Soultrane's birth story: How I almost had a car baby
May 31, 2016 10:24:25 GMT -5
Post by soultrane on May 31, 2016 10:24:25 GMT -5
tl;dr: Timeline of events:
11:30am – Regular ob check-up; dilated to a 5-6; high BP
1:00pm – Arrived at L&D for monitoring; mild contractions 2-3 minutes apart
3:30pm – Steroid shot, just in case
1-6:30pm – Walked the halls trying to get something going
7:45pm – Checked by ob; No change in dilation; Determined to not be in active labor
8:30pm – Discharged
9:30pm – Pulled out of hospital parking lot
9:40pm – Water breaks in the car
10:00pm – Back at L&D admission desk
10:10pm – Brought to a delivery room
10:36pm – C was born!
The very long version:
On 5/25, I had my regular 37 week appt scheduled for 11:30. I worked all morning and felt fine - just regular pregnancy discomfort. At the beginning of my appt, my blood pressure was fairly high, but since I felt ok and wasn’t feeling contractions we agreed to do a retake toward the end of my appt. During my appt, I requested a cervical check which my doc said she usually wouldn’t do until 38 weeks, but I pushed for it anyway because I was curious. Thankfully, she agreed because we were all completely shocked to find that I was between 5-6 cm already! Between the dilation and the bp, they sent me to L&D to be assessed. We skipped the bp retake because my pulse was racing at the thought of the baby possibly being born soon!
I drove home quickly to pick up a few things, called DH to give him a heads up, called my mom so she could be on stand-by in case we needed her to come pick up DS1, and then drove myself to the hospital which I find hilarious in retrospect. When I got to triage, they hooked me up to the monitors, gave me 2 IVs (because the tech jacked up the first one so badly) and the monitors showed that I was having contractions 2-3 minutes apart, although I just felt a little crampy. Because I was early, they ordered a steroid shot and advised that I walk around a bit to see if the contractions would pick up on their own or if there would be any change in dilation, and we would reassess in a few hours.
In the midst of all this, DH arrived and we decided that he should go pick DS1 up from daycare, grab a few things at the house just in case this was the real deal, and then my mom would pick him up from the hospital.
While I walked the halls, my contractions definitely increased in intensity, so I expressed my concern to my doc that since we have a family history of very quick labors and we live 30+ minutes from the hospital without traffic, I was afraid that I wouldn’t make it back in time if I was sent home. I specifically remember telling them that I didn’t want to end up on the news after having a car baby! Based on how I was feeling I was pretty convinced that I would be admitted. My contractions had slowed to every 3-4 minutes but they were picking up in intensity, so I was fairly confident that labor was progressing. I was also excited because the doc on call was the doc I had seen for most of my appts, so I loved that she might be the one to deliver. When she checked my cervix though, I was still at a 5-6 so she determined that even though I was pretty dilated and having consistent contractions, the contractions weren’t helping me progress. So I was sent home. Dilated to a 6. Contracting every 3-4 minutes. WTAF. I was discharged at around 8:30pm.
I should also note that there has always been some inconsistency surrounding my due date, which definitely affected how this all went down. Based on LMP (which was super weird the cycle I got pregnant), I would have been 37+1. Based on an early u/s date, they were showing me as 36+5. All subsequent ultrasounds aligned more closely with my LMP, but they stuck with the later date. Had they considered me 37w, they probably would have admitted me without question and allowed me to labor in the hospital. At a presumed 36+5, it was too late to stop labor but they also weren’t allowed to help get things moving. They were also super busy and almost at capacity, so I'm sure that played a role too. Frustrating BEYOND belief!!
Given the uncertainty, we decided to send DS1 home with my mom just to be safe. We had a bunch of stuff to transfer from our car to hers, and it took a while to get everything situated, get his car seat transferred, and say our goodbyes. Keep in mind I was contracting the whole time, and pretty much useless, but the extra time it took for us to leave worked in our favor later.
I used that time to snuggle with DS1 and take some selfies! I love that I have a few goofy pictures with him, taken an hour and a half before his brother was born!
DH and I decided to stick close to the hospital for a while just in case things progressed, and decided to go grab a late dinner. We pulled out of the hospital parking lot at around 9:30. A few minutes later, I felt my water break so we turned around and headed back!
We got back to the L&D admission desk at 10ish and the triage admission lady was like “wait, weren’t you JUST here?!?” Looking back I’m laughing but it wasn’t quite as funny at the time. She got me checked in and said that they were getting a labor room ready and the nurses would come get me in a few minutes. Meanwhile, the contractions were picking up and I knew that things weren’t going to take long. My triage nurse and my OB stuck their heads around the corner and told me that they didn’t expect to see me back that quickly, so I joked that they definitely weren’t getting rid of us this time!
We got into my delivery room at probably 10:10, and the nurses had me put on my gown and try to leave a urine sample. Once I was in the bathroom, it was obvious that I was in transitional labor because I immediately vomited everywhere and the contractions were on top of each other. I somehow made it back over to the bed, and the nurse somehow managed to get an IV in me (my third of the day mind you). She was asking if I was planning on an epidural to which I responded with a very emphatic “Yes!” We later joked that we were both just pretending that and epi was even an option at that point! They put the monitors on me and I started feeling the urge to push. My doc hadn’t been in to check me yet so the nurse did a quick check based on my discomfort and the frequency of my contractions and said that I was a “very stretchy 8.” I’m pretty sure this was to keep me from freaking out because I was most likely fully dilated.
Things get a little fuzzy around now. I remember wanting to climb up the bed because the contractions and pressure were so intense and I was so hot, and I remember them putting an oxygen mask on my face which I immediately ripped off Incredible Hulk-style because it somehow made it harder for me to breathe. I also remember my nurse yelling at me to turn to my left side as she ran toward the door to get somebody to assist because I was feeling major pressure. Pretty sure I shouted back to her that I couldn’t fucking move! Thankfully, my doctor came right in and asked the nurse if I was ready to push. I answered for her and told my doc that I was pushing. Two contractions and 3-4 pushes later, C was born at 10:36pm and immediately placed on my chest for skin to skin, which ended up being almost 2 hours and was wonderful!
There were at least 15 other people who showed up in my room in those last few minutes. I’m not sure if they came to assist with the delivery in case my doc didn’t make it in time, or if they just wanted to see who was shouting profanities in room 6, but I definitely had an audience!
My L&D experience with C was completely different than my experience with DS1, and since it was so quick the non-medicated experience really wasn't as terrible as I had envisioned it to be. It was still terrifying in the moment to think I was about to do this with zero pain meds, but the shock definitely helped with the pain management. I'm pretty sure I'm still in a bit of shock about how it all played out, but C is here and he is wonderful!
He has had some minor hurdles to get over due to his early arrival, so he's been in the nicu since last Thursday. He's doing great though and we hope to all be home within the next few days. He's a trooper though and I'm pretty sure that this little guy will be very feisty and will keep us on our toes!!
And that’s the story of how I came very close to having a car baby! Had we timed things even a little differently from when I was discharged to when I delivered, I wouldn't have made it back to the hospital on time and certainly wouldn't have delivered in an actual delivery room!
11:30am – Regular ob check-up; dilated to a 5-6; high BP
1:00pm – Arrived at L&D for monitoring; mild contractions 2-3 minutes apart
3:30pm – Steroid shot, just in case
1-6:30pm – Walked the halls trying to get something going
7:45pm – Checked by ob; No change in dilation; Determined to not be in active labor
8:30pm – Discharged
9:30pm – Pulled out of hospital parking lot
9:40pm – Water breaks in the car
10:00pm – Back at L&D admission desk
10:10pm – Brought to a delivery room
10:36pm – C was born!
The very long version:
On 5/25, I had my regular 37 week appt scheduled for 11:30. I worked all morning and felt fine - just regular pregnancy discomfort. At the beginning of my appt, my blood pressure was fairly high, but since I felt ok and wasn’t feeling contractions we agreed to do a retake toward the end of my appt. During my appt, I requested a cervical check which my doc said she usually wouldn’t do until 38 weeks, but I pushed for it anyway because I was curious. Thankfully, she agreed because we were all completely shocked to find that I was between 5-6 cm already! Between the dilation and the bp, they sent me to L&D to be assessed. We skipped the bp retake because my pulse was racing at the thought of the baby possibly being born soon!
I drove home quickly to pick up a few things, called DH to give him a heads up, called my mom so she could be on stand-by in case we needed her to come pick up DS1, and then drove myself to the hospital which I find hilarious in retrospect. When I got to triage, they hooked me up to the monitors, gave me 2 IVs (because the tech jacked up the first one so badly) and the monitors showed that I was having contractions 2-3 minutes apart, although I just felt a little crampy. Because I was early, they ordered a steroid shot and advised that I walk around a bit to see if the contractions would pick up on their own or if there would be any change in dilation, and we would reassess in a few hours.
In the midst of all this, DH arrived and we decided that he should go pick DS1 up from daycare, grab a few things at the house just in case this was the real deal, and then my mom would pick him up from the hospital.
While I walked the halls, my contractions definitely increased in intensity, so I expressed my concern to my doc that since we have a family history of very quick labors and we live 30+ minutes from the hospital without traffic, I was afraid that I wouldn’t make it back in time if I was sent home. I specifically remember telling them that I didn’t want to end up on the news after having a car baby! Based on how I was feeling I was pretty convinced that I would be admitted. My contractions had slowed to every 3-4 minutes but they were picking up in intensity, so I was fairly confident that labor was progressing. I was also excited because the doc on call was the doc I had seen for most of my appts, so I loved that she might be the one to deliver. When she checked my cervix though, I was still at a 5-6 so she determined that even though I was pretty dilated and having consistent contractions, the contractions weren’t helping me progress. So I was sent home. Dilated to a 6. Contracting every 3-4 minutes. WTAF. I was discharged at around 8:30pm.
I should also note that there has always been some inconsistency surrounding my due date, which definitely affected how this all went down. Based on LMP (which was super weird the cycle I got pregnant), I would have been 37+1. Based on an early u/s date, they were showing me as 36+5. All subsequent ultrasounds aligned more closely with my LMP, but they stuck with the later date. Had they considered me 37w, they probably would have admitted me without question and allowed me to labor in the hospital. At a presumed 36+5, it was too late to stop labor but they also weren’t allowed to help get things moving. They were also super busy and almost at capacity, so I'm sure that played a role too. Frustrating BEYOND belief!!
Given the uncertainty, we decided to send DS1 home with my mom just to be safe. We had a bunch of stuff to transfer from our car to hers, and it took a while to get everything situated, get his car seat transferred, and say our goodbyes. Keep in mind I was contracting the whole time, and pretty much useless, but the extra time it took for us to leave worked in our favor later.
I used that time to snuggle with DS1 and take some selfies! I love that I have a few goofy pictures with him, taken an hour and a half before his brother was born!
DH and I decided to stick close to the hospital for a while just in case things progressed, and decided to go grab a late dinner. We pulled out of the hospital parking lot at around 9:30. A few minutes later, I felt my water break so we turned around and headed back!
We got back to the L&D admission desk at 10ish and the triage admission lady was like “wait, weren’t you JUST here?!?” Looking back I’m laughing but it wasn’t quite as funny at the time. She got me checked in and said that they were getting a labor room ready and the nurses would come get me in a few minutes. Meanwhile, the contractions were picking up and I knew that things weren’t going to take long. My triage nurse and my OB stuck their heads around the corner and told me that they didn’t expect to see me back that quickly, so I joked that they definitely weren’t getting rid of us this time!
We got into my delivery room at probably 10:10, and the nurses had me put on my gown and try to leave a urine sample. Once I was in the bathroom, it was obvious that I was in transitional labor because I immediately vomited everywhere and the contractions were on top of each other. I somehow made it back over to the bed, and the nurse somehow managed to get an IV in me (my third of the day mind you). She was asking if I was planning on an epidural to which I responded with a very emphatic “Yes!” We later joked that we were both just pretending that and epi was even an option at that point! They put the monitors on me and I started feeling the urge to push. My doc hadn’t been in to check me yet so the nurse did a quick check based on my discomfort and the frequency of my contractions and said that I was a “very stretchy 8.” I’m pretty sure this was to keep me from freaking out because I was most likely fully dilated.
Things get a little fuzzy around now. I remember wanting to climb up the bed because the contractions and pressure were so intense and I was so hot, and I remember them putting an oxygen mask on my face which I immediately ripped off Incredible Hulk-style because it somehow made it harder for me to breathe. I also remember my nurse yelling at me to turn to my left side as she ran toward the door to get somebody to assist because I was feeling major pressure. Pretty sure I shouted back to her that I couldn’t fucking move! Thankfully, my doctor came right in and asked the nurse if I was ready to push. I answered for her and told my doc that I was pushing. Two contractions and 3-4 pushes later, C was born at 10:36pm and immediately placed on my chest for skin to skin, which ended up being almost 2 hours and was wonderful!
There were at least 15 other people who showed up in my room in those last few minutes. I’m not sure if they came to assist with the delivery in case my doc didn’t make it in time, or if they just wanted to see who was shouting profanities in room 6, but I definitely had an audience!
My L&D experience with C was completely different than my experience with DS1, and since it was so quick the non-medicated experience really wasn't as terrible as I had envisioned it to be. It was still terrifying in the moment to think I was about to do this with zero pain meds, but the shock definitely helped with the pain management. I'm pretty sure I'm still in a bit of shock about how it all played out, but C is here and he is wonderful!
He has had some minor hurdles to get over due to his early arrival, so he's been in the nicu since last Thursday. He's doing great though and we hope to all be home within the next few days. He's a trooper though and I'm pretty sure that this little guy will be very feisty and will keep us on our toes!!
And that’s the story of how I came very close to having a car baby! Had we timed things even a little differently from when I was discharged to when I delivered, I wouldn't have made it back to the hospital on time and certainly wouldn't have delivered in an actual delivery room!
Loved both versions of the birth story and I may need to steal your timeline of events idea when time comes for me lol!!! 