that there was a lot of protein in my urine.
After about 1.5 hours the labs came back and the results did not look good. We had now been at the hospital for 2.5 hours and I had wanted an epidural since we walked in the door. The nurse then said that based on the results that they through I had preeclampsia and that they were going to have to put me on magnesium. They also wanted to run more blood tests as my platelet count was low and the anesthesiologist would not do an epidural as they were afraid of me bleeding out. They started the magnesium and pretty much right away I started feeling side affects. The first side effect was that I started to get really hot a sweaty. I also was really loopy and super tired. Luckily I didn’t get the double vision or muscle loss that sometimes accompanies these other symptoms.
We ended up waiting another 2 hours for the next set up labs to come back. Our nurse was calling the lab every 5 minutes to get the results and trying to expedite the process knowing how much pain I was in and how much I wanted (needed) that epidural. (On a side note our nurse was amazing. Actually all the nurses I had during my stay were amazing). At this point I had been in severe pain for over 4.5 hours and when the results came back I was borderline being able to get the epidural because my platelets were so low. The anesthesiologist had to get approval from the attending anesthesiologist in order to do the procedure, but it was APPROVED!!! Thank God because I had no idea if I could make it the rest of the day/night without one.
At this point all I wanted was an ice cold glass of water. Heck I would have taken any type of water but all I could have was ice chips. I remember begging Bryan to let me sip the melted water from the ice chips. He refused each time I pleaded. I had no idea at the point it would be 10 more hours before I got a glass.
It was now Thursday, October 29th and around 1:30 am I received the epidural. It was like night and day. Before I had constant pain every 5 minutes to afterwards I was asking the nurse if I was having a contraction. It was pretty crazy. Sometime after 1:30 am they told us to rest for awhile. The lights in the room were dimmed low and the magnesium made me really calm and very sleepy. Bryan and I slept until about 5 am. I passed right out. Sometime around 3:30 or 4:30 am is when the Dr came and broke my water. It was at that time they found out that the baby had pooped in the womb. The doctor explained that they would have to bring in a special team of doctors for the baby once it was time to start pushing. We were also told that we wouldn’t hear the baby cry right away because they would have to suction out her lungs to ensure that she didn’t swallow any of the meconium.
They started the potocin shortly after they broke my water to help speed up the process since I had made much progress since I had gotten the epidural. Around 5 am the doctor came in and said it would be time to start pushing soon. They said that the baby’s head was at a plus 1 and slightly turned to the side. And that I could push soon or that since I was exhausted from the magnesium that I could go back to sleep for a bit longer and wait to see if the baby’s head would drop further to a plus 2. Of course I opted to go back to sleep! At this point that is all I wanted to do was sleep. For all I cared they could wake me up after the baby was born.
At 7:00 am the nurse and doctor came into tell me it was time to start pushing within the hour. They also informed me that at 7:30 it was also time for the nurses and doctors to switch shifts. Of course this happens minutes before I start pushing. I was pleasantly surprised that the new nurse and new doctor (which I hadn’t met at my OB office yet) were both great!It was time to start pushing. Bryan was sitting in a chair just when he was told to grab a leg. He was not expecting this. For most of the time it was Bryan holding one leg and the nurse holding the other. There was also a student present for some of the time. I was so tired that during some of the pushes I actually fell asleep. The first hour of pushing actually went by fast (I think the snoozing helped).
At some point they had some midwives come in to have me change positions as Kaitlin head was sideways. The goal was to get her to turn naturally. In the end that didn’t seem to do anything but make me more tired and nauseous.
I pushed for the next 3 hours. I was told I was a great pusher. When it was time to actually push her out, the room quickly turned from a quiet serene place into something much more chaotic. The over head lights turned on and the room filled up with doctors, nurses and students.
By the third hour, I was spent. The doctor said her head was right there and they could see hair. They told me that with assistance they could get her out in a few pushes. They hooked up the vacuum and within 4 more pushes she was out. Kaitlin Paige was born at 10:35 am. She was 6 lbs 13 oz and was 21.5 inches long.
After Kaitlin was born, they rushed her off to the side and they started working on her to make sure she didn’t ingest any meconium. I got teary eyed and told Bryan to go to her. He looked down at me and said he wanted to stay here with me and that the team of doctors was taking care of her. After a minute or two we heard her first cry.
I was told that since Kaitlin’s head was sideways is why it took so long to push her out. She probably would have been out in half the time if she wasn’t sideways. All I wanted was to see the baby (and get that glass of water). I was really loopy and tired from the drugs. Bryan captured a great picture of me meeting Kaitlin for the first time.
With a normal pregnancy they only keep you in the delivery room for about 2 hours after you deliver your baby. I had to have more labs taken to check my platelets to make sure it was safe to take out the epidural. I ended up being the delivery room for another 4-5 hours. I think the theme of the delivery was “waiting on labs.”
Unfortunately I had to stay hooked up to the magnesium for 24 hours after I delivered to ensure that I didn’t have any seizures from the high blood pressure.
Here are some of the first pictures of Kaitlin in the hospital.
belly pictures
I wasn't very good about taking belly pictures throughout my pregnancy but here's what I did take.
11 weeks, 6 days
11 weeks, 6 days
19 weeks
25 weeks
39 weeks, 4 days
Sunday, November 29, 2009
welcome!
I've started this blog to share our journey of parenthood with friends and family. I'm hoping to find time to keep it updated...even though I'm already a month behind in starting it.
Stay tuned!
Stay tuned!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
