Almost Normal, Finally

Hunter will be 2 weeks old tomorrow and I've been out of the hospital for 10 days. Things are starting to feel normal, finally! A very different normal, but I feel like I'm actually experiencing life rather than being in the fog that was the first week. It's wonderful being a mother, I am loving my little boy!

Hunter was born on May 4th, 2010 at 5:21 pm via cesarean section after 30 hours of induced labor. 30 hours sounds like a long labor, but it wasn't so bad.

Below is Hunter's birth story. Some of this is repeated from my previous post, but here is the full story, for inquiring minds.

It all started at 10 am on 5/3/2010 when my regularly scheduled NST showed my amniotic fluid levels were lower than they should be and Hunter's heart rate was a bit low. Not huge issues alone, but combined with low PAPP-A and my aging placenta my doctor thought inducing would be the best plan of action. I was already admitted in the hospital so I just stayed put where I was.

At 1pm I was given Cervidil to help with dilation and effacement. It's just a little suppository inserted like a tampon that you can't really feel. Sometimes it causes huge amounts of dilation and effacement and can cause intense contractions leading to labor. This was not the case for me. At midnight I was only 2-3 cm dilated and 70% effaced with only minor contractions. So I was given Pitocin.

I had heard such terrible things about Pitocin causing horrendous pain, which made me so ambivalent about taking it. My fears were eventually assuaged once I realized the cramping was only a bit worse than period like pains. Maybe it's worse for some women, but I'm tough! ;) It was definitely uncomfortable and I got no sleep that night.

At 10 am on May 4th I was checked again and was still 3cm and only 80% effaced. So my doctor decided to break my water. It only took about 30 seconds, but a very uncomfortable 30 seconds. Basically, they lay you down, put a bunch of towels under you and shove what looks like a plastic crochet hook up your vajay jay. It felt like water gushed out, but Adam was surprised at how little fluid there actually was. It's all down hill from that point.

Almost instantly my contractions were extremely intense and very regular, coming every 2 minutes and lasting for more than a minute. And I couldn't leave the bed because they constantly had to monitor Hunter, so I was laying on my side and would curl into a ball of pain every time a contraction came. We had 2 massagers and a tennis ball that was recommended by our child birth teacher. None of these devices offered any relief. I was actually asking Adam to punch me in the back. And after 1 hour of such extreme pain (I'm not so tough after all :() I was ready for some pain relief.

I started off with a Stadol cocktail. Such a waste of time for me. It did nothing except make me feel high. So I was really high with a lot of pain, not cool. SERIOUSLY, NOT COOL! So I held on for 2 hours and decided to get an epidural.

Getting the epidural was the scariest part of the birthing process. Just hearing the risks associated with it will give you a panic attack. But the pain I felt was enough to make me accept the risk of possible paralysis. And because no part of my labor could be easy, it took them 5 tries to insert the needle in my spine. I'm not super jumpy about this because I've had a ton of spinal taps, but poor Adam turned white.

Unfortunately, the epidural only took on my right side, I could still feel the cramping and a weird stinging on my left. And they wouldn't let me lay on my left side, which is supposed to help, because they were having trouble monitoring Hunter in any other position than the one I was in. But I definitely felt much better.

3 1/2 hours later, at 4:30pm, I was checked again. I was 100% effaced, but only 4cm dilated. The nurse looked at me and I knew the news was not good. Then I got a call from my doctor. She was worried that I had already been in labor for 30 hours with such little progress. And Hunter's heart rate was low. She thought it was dangerous for both Hunter and me to let me labor any longer. I had a break down at this point. I did not want a c-section. And I was left with no choice.

I was immediately prepared for emergency surgery. I was given an awesome shave, totally ruined my lady business. Then they gave me better drugs that numbed me from ribs to hips, but I could still use my legs. And they wheeled me to the OR. Adam and my mother came in 10 minutes later. Adam timed the c-section, and from start to finish it took 7 minutes. At 5:21 pm, I got to meet my son.

xoxo,

Lauren & Hunter