After a fairly sleepless night on the Monday prior to Valentine's Day, D and I awoke very early in order to arrive at the hospital by 6:30 a.m. for my scheduled inducement. We headed straight up to Labor & Delivery where the nurse got us settled in the room. After I changed into the ever so lovely hospital gown, we sat down to wait for things to happen. I had an IV started for fluids and two monitors strapped to my belly: one for contractions and the other to monitor the baby's heartbeat. The IV needle was huge and I got a little woozy as the nurse inserted it into my arm. The IV also served as a conduit for the drug Pitocin, which initiated my contractions. I was about 3 cm dilated and 80% effaced going in, and the contractions weren't too uncomfortable until I hit 5 cm or so. At 6 cm I was in a lot of pain and opted for the epidural. The anesthesiologist arrived about 20 minutes after that and inserted the catheter in my back. I sat upright at the side of the bed while she started the process, pausing when a contraction would hit. And holy moly they were excruciating without the epidural. Afterwards I felt no pain, only pressure when a contraction would hit. Labor was painful - I knew that going in, but I wasn't sure how much it would hurt even with an epidural. More power to those women who can go through the experience without pain medication.
Our families had arrived earlier in the morning and we were able to spend time with them in our L&D room. However, as soon as the contractions started to roll in and I got the epidural, it was just me and D in the birthing suite. One side effect of the epidural is uncontrollable shaking - I couldn't stop! Everyone thought I was freezing but it was just the medication. And earlier in the day, since my water wouldn't break naturally, my doctor decided to go ahead and do it. THAT was a weird sensation. Throughout the morning I remember shuffling back and forth to the bathroom (darn my small bladder) with D's help, and having to unhook the IV (D got very good at that) for each trip. My nurse let me have fluids and jello (since I was concerned about my hypoglycemia - low blood sugar) but the Pitocin really slowed down my appetite.
I have to say that one of the best parts of the birthing experience was our L&D nurse, Mary E. She was AMAZING and so wonderful throughout the whole process - I'm not sure I could have done so well without her. We were so disappointed when she had to leave at the end of her shift. She stayed as long as she could but alas, missed our baby by about 30 minutes. Also a rockstar? My husband. He was so sweet and attentive during the long hours of waiting, and a great partner during active labor.
My temperature was very high so that's when the decision was made by my doctor to start pushing right away once I hit 10 cm, because an elevated maternal fever along with an epidural can signify risks for the baby. I didn't have a rigid birth plan in place - basically I wanted an epidural, a natural birth (no c-section), and for my husband to be up near my head (NOT my legs). Well, I got 2 out of 3. My doc and nurse had D holding one of my legs within full view of the action. Ah well, it worked out okay in the end!
I remember being SO thirsty during labor and especially right after Boyd was born. Lots of pushing but I feel lucky that it was only for 45 minutes. I did work hard though - when my doctor said "push," I PUSHED! Prior to going in, my friend told me to give it all I had because holding back just prolongs the experience. I was overwhelmed with emotion when they laid our baby across my chest. He had a very healthy cry and it was a wonderful sound. I couldn't believe that I had done it! Due to the whole high temperature issue, they brought in a NICU nurse to check Boyd out. We laughed when he swatted away the bulb syringe. Only a few minutes old and he already had an attitude.
I remember being SO thirsty during labor and especially right after Boyd was born. Lots of pushing but I feel lucky that it was only for 45 minutes. I did work hard though - when my doctor said "push," I PUSHED! Prior to going in, my friend told me to give it all I had because holding back just prolongs the experience. I was overwhelmed with emotion when they laid our baby across my chest. He had a very healthy cry and it was a wonderful sound. I couldn't believe that I had done it! Due to the whole high temperature issue, they brought in a NICU nurse to check Boyd out. We laughed when he swatted away the bulb syringe. Only a few minutes old and he already had an attitude.
He latched on right away, but we later had problems nursing. Breastfeeding was a difficult process for us in the beginning (not to mention painful) but I'm glad I persevered because it really is the best for him.
I had forgotten about the things that need to happen immediately after birth - namely, expelling the placenta. It HURT. Especially since my epidural had long worn off by that point. I also realized later that I had lost more blood than was normal, so my doctor was concerned with that. I just recall being so incredibly exhausted by the whole process. You know how some women look picture-perfect after giving birth? Yeah, not me. Not that I really cared if I looked a mess, but it would have been nice to have some decent looking photos with Boyd afterward.
So let's see - we checked in at 6:30 a.m., birth was at 7:48 p.m., and we finally got to the Mother/Baby unit around 10:30 p.m., I think? Boyd stayed in the room with us 99% of the time, leaving only to get weighed and checked a couple times a day. I can't recall why I had to have an IV with antibiotics inserted postpartum - it was something to do with my high temperature, blood loss and an increased risk of infection. Anyway, the nursing staff was great, although they did wake me at midnight on both nights of my stay to do a vitals check.
After 2 nights and 3 days, we were finally discharged from the hospital. I was SO ready to go home. It took us a few days to decide on the little one's name, but we finally settled on Boyd Ulys Patrick. D and I wanted a unique first name and of course his middle name is in honor of my dad. I think it's grown on everybody!
I had forgotten about the things that need to happen immediately after birth - namely, expelling the placenta. It HURT. Especially since my epidural had long worn off by that point. I also realized later that I had lost more blood than was normal, so my doctor was concerned with that. I just recall being so incredibly exhausted by the whole process. You know how some women look picture-perfect after giving birth? Yeah, not me. Not that I really cared if I looked a mess, but it would have been nice to have some decent looking photos with Boyd afterward.
So let's see - we checked in at 6:30 a.m., birth was at 7:48 p.m., and we finally got to the Mother/Baby unit around 10:30 p.m., I think? Boyd stayed in the room with us 99% of the time, leaving only to get weighed and checked a couple times a day. I can't recall why I had to have an IV with antibiotics inserted postpartum - it was something to do with my high temperature, blood loss and an increased risk of infection. Anyway, the nursing staff was great, although they did wake me at midnight on both nights of my stay to do a vitals check.
After 2 nights and 3 days, we were finally discharged from the hospital. I was SO ready to go home. It took us a few days to decide on the little one's name, but we finally settled on Boyd Ulys Patrick. D and I wanted a unique first name and of course his middle name is in honor of my dad. I think it's grown on everybody!
