Please note that this is extremely long and I am documenting this for my purposes....so there is a lot of detail...I want to remember everything I possibly can.
Wow...what a day...that turned into two...
Some background - we both were on the same page that we wanted to 'try' a natural childbirth and didn't want a c-section (granted, as the first baby, not many people 'want' a c-section). Of course, we were also very realistic and we both said that as the day progressed if I needed an epidural...fine; and if we needed to have a c-section...fine. We knew how long it took us to conceive this bundle of joy, so the main goal of the delivery was that Logan and I would end up happy and healthy. Yes, we wanted what we wanted, but what we REALLY wanted was a happy, healthy baby.
As I got closer to the due date I started feeling that an induction was inevitable....therefore, Buddy and I walked a couple times a day, I squatted every chance I got and we tried other things that friends or doctors suggested. The Friday before my due date, my doctor suggested scheduling an induction for Tuesday. I told her that I wasn't ready to schedule it just yet - I wanted more time. (And for the record, before I forget, 2 weeks back I had asked if they could guess the weight of the baby and they said that I wasn't measuring big, so they had no reason to suspect that I was having a big baby - BOY, were they wrong!)
Monday's doctor visit came and they suggested that I be induced on Tuesday since IVF babies shouldn't go very long past their due date. After hearing that I conceded - I didn't want to push things and be selfish, meaning if Logan did end up having some type of birth defect that could have been because I wanted the experience of my water breaking, I would be very upset with myself. We've waited so long for him to come, it isn't right of me to be selfish that the labor should come naturally.
Enough background...here's how the day progressed.
So the day starts out as Election Day - November 4th. We got up and ready to go....we said goodbye to our dear Golden Retriever, Buddy and headed down the street to vote. In our previous neighborhood, we were always the first to arrive and when we left nobody was ever in line behind us. Not the case in our new neighborhood. We arrived at 6:09am to find 2 long lines. We waited in our 'district-appropriate' line until 6:30...we had moved 4 feet....we had about 35 people in front of us. I thought about pulling the pregnancy card (which later I heard some polling places let pregnant ladies step in front) but we opted just to go. So we did not get a chance to vote. We were very disappointed, but we needed to move on and think about the miraculous day ahead of us.
We arrived at 7am on the dot and were brought to our room - which was quickly switched by another nurse to give us a room with a view of the outside - beautiful fall trees and such. I got dressed in my most beautiful hospital gown and they attached the heartbeat monitor and contraction monitor. They checked me - I was still at about 2-2.5 cm, but I was now about 80% effaced - great! I kept thinking "well, I have a head start, I should move along a bit more quickly than those that come in at 0cm and 0% effaced" (yeah, right). They took some blood and placed an IV in my hand. They also started me on the antibiotic since I am Group B Strep positive (in case I forget to mention it later, Logan tested negative for
GBS...whew!).
At 8:10 am they started the Pitocin (the drug to induce labor). My favorite doctor, Dr. C was on call from 7:30a - 7:30a tomorrow the 5th. I was bound to deliver while in her care - so we were pleased.
So we decided to take a walk around the hallway.....you know, to get things moving even more. We did several laps around that floor. During our walk, we heard one lady giving birth. Besides her there were two other couples on the floor - and one was leaving to go upstairs - they just had twins. So the floor was quite empty. The nurses would comment as we passed the nursing station that we were doing well, but going so fast (so they knew that I wasn't having any 'real contractions' just yet). In the meantime, the heartbeat monitor kept falling off so the nurses kept stopping me to adjust it. We got back to the room and I could finally feel the contractions. The nurse played this 'game' which I suck at.....how would you rate your pain? Oh man, I hate that game.... I played the '0' card for quite some time. Considering that yes, I could feel the contraction, but honestly it was 'nothing' compared to how I figured it would be later on.
(My apologies if the rest of this story gets gross...but keep in mind that I am documenting this story for my purposes and I want to remember as much as I can).
At 11:05 the nurse and doctor came in and said okay it's time to break your water. This was exciting as I knew that Logan had to arrive within 24 hours of this landmark (little did I know how close we'd come to this deadline). Dr. C uncomfortably broke my 'bag of waters' and it gushed a little. Oh man, can I just say that I was not ready for this feeling all throughout the day? So every time I would move my pelvis I little bit would gush out. Then I went to sit up since I had to pee...and WHOA it was like a waterfall!!! I burst out laughing...it has to be one of the weirdest feelings in the world. It's like having no control over your bladder. While I was laughing so hard, I also despised the feeling. Throughout the day any time I would lift my pelvis to scoot up or move the slightest bit, ack! The nurses kept saying that he is still peeing and such so I'd be feeling it all day....I thought, how much does Logan pee??? (should've known he was a big baby...).
Every time the nurse came in to see how I was doing she offered me the epidural and every time I turned her down - I wanted to wait as long as possible, if not the entire way.
By this time (mid afternoon) both sets of Grandparents were there....waiting for something to happen. My Dad had an operation earlier that morning on his knee. Apparently while helping with a roofing project this summer he tore some cartilage....he had a half hour operation that morning, went home to sleep for a bit and then they came up. Bill & Dorene left mid-morning and drove 4 hours down to the hospital.
John and I took a few more walks around the hallway. I sat on a birthing ball (picture above, which John thought made my butt look huge...thanks John) hoping that something more would happen. It did seem that with each walk, I would feel the pain a bit more. The pain was now around a 2. I would get checked every few hours....3cm! Are you kidding me!!!! I had now been induced for approximately 7ish hours and you're telling me that I'm only 3cm along?!?!?! Ugh...more waiting...
Around 8:30pm both sets of grandparents left. It was a lot of waiting around and it didn't look like I was going anywhere. Earlier in the day our Moms joked that he'd come around midnight - I didn't find that funny. Then again, looking back, midnight would've been nice.
My sister (after battling with the decision to come see me....thinking that we didn't need another person staring at us waiting for a long time) came up. I was glad to see her even if it was for a quick visit. We watched some of the election on tv. During this time the pain had increased to a 6...and going upward. I was checked and I was only 4cm....are you kidding me!!!!!! I came in at 2-2.5 cm.....you are telling me that after 12 hours of having Pitocin in me and walking and squatting and such that I only gained two cm?!?!?!
Okay, it was decision time. Knowing how much time had passed and how far along I was NOT....and knowing that the pain was increasing quite a bit....and how tired I was....and that it was bedtime...and that I'd need a lot of energy for pushing....I decided it was time for an epidural - and John fully supported me. My sister was very glad as she could see how much pain I was in - and the contractions were coming on strong every minute. Dawn left wishing us the best of luck throughout the night.
At 10pm I was administered the epidural. Ahhh...it felt good. I really thought them administering it was going to be more painful, however it was a pinch, but it quickly went away...the rest was helping the doc guide it down my back. So it definitely took the pain away. I could still feel my stomach tighten, but I didn't feel the pain. However I was now faced with a new feeling that I did not like...numbing of my legs...ugh, it was not cool to not be able to move my legs no matter how hard I tried. They also put internal monitors in me, so I didn't have to be strapped any longer...and they hooked me up to a catheter. So we slept.
At 2am on Wed., Nov. 5th they checked me...I was now at a whopping 5 cm!!! Oh goodness gracious!!! Only one more centimeter after 4 hours! Imagine if I had been feeling pain all that time. I also apparently started having a 'bloody show'...which is a good sign. I asked the nurse what I could do, despite the epidural, to move things along. She said that I could sit up a bit more. I immediately learned that this meant that I would feel the contractions a bit more since I am working with gravity. I was willing to feel this though, if it meant moving things along. I was still able to eventually fall asleep.
At 4am (picture above at 4am) they checked me....6cm! Okay, one more lousy centimeter. Seriously!?!?! As after this awakening I was feeling the pain much stronger and knew I needed my sleep...so I lowered my bed so I would not feel the pain as much.
6am....woo-hoo!!!!!! The nurse initially said 10 cm...then she took it back and said 9.5 cm since there was a little lip left. She was extremely excited at my progress...and finally so was I!!! I was told that I needed to 'labor down'. Great...but, what did this mean? Laying there. Oy.
By this point I was growing a bit concerned about the amount of time left until 11....and then I learned that the doctor on call at 7:30am was not exactly my favorite...so I really wanted Logan to come by then. The nurse did tell me that due to scheduling between both doctors that Dr. C was still on call until 9:30, so that was good to hear that she'd be a part of it.
The nurse asked me to do a test push....3-1o second pushes. She said I was an excellent pusher and I was feeling really good about having this baby without a c-section. They wanted me to continue to labor down. Okay, I was slowly trying to wake up and prepare myself for the most exciting moment ever. All of a sudden I got a queasy feeling....I felt nauseous. I asked the nurse if this was normal...she said 'yes, you're having a baby'. Then she left the room to get something and as she left I said 'Am I gonna hurl?" (nice, right?) She said 'No, well Maybe'. Ack...John get the bucket.....and I continued to dry heave as I hadn't eaten or drank anything since 10pm on Monday. Eeww...
The nurse shift change happened again at 7:30...we have now gone through all 3 shift changes and funny thing...we were back to our original nurse, Jan. Jan was bummed that we were still there, however she was selfishly glad so she could help deliver our baby. Lori, or previous nurse told her how 'ready' I was and that I'd probably sneeze this baby out as things looked so good (I wish she was right).
Nurse Jan came back in around 8:15 and said okay let's do this....since we want Dr. C to deliver Logan, we need to get started now. Oh, wow...the moment was here. Somewhere around this point, I threw up again.
Okay so the pushing began. How I describe this next hour and a half was pushing every minute for 3 sets of 10 seconds (although sometimes the seconds were LONG seconds...and I was sure to tell the nurse that her seconds were too long - during those pushes I had to hold my breath, so ugh). I would push and push and every time I would ask 'Did I make any progress?' and every time that would reply 'um, a little'....I just think they were being kind. The doctor still wasn't in the room. Perhaps I was thinking that when the doctor came in something magical was going to happen or help. They said that the doctor will come in when the head is out. Well from all the baby tv I've watched, I thought that once the head was out, the rest was a breeze...so technically the nurse delivers the baby.
The nurse would from time to time say that she could see the head and John peeked around and saw it too. The nurse said he had lots of black hair! Ah, how exciting. I did ask to have the mirror, they hoped it would bring me inspiration to push. Some people find this gross, but sorry...I think birth is one of the most miraculous things ever and wanted to see it if I could.
The nurse started thinking that perhaps I wasn't pushing in the proper area. I couldn't feel a thing from the darn epidural. So they called the Anesthesiologist to come and drop the epidural. Okay, whew...I could now feel the pain again. Which, while it hurt, did help for me to know that I'm properly pushing....although, still nothing happening. I didn't lose hope, however I will admit that while I was pushing to no avail, I just 'knew' in my heart that I was going to have a c-section. Oh and somewhere during this process I threw up for a 3rd time - they said that this would definitely help....um, nope it pretty much did nothing.
Oh my gosh, I was exhausted. I kept praying 'God, give me strength'. Finally Dr. C came in. Okay, perhaps something magical would happen. Still pushing and still nothing. She said that we could try the vacuum and if that didn't help, then we'd need to do a c-section. While the entire time I said that I would NOT do the vacuum...something came over me and I agreed. I cried...and cried. The nurse looked at me and told me to focus and remember everything I'd read about pushing...and how badly I wanted this baby. Ya know what? Despite the fact that I thought she was a wonderful nurse, I felt like yelling back. Are you kidding? Of course I want him out...do you really think I am not pushing like crazy??
During the next contraction they hooked Logan up to the vacuum. The the next contraction, I pushed with all my might and they pulled with that awful contraption. They said I made a little headway....same story, different contraction. There were now about 7 nurses standing around yelling at me to PUSH. I was balling and growing quite hysterical - I just wanted to meet my son and this was sooo hard. During this time, without my knowing, apparently John was crying too...he couldn't stand to see me in so much pain and crying so much. We actually tried for one more contraction....nothing. Dr. C said 'Paige, we need to do a c-section'. At this time it was around 10am...one more hour until he 'had' to come out due to the 24-hour rule with breaking the water. I agreed.
Nurses and doctors rushed around everywhere. They handed John scrubs to put on and they were on the phones with the OR to get everything prepped...I think right now it was around 9:50ish. I was still in pain as they hadn't re-upped the epidural just yet...my left side was just killing me. I kept saying 'just take the pain away'. I didn't understand why they couldn't do that since I was having an c-section. Apparently we needed to wait until I was in the OR in order to do that. So I was eventually (felt like forever) wheeled away, after signing paperwork, going over every little bump there was....ouch. Passing the nursing station as they all looked at me knowing how long I'd been there.
I entered the OR and I kept saying 'take the pain away...why can't you do that?'. I don't know if I got an answer....my world was just spinning. I closed my eyes praying for this to be over quickly.
I heard John enter and was sooo glad to see him. The doctors kept poking me with needles asking if I could feel pain....ah, they must've upped my epidural cuz I eventually didn't feel pain. Although, I then started smelling a burning...I'm guessing this is how they cut me open...I don't know. I opened my eyes and it took me a moment to realize where I was...I thought perhaps I was in heaven or in the clouds as all I could see was blue. After I looked back and saw John I realized that it was the blue 'curtain' that they hang so we can't see anything. One of my arms was pinned down...but not both.
I could feel a lot of tugging, but no pain. I heard one of the doctors ask me if I work out...I thought, what kind of question is that during a time like this? I said um, yeah I walk with my dog. He mentioned that I had a lot of stomach muscle and not a lot of fat - I guess, nice to hear... All of a sudden they said 'Dad stand up'. John had the video camera ready and the video we have is kind of graphic - you could see lots of blood and the cord hanging out...and there was my little gem. They said 'It's a Boy!'. They brought him around to see me - for an extreme quick second. I could hear him crying....oh the BEST sound in the world!!!!!!!!!! I cried.
I heard them saying that they were taking him away to clean him up and all that stuff. I told John (as I told him many times before) follow the baby....leave me be....and he did. He took the camera and he got to spend the next 20-30 minutes with him taking pictures and staring at our beautiful son.
In the meantime, I was falling asleep as they were doing whatever it is they do. I heard the doctor (oh by the way, both doctors were in on my surgery) say 'he was a big boy'. I just wondered how big. Soon after, now in a different kind of pain, I was wheeled into the recovery room...again, saying something along the lines of 'when is this pain going to go away'.
But then that pain went away....I saw John sitting in a chair holding Logan - the cutest visual I'd seen that day. As John brought him over to me, I asked how big he was. 10 pounds!!!!!! WHAT? Yes, 10 pounds. The nurses kept saying 'no wonder why he wasn't coming out' and 'you poor thing, you went through so much'. I felt like saying....yes, I went through too much and you had zero clue that he was going to be SO big! They also informed me that his head was crooked in the birth canal - hence why he didn't come out and why the vacuum (which left an ugly, big, red mark on his head) didn't work either - he was crooked (why they couldn't tell, I don't know).
The newborn nurse was taking his footprints....oh geez....his feet were sooo big....they barely fit on the page!!!
So there you have it. 26 hours of labor, 1.5 hours of pushing, 3 hospital shift changes, 2 doctors, 1 c-section, 10 pounds, 22 inches later, our son had arrived. And all the pain and time of waiting was SO worth it - I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat.
