Why is it that women love to share their labor stories? When I was pregnant, many of my patients, co-workers, friends, and family shared their experiences and what surprised me is that they remembered even the small details.
A year ago today, I was admitted at 7pm to induce Amaya. I had an appointment the day before and my OB doctor wasn't happy about my blood pressure - it was 140/90 and told me to go home, rest, and come back on the 18th and be re-evaluated. He said, "We just might have a baby this weekend!" How were Steve and I supposed to go home and rest?!? Our original due day was February 2nd. We were looking forward to a February birthday because January is packed full of celebrations already. On the other hand, being 38 weeks pregnant and very uncomfortable, who wouldn't want to deliver a little early.
The next day, my blood pressure was still elevated and our OB said, "Let's have this baby while you and the baby are still strong and healthy." With mild preeclampsia, both of us were at risk of complications and since Amaya's lungs were fully developed and she was just gaining weight, induction here we come!
Steve and I enjoyed our "last lunch" at Victoria's. I literally pigged out, knowing that once the nurse's had me in their clutches, I wouldn't be able to eat much - if at all. We were instructed to come back to Labor and Delivery at 7pm that evening to start the process. Whatever that means... I seriously thought I was going to be given a pill and get a good night's rest and then start with Pitocin (a medication used to induce labor) in the morning. VERY FUNNY! Once I got settled, they started the induction process right away. Amaya was VERY STUBBORN and wasn't ready to make her appearance for quite awhile. Because of my blood pressure, I was strapped down with a blood pressure machine, the baby monitor and IV fluids. This severely limited my mobility and all I wanted to do was WALK! I was able to sit in a rocking chair for awhile, but it was such an act of God to get me untangled and repositioned that it really wasn't worth it. Friday evening quickly turned into Saturday morning with very little progress despite getting the Pitocin started. I had heard scary stories about the Pitocin, but I was plesantly surprised that I wasn't having much pain. I was more frustrated because Amaya was being pokey and the beds were horribly uncomfortable and I really couldn't move. Saturday evening, they allowed me to have an hour off the baby monitor, blood pressure monitor, and Pitocin to go for a walk. Steve and I walked the entire hour and wished that I could continue longer. When we returned back to the room, my water finally broke! Amaya was still taking her sweet time, but at least I knew that in the next 12 hours she would make her appearance one way or the other. I got restarted on the Pitocin and all of those scary stories became a reality. At this point, I didn't require anything for pain and I wanted to hold off as long as possible. I was TERRIFIED of epidurals because of the size of the needle and was afraid that they wouldn't get it in the right spot. I finally requested some Demerol that went into my IV and I probably won't ever ask for it again. It made me feel woozy and dizzy and didn't really touch the pain. A few hours later, I reluctantly agreed to an epidural. One of the hardest things was trying to hold still while they put the catheter in during contractions! Unfortunately, I didn't have any pain relief, and the anethesiologist thought it wasn't quite in the right place. I fully support teaching hospitals, but at this point, I wanted the consultant putting it in again. It wasn't much longer because the nurse anethetist who was assisting was still in the room making sure the epidural was working properly - maybe an hour - and I needed to push! The nurse notified the doctor and was told that I was recently assessed and was still at a 6. The nurse anesthetist strongly encouraged the doctor to come in and reassess me because I was going to push whether or not they wanted me to. Lo and behold - 9! Let's go, right? We're almost there. The HARDEST thing ever was being told NOT TO PUSH, when that's all I wanted to do! I was having a hard time, so the nurse anesthetist helped me breathe through it - both she and Steve were absolute life-savers! Steve says that he could tell that I was really scared - and I WAS! Once everyone was in place - and there were a lot of EVERYONES, we were ready to go. I asked my nurse how long first time moms usually push and she said an average of 3 hours. 3 HOURS!?!? It had already been nearly 31 hours with very little sleep, I told the nurse I wasn't going to make it for another 3 hours. A half an hour later, Amaya was born at 1:58am, Sunday morning the 20th. The cord was wrapped around her neck, so the doctors got a little excited and even more excited when she was doing this squeaky wheeze thing instead of crying. The pediatrician examined her and said she'd be just fine. All the nurses kept saying how little she was - our OB was expecting between 6lbs 14 oz and 7lbs 2oz - she was 5lbz 10oz. That's really tiny - but absolutely precious! We were settled in the postpartum unit around 5am and attempted to get some sleep, but who can sleep with the adrenaline and emotions so high?!? Who can sleep with this new little person looking up at you with great big eyes? Now all Steve and I want is a little more sleep!