XP: Baby aves has arrived!!
Oct 25, 2015 12:33:30 GMT -5
Post by aves0708 on Oct 25, 2015 12:33:30 GMT -5
Sorry I have been absent all week from TCF, but.... I have an outside baby!!!
The TL;DR version. I had my nearly perfect labor and delivery experience. I went into labor on my own Monday night and Tuesday afternoon, after receiving a blissful epidural, my beautiful daughter made her grand entrance. Kenn.edy Ev.elyn was born October 20 (40w6d) at 7lbs 3 oz 20.5 inches. Scroll down for pics
Full birth story. I posted in the Monday 3rd tri check in that I had lost my mucus plug Sunday (the 18th). I wanted so much to hope that meant something because my OB had set me up for my last appointment and if nothing had started on it's own at that time, then they'd set up an induction date. I went to work on Monday and felt a lot of pressure all day, but I had many days with lots of pressure, so I tried not to read so much into it. I was also having really intense BH all day at work. By that evening they started to become even more noticeable and some were starting to get slightly painful. I still did not want to get any hopes up because every evening for the past couple weeks my BHs picked up in the evening and then everything would stop when I went to bed. I mentioned to DH that I was feeling a little different but he shouldn't get his hopes up either.
Then at 10:30pm Monday night I had what I later considered to be my first contraction. DH and I were just laying in bed talking and I had a painful cramp, different from everything I'd felt up to this point. I told DH, you might not be going to work tomorrow. He got super excited and decided to do some last minute cleaning (laundry folding, taking the garbage out). The contractions were really sporadic at this point. I stayed in bed and slept on and off until 2:30am. At this time they were noticeable enough for me to need to get out of bed and go downstairs. I started timing them and they were coming about 5 min apart and lasting about 45 seconds to a minute. I still wasn't sure if they were even contractions because they really felt like intense period cramps. They kept coming anywhere from 3-5 minutes apart and the OB's office had told me to call if they follow the 5-1-1 rule so, about 3:30am I called and talked to the on call doc. She asked me how the contractions felt and I described them just like intense period cramps. She told me to stay home, and call back when they stopped me in my tracks and I had to just focus on breathing through them. So I labored a home for the next few hours. I got in the shower and let the shower water fill the tub up, and then enjoyed the bathtub for a while. We have a really crappy bathtub so I didn't stay too long in there. The whole time at home I still would only describe the contractions as intense period cramps. I was expecting them to be so much worse.
My parents live 5 to 5 1/2 hours away so by 6:30am I knew they would be up and getting ready for work, so I called them and told them what was going on and told them not to rush because I thought it would be awhile. After I talked to my parents I got DH up and told him to finish getting the things we needed for the hospital bag packed up. At 7:30am my contractions were 2-3 min apart and I had a hard time talking through them but were still not as intense as I expected. But because they were so close together I called the on call OB again and she said it was up to me if I wanted to come in and get checked, so I said I'd be in. In the car my contractions actually came less frequently and I said to DH like 3 times, they are just going to send us home, I should have waited longer. Between the car and walking to L&D I only had two contractions so I was really convinced I'd be going home. I got checked into triage, and the OB came in at about 8:30am. She asked what I was at my last appointment and I told her only 1cm. She checked me and goes well you're at 6cm. I was shocked and actually said "you're shitting me". I think she was as surprised as I was. She told me we were staying and asked if I wanted an epi. I said at some point yes I wanted one but I didn't want to rush because I was still managing everything really well, but I wanted the fluids started so I would be ready. I briefly considered trying the natural route at this point because the contractions had been so manageable....well I'm glad I got the fluids stared when I did because it took forever for them to be ready for the epi and I was so ready when it finally came. The only bad part about the fluids was that they made me soooo cold. I was shaking like it was winter in there, so DH covered me with his sweatshirt and mine. He could actually feel how cold my right arm was to the touch from the fluids.
I had to wait for a L&D room to open, so I stayed in triage from 8:30am-11:30am. The triage nurses were awesome and commented over and over how well I was doing which was so encouraging. By 11:30 I moved the labor room, and this was the worst because they told me the anesthesiologist would be right in to do the epi so they sat me in the position for the epi but he never came in until 12. It was so hard to work through the contractions in that position. The epi was amazing. I was so terrified of getting it, but it really was so easy. I took a little time to get it going but DH was my rock and let me squeeze his hand and kept saying over and over, "you're doing so amazing". It was so reassuring to hear him say that. It took effect almost immediately and it was easy going from here on out. I could still feel and move my legs and a feel a little pressure during contractions but no pain. I got sleep while DH went and got our bag (we left it in the car because I was so sure I was going to be sent home), got himself some lunch and met our parents when they arrived. My water eventually broke on it's own, which was such a weird feeling and this is where the nearly perfect labor and delivery comes in. My water had meconium in it. The doctor and nurse were very calm about it and explained to me that they would have a NICU team in place for delivery in case needed but that usually after fast suctioning everything is fine and baby needs no NICU time. I was actually very calm about it too, I knew I was delivering at an awesome hospital and that was so comforting. After my water broke it was about another 4 hours before we were ready to go. The nurse came in to empty my bladder and baby's head was right there. I was not surprised because I had been feeling really intense pressure from the contractions and some pain, I just thought the epi was wearing off. Right before the docs came in to have me push, I got really nauseous and threw up, it was really random because I'd been feeling good the whole time, but they told me it's really common. Once I was done, the docs and NICU team flooded the room. I pushed for three contractions and she was out. It was a completely surreal moment and DH and I both burst into tears. I only saw her for like a second before the NICU team whisked her away to the side of the room. While she was getting suctioned, I delivered the placenta and DH stayed by her side the whole time. I kept looking over to where she was and asking if she was ok and they said she did great. After what seemed like an eternity (probably more like 5-10 min) they brought her too me, and DH and I cried some more. I had a 2nd degree tear so I just held her while they stitched me up.
I couldn't have asked for a better birth experience. The only hard part of recovery has been hard the 2nd degree tear. I keep trying wean off the ibuprofen and tylenol and then regret it. My breastfeeding experience has been amazing. The nurses and LC's at the hospital were awesome, and after one night of good instruction we both had it down. Right away I stuck to feeding at least every two hours( a lot more frequently than that when she was cluster feeding) and I think that has helped so much. My milk came in and I have not needed the pump at all. We were discharged Thursday and she weighed 6lb 11oz and our first pedi appointment was friday morning and she was already up an ounce to 6lbs 12oz, she's been eating like a champ since.
Here some pics for making it through that long story
Edit because apparently I posted two of the same pic
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The TL;DR version. I had my nearly perfect labor and delivery experience. I went into labor on my own Monday night and Tuesday afternoon, after receiving a blissful epidural, my beautiful daughter made her grand entrance. Kenn.edy Ev.elyn was born October 20 (40w6d) at 7lbs 3 oz 20.5 inches. Scroll down for pics
Full birth story. I posted in the Monday 3rd tri check in that I had lost my mucus plug Sunday (the 18th). I wanted so much to hope that meant something because my OB had set me up for my last appointment and if nothing had started on it's own at that time, then they'd set up an induction date. I went to work on Monday and felt a lot of pressure all day, but I had many days with lots of pressure, so I tried not to read so much into it. I was also having really intense BH all day at work. By that evening they started to become even more noticeable and some were starting to get slightly painful. I still did not want to get any hopes up because every evening for the past couple weeks my BHs picked up in the evening and then everything would stop when I went to bed. I mentioned to DH that I was feeling a little different but he shouldn't get his hopes up either.
Then at 10:30pm Monday night I had what I later considered to be my first contraction. DH and I were just laying in bed talking and I had a painful cramp, different from everything I'd felt up to this point. I told DH, you might not be going to work tomorrow. He got super excited and decided to do some last minute cleaning (laundry folding, taking the garbage out). The contractions were really sporadic at this point. I stayed in bed and slept on and off until 2:30am. At this time they were noticeable enough for me to need to get out of bed and go downstairs. I started timing them and they were coming about 5 min apart and lasting about 45 seconds to a minute. I still wasn't sure if they were even contractions because they really felt like intense period cramps. They kept coming anywhere from 3-5 minutes apart and the OB's office had told me to call if they follow the 5-1-1 rule so, about 3:30am I called and talked to the on call doc. She asked me how the contractions felt and I described them just like intense period cramps. She told me to stay home, and call back when they stopped me in my tracks and I had to just focus on breathing through them. So I labored a home for the next few hours. I got in the shower and let the shower water fill the tub up, and then enjoyed the bathtub for a while. We have a really crappy bathtub so I didn't stay too long in there. The whole time at home I still would only describe the contractions as intense period cramps. I was expecting them to be so much worse.
My parents live 5 to 5 1/2 hours away so by 6:30am I knew they would be up and getting ready for work, so I called them and told them what was going on and told them not to rush because I thought it would be awhile. After I talked to my parents I got DH up and told him to finish getting the things we needed for the hospital bag packed up. At 7:30am my contractions were 2-3 min apart and I had a hard time talking through them but were still not as intense as I expected. But because they were so close together I called the on call OB again and she said it was up to me if I wanted to come in and get checked, so I said I'd be in. In the car my contractions actually came less frequently and I said to DH like 3 times, they are just going to send us home, I should have waited longer. Between the car and walking to L&D I only had two contractions so I was really convinced I'd be going home. I got checked into triage, and the OB came in at about 8:30am. She asked what I was at my last appointment and I told her only 1cm. She checked me and goes well you're at 6cm. I was shocked and actually said "you're shitting me". I think she was as surprised as I was. She told me we were staying and asked if I wanted an epi. I said at some point yes I wanted one but I didn't want to rush because I was still managing everything really well, but I wanted the fluids started so I would be ready. I briefly considered trying the natural route at this point because the contractions had been so manageable....well I'm glad I got the fluids stared when I did because it took forever for them to be ready for the epi and I was so ready when it finally came. The only bad part about the fluids was that they made me soooo cold. I was shaking like it was winter in there, so DH covered me with his sweatshirt and mine. He could actually feel how cold my right arm was to the touch from the fluids.
I had to wait for a L&D room to open, so I stayed in triage from 8:30am-11:30am. The triage nurses were awesome and commented over and over how well I was doing which was so encouraging. By 11:30 I moved the labor room, and this was the worst because they told me the anesthesiologist would be right in to do the epi so they sat me in the position for the epi but he never came in until 12. It was so hard to work through the contractions in that position. The epi was amazing. I was so terrified of getting it, but it really was so easy. I took a little time to get it going but DH was my rock and let me squeeze his hand and kept saying over and over, "you're doing so amazing". It was so reassuring to hear him say that. It took effect almost immediately and it was easy going from here on out. I could still feel and move my legs and a feel a little pressure during contractions but no pain. I got sleep while DH went and got our bag (we left it in the car because I was so sure I was going to be sent home), got himself some lunch and met our parents when they arrived. My water eventually broke on it's own, which was such a weird feeling and this is where the nearly perfect labor and delivery comes in. My water had meconium in it. The doctor and nurse were very calm about it and explained to me that they would have a NICU team in place for delivery in case needed but that usually after fast suctioning everything is fine and baby needs no NICU time. I was actually very calm about it too, I knew I was delivering at an awesome hospital and that was so comforting. After my water broke it was about another 4 hours before we were ready to go. The nurse came in to empty my bladder and baby's head was right there. I was not surprised because I had been feeling really intense pressure from the contractions and some pain, I just thought the epi was wearing off. Right before the docs came in to have me push, I got really nauseous and threw up, it was really random because I'd been feeling good the whole time, but they told me it's really common. Once I was done, the docs and NICU team flooded the room. I pushed for three contractions and she was out. It was a completely surreal moment and DH and I both burst into tears. I only saw her for like a second before the NICU team whisked her away to the side of the room. While she was getting suctioned, I delivered the placenta and DH stayed by her side the whole time. I kept looking over to where she was and asking if she was ok and they said she did great. After what seemed like an eternity (probably more like 5-10 min) they brought her too me, and DH and I cried some more. I had a 2nd degree tear so I just held her while they stitched me up.
I couldn't have asked for a better birth experience. The only hard part of recovery has been hard the 2nd degree tear. I keep trying wean off the ibuprofen and tylenol and then regret it. My breastfeeding experience has been amazing. The nurses and LC's at the hospital were awesome, and after one night of good instruction we both had it down. Right away I stuck to feeding at least every two hours( a lot more frequently than that when she was cluster feeding) and I think that has helped so much. My milk came in and I have not needed the pump at all. We were discharged Thursday and she weighed 6lb 11oz and our first pedi appointment was friday morning and she was already up an ounce to 6lbs 12oz, she's been eating like a champ since.
Here some pics for making it through that long story
Edit because apparently I posted two of the same pic
