And now...
the rest of the story.
Here I am at 41 weeks. I was scheduled for an induction for the 16th of March. I really did not want to be induced. I was even going to ask the doctor if she'd let me go two weeks over but when the time came to talk to her I didn't feel like it was necessary. I had that quiet whisper of, "don't worry about it" come over me, so I didn't. As the induction date came closer I started to get incredibly apprehensive. I was fine with being pregnant but I did NOT want to be induced. My mom and I went to Ikea on Friday and my mom said that she was saying a prayer that I would hurry up and have the baby and she got the inspiration, "stop fighting it." I prayed and prayed and asked that he would come on his own before I had to be induced. I got the feeling that it would work out and I wouldn't have to worry. I freaked out a little on Sunday night when I was still pregnant and the dreaded induction drew nearer. I was just hoping that they'd have lots of other inductions and I wouldn't get a call until the afternoon.
I hardly slept at all Sunday night and Monday morning I got a call at 5:30am from Labor and Delivery. I didn't answer because I didn't want to go in that early. I got another call at 6 and I answered. They asked if I could be at the hospital in half an hour. I said I'd be there in an hour. I reluctantly got up and talked to my mom. Tyler offered to call my doctor to ask if I could reschedule. For some reason I felt like I should just go in and check things out. I took my time in the shower, getting dressed, and packing the car. I ate some yogurt. I had Tyler drive through McDonalds on the way over to the hospital and I ate some cinna-melts and some orange juice.
We got to the hospital and I kept praying that I would receive some kind of inspiration of when I could say, "this isn't what I want to do" but it never came. I checked in. They gave me some paperwork and I was sent to room 511 to wait for the nurse. They checked me and I was still only 1 1/2 cm, 75 % effaced. I wanted to cry. I had been having contractions for a week and wasn't progressing in labor AT ALL??!! How does that happen? So they started me on Pitocin around 7:30am.
By 11:30am, I hadn't progressed at all. My doctor broke my water. I then dilated fairly quickly to a 3 + and then stopped. Baby was showing signs of distress and I had to lay almost perfectly still on my left side. I went until about 5:30pm without pain medication. It was extremely difficult because I couldn't move to relieve the pressure and the Pitocin makes contractions more painful. The anesthesiologist came in and gave me an epidural around 5:30. I then dilated to a 5 and stopped. The baby was still in distress. He consistently had late heart decelerations after my contractions. They turned off the Pitocin. My doctor came in and said that we might have to do an emergency c-section. We talked about the risks and she doesn't like c-sections but there are times when it is completely necessary. She gave me the option of waiting for a couple more hours with the risk of having to do a rushed c-section or waiting for several more contractions and if the baby was still in distress, giving consent to do a cesarean. I was scared. The epidural, the hormones, and the strain was making me shake uncontrollably. After six more contractions, baby was getting worse.
Tyler put on the space suit. I got a higher dose of the epidural and I was wheeled off to the operating room. I really liked the anesthesiologist. He was very comforting and cheerful. It was so crazy. Tyler sat up by my head and stroked my hair. I tried to not think about anything. After awhile the anesthesiologist said, "can you feel that? They just started." Then he said, "Just kidding, they're almost finished." The doctors delivering my baby had a few comments as they did the procedure. Here they are:
"Wow, look at all that hair!"
"Oh my, he's got chubby cheeks!"
"Wow, what a BIG baby!"
The umbilical cord was wrapped around baby's neck. He was 8 lbs 110z and in the transverse position. (
Click here to find out more about the transverse presentation) So there was no way that I would have been able to deliver naturally or go into labor on my own. The sound of his cry gave me a relief that I have never felt before in my life.
After baby was out, they showed him to me really quickly and rushed him off. His APGAR scores were 8 and 9 - healthy baby. After 15 minutes, he was breathing in fine but wasn't able to expel the air properly. They took him to the NICU. I didn't know about this until afterward. I was in the operating room for another 40 or so minutes being stitched and stapled. They gave me morphine as soon as baby's cord was cut. I was awake but half asleep. I could hear myself snoring but could still hear and understand the doctors. They talked about March madness and buying computers for their college aged kids. I remember thinking, "How do I make myself stop snoring?" Tyler came in and asked what we were naming the li'l Peanut and he says that I said, "He looked like a Derek, didn't he?" Tyler said sure. Good thing we had two names picked out beforehand or he would be named whatever name popped into my Morphine filled head.
After they finished, they rolled me onto another bed and I was taken up to the NICU to see my baby. I wanted to hold him so bad. All I could do was reach up from the bed and touch him. He is beautiful.
He really is my li'l Peanut. He had to be shelled.
Here he is on St. Patrick's day. He looks like a little Irish Buddha to me.
One of his nurses made him this name tag. Cute.
Both baby and I are doing fine. It's hard recovering but I think I'm doing pretty well. I'm swollen and uncomfortable but so happy. We get to leave the hospital tomorrow, Friday. I can't wait to sleep in my own bed and use my own bathroom!! The staff here have been amazing and Tyler and my Mom have made things so much easier!!! I'm so lucky. Even though the birthing process didn't go at ALL like I planned, it was a positive experience.
I'm completely in love. He's the sweetest little thing ever. I look at him and think, "Of course this is what you look like. I MUST have known this all along." I know I am partial, but man, that tiny little thing is perfect. I'm obsessed with his fingers. I can't stop kissing them. He's just so beautiful. Tyler and I are enamored by this blessing from heaven.
Funny, cute little baby!
