kemdupuis- birth story
Jun 25, 2015 14:59:52 GMT -5
Post by kemdupuis on Jun 25, 2015 14:59:52 GMT -5
I feel like every time I sit down to write this, I either need to feed/change/tend to LO, or I literally pass out from exhaustion. Hopefully, I can finish it this time!
Had my last regularly scheduled appointment on Thursday, June 18 at 39w 5d. OB did a cervical check, and deemed me a "loose 1" and at 75% effacement. This was not a significant change from the week before, so we both agreed it would be a good idea to schedule an induction for the following thursday, June 25. I went home thinking that I had at least a few more days before my LO would arrive.
Lo and behold, DH and I were eating dinner later that evening, and I started feeling pretty crampy. I didn't think much of it, and we went to bed around our normal time. At 11:30, I woke up feeling awful. I was having pretty intense cramping, which I finally realized were probably contractions and started timing. They were pretty irregularly spaced, and about 15-20 minutes apart, but some were closer together. I got in the tub to try to relax a bit, but nothing really helped ease the pain. I wasn't able to go back to sleep that night, but since the contractions were still far apart and not regular, I decided to wait until my OB office opened at 9am the next morning. I called in, and by then, my contractions were 6-8 minutes apart. They told me that since I was almost 40weeks and had started dilating/effacing that I should go ahead and head on over to L and D. Since conditions were favorable, they said that even if this wasn't the real deal, they might just go ahead and induce me anyway. I took a shower, got my things together, and DH and I were at the hospital by 11am.
They checked me in triage, and I was still at only 1cm dilation, but was about 90% effaced. The nurse called over to my OB's office, and she wanted to check fluid levels so they ordered an U/S. We waited in triage for a while- and contractions were really intense. By the time they had finished the U/S, the nurse checked me again (expecting not much progress- and that they'd probably send me home) and I was at 4cm dilation!
I labored without medication for as long as I could- until about 9pm at night. DH and I walked the halls, used the birthing ball, hung out in the room and watched TV, until I finally couldn't take it anymore. I made it to 6cm before requesting my epidural. The anesthesiologist was close by, so he was in my room pretty quickly, which was great. After the epidural, I felt much, much better, which was great. My OB unfortunately wasn't on call, and the doctor that was was eager to get the show on the road. She came in and broke my water, and then they began administering pitocin. DH and I both tried to get some rest since we hadn't slept much the night before. I really didn't sleep much though- my blood pressure dropped really low (like, 88/56) twice during the night, and LO's HB went soaring. Alarms would go off, the nurse would rush in, and they administered ephedrine to try to correct things. Eventually, things evened out, and I was making steady progress in the dilation department. At around 1am, the nurse came in, checked me, and said that I was complete. About 20 minutes later, she came in to say that they had called the Dr. and we started pushing. Luckily, the Dr. was close by, because I only had to push for about 20 minutes before LO arrived. I had a second degree tear, but overall, did well.
They took LO out and placed him on my chest, and DH and I just stared at each other in complete shock/amazement. We both started crying, and LO started screaming. It was seriously the most surreal experience of my life, and I still catch myself thinking that he can't possibly be here. We hadn't for sure decided on his name and as they were placing him under the warming lamps, the nurse asked us what his name was. I looked at DH and asked him what it was, and he said "Beckett".
Beckett McRae was born at 1:45 am in the morning on Saturday, June 20th (his EDD). He weighed 8lbs 4oz, was 21 inches long, and very healthy. We dealt with a small bout of jaundice and had to spend an extra day in the hospital so he could hang out under the Billi lights until his numbers came down, but we went to our first check up on Tuesday, and they've continued to decline. We'll go back next Wednesday to have him checked again, but our pediatrician is confident that he is fine.
We are so completely in love with our little boy- I just can't believe he is finally here!
Had my last regularly scheduled appointment on Thursday, June 18 at 39w 5d. OB did a cervical check, and deemed me a "loose 1" and at 75% effacement. This was not a significant change from the week before, so we both agreed it would be a good idea to schedule an induction for the following thursday, June 25. I went home thinking that I had at least a few more days before my LO would arrive.
Lo and behold, DH and I were eating dinner later that evening, and I started feeling pretty crampy. I didn't think much of it, and we went to bed around our normal time. At 11:30, I woke up feeling awful. I was having pretty intense cramping, which I finally realized were probably contractions and started timing. They were pretty irregularly spaced, and about 15-20 minutes apart, but some were closer together. I got in the tub to try to relax a bit, but nothing really helped ease the pain. I wasn't able to go back to sleep that night, but since the contractions were still far apart and not regular, I decided to wait until my OB office opened at 9am the next morning. I called in, and by then, my contractions were 6-8 minutes apart. They told me that since I was almost 40weeks and had started dilating/effacing that I should go ahead and head on over to L and D. Since conditions were favorable, they said that even if this wasn't the real deal, they might just go ahead and induce me anyway. I took a shower, got my things together, and DH and I were at the hospital by 11am.
They checked me in triage, and I was still at only 1cm dilation, but was about 90% effaced. The nurse called over to my OB's office, and she wanted to check fluid levels so they ordered an U/S. We waited in triage for a while- and contractions were really intense. By the time they had finished the U/S, the nurse checked me again (expecting not much progress- and that they'd probably send me home) and I was at 4cm dilation!
I labored without medication for as long as I could- until about 9pm at night. DH and I walked the halls, used the birthing ball, hung out in the room and watched TV, until I finally couldn't take it anymore. I made it to 6cm before requesting my epidural. The anesthesiologist was close by, so he was in my room pretty quickly, which was great. After the epidural, I felt much, much better, which was great. My OB unfortunately wasn't on call, and the doctor that was was eager to get the show on the road. She came in and broke my water, and then they began administering pitocin. DH and I both tried to get some rest since we hadn't slept much the night before. I really didn't sleep much though- my blood pressure dropped really low (like, 88/56) twice during the night, and LO's HB went soaring. Alarms would go off, the nurse would rush in, and they administered ephedrine to try to correct things. Eventually, things evened out, and I was making steady progress in the dilation department. At around 1am, the nurse came in, checked me, and said that I was complete. About 20 minutes later, she came in to say that they had called the Dr. and we started pushing. Luckily, the Dr. was close by, because I only had to push for about 20 minutes before LO arrived. I had a second degree tear, but overall, did well.
They took LO out and placed him on my chest, and DH and I just stared at each other in complete shock/amazement. We both started crying, and LO started screaming. It was seriously the most surreal experience of my life, and I still catch myself thinking that he can't possibly be here. We hadn't for sure decided on his name and as they were placing him under the warming lamps, the nurse asked us what his name was. I looked at DH and asked him what it was, and he said "Beckett".
Beckett McRae was born at 1:45 am in the morning on Saturday, June 20th (his EDD). He weighed 8lbs 4oz, was 21 inches long, and very healthy. We dealt with a small bout of jaundice and had to spend an extra day in the hospital so he could hang out under the Billi lights until his numbers came down, but we went to our first check up on Tuesday, and they've continued to decline. We'll go back next Wednesday to have him checked again, but our pediatrician is confident that he is fine.
We are so completely in love with our little boy- I just can't believe he is finally here!
