So Sarah Elizabeth was born on April 2, 2010. She is perfect in every way! Weighing in at 7 lbs 8 oz and 19 1/2 inches long, she is quite possibly the most beautiful baby in the world!
Our story starts with an induction. My due date was March 30th and that day came and went with no signs of labor. Lucky for me, my doctor had already planned for this. When I was 38 weeks pregnant she and I talked and went ahead and scheduled an induction day. So on the night of April 1st, Ryan and I headed to the hospital. We brought our bags and a few things to keep us amused. I was checked into a labor and delivery room and set up on two monitors. One kept track of Sarah's heart rate and the other was a contraction monitor. After being hooked up to the monitors I was checked to see if my body had started to dilate. To my amazement, i was at 2 1/2 cm and about 70% effaced.
At this point the nurse tells me about Cervadil and what it's supposed to do and why I was getting it. (It's a cervical ripening agent)The medicine was inserted around 9:30 pm.After two hours our nurse returned with bloodwork orders. My blood pressure was elevated and my doctor wanted tests done as a precaution. I opted to get my IV placed at this point so I could avoid a second needle stick. Ryan and I began a long night of waiting!We ended up watching a lot of DVDs. Ryan fell asleep around 2:30 and I dozed off around 4:30.
At 6:00 am the Cervadil was removed and Pitocin was started around 6:30. Regular contractions began shortly thereafter. At 7:40 my doctor came in to check me and broke my bag of waters. By this time my mom and Ryan's parents had arrived. I continued to labor for 2 1/2 more hours before getting something for the pain. I requested IV meds first and was given Stadol an analgesic. I HATED it. It gave me an Alice in Wonderland complex. Everything seemed disproportional and it gave me a woozy feeling. At 10:30 I finally gave in and asked for an epidural. This was a big deal for me because I was TERRIFIED of the whole process. However my anesthesiologist was wonderful and explained everything to me. Ryan helped me through my contractions as I was being given the epidural and it turned out to be the best decision I could have made for me. I was in a lot of pain and discomfort before then and I have to admit I was rather mean to Ryan. Shortly before I was given my epidural my dad arrived. After I received my epidural, my nurse checked my progress. I had made it to 5 cm!
I became a much more social person once I had the epidural. At around 11:30 I made sure Ryan went to go get some lunch because he hadn't eaten since the night before. My nurse came in to place my catheter and check my progress. She was having trouble placing thw catheter and decided to check me again. I had gone from 5 cm to 10 in less than an hour. The reason she was having trouble was because the baby's head was in the way! No one expected me to progress that quickly. We called/texted Ryan and his parents to come back. He had been gone maybe 10 minutes. The nurse told me that I would be pushing within an hour but it was more like 10 minutes! My blood pressure was still high enough for concern but not too dangerous.
At noon we got ready to push. They broke down the bed and both of our dads left the room. My mother-in-law, mom, and Ryan were there for the delivery. I pushed for a total of half an hour. Sarah's head had gotten stuck and it took almost 20 minutes to get her head out. She developed the hiccups during labor and had them until she was born and even after. Let me tell you hiccups in the birth canal is a strange feeling. Sarah's heart rate was going down with the pushes so the doctor had to pull her out. She had severe respiratory distress and was born a pale whiteish blue color. She didn't cry and was quickly taken over to the nursery nurses. I couldn't see her and it worried me that I couldn't hear her make any noise. Apparently her hiccups had caused her to breathe in fluid while she was stuck in the birth canal. After about 5 minutes she finally did cry and I was able to hold her before the took her to the nursery for observation.
I suffered a 2nd degree tear and had to get some stitches. My blood pressure stayed elevated for a long time after labor. I was monitored constantly for several hours which delayed my move to a recovery room. However it eventually corrected itself. My blood pressure was back down into normal ranges before we went home.
Despite Sarah's breathing problems following her birth, I really had an enjoyable birthing experience. I spent a total of 6 hours in active labor! For a first time mom that is phenomenal. We were the talk of the maternity ward! I am pleased to say that both Sarah and I are doing well and thriving at home. Breastfeeding is working well for us even though we had some early troubles. I love being a mommy!
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