MiniRitz Birth Story
Feb 9, 2016 19:32:35 GMT -5
Post by EatsRitz on Feb 9, 2016 19:32:35 GMT -5
Better late than never, right?
TL;DR Version: Ru.by A.nn was born at 8:20am on February 4th after an 11-hour, uneventful induction. She weighed 6 pounds, 8 ounces, and was 18.5 inches long.
My induction was scheduled for 9pm on February 3rd. The week before at my doctor appointment, I was 2 cm dilated. Between then and my induction, I had an acupuncture appointment, used evening primrose oil, and had sex a couple of times to try and get my body as ready as I possibly could. The night of February 2nd, from 11pm to 4am, I had regular, painful contractions that almost convinced me to go to the hospital, but then they just died out. Between that and DD1 waking up early, I only got about an hour of sleep. Luckily I was able to get a nap during the day, my mom came to stay with DD1 and DS, and DH and I headed to the hospital around 8:30pm on the 3rd.
My nurse came in and told me the plan for induction was to start on cytotec before pitocin, since they assumed I hadn't progressed much beyond the 2 cm dilated I was the previous week. I got hooked up to all the monitors, had the IV placed, and started antibiotics for GBS. She was all set to place the cytotec, but when she checked me first, I was already 5 cm, so there wasn't a need. Pitocin was started around 10pm. I was checked again at 11:30 and was 6 cm, so I asked for the epidural. I wanted a chance to rest and maybe sleep before my water was broken and things got really painful. Got the epidural around midnight, was 6.5 cm, and tried to rest for a while. DH slept and I was in and out of sleep, but with the blood pressure cuff tightening every 15 minutes and the monitors going off when the baby's heartbeat was lost because she moved, it wasn't very restful sleep.
We spent about five hours trying to get my contractions consistent, and they were finally about 3 minutes apart at 5:30am. I was checked again at 6am and was 7-8 cm. By about 6:30, contractions were getting painful, especially in my back, so I had DH applying counter-pressure and the nurse rolled up some sheets to put under my belly and behind my back to try and convince baby to turn around. I asked about increasing the epidural dosage because it felt like it had completely worn off by that point. The nurse said no because they knew I would be pushing soon and re-doing the epi at that point would make it difficult to know when to push. I was told my doctor would be in around 8am to check on me, so I just had to tough it out for just over an hour. My doctor came in around 7:50am and checked me. I was complete and she broke my water. She and the nurses left and said to press the call button when I felt pressure. They said it would probably be about 10-15 minutes. Contractions were coming back to back and were so, so painful- it felt like getting stabbed in the back over and over again. I was just panting and moaning and crying. About 5 minutes after my doctor left, I felt the need to push, so I had DH push the call button to bring everyone back in. The nurses and my doctor came rushing back in around 8:10, got the bed set up, rolled me onto my back, and my doctor barely had time to put scrubs on. Pushing was a weird mix of being the most painful thing ever and being incredibly relieving- it felt good to get the pressure off of my back, but the ring of fire as she was crowning and feeling the tearing as it was happening was not something I'll ever want to experience again. My doctor tried to get me to slow down a little as I was pushing so I wouldn't tear, but I just wanted to be done. It only took about five minutes and a handful of big pushes, and she was born at 8:20am. I started bawling from relief and pain and overwhelming emotions. We immediately got to do skin-to-skin and the first thing I said was, "She's so small!" She was 6 pounds, 8 ounces, and 18.5 inches. Petite and perfect in every single way.
ETA: Added a picture- little girl ready to go home!
TL;DR Version: Ru.by A.nn was born at 8:20am on February 4th after an 11-hour, uneventful induction. She weighed 6 pounds, 8 ounces, and was 18.5 inches long.
My induction was scheduled for 9pm on February 3rd. The week before at my doctor appointment, I was 2 cm dilated. Between then and my induction, I had an acupuncture appointment, used evening primrose oil, and had sex a couple of times to try and get my body as ready as I possibly could. The night of February 2nd, from 11pm to 4am, I had regular, painful contractions that almost convinced me to go to the hospital, but then they just died out. Between that and DD1 waking up early, I only got about an hour of sleep. Luckily I was able to get a nap during the day, my mom came to stay with DD1 and DS, and DH and I headed to the hospital around 8:30pm on the 3rd.
My nurse came in and told me the plan for induction was to start on cytotec before pitocin, since they assumed I hadn't progressed much beyond the 2 cm dilated I was the previous week. I got hooked up to all the monitors, had the IV placed, and started antibiotics for GBS. She was all set to place the cytotec, but when she checked me first, I was already 5 cm, so there wasn't a need. Pitocin was started around 10pm. I was checked again at 11:30 and was 6 cm, so I asked for the epidural. I wanted a chance to rest and maybe sleep before my water was broken and things got really painful. Got the epidural around midnight, was 6.5 cm, and tried to rest for a while. DH slept and I was in and out of sleep, but with the blood pressure cuff tightening every 15 minutes and the monitors going off when the baby's heartbeat was lost because she moved, it wasn't very restful sleep.
We spent about five hours trying to get my contractions consistent, and they were finally about 3 minutes apart at 5:30am. I was checked again at 6am and was 7-8 cm. By about 6:30, contractions were getting painful, especially in my back, so I had DH applying counter-pressure and the nurse rolled up some sheets to put under my belly and behind my back to try and convince baby to turn around. I asked about increasing the epidural dosage because it felt like it had completely worn off by that point. The nurse said no because they knew I would be pushing soon and re-doing the epi at that point would make it difficult to know when to push. I was told my doctor would be in around 8am to check on me, so I just had to tough it out for just over an hour. My doctor came in around 7:50am and checked me. I was complete and she broke my water. She and the nurses left and said to press the call button when I felt pressure. They said it would probably be about 10-15 minutes. Contractions were coming back to back and were so, so painful- it felt like getting stabbed in the back over and over again. I was just panting and moaning and crying. About 5 minutes after my doctor left, I felt the need to push, so I had DH push the call button to bring everyone back in. The nurses and my doctor came rushing back in around 8:10, got the bed set up, rolled me onto my back, and my doctor barely had time to put scrubs on. Pushing was a weird mix of being the most painful thing ever and being incredibly relieving- it felt good to get the pressure off of my back, but the ring of fire as she was crowning and feeling the tearing as it was happening was not something I'll ever want to experience again. My doctor tried to get me to slow down a little as I was pushing so I wouldn't tear, but I just wanted to be done. It only took about five minutes and a handful of big pushes, and she was born at 8:20am. I started bawling from relief and pain and overwhelming emotions. We immediately got to do skin-to-skin and the first thing I said was, "She's so small!" She was 6 pounds, 8 ounces, and 18.5 inches. Petite and perfect in every single way.
ETA: Added a picture- little girl ready to go home!
hope you are doing well!
