I'm not going to lie, his birth didn't happen the way I had always imagined it but really when does that happen?! I had a nearly perfect pregnancy so it was crazy to me that right at the end I would have a minor complication, but the body can do some crazy things when growing a human!
Let's rewind to my 38 week appointment. It was just my routine check up and I was hoping I would be checked for progress because for about a week and half I had been feeling like things were moving in the right direction. They checked my blood pressure, asked me lots of questions, listened for baby's heart beat, all the normal routine things they always do. After the tech went through the check list she took my blood pressure again and told me to try and relax. I had noticed it was higher than usual. Again, it came up high. It was weird to me because I always give great blood pressure readings and I was fine at my 36 week appointment 2 weeks before. The tech said she was going to talk to the doctor to see what we were going to do about my blood pressure. The doctor came in and continued the routine ap. She did check me and was very surprised to see I was almost 2 cm dilated, 60% effaced and baby was very low. She also commented that I did look a bit puffy, but I had been feeling that way for a while! Down to one pair of shoes fitting and my hands cramping constantly, I knew I had a lot of water weight. The doc had the tech come back in to take my blood pressure one last time. It was still high so they decided to keep me and monitor me and the baby.I was hooked up to a blood pressure machine that took readings every 10 minutes. I also had monitors on my belly to read the baby's movement, his heart beat and also my contractions. I was contracting pretty good but nothing too intense (like true labor contractions). Noah's heart beat was strong and he was moving fine. My blood pressure however, was continuously reading high. They sent me to the lab to get some blood work done and also set up an ultra sound to measure my fluid levels and also make sure his growth wasn't affected. After that they sent us to lunch and said to come back because by then they should have the lab results and could go from there on what to do.
So we went to lunch wondering if we were going to go back and be told I was going to have my baby... ready or not. It was nerve racking wondering what they were going to say. We finished our meal and headed back to the hospital. The on call labor and delivery doctor sat us down and told me that my labs and ultra sound came back normal...whew! What a relief! He then explained that I was experiencing gestational hypertension. He said that they don't like to see high blood pressure go past 39 weeks for fear of it escalating to preeclampsia. He then asked me if I wanted to have my baby that day. I didn't know what to say! Of course I wanted to have my baby but I had always imagined him coming on his own terms. I needed to call my mom and my sister before making a decision like this (crazy, I know!) but it was still the middle of the night in AZ. I asked him what I should do. He said every doctor will say something different but he thought I should try to let my babe "cook" for as long as possible. He said that at the first sign of me being sick they could induce but if I could wait until 38 weeks 6 days then I should. He said that another doctor might say that we should induce ASAP so I never have the chance of getting sick. How was I supposed to decide after hearing that?! I of course wanted what was best for my baby but hearing I could get sick waiting didn't sound like the best idea either. I asked him if there was any chance I could go into labor on my own since I was dilating along fairly well. He said that there was a very good possibility and offered to strip my membranes to see if that would help things along. I agreed and let me tell you it did not feel good. I was happy I did it tho because I truly hoped I would go into labor on my own. I felt weird just choosing when to have my baby. He said I had until Thursday to go into labor but they would monitor me every two days to make sure things weren't getting worse, but if I wanted to have the baby before then I could and to just let them know what day would work. So I left the hospital knowing I would have my baby no later than Thursday of that next week.
That night my husband and I went to walk the track and I continued to live on my exercise ball hoping to bounce that baby out!
I went in for monitoring on Monday morning and nothing had changed. I was checked and I was still at the same dilation and effacement. ugh! My doctor offered to strip my membranes again but I was hesitant because of the pain of last time. She did a "gentle" stripping and told me I had been scheduled for Wednesday to have the baby if he didn't come before then. I felt better after knowing his birth had been scheduled and I didn't have to decide when I wanted to have him. I was also happy that the doctor on call that day was who I had been hoping would deliver me, but I was still very hopeful my water would break at home or I would have labor contractions... but it didn't happen.
On Wednesday I called the hospital at 5:30 am and they told me everything was good to go and to come in.
After getting hooked up to the IV, monitor for baby and monitor for contractions the doctor came in to check me. There was still no change! I was really hoping to be at 3 by then but nope. So she began the process to help me dilate. I needed to be at a 4 before they could start the pitocin. I was dilated using no drugs. They pretty much used a water balloon. That's the best way I can explain it. This started some major cramping. It was pretty painful.
SIDE NOTE: I have never experienced a lot of pain before. I have never broken a bone, had surgery, bad periods...nothing. So labor was a very intense experience for me. Hoping I handle it better next time when I know what to expect.
I was encouraged to walk around so I tried. It felt really heavy when I walked and the cramps continued. I ended up getting insanely nauseous and eventually throwing up the chicken broth I had drank earlier. I was given some mild IV pain meds to help ease the pain. I was able to relax a little before they checked me again.
I had dilated to a 4 so they removed the ball. They started the pitocin but a very small dose. I had some contractions but nothing crazy. I was sitting in the glider and that seemed to help.
Around this time my mom was there. She arrived from the states that morning and my best friend was able to go pick her up for me. Talk about perfect timing! She was beyond jet lagged but excited to be there.
After a while I was checked again. I was at a 5 by this point and she said he was extremely low (which he had been for a while) and that she could feel the water sack bulging so she offered to break my water. I agreed and my mom encouraged it because the women in my family labor really fast. She figured once my water broke it would take no time at all.
I think I had about 12 galloons of water because it just kept coming and for a long time. It wasn't long after that my contractions became more and more intense. There was no break in between them. I would watch the monitor and as the numbers started to rise, I knew a contraction was coming and I would stare at it waiting for it to go back down. My husband and nurse helped me breath through it but it was tough. With no breaks to recoup I felt ready for the epidural.
The nurse had asked me if she should get the anaesthesiologist earlier when I was at a 5, but I wanted to wait until I felt I really needed it. Yeah, I didn't think that it would be minutes later.
It felt like it took forever for the anaesthesiologist to get there.
Once I had the epidural they checked me again. To the nurses surprise, I was dilated to a 10 and 100% effaced. It took less than half an hour after my water broke for me to be ready.
Honestly, I think if I had been checked before I got the epidural they wouldn't have given it to me because I was already ready to push, but I didn't know how much I had progressed.
Hopefully next time I will go into labor on my own and it will be quick again. I kind of hoped there would be no time for one, and I hate needles so the idea of an epidural really freaked me out. However, now I know there is nothing to be scared of.
Once the pain had subsided I really felt ready to push.
Little Noah had to be held in for over an hour because my doctor was delivering another baby. Talk about torture! I was so ready to meet my little guy.
The doctor finally came running in and checked me. She agreed that I was beyond ready.
After about 15 min of pushing, Noah had arrived at 7:40 pm.
When I first saw him his arms were outreached like he was reaching for me. It was incredible! I couldn't stop saying, "oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!"
Every painful contraction was quickly forgotten once I laid on eyes on that beautiful baby boy.
I wanted to have immediate skin to skin after he was born so it was about an hour later that he was measured and weighed. It was a really special time for Robbie and I. Noah was army crawling and bobbing around to nurse. It was truly amazing to watch.
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| 7 lbs 2 oz and 19 1/2 inches of pure perfection |
Noah is such a joy to have in our family. He has already grown so much. I am soaking up every cuddle I can. I am beyond blessed that my delivery went so well without any complications and resulted in a perfectly healthy baby. Being a mommy is truly the best <3
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