A Baby Story
Be forewarned - don't read this if you have an aversion to or don't care to know about our birth story. :)
April 27th - My 40th week appointment. Dr. does not want us to go past 41 weeks. So we have two choices, we can induce on April 29th, or on May 3rd. We choose April 29th. Appointment made at labor and delivery. Next two-ish days are anxiety filled as I wonder what to do with myself in the hours before my entire life changes for ever.
April 29th
7:30AM -9:30AM - arrive at hospital. Receptionist is very friendly. Introduces us to our nurse, Kelly, who will be with us all day. She is from Louisianna, has a bit of an accent. Not too bad though, I've heard worse. She's really nice. Down to earth. Asks if I want the epidural. My hesitant "I think so," makes her brow furrow. She asks if I want to go natural. No, I don't really want to do that. Okay than you want the epidural? Well, yes and no. We talk about this for a few minutes. She agrees to let me labor for a while and then make the decision. Need to make it soon. Already dilated to 4.5, 90% effaced. She says I will have an easy day. Starts pitocin drip on lowest dose. I'm already having regular contractions.
10:00 - 11:00ish - pitocin is working. I can feel the increasing contractions, though they aren't super painful, just a little annoying. Nurse Kelly and Lewis are both asking if I want the epidural. I hesitate again. I ask more questions about side effects, slowing down labor. Then the contractions start coming more frequently, and are painful. And these are early. So I agree to getting the epidural started.
Epidural doc comes in. He's very nice. Friendly. I'm scared of the needle. When the nurse had to put the IV in I did not like it. I'm definitely not going to like getting stuck with the monster needle I know he's using (but that I can not see as I have my back to him). He talks me through it, tells me to tell him what I feel. Pain, ouch! Pressure, stop that! They laugh at me and say I wasn't letting them get away with anything. I'm holding Lewis's hand pretty tight. He says he may lose his fingers. Epidural in. Almost immediately my right leg goes numb. Feels like a dead weight. Do not like this.
From 11:00ish - 2:00ish I labor till I'm dilated to 6ish and 100% effaced. Doctor comes in and breaks my water. Sometime after this, I start feeling pain in my lower back, near my left hip. Epidural Doc had told me to hit the button if I needed more gogo juice (Lewis's phrase). I am hesitant because of how numb my right leg already is. But contractions are two minutes apart and painful. I hit the button.
Pain does not go away. Can't talk through them. Hurts! Ring the nurse. Epidural doc comes back and asks me how many times I hit the button. Well just once doc. Oh well you can hit it way more than that. But let's give you this first. Gives me something strong. Says they have way stronger stuff if I need it. No thanks, already can't feel my leg. He says that's no problem. It's when your hands tingle that they stop the meds.
Hmmm...
Pain comes back about an hour later. It's after 3:00 now. Nurse comes in. Something up with baby's heart rate? Keeps dipping at wrong points. Need to put me on oxygen. She tells me not to worry.
YEAH. RIGHT.
The oxygen mask immediately worries me, I'm freaking out listening to the baby's heart rate, and I can feel pressure in my lower back. It doesn't hurt enough to get more meds just yet. And I really can't feel my right leg now. I'd rather feel the discomforting pain and still keep my other leg.
A few minutes later the pain is kicking up again. I hit the pain button for the gogo juice. It helps a little. My right leg is totally gone. Might as well be a dead fish. I big heavy dead fish. Nurse comes back in. Still does not like baby's heart rate. Wants to put an internal monitor in to see how the contractions are doing and if we need more pitocin. When she checks, I'm fully dilated. She wants me to labor down. Baby still high.
We do this for about 30 more minutes. At 4PM She comes in and says we need to go. She's worried about the baby's heart rate. We need to push. He needs to come out. We get set up to push. The lead up to this (getting baby out due to heart rate) has me frightened out of my mind. She tells me how to push. To me this is like giving a Russian directions to the mall in English. You said what? But when she tells me to, I start "pushing." I have really, no idea what I'm doing. But I figure my body does. So I let it do it's thing.
She says I push really well. This is amazing to me.
We push for 15-20 minutes. Baby is moving down. Just a few more pushes. His heart rate is not improving. She calls for Doc. And NICU.
Full panic sets in. Just a precation she says. It's procedure she says, because she thinks I'll need help getting him out. Breath she says.
NICU?!? Intensive care? Relax? She asks if I trust her. Oh yeah sure, I've known you 10 hours. I trust you as far as I can throw you. And right now my right leg is dead so I can't throw anyone. I say I trust her. I sort of do, she is the professional. But NICU?
All of a sudden the room is full of people. I still have my oxygen mask on. Baby's heart rate is still not doing what they want. Bizarre to me. All these people in the room, they talk amongst themselves. Doctor gets there. So glad to see her! She talks to me, tells me all is well. She gets set up. She tells me to breathe. We start pushing again.
Now, a few minutes in, there are too many cooks in the kitchen. Nurse Kelly is telling me to breathe in and out once, and push to ten. The other nurse who's name escapes me, is telling me to breath in and out twice, and push to ten. I get frustrated with them both. Doctor sees this. Takes over counting. Does not want me to get frustrated or discouraged. I'm pushing great.
Doctor also says something along the lines of I have to calm down between contractions and breath easy. Make it easier on the baby. I do this. Baby does better. Heart rate still all over the place. Still not pleased. He's going down with every push, but then he slides right back up. We do this for 10 minutes. Doc says she will need to help me with the vaccum thingie. I don't like this. But she says alternative is c-section. Really don't like that. Vaccum it is.
I push, she pulls, I feel the baby move down, head comes out, strangest sense of relief I've ever felt. When his body slides out it's the strangest thing. All of this pressure in my belly just goes away. Pain in my back just goes away. I feel strangely lighter?
Baby is purple! And crying. He's big! I'm crying. The NICU nurses agree to check him on my belly rather than cart him off. Doctor has him ready for the cord to be cut. Lewis cuts the cord. They put him on my belly. He's slimy! And crying! And big! I can not believe I did this.
NICU nurses take him to their little baby stand and check him over. His heart is fine. He is fine. His arm was wrapped around his neck and they think cutting into his artery and making his heart rate erratic. Funny thing ... I did the same thing when I was born!
All is well. I had some hiccups afterwards. Kept me in recovery for some extra time to sort that all out. But it's good now.
It's all good now. Lewis Grady was born on April 29th at 4:42PM, he weighed 7lbs 10oz and was 20.5 inches long. He scored an 8.8 on that baby scale thingie. He has perfect little soft skin, is not jaundiced, and is eating and sleeping well. He has ten fingers and ten toes. He has a full head of dark brown hair, and dark dark eyes. I believe they will be brown, like his daddy's.
He's adorable.
April 27th - My 40th week appointment. Dr. does not want us to go past 41 weeks. So we have two choices, we can induce on April 29th, or on May 3rd. We choose April 29th. Appointment made at labor and delivery. Next two-ish days are anxiety filled as I wonder what to do with myself in the hours before my entire life changes for ever.
April 29th
7:30AM -9:30AM - arrive at hospital. Receptionist is very friendly. Introduces us to our nurse, Kelly, who will be with us all day. She is from Louisianna, has a bit of an accent. Not too bad though, I've heard worse. She's really nice. Down to earth. Asks if I want the epidural. My hesitant "I think so," makes her brow furrow. She asks if I want to go natural. No, I don't really want to do that. Okay than you want the epidural? Well, yes and no. We talk about this for a few minutes. She agrees to let me labor for a while and then make the decision. Need to make it soon. Already dilated to 4.5, 90% effaced. She says I will have an easy day. Starts pitocin drip on lowest dose. I'm already having regular contractions.
10:00 - 11:00ish - pitocin is working. I can feel the increasing contractions, though they aren't super painful, just a little annoying. Nurse Kelly and Lewis are both asking if I want the epidural. I hesitate again. I ask more questions about side effects, slowing down labor. Then the contractions start coming more frequently, and are painful. And these are early. So I agree to getting the epidural started.
Epidural doc comes in. He's very nice. Friendly. I'm scared of the needle. When the nurse had to put the IV in I did not like it. I'm definitely not going to like getting stuck with the monster needle I know he's using (but that I can not see as I have my back to him). He talks me through it, tells me to tell him what I feel. Pain, ouch! Pressure, stop that! They laugh at me and say I wasn't letting them get away with anything. I'm holding Lewis's hand pretty tight. He says he may lose his fingers. Epidural in. Almost immediately my right leg goes numb. Feels like a dead weight. Do not like this.
From 11:00ish - 2:00ish I labor till I'm dilated to 6ish and 100% effaced. Doctor comes in and breaks my water. Sometime after this, I start feeling pain in my lower back, near my left hip. Epidural Doc had told me to hit the button if I needed more gogo juice (Lewis's phrase). I am hesitant because of how numb my right leg already is. But contractions are two minutes apart and painful. I hit the button.
Pain does not go away. Can't talk through them. Hurts! Ring the nurse. Epidural doc comes back and asks me how many times I hit the button. Well just once doc. Oh well you can hit it way more than that. But let's give you this first. Gives me something strong. Says they have way stronger stuff if I need it. No thanks, already can't feel my leg. He says that's no problem. It's when your hands tingle that they stop the meds.
Hmmm...
Pain comes back about an hour later. It's after 3:00 now. Nurse comes in. Something up with baby's heart rate? Keeps dipping at wrong points. Need to put me on oxygen. She tells me not to worry.
YEAH. RIGHT.
The oxygen mask immediately worries me, I'm freaking out listening to the baby's heart rate, and I can feel pressure in my lower back. It doesn't hurt enough to get more meds just yet. And I really can't feel my right leg now. I'd rather feel the discomforting pain and still keep my other leg.
A few minutes later the pain is kicking up again. I hit the pain button for the gogo juice. It helps a little. My right leg is totally gone. Might as well be a dead fish. I big heavy dead fish. Nurse comes back in. Still does not like baby's heart rate. Wants to put an internal monitor in to see how the contractions are doing and if we need more pitocin. When she checks, I'm fully dilated. She wants me to labor down. Baby still high.
We do this for about 30 more minutes. At 4PM She comes in and says we need to go. She's worried about the baby's heart rate. We need to push. He needs to come out. We get set up to push. The lead up to this (getting baby out due to heart rate) has me frightened out of my mind. She tells me how to push. To me this is like giving a Russian directions to the mall in English. You said what? But when she tells me to, I start "pushing." I have really, no idea what I'm doing. But I figure my body does. So I let it do it's thing.
She says I push really well. This is amazing to me.
We push for 15-20 minutes. Baby is moving down. Just a few more pushes. His heart rate is not improving. She calls for Doc. And NICU.
Full panic sets in. Just a precation she says. It's procedure she says, because she thinks I'll need help getting him out. Breath she says.
NICU?!? Intensive care? Relax? She asks if I trust her. Oh yeah sure, I've known you 10 hours. I trust you as far as I can throw you. And right now my right leg is dead so I can't throw anyone. I say I trust her. I sort of do, she is the professional. But NICU?
All of a sudden the room is full of people. I still have my oxygen mask on. Baby's heart rate is still not doing what they want. Bizarre to me. All these people in the room, they talk amongst themselves. Doctor gets there. So glad to see her! She talks to me, tells me all is well. She gets set up. She tells me to breathe. We start pushing again.
Now, a few minutes in, there are too many cooks in the kitchen. Nurse Kelly is telling me to breathe in and out once, and push to ten. The other nurse who's name escapes me, is telling me to breath in and out twice, and push to ten. I get frustrated with them both. Doctor sees this. Takes over counting. Does not want me to get frustrated or discouraged. I'm pushing great.
Doctor also says something along the lines of I have to calm down between contractions and breath easy. Make it easier on the baby. I do this. Baby does better. Heart rate still all over the place. Still not pleased. He's going down with every push, but then he slides right back up. We do this for 10 minutes. Doc says she will need to help me with the vaccum thingie. I don't like this. But she says alternative is c-section. Really don't like that. Vaccum it is.
I push, she pulls, I feel the baby move down, head comes out, strangest sense of relief I've ever felt. When his body slides out it's the strangest thing. All of this pressure in my belly just goes away. Pain in my back just goes away. I feel strangely lighter?
Baby is purple! And crying. He's big! I'm crying. The NICU nurses agree to check him on my belly rather than cart him off. Doctor has him ready for the cord to be cut. Lewis cuts the cord. They put him on my belly. He's slimy! And crying! And big! I can not believe I did this.
NICU nurses take him to their little baby stand and check him over. His heart is fine. He is fine. His arm was wrapped around his neck and they think cutting into his artery and making his heart rate erratic. Funny thing ... I did the same thing when I was born!
All is well. I had some hiccups afterwards. Kept me in recovery for some extra time to sort that all out. But it's good now.
It's all good now. Lewis Grady was born on April 29th at 4:42PM, he weighed 7lbs 10oz and was 20.5 inches long. He scored an 8.8 on that baby scale thingie. He has perfect little soft skin, is not jaundiced, and is eating and sleeping well. He has ten fingers and ten toes. He has a full head of dark brown hair, and dark dark eyes. I believe they will be brown, like his daddy's.
He's adorable.
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