We went in Oct. 30th to be induced, so that I could deliver the baby vaginally. I got to Lex Med at 5:00 am. I had a few things on my mind, regarding labor: 1) I hope I am not in labor for days, 2) I hope I will not need an episiotomy, 3) I hope I do not miss the window for an epidural, and 4) I hope I can deliver vaginally so I can recover faster and have more energy and up time for my girl. When we arrived, I found out I was 3 cm dilated already. I knew I was having contractions, but couldn't REALLY feel them yet.
They started the Pitocin, and I started to have more contractions, and the baby didn't like it AT ALL. (Her heart was still beating at a pretty high rate, not doing the "up down, up down" rhythm it should.) So they stopped the Pitocin. The doctor came in and looked at "my strip" which shows the baby's heart beat, and my contractions. She asked about the Pitocin, they explained the situation, and decided to start it up again. My blood pressure was high.
SIDE NOTE: My doctor was not on call, she came in special. Yet another blessing!
The doctor came in a said, well let's break your water, I said "WHAT?!?!!" and Cypheus said, "Yeah!!! Let's do it!". I took a "double take" look at him. She said, "oh yeah, we are having a baby today!" It felt like things were moving extremely fast - I had no idea. She said I could get the epidural whenever I wanted it, it didn't matter what I was dilated. Before I continue this story, I have to say, I was told by one of the nurses that the "water" dulls the contraction pain. And somewhere in here they decided to stop the Pitocin again based on "the strip". Okay now we continue. The water breaking was not very pleasant at all, but was like a walk in the park to what happened next. I started to feel the contractions immediately. I was in so much pain, right away, it was unreal. The doctor looked at me, and watched my heart rate and blood pressure, and said we are going to go ahead and order the epidural. My contractions were coming constantly, literally. There was no down time in between each one. I could, however, tell when one ended and the next one began. The baby was not reacting to it well at all. That's what was going on with her heart rate, she had no time to rest between contractions like babies would normally during labor. True story (wink-wink) I dilated 5 cm in 30 minutes. Which means I am now at 8 cm!
The anesthesiologist came in, and we got the show on the road. Getting the epidural was not pleasant AT ALL, especially not while you are contracting, but was a very necessary means to an end. I was very happy for it to be done. Once it started to kick in and things got so much better. The bad - contracting was horrible, the good - it didn't last more than an hour. I am not sure Cacy and I were going to be able to take it. The doctor came in and said, if the baby's heart rate doesn't change we are going to have to give you a C-section. And very, very shortly after that, she said, we are going to have to give you a C-section. We passed a clock on the way into the room, and it was 11:00 am. They moved me to the operating table, and STRAPPED ME DOWN! They covered me with a heating suit to keep me warm. I didn't do much of the shaking you see or hear about after that. I could unfortunately feel something, it took a while for the whatever-they-add-to-the-epidural for pain management during a C-section to kick in. (Cypheus was allowed in the room.) Finally it did, and Dr. J. went to work. I could smell the burning, and feel the movements being made. I have been told that they have to remove your organs to get to the uterus, that must be true because it took a while after the incision was made before the "tugging" started. I could feel my tummy go empty when they pulled her out. I laid there on the table listening for the cry. I just kept saying she's not crying, she's not crying. Finally the "pain managers" told me they still haven't suctioned her. So when they did, and I heard her cry, I of course cried. All I could think was how happy and blessed I felt since trying for this moment for over the last 10 years. And being 36 years old, it's just amazing.
They told Cypheus he could come and see the baby, and I swear that's the last time I saw him for hours (mild exaggeration). He was with his baby girl.
We went back to the recovery room. My blood pressure was still up, my white blood count was low, and my liver enzyme test high. They did more testing, and the following ensued. I had a two bag blood transfusion. I was given magnesium for my blood pressure. And, then I was given morphine for pain as the epidural was ending. That magnesium had me sooooo drowsy, it was like me times one thousand (if you know how sleepy of a person I am - you know what this means). I couldn't finish a sentence, and I couldn't finish listening to a sentence. I couldn't stay awake during feedings. It was awful. Finally they stopped the magnesium, and things moved to normal. My blood pressure however took a while to change back to normal.
I was moved to L&D, and in less than 10 minutes was moved back to recovery. Stayed there for a while, and finally moved to L&D on Friday, Nov 1 (I think). I was in the hospital until Saturday, Nov 2nd and was discharged midday. However the doctor wanted to make sure that I made an appointment ASAP to check my blood pressure. Well, I am exhausted, I hope included everything in this post, because if not - it's just too bad now.
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