Baby Cooter birth story
Jun 13, 2015 23:39:14 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Jun 13, 2015 23:39:14 GMT -5
We came in Thursday morning, June 11, for a non medicated induction. At the time I was almost 4.5 cm and 90% effaced. Doc broke my water at 8:30 and I started cramping right away. After two hours of walking and bouncing contractions were coming regularly but were mild. At 10:30 they hooked me up to monitors and my doula took advantage of the down time and did acupuncture on me while we waited. I started having real contractions almost immediately, while the needles were in, and by the time she took them out 20 minutes later I couldn't talk through them any more and they were five minutes apart. I worked through them for about an hour and then got in the tub, which helped tremendously. By 12:30 they were getting incredibly intense and I was having a hard time focusing through them. They checked me again at 12:30 and I was at 5.5 cm. I got back in the tub and for the next two hours they got stronger and stronger, to the point that I had my first "I can't do this!" meltdown and started begging for meds. My doula redirected me and talked me through them while they got stronger and stronger and soon they were right on top of each other, with no breaks. I managed to keep getting through them while making grunting noises I didn't know I was capable of.
By the time they checked me again at 2:30 I was starting my second round of "I can't do this" but just kept reminding myself I was probably going through transition and that I was getting close to the end. Then they checked me and, after two hours of that, I was still stuck at 5.5 cm. And that's when I lost my shit and the natural birth story comes to a screeching halt. To those of you who have done it, I am in awe and bow down to you. I started sobbing hysterically and begging and pleading for an epidural at that point, unable to comprehend having to spend several more hours feeling that way, after all that work had done nothing. DH and my doula realized, at that point, that it was just time and we called for the anesthesiologist. The next hour while I had to wait I pretty much screamed like I was dying. So much for staying calm, focusing, and breathing. Every coping technique I had practiced went out the window as soon as I decided I was done. Epidural was in around 3:45 and I finally slept for two hours solid and then dozed off an on until about 7:45 when I was finally ready to push.
Pushing is a whole other story. I couldn't feel my legs and body well enough to push effectively so they had to turn the epidural almost all the way down. Once I could feel my body again I realized it wasn't just me. Baby was having a very hard time descending and after an hour we figured out the reason I had dilated so fast so early on, but then gotten stuck there, kept having false labor for so long, had a hard time progressing, and my contractions were so strong but ineffective. He had been sitting sunny side up (face up instead of down) all this time and his forehead was stuck on the top of my pubic bone. Plus he was crooked so he just couldn't get down any further on his own. They repositioned me as best they could to maneuver around the bone but he still wasn't budging. They were starting to get heart decels for him and I could tell by the look on my always chipper doc's face that things were getting serious. I was completely out of energy but he finally told me I had one more round of pushing to get him out before we had to move on to "other options." At that point I was scared they were going to take me in for a c-section so I managed to push hard enough that I thought I would pass out and make enough progress to get him down further, far enough so that we could at least use the suction cups to help him. On the next round of my pushing the doc started pulling with the cups and delivered his head. From there he was finally able to deliver the rest of them without my help.
Pearson Kelly was finally born at 9:08 pm on June 11. 8 lbs 6 oz, 20.5 inches long. Head full of light brown hair.
He needed a little extra oxygen at first so we didn't get to skin to skin immediately but they brought him back ASAP. I ended up with a very minor episiotomy again, which I had desperately wanted to avoid but that I accept, under the circumstances. Better than having a full section. It required minimal stitches and is already healing much faster than the last one I had. We stayed with him in the delivery room for close to two hours before they moved us to recovery. We are just completely in love with him.
His bruising and scabbing from the vacuum is healing up nicely and he is eating like a champ. He is under the bili lights for jaundice and I have been discharged but am staying with him in the NICU for one more night. We should be headed home together tomorrow.
![]()
By the time they checked me again at 2:30 I was starting my second round of "I can't do this" but just kept reminding myself I was probably going through transition and that I was getting close to the end. Then they checked me and, after two hours of that, I was still stuck at 5.5 cm. And that's when I lost my shit and the natural birth story comes to a screeching halt. To those of you who have done it, I am in awe and bow down to you. I started sobbing hysterically and begging and pleading for an epidural at that point, unable to comprehend having to spend several more hours feeling that way, after all that work had done nothing. DH and my doula realized, at that point, that it was just time and we called for the anesthesiologist. The next hour while I had to wait I pretty much screamed like I was dying. So much for staying calm, focusing, and breathing. Every coping technique I had practiced went out the window as soon as I decided I was done. Epidural was in around 3:45 and I finally slept for two hours solid and then dozed off an on until about 7:45 when I was finally ready to push.
Pushing is a whole other story. I couldn't feel my legs and body well enough to push effectively so they had to turn the epidural almost all the way down. Once I could feel my body again I realized it wasn't just me. Baby was having a very hard time descending and after an hour we figured out the reason I had dilated so fast so early on, but then gotten stuck there, kept having false labor for so long, had a hard time progressing, and my contractions were so strong but ineffective. He had been sitting sunny side up (face up instead of down) all this time and his forehead was stuck on the top of my pubic bone. Plus he was crooked so he just couldn't get down any further on his own. They repositioned me as best they could to maneuver around the bone but he still wasn't budging. They were starting to get heart decels for him and I could tell by the look on my always chipper doc's face that things were getting serious. I was completely out of energy but he finally told me I had one more round of pushing to get him out before we had to move on to "other options." At that point I was scared they were going to take me in for a c-section so I managed to push hard enough that I thought I would pass out and make enough progress to get him down further, far enough so that we could at least use the suction cups to help him. On the next round of my pushing the doc started pulling with the cups and delivered his head. From there he was finally able to deliver the rest of them without my help.
Pearson Kelly was finally born at 9:08 pm on June 11. 8 lbs 6 oz, 20.5 inches long. Head full of light brown hair.
He needed a little extra oxygen at first so we didn't get to skin to skin immediately but they brought him back ASAP. I ended up with a very minor episiotomy again, which I had desperately wanted to avoid but that I accept, under the circumstances. Better than having a full section. It required minimal stitches and is already healing much faster than the last one I had. We stayed with him in the delivery room for close to two hours before they moved us to recovery. We are just completely in love with him.
His bruising and scabbing from the vacuum is healing up nicely and he is eating like a champ. He is under the bili lights for jaundice and I have been discharged but am staying with him in the NICU for one more night. We should be headed home together tomorrow.
