My Birth Story

*This post contains some pretty graphic pictures and details.  If you don't want to see, click that X in the top right corner*

Our intention was always to go naturally.  Like, completely natural...almost in a hippie fashion because let's face it: it's healthier for the baby and the mother.  I will put in my little disclaimer so no one yells at me, that it is safer for some mom's to have a c-section... yada yada.  Because it is.  I had no road bumps in my pregnancy for a c-section to even be considered though.  We wanted to go as natural as a water birth or the squatting kind.  In the end, we decided laying on a bed would be the most interactive/easy for my team and I.

Anyway, at 37 weeks, I started dilating and it was going to be at least one more week.  38 weeks, still 1 cm and it would be at least one more week.  Tim and I realized Sehara's birthday was only 2 weeks away from my due date.  So at 39 weeks, being only 1 cm still dilated and at least one more week we asked about the possibility of being induced.  Our doctor asked us to come back at the end of the week to see if I had progressed anymore and we would see where to go from there.  One day before 40 weeks, on Friday, still only 1 cm dilated and my effacement had gone down, like stepping back on the progression board (only from him moving around and not putting pressure on my cervix).  We decided we would jump-start labor the next morning with gel, and more importantly, not pitocin.

We got to the hospital a little early, 5:45a.m. and started the paperwork.  Finished by 6:00 a.m., very conveniently, and got escorted to our suite. The nurses were about to change shifts, so one just came in to put an i.v. in and the monitors on.  Then we met our nurse for 12 hours, Marilee, and fell in love!!  She let me know that I could be as mobile as I wanted as long as I wheeled my little "friend" around and that my doctor called and said he was on his way.  7:25, he came in, massaged my cervix for a good while with the gel, and chatted with Tim, Marilee and I for about an hour about timing things and degrees that we all had.  I had what seemed very similar to Braxton-Hicks only they got stronger and stronger.  Around 10 a.m., I was officially "in labor".  The plan was to use, if I needed them, 2 doses of the gel and if I didn't dilate enough, THEN pitocin would be given to me.  My mom and sister arrived about this time!!!  (YAY)  Around 11, I had my second internal exam and I had dilated to 2 cm.  The nurse seemed very pleased and said that I should have my baby by the end of the day...  But, I had to have a second dose of the gel.

4 hours later and nothing.  I hadn't dilated or effaced any more. My Doctor was constantly communicating with the nurses and had them give me the option of eating and showering or just starting the pitocin.  Of course I chose to eat!!  Pitocin was given an hour later.  The nurse came in a few times and increased the dosage.  The contractions started getting more and more painful.  I had my team and my ball so I could handle it.   After 4 or 5 hours I got another internal exam to see if I had progressed.  I hadn't.   I was so sad.  Everyone but Tim left the room and I balled my eyes out because the plan was if I hadn't dilated at all, I would be taken off everything for a few hours, I could eat again, then around 12:00 a.m. I would be started on pitocin again.  I just felt like my body wasn't doing what it should do as a woman.  I didn't go into labor naturally and now my body wasn't taking this "stuff".

So, everyone went to sleep for the night, away from the hospital, and Tim and I tried to get some rest.  I had to be given an Ambien to sleep.  I hadn't slept for about 48 hours until this point.  I don't remember much until 12 or 1 a.m. when a new nurse came in to give me pitocin again, then I fell back to sleep.  I startled awake around 3 a.m. with an oxygen mask on my face and a bunch of tubes all over me.  Scary!!  I woke Tim up and he got the nurse.  She explained to me that the baby had some distress once the pitocin kicked back in and she had talked me through what was happening but I was completely out of it...  I went back to sleep, mask free, until some time in the morning.   My nurse, the awesome one, told me she wasn't playing anymore and cranked the pitocin up and up and up.  I had another exam and I still hadn't dilated so they decided they wanted to go ahead and break my water.

I just had to wait a little while because there were like 3 emergency c-sections going on.

Around noon, the cutest little doctor came in and did the deed. I was so mean to him.  He decided to break my water in the middle of a contraction.  Jenni was not a happy camper.

An hour later I had dilated to 4 cm.  My doctor decided to come to the hospital and wait it out in my room, with my family.  That was super awesome!!  Only, he kept talking... and one of my "rules" (completely made up out of pain) was no talking during a contraction.  The second rule was, if you were in my room during a contraction, you had to be rubbing some part of my body.  It was weird, but it worked.  And my doctor was loud.

Unfortunately, the pain was causing some serious anxiety.  My nurse kept asking me if I wanted an epidural, and I did not, but I did request some kind of pain medicine. We decided on Nubain.  The first dose was absolutely wonderful.  I still felt the contraction at its peak, but I didn't feel it start or end.  So lovely, and it took away my anxiety so I could focus on my breathing.  Another hour passed, and that Nubain wore off.  My doctor allowed a second dose but it didn't do squat.  At this internal exam, I was 8 cm dilated!!

I went to the bathroom, for the billionth time.  My doctor told me that when I got back to the bed, I would probably need to use the bathroom one more time and I would feel like I needed to poop and push, but not to push on the toilet.  When that happened, to let him know.  So after a good 10 or 20 minutes (not exact timing here), I went back to the bathroom.  I was really just eager to get it done with. BUT, I felt enormous pressure, definitely like I need to poo and I couldn't help, literally, to push.  I yelled out to him and headed back to the bed. He checked me and I was fully dilated, but with just a little "lip" left on my cervix.  He said that if I felt the need to push, go ahead and do it.

The doctors and Tim suited up (that cutie doctor that broke my water was there to assist).  I'm writhing in pain on the bed and pushing.  When they got to the bed they could see the baby's cone head!  So, I just kept pushing and pushing.  Actually, after I pushed that first time, I got a little 2 minute reprieve from contractions.  Ha!  Bad timing!!  They kicked in again and I did what I needed to do.  I remember a burning pain, like a HUGE burning pain in my lady parts but I pushed past it.  Tim actually delivered our son with the help of both doctors.  He only froze once when the baby needed to be rotated.  I will never forget the relief I felt when Carson was completely out.  Pain-free, literally.  Everything felt better.  I had only one more desire to push, and that was for the placenta.  Which I requested to see, and my doctor obliged and gave everyone there a tutorial on the anatomy of my placenta AND giving me the utmost compliments on how it  was evident that I was not a smoker, I took my vitamins and very good care of myself during pregnancy. :)

After nearly 30 hours of labor, Carson was born at 2:32 p.m.  He weighed 7 pounds, 9 ounces and was 20 1/2 inches long.  The 1/2 was his cone-head, but the doctor gave it to him anyway!  Enjoy the pictures!!

 

Ok, so I can't figure out how to make these photos look good.  Oh well.  Enjoy anyway.Oh, and P.s., Poop happens!!  It did for me and it was pretty gross but, what do you do?? :)