This sweet prayed for little boy entered the world in a frenzy of activity last Saturday at 9:50pm just about 24 hours from the start of my induction.
We went to the hospital at 8pm Friday night and got checked in and in our room. I got the cervidil put in around 9:30pm to ripen my cervix. I was still only a fingertip dilated from the day before.
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We tried to sleep as much as we could and I had contractions off and on.
The next morning at 9:30am my midwife checked me and I was 1cm 70% effaced and -2 station. So the cervidil had done its job. She stripped my membranes and we decided to try the foley bulb next. She made a couple attempts but my cervix was still too posterior and she couldn’t get it in. It was very painful and gave me a ton of contractions and bloody show. All good things but not fun. We let that calm down a bit and then they gave me one dose of Misoprostol. Another cervix ripening agent. I started having regular contraction 2-3min apart about 30 seconds long but my pain was only about a 3 at this point. I got hooked up on my TENS machine which was a life saver later on and something I didn’t have with my other labors.
We ordered some food from flying star and my doula came it was now 3:30. She did some things to try and get him in a better position and down in my pelvis. It only took a few contractions and they got stronger to maybe a 5 it 6. I can’t remember what time she checked me again but I was 3cm and 80% -1 so they decided to not do anything else since I was in active labor and they didn’t want things to get to intense too fast. My body was doing what it needed to now.
We decided to try and get in the tub. It was a nice relaxing break in between contractions but laying on my back during a contraction was much more painful. The only thing that helped was sitting on the ball and moving or standing and swaying.
This whole time they had to redo my IV like 5 times and that almost hurt worst than the contractions. I was in tears at one point cause I was so tired of them poking me and I just broke down while Ben comforted me. Finally they had the anesthesiologist come in and she got it right away. I got my 2 doses of penicillin for being group B strep positive.
About 8pm I asked to be checked again because things had been going on quite a long time and getting more intense pain an 8 now and I was getting done. I asked to try the nitrous but they only had one set up and it was being used. So she checked me and I was 6cm 80% and -1 still. It was at this point I asked for the epidural. I didn’t know how much longer it was going to take and I wanted relief. They said one other person was ahead of me so it would be about 30 min. They offered me fentanyl while I waited and I said yes. I got into bed at this point and they laid me on my side with the peanut ball. The fentanyl didn’t help with the pain but it at least helped you relax in between and not care about them as much.
About a half hour later I started feeling a lot of pressure and my contractions had gotten much more painful though they stayed 2-3 min apart the whole time and lasted 30-45 seconds. Then I felt my water break. The anesthesiologist comes in and I’m like “nope it’s too late I feel like I need to push.” The midwife was busy delivering another baby and so my nurse checked me and I was almost complete with just a small lip so they moved me to the other side and she said she’d be back in 10-15 min as she felt that’s how long it would be before I was complete and ready to push.
Well 2-3 contractions and my body was pushing him out for me. I told Ben and my doula to call someone he was coming NOW! They couldn’t get the call button to work and finally found the number and called and said “we’re pushing in 249 gotta go bye.”
It was the most intense and painful experience though my body pushing him out was a relief. I felt the “ring of fire” at the beginning which I didn’t with Kyle’s delivery my only other unmedicated one. My doula told me to not push and to pant which helped slow things down. And I wasn’t trying to push my body was just doing it on it’s own.. I was so worried I was going to tear cause I’m used to having my midwife there to massage and keep that from happening. By the time his head was out the nurse finally came in and delivered the rest of him at 9:50pm. Just an little over an hour I went from 6cm to a delivered baby.
Another midwife came after he was already delivered and finished things up. The bed wasn’t set up for delivery. Nothing. Lol. He game fast and furious and my body just did it. I have to say I felt powerful. And thankfully I didn’t tear :) so 3 deliveries with no tearing is a huge blessing.
He had the cord wrapped once around his neck
and he had a lot of fluid because he came so fast so they took him for a few minutes to suction him. But he was beautiful and crying and healthy and FINALLY HERE! After 9 long months of waiting and worrying and trying to trust God through the fear and he was finally here. The relief I felt physically and emotionally when he came out of as unlike any other.
Really it felt like 3 1/2 years of waiting for a baby after we lost baby peanut. So there was so much more anticipation and relief than I even realized.