Abigail's Birth Day

*Note: Graphic sections are hidden. Highlight around astricks to read.*

When Matt left off on the last post (Weds), I was at 2cm and had just had my water broken.

*We heard a "pop" and then I felt the gush. I had barely had time to understand what was going on before he did it! Apparently the water was clear, which is a good thing, but it kept gushing out and onto the bed. I honestly can't remember how they cleaned it up with me still lying on the bed.*

That was about 4pm and I was rather frustrated since I had not progressed much at all since Tuesday morning. The nurse told me that breaking my water would "move things along" since it would mean there was no fluid to cushion the contractions. Well, it did!


I was given Nubane in my IV, which made me a bit loopy and hungry. I was able to breathe through the contractions, then I would almost fall asleep between them. Remember, we'd been at the hospital for a week by then, and if there is one thing you do NOT get at a hospital, it is rest! Around 7pm the dr checked me again and I was at 4cm. Again, I was frustrated at having been in pain for 2 days and not having that much progress. Matt and I were making bets as to when she would finally be born, and we both thought it would be around 5 or 6 the next morning.

Meanwhile, I was put back on magnesium to control seizures, since my blood pressure was so high. This meant I had to have a foley catheter inserted and I would not be able to get out of the bed or change positions during labor. So I would be flat on back to have this little girl. If there was one thing I knew from all my months of reading baby books, it was that I DIDN'T want to be flat on my back during contractions, as that would lead to back labor (contractions in the back), but I really had no choice. All my ideas about labor positions and leaning on Matt and walking around through the pain were thrown out the window.

After checking me at 7, they cranked up the pitocin (contraction inducer) and the contractions were coming at about 2 minutes apart and were soaring off the charts. I was shaking so badly and the nubane was not really helping anymore. I chose at 7:30 to go ahead and get the epidural. I'm all for women who want to experience natural childbirth, but this is how I see it: unless I get a medal for it, I will not willingly put my body through unnecessary pain. Since there is no medal for going natural in child labor, I chose drugs. The epidural was not as bad as I thought it would be - or maybe I was just in so much pain that I was glad to get it. Lets give credit where it's due, though - Matt got me through the whole thing.

*To get the epidural, I was sat up on the edge of the bed and leaned on Matt. He held me and talked to me while the anesteseoligist injected a numbing agent into my spine, and then inserted the epidural catheter into my spinal column. Not fun, but definitely not as bad as I had imagined.*

Once the epidural was in place, I noticed right away that my right side went to sleep...but my left DIDN'T. I could still feel every contraction on my left side, and they radiated down my pelvis and into my upper leg. For 3 hours. It wa also at this time that we noticed Abigail's heartrate dropping VERY low during the peak of the contractions.

Around 11pm I was in so much pain that I decided to ask the nurse to check the epidural and make sure it was working. My contractions were coming one on top of another and were not giving me a break between. I started to panic - something was wrong! They must have given me too much pitocin! When the nurse came into the room, I could barely explain to her what pain I was in. I wouldn't be able to do this all night. I was at my limit. She quickly checked me and said, "that's because you're ready to push!" Matt and I were in shock as the nurses started coming in with the special equipment they would need.

After what seemed like an eternity (but was probably only 5-10 minutes), the doctor came in. He immediately went into very serious mode. The baby's heartrate was so low, and not speeding up, since my contractions were not letting up. They had to get her out NOW. Hearing the urgency in his voice scared me to death. No "Hi, I'm dr so-and-so and we're going to have your baby now!" - straight to business, which I was all for by that point. After 2 or 3 pushes, Abigail was out. The actual pushing didn't hurt, but I am a little sad that I was unable to feel her come out due to the epidural.

Abigail was born at 11:23pm and I waited in a fog to hear her cry for what felt like an eternity. Then I heard it - and it was the most beautiful sound ever. She was breathing on her own and scored a 6.9/9 on the Apgar scale - amazing for a baby of only 2lbs 15 oz.

After checking her out and weighing her, they put her on my chest for just a second for a quick kiss. Matt was then able to hold her for a minute before they wisked her away to the NICU.

*The doctor then had to reach up into my uterus to make sure everything had come out - and I definitely felt this! It was more painful than the delivery.*

Afterwards, the nurses and doctor filed out and Matt and I were left alone and shell-shocked. Our baby was here - unexpectedly 2 months early. Everything had changed in a matter of a week.

I was wheeled into the NICU for a quick peak at the baby as they took me to the recovery room. That night I could hear the cries of newborns that were with their mothers in the rooms next door, and that was so hard. Because I was on magnesium still for 24 more hours, I was tied to the foley catheter and confined to bed. I wasn't even able to go see my baby. Matt went down to visit her throughout the night and the next day, though, and would bring me updates. Finally, about 36 hours after the birth, I was able to be wheeled downstairs to the NICU to spend some time with her. For some moments, there are not words.