After the OB appointment I got home around 4:30pm and soon noticed that my contractions were back. I ignored them because for the past few weeks they would start only to stop again. I kept ignoring them until I realized that some were starting to get pretty close where one would stop only to have another start right away. I mentioned to Kris and my parents that they were 5 minutes apart and I should probably start paying attention to them not to mention I should probably call the doctor but don't get excited because they will probably stop again. After about an hour and 45 minutes I called the doctor, she said to come on in to the hospital. I took my time, didn’t want to jinx it.
On the way to the hospital I told Kris I was starving since we did leave the house right as my mom was putting an amazing dinner on the table. We drove through Chick-fil-A. I am well aware of the fact that being in labor makes you hungry and you only get ice chips to eat. After several hours of labor you are STARVING only to find out the cafeteria is closed…I knew I had better eat right then or take the chance of not eating for quite some time. Hey, I have my priorities!
I am reconstructing what happened off of the print-out of the time-line the nurse gave me which had the recorded times of everything that happened. My nurse was so sweet to give this to me before I was discharged from the hospital and I had to know how close we were and how fast it all happened. You’ll see why.
We finally made it up to labor and delivery where they put me in a triage room and hooked me up to the monitors to make sure I was in labor before I took up one of their precious rooms.
7:30 pm I was officially declared to be “in labor” and admitted but for one minor “problem”. The baby was too high, she had not dropped even though I was 6 cm and over 75% effaced. I was told I needed to walk for 2 hours. Mind you, the contractions were 2 minutes apart and I’m being told to “just go to Wal-mart or Home Depot to walk around, here is a pad in case your water breaks” both of those stores are across the way from the hospital. I tell the nurse to just break my water, she says she can’t because the baby is too high and then gives gory details as to why that would be a bad thing to do and why we need to get the baby to drop. So I take the gown off, put my clothes back on and Kris and I leave for our walk.
8:50 pm We decide to stick close to the hospital and just walk the hospital grounds. It seems safer, I didn’t want to risk having to have an ambulance bring me back if the contractions get any more painful.
We make one lap of the hospital perimeter which took 30 minutes, go inside for another 30 minutes because the bugs were eating us alive outside. By the end of that hour I could barely breathe through the contractions. I didn’t do anything to prepare for pain management except for planning for an epidural. The contractions were less than 2 minutes apart so we started towards the labor and delivery wing when I just couldn’t walk anymore.
10:10 pm The nurses came out to get me and brought me back to Triage where I couldn’t even undress or get on the bed by myself.
10:17 pm I was checked again but had only changed .5 cm, a whopping total of 6.5 cm but at least I was 100% effaced. Baby still had not dropped. I panicked and got pretty agitated yelling that I just couldn’t walk anymore. I was assured I wouldn’t have to.
10:25 pm I was moved to a labor and delivery room barely able to breathe through the contractions, white knuckled grips on the bed rails and feeling like I was blacking out several times. I have no idea how women do this with no pain meds…here, bite on this stick…I don’t think so. Previous labors I received epidurals when I was 4 cm and the contractions STARTED to be 2 minutes apart…4 cm for this pregnancy was like how many weeks ago?
10:26 pm Finally having blood drawn so I can have it checked before the epidural is placed. The nurse places an IV with what little time she has between contractions. Hard to time it where I’m NOT bending the rails on the bed in half.
10:34 pm Checked again and was 8cm…17 minutes after being told I was just 6.5 cm! I’m begging for drugs at this point. Kris is freaking out; he’s never seen me like this before. At least I’m not cussing. Tears are streaming down my face. Kris said I was whimpering between the peaks of the contractions.
10:36 pm Start a penicillin drip since I’m strep B positive. I’ve never been strep B + so I’m blaming it on Mexico which makes me feel better. Nurse says “have you ever had penicillin through an IV before? It burns a little bit”
BURNS? TRY HOT LAVA, FIRE, NAPALM, MY SKIN IS MELTING OFF, TAKE IT OUT, TAKE IT OUT, TAKE IT OUT! I think I may have been cussing at this point but I did forget about the contractions as I watched the bag of penicillin SLOOOOOWLY empty like frozen molasses.
I keep trying to calm Kris down and convince him I’m OK because he looks worried sick.
10:39 pm Nubain sweet Nubain…finally giving me a narcotic…which turns out to be a huge waste of time since it’s CRAP! Why did they even bother to tease me with “Here, this should take the edge off.” Edge off what? My sanity? Like I said, I had not prepared mentally or physically for pain…my eggs were all in the epidural basket. If the nurse tells me to breathe one more time…
11 pm Checked and still at 8 cm, baby still has not dropped, Dr doesn't want to break my water in case the cord somehow blocks the exit.
11:20 pm So happy to see the anesthesiologist come into the room until he starts asking me questions, nurse wants me to sign stuff. So close to stabbing someone with a pen. Epidural man starts prepping me, takes longer to place epidural because of the intensity of the contractions and I am shaking like crazy. It takes incredible concentration on my part to hold still through them so he can work and he still ends up poking me several times to try and get the right spot. Kris and the nurse are both holding me…dang nurse is telling me to breathe again. She’s lucky I like her so much and that she had such great bedside manner before I was out of my mind.
12 am Epidural man is trying to get the drugs going so just my lower torso is numb and not my feet and legs. I’m freaking out thinking it’s going to be my first epidural that doesn’t work.
12:19 am Drugs are flowing, I am in a happy place telling the anesthesiologist I love him and “how does it feel to be the most loved man in the whole hospital?”. Kris has collapsed in a chair happy that I’m happy.
12:21 am Check 10 cm baby has just barely dropped…both nurses are freaking out calling for the doctor…she comes flying in. They start getting everything ready, my bed is like a Transformer and magically morphs into this high-tech birthing bed complete with handles I get to hang onto...cool. I tell Kris to grab the camera.
12:36 am I start pushing
12:41 am Bronwyn makes her appearance.
Thank goodness I at least had the epidural for those last 22 minutes because I would not have been happy pushing without it. Just call me a wimp, I fully admit it!
So much for the baby needing to drop! Since she didn’t spend much time in the birth canal, she has a perfectly shaped head like a C-section baby…
Lets call it good and not do that again OK?
Always In The Middle
13 years ago
13 comments:
You're too funny!
As I remember...each child makes their appearance in a special way. Nothing is ever the same. So glad you have her now and both of you are OK. Take care.
Love, Mom
Oh my gosh I can't eblieve it! Isn't natural birth THE WORST! I seriously started sobbing when they told me it was to late for an epidural and began begging for tylonal haaa! As if that would do anything. My nurse had a finish accent and chanted that I "blow the candle kelly, just blow the candle." I kept looking at the clock think oh my gosh time does not move, until a nurse informed me that the clock was in fact broken! Hello then take it down!!!Man I am so jealous that you finally got your epidural. What is with that place and making you wait until the last min. I think they have all watched to much Greys Anatomy and ER and think they need some drama in the ward. Wow. I am so sorry you had to go through that and am glad it is now a distant memory.
Passing a kidney stone is "natural" and they wouldn't even consider doing THAT without drugs. All hail the epidural!
I'm all for yelling at the nurses. Labor a time you can be forgiven for anything!
Kelly, I can't believe you didn't get one! Were you too late getting there or did you wait too long to ask or just a complete screw up by the hospital? And they want socialized medicine...sheesh! I officially hate that hospital. I would not recommend it to anyone. Since it's brand new I was certain it would be a good experience but the amenities alone were awful! I thought Mary Washington was bad up in Fredericksburg but at least they had food and snacks in the fridge for recovering moms! MW had a freezer full of ice cream, is that too much to ask for Sentara WRMC? No sitz baths even! I won't be delivering there again thank goodness!
intense! i was totally holding my breath through this post. motherhood is not for the faint-hearted, tell you what. you're a champ - but beautiful baby girls do feel like a pretty, sweet prize. now i want a post about how it was to do your first girlie diaper change. don't know about you, but it tripped me out after the boys.
glad you're getting into a groove!
I just love your amusingly descriptive and precise stories!! You are such a good writer!!!! Glad you finally got that epidural though!!!
Hey, I told one of those crappy nurses that if she touched me again, I would bite her. It was a low point in my life... but I would probably do it again!!!
So glad yo finally have your little girl!!! Now more on this Strep B stuff please! Do you really think MX? and why did they test your for it in the first place?
Oh Garity, you ARE a good writer, I was cracking up at your descriptions...you should write a book, you could be the next Erma B. Though I am sure it was absolutely not funny at the time, I am glad you wrote about it after the event in true Garity style.
She is a beauty! Congratulations again, sure I've said it more than once in more than one place... ah well. Love you all and thanks for letting us read about your happy event.
At least it wasn't the car? No epidurals there either. These stories really are funny after the fact but during ugh. That was as close as I came to intelligent language when I was in labor with Kieran. I had a previous C-section, after she was born I couldn't figure out why anyone would ever go through labor. But the girl is totally worth it. I'm sure yours will be the same. Comgratulation. Wishing you Happy Days, Peaceful Nights and an elevator that never fails you in your new house in Mexico.
This is a girlie post and I shouldn't comment, but I never let that stop me from doing things I shouldn't do. So I'll just say, "you did a great job". Get the baby here safe and sound, that's the objective. One would think that baby 4 would be easier than the previous 3 but life never is that predictable is it?
I am SO glad you got a girl. I believe everyone should have the opportunity to raise at least one of each. It just broadens your perspective that much more. The boys will adore here, at least until she masters that piercing screech that only little girls can master :). Even then they'll find joy in knowing that they can have complete control over said piercing screech (at least how to turn it on, maybe not how to turn it off)... LOL!
She's beautiful though, and yes she looks just like a Line! Very cool indeed!
Wow--my sister Denae almost had her baby in the car in December---she was WAY too late for an epidural--she was NOT happy. You have to have at least ONE official labor/delivery hell story to tell, I haven't heard about your other children's births, but I hope this is the only one!
You're story is quite similar to me with the Caboose. I didn't get an epidural with him until RIGHT before I started to push. (And I went from 6 to 10 in an hour.) I think I should get credit for a natural labor - even it wasn't a natural delivery!
I didn't think I was a screamer before - I never screamed (in pain) with the first two!!!
I thought I had been through everything when I passed kidney stones at 7 months pregnant with #5 without pain meds... horrible!
I then tried to deliver #6 when the epidural had worn off, and my non-responsive cervix was "spongey" (doc talk there, so scientific) and things were moving slowly. They did give me more drugs, but they didn't work on the side that I wasn't laying on. The side I was laying on went totally numb, all the way to my toes,and they wore off again, just in time for transition and delivery! YES... talk about bending bed rails and tears, talk about never wanting to go through that again!!
Oh, Garity! I feel your pain, and KNOW you are one strong woman! I didn't have to go through that much pain while they were sticking me with needles...I shiver just thinking about it!
Post a Comment