At my last doctor's appointment (July 13), I was already 40 weeks and 1 day pregnant, still dilated to 1cm and effaced about 60%, so my doctor and I finalized plans to be induced on the morning of July 15th, as we had discussed the week before. Unfortunately, due to scheduling changes my doctor was not on call that day, but her partner Dr. Jones had agreed to do it then (I didn't want to wait another week for my doctor, Dr. Moss to be on call).
The next day, I got a call from my nurse telling me that I needed to be admitted to the hospital that night, the 14th, to start medication to complete the effacement process (thinning of my cervix). The pitocin, to induce contractions, would still be started early on the 15th. A last minute change of plans was unexpected and slightly frightening to me, but then I realized that this was a good thing and would just bring our baby girl to us quicker! So, after calling our family to let them know, Eric and I prepared to go to the hospital.
Once we got to the hospital and settled in our room, I was hooked up to the fetal monitor, the contraction monitor, an IV and blood pressure cuff. It was definitely hard to get comfortable, but we started watching a movie on our laptop and tried to get ready to go to sleep. I was given my first dose of the medication at 9:00 pm, and again at 1:00 a.m. I did not sleep but an hour and a half during the night, which was due to a combination of excitement, anxiety, being uncomfortable and interruptions. We had been told that after receiving the pitocin, moms usually dilate 1 cm every 1-2 hours and that we should expect our Audrey about dinner time. At 5:00 am, the pitocin was started, and when the nurse checked, I was more effaced and had progressed to 2cm even though no contractions were registering on my monitor. I had developed a backache around this time, which was nothing new to me during the pregnancy, and the nurse said it was probably due to the uncomfortable bed.
By 7:00 am, the backache was not getting better, and the nurse offered me some pain medication they give to help ease labor pain before you get the epidural. I refused, thinking that if I could not handle a backache, then I was truly in trouble since I was about to have a baby! Finally, the nurse knew something was up since I was progressing but no contractions were showing up, so she changed out the contraction monitor disk on my belly... and then it was showing my contractions (the original one was broken!) I did not realize I was having contractions because I was experiencing back labor, which is when the contractions are felt in the back and not in the belly- so much for a simple back ache. Since they believed this was caused by Audrey being "sunny side up", they had me laying on my side and alternating sides every little while in hopes that it would get her to flip over. I hate to say this, but I was relieved to hear that it was labor pain I was experiencing and that I wasn't such a huge baby after all! Of course, I had already spoken to the anesthesiologist about my epidural and it was just waiting on my request.
Just before 8:00 am, Dr. Jones came in to check me and I had already reached 3 cm, so she broke my water. Immediately after that, the contractions started getting really bad, especially since they were still in my back! I caved about 8:45 am and requested some pain medicine, which immediately made me nauseous and really hot. My poor husband, mom and sister took turns fanning me and giving me ice chips. My bed was maneuvered so that it sat up straight like a chair, which helped my back and nausea. After about 45 minutes of the pain medicine not helping, I requested the epidural. However, I had to wait an hour until they were finished with surgery, so I did not get it until about 10:15 am. This was the most miserable part of the labor, since the contractions were still in my back and coming on top of each other, and I didn't have the chance to recover before the next one hit. My mom said you will have this baby by noon, but I didn't believe it since the nurse and doctor said it would be much later. I remember Eric and my mom and sister being so helpful during this period that I don't know what I would have done without them, even if I wasn't the nicest person at the time! My legs were shaking uncontrollably from the pain, and I was so worried that it would prevent the anesthesiologist from getting the epidural in properly, but thankfully she got it in perfectly. But, it only took on my left side, so after 2 more doses and 45 minutes of laying on my right side, the numbness crept over to the right, and I was finally pain free!
This was about 11:00 am, and the nurse checked me again, for the first time in 3 hours, only to find me at 9 cm.... WHAT?! She was a little suprised, but not half as much as we were! We decided that the room would be cleared out, except for Eric, and I was going to have an hour of quiet time to rest before pushing. So, we spent the next hour just laying there together and relaxing- there was no way I was going to sleep with my mind racing. Looking back, I am so glad we were given that opportunity since I had slept so little the night before, and I know I needed some strength.
When the nurse came back about noon, I was fully dilated so she explained what was about to happen- I would push 3 times per contraction, starting with just the nurse there in order to move the baby through the birth canal, and then the doctor would come in for the delivery. So, the bed was broken down, stirrups put in place and we were ready to rock! Before I even started pushing, the nurse says "Oh, she has a head full of hair!" Of course, I had never been through this before, so in my mind, the baby is about to fall out, but the nurse told me that's normal. So, we proceeded and I started pushing... once, and then we had to stop so she could call the doctor to get there ASAP! Apparently, Audrey was as anxious to meet us as we were to see her! While we waited for the doctor, I ended up pushing only once more since the baby had gone back up the birth canal some. My mom later told me that all she saw in the waiting room was the doctor flying off the elevator, so she knew we were close. When the doctor got there, she got suited up (face shield included) and in place and I started pushing again....twice, and then I was told to stop because her head was out! A minute later, I pushed once more to deliver the rest of her, and then our beautiful Audrey Layne was here! Our lives changed forever on July 15, 2010 at 12:12 p.m., when our wonderful daughter arrived, filling our lives with more love than we could ever imagine!
Wow, I cant wait! haha, didn't sound TOO awful I guess Ill be able to handle it.... I'm asking for that epidural EARLY !
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