The gory details...

If you are not interested in the details of my labor, I encourage you to skip this post. :-)

Monday, June 25
Ryan and I called the hospital at 7pm as instructed, after waiting all day for a call, and we were told to call back in 30 minutes as they changed shifts. At 7:40 we called back and were told to head on in. We checked into our room in labor and delivery at Rex around 8pm (in time to catch most of Hell's Kitchen while they processed my paper work and started my IV).

I was having regular contractions every 3-5 minutes already when they put me on the monitor, but Dr. Gunter decided to give me the Cervadil anyhow. So, he inserted that, which helps to soften and dilate the cervix, and then gave me an Ambien so I would get a good night's sleep. I was hooked up to the IV, a blood pressure cuff, and pulse monitor, so sleeping wasn't that comfortable. Ryan had to sleep in an awful chair.

Tuesday, June 26
Around 8am, Dr. Gaines came in and I hadn't dilated any further. They broke my water (what an enormous gush!), and that didn't hurt at all. Then, Dr. Gaines put a uterine catheter in to better measure the strength of the natural contractions I was having. This was *extremely* painful, partially because Dr. Gaines has giant, non-gentle hands, and it truly felt like he was reaching in to my throat while he inserted the catheter. Also, he had to do it twice because the first one filled with blood immediately. They asked if I wanted an epidural immediately, and I said no. They told me to really think about it because my blood platelet count was 108, and they can't do an epidural if it is 100 or below. Being on an IV meant my count could drop even lower the longer I waited, and I potentially couln't get one at all. I asked why it was a risk, and Dr. Gaines explained in his extremely-blunt manner that there could be in issue with the space in my spine, and also with clotting. And if there was a problem, I would need an immediate surgery that he wasn't even sure they could do on a pregnant woman. Ug!

They measured my contractions for 10 minutes, counting the strength of each beyond the baseline, and if it hit 200, they wouldn't give me pitocin; however, my contractions only hit 120 and then 130. To me, they felt 5 times as strong as they had been before they broke my water. With each contraction another gush of fluid came out, which wasn't that pleasent.

They started the Pitocin drip at that point, maybe around 8:45am, and the contractions got even stronger. I was completely breathing through them, unable to think of anything else during each contraction. Ryan would watch the monitor and let me know as each one was about to pass. I lasted through two hours of heavy contractions, but when the nurse checked me around 11am and I was still only 3cm dilated, I decided to go for the epidural. Dr. Gaines estimated I would be dilating until 4 or 5pm, and I knew I couldn't take it for that long and still be able to push. He told me getting to 5cm was the hardest, so I was focused on that goal.

The anesthesiologist was there within 10 minutes, and the nurse let him know about my platelet count and hoped he wouldn't want my blood taken again. I was frightened about getting the epidural, but it went really well. It didn't hurt, just pinched, and felt strange. I only had one contraction while he inserted it, and I leaned against the nurse, Sara. There is a strange sensation down one leg when the medicine goes in. After I layed back down, it took maybe 5 minutes to take effect, and it was FABULOUS. I could feel each contraction, but just barely (and I knew by the fluid gush with each one). Jenna arrived just at this time, having missed my panting and heaving contractions.

We all hung and watched TV, and Ryan and Jenna watched my contraction monitor, cheering it on to greater heights (it liked to stay around 60-65, though there was an occasional 70). My blood pressure cuff went off every hour, and would beep because my bp was always high, meaning the nurse had to come in and reset it each time. Around 1pm she came by to do her regular checks and turn off the BP warning, and I told her I was feeling a lot of pressure in my bottom. Ryan was out of the room at this time. She said would check me while she was there. When she announced I was 9.5 cm, I was stunned! I had gone from 3cm to 9.5cm in around 2 hours! She said she would come back in about 30 minutes and get me ready to push. When Ryan came back and heard the news, he was shocked as well. This was really happening! I was glad because I wanted my nurse, Sara, there with me, and she was going off shift at 5pm.

I felt pretty good about what was ahead because the epidural was doing such a great job. I thought I would be able to push and feel it, but also have it be kind of this distant pressure, rather than pain. When Sara came back, she said there was just a small lip left, so she would come back in 15 min. I let her know I thought my epi was wearing off - I could feel my les and feet more than I had the whole time. When she came back, she told me they were taking her off duty, and my new nurse would be Lauren. I was really upset that I had made it this far and would have someone new right at the end, but Lauren turned out to be great. She was young and Southern :-) She said there was very very small lip left, and she would get me prepped in 10 min. By the time everything got set up, and Dr. Gaines was out of a previous procedure, it was 3pm. Jenna went to the waiting room, and Lauren got me set in the stirrups.

Ryan held my left leg, and behind my neck, and Lauren held my right leg. During each contraction, I would breathe in, breathe out, and then take a deep breathe in to hold while I pushed for a count of 10. Then, I would release, take another breathe and push for 10, and then do that a third time. She said I was an excellent pusher, and she guessed we would be calling the Dr in about 30 to deliver. Pushing was tiring, but I was doing okay. After pushing for about 45 minutes, though, baby got stuck. Her head was stuck against the ridge of my pelvic bone, so each push would move her out a little and then she would slip right back in. I was getting really tired and sore. My left hip was killing me. The epi was definitely not the same, and I could start to really feel things more. I was starting to be the sweaty mess you see when women give birth on TV, and I thought in my head how I didn't expect to actually look and feel like those women. Ryan wiped my face off with a damp rag every once in awhile. We also changed the bed position, and shifted my hips to help the baby get past that ridge. The whole time, her heart beat was fine. The Dr came in to check my pushes twice, and also said I was a strong pusher.

In my head I had started to think I didn't know how long I could do it, but I had sworn not to be one of those women saying I couldn't do it. Lauren asked me a few times if I wanted to breathe through a contraction for a rest, and I was like NO! I knew that wasn't going to help me get the baby out!

Lauren also let me feel the baby's head twice, which was amazing, and definitely motivating. After pushing for almost an hour and a half, I could tell some progress had been made, and started feeling terrible burning. Lauren told me whatever I had done during that last push I needed to keep doing because the baby was coming. I thought to myself, "Okay, what did you do?" And honestly, anyone who knows me will recognize that I am not a terribly religious person, but the only thing I had done was say a prayer for more strength. Crazy, huh? After that push, Lauren called for Dr. Gaines and the room was chaos. A bunch of people came in, and were setting up blankets and warming tables, and all kinds of stuff.

Lauren explained that after I delivered the head, the dr would ask me to breathe through one contraction, and then I would deliver the body. I was SO focused on pushing and having the baby, I was oblivious to everything. I don't know if I could have stopped pushing if I wanted to. I remember Ryan saying, "I see her, honey!" and thinking that I was delivering her head. I felt myself tearing, but it didn't matter. The Dr said, "You are going to deliver her on the next push," and I thought he mean her head. I was preparing for several more pushes to get her the whole way out. Before I knew it though, flop! She was right there on my belly! Apparently, her head had already been out, and I didn't need to breathe through anything, she just shot right out.

Seeing her for the first time was indescribable. I barely even remember what happened, but Ryan tells me all I kept saying over and over was, "She is so beautiful!" Ryan cut the cord, and they took Adelaide off to be cleaned up, after she let out a nice big wail. The Dr started stitching me up right away, and I felt every single stitch. It took about 20 min for him to his embroidery, and I was straining to see the baby the whole time. I thought to myself that if he was stitching me, I must have delivered the placenta and not known it. Wrong. After he finished stitching, he told me I only had a first degree tear, which is good, but I hadn't delivered the placenta yet. He started massaging my stomach (well, massage is really too comfortable a word for the pushing and pain of the belly rubbing). He said if I didn't deliver it soon, he would have to reach in and get it! Ug! Luckily, after more massaging and some pushing, the placenta came out. That felt like a huge relief. The cord blood people took it away after inspecting it; we donated the cord blood to the NC cord blood bank. It had been at least 30 minutes after Adelaide came out, and I had still been being tortured all that time. I felt like that was unfair :-)

Jenna returned to the room, and I finally got to hold my little girl. She had gotten apgar scores of 8 and 9, so she was nice and strong and healthy. We couldn't have asked for more.

The next part is even more disgusting as they prepared me to go to my recovery room, and walked me to the bathroom to pee and be diapered. It seemed like I was hemmorging, but no one else seemed concerned, so I guess it was normal. I got to hold Adelaide while they wheeled me to our recovery room, and more nurses came and did more checks and took blood and who know what else.

At this point, the nurse on duty helped me get Adelaide latched on, and I breastfed for the first time. We were pro's at it :-) A little while later, I got her to latch on myself with no trouble, and she has been eating like a hippo ever since.

The experience was the the most amazing thing I've ever been through, and it was also by far the hardest thing I have ever done. Ryan told me for days how proud he was, and just astounded by what I had done. On his end of things, holding me up for all that time was also a physical test for him, and even better - he didn't throw up! So, I am proud of him too!

The first bp test after I delivered, my bp was back to its normal reading.

We are so thankful for that beautiful day.