Well, I have no where else to post this, so I might as well do it here.
The story of Amelia's birth....as told to me by Nik via blackberry note pad (he took notes, he will be in bold and I'll add in my thoughts in unbold beside)
Admitted 7:45 am put on monitor until midwife can consult with OB who's on call and get the 'go ahead' for an induction. I had a full hour to think of all the reasons not to go ahead with an induction so by the time she came back I was pretty sure I would chicken out. She dove in checked the ol' cervix (3-4 CM) and said, let's go...to which I said, ummmm NO. And we had a little chat. I said I really wasn't sure if I could go through with this and she laughed at me. And then she realized I was serious. So, we talked about waiting, but things were favourable for going ahead and waiting was not the better option. Then she suggested that we take a walk. So we did (but not before she did a good stretch and sweep. She did such a good job in fact, that she felt the cervix change from 4 to 5 CM...she's THAT good).
So we walked to the coffee shop and Nik got some coffee. We got back to the room and the OB came in to see where we were at with the induction (apparently to talk me into oxtyocin after having my water broken) but she came in to see that we hadn't even started yet. So she said to me that I had to make a decision because they had been very busy lately and would need the bed. So, I decided to go ahead with it considering all the factors involved and it was what my gut had been telling me to do...more on that later
9:55 am Water broke by Midwife this part was actually quite nice because she let me take some NO2 while she did it to calm myself down.
baby good first cramp 2 mins later
10:10 am going for a walk- contractions pick up a bit "feels just like with Chip" in hindsight these were pretty mild, I would call them cramps, but I knew they were the beginning of 'the real thing' because that's just what happens. I was pretty excited that things seemed to be going at a slower pace and that I could ease myself into hard labour rather than it going from nothing to transition.
10:14 contractions about 4-5 minutes apart
10:20 Dana finds the NO2 and convinces Nik to take a couple huffs - no effect this is what happens to a labouring couple who are left unattended.
10:35 baby Heart Rate 145 and D's BP 137/87 during a contraction - all good
10:50 took a walk, got a banana muffin, Dana took one bite, didn't want any more it was really dry
10:55 back in birthing room 7 (same room that Finn was born in)
11:37 difficulty talking through contraction - N applying pressure on lower back I was surprised that I was having back labour. Even though we knew the babe was posterior. I could still feel contractions in the front so it must have been a bit of both??
11:10 in room tough contraction, Dana doing well, no drugs this was probably the first contraction that felt like it was starting to get hard,
11:25 switched to sitting on birthing ball at bedside Amy wanted to monitor the baby through another contraction and that's when things started going crazy. I had a really hard contraction and Millie's heart rate dipped to below 100, I said, 'that's not good" and Amy confirmed that it wasn't that good. But, it went back up to normal, then she listened to two more contractions and the rate went to 60 and then back up.
11:37 - strong and long contraction Amy started running around acting a little frenzied and I started to get pretty worried. We went from a calm and relaxing environment where I felt like I was in total control to crazy people running around looking for IV's. She told me that we were going to need to monitor baby so I had to get on the bed. I laid on my side and basically stayed there the rest of the time. I was super uncomfortable and hated lying down but I was pretty scared by the looks on everyone's faces and the numbers on the screen that kept dipping so low. My midwife tried to start the IV (which she told me to today was a precaution in case they needed to do an emergency section) but after three tries she grabbed another nurse. This nurse also tried three times and finally my midwife told her that I'd be having the baby before they found a vein so the other nurse left. My midwife checked me and told me my cervix was completely gone, but...."oh wait, it's twisted somehow around the baby's head, so you're probably around 7 CM....oh, it's hard to say" So, in my head I went from fully dilated to 7...yes, that would be backwards. Anyways, this was a little before the other nurse went to town on my arm, so by the time she was finished, I guess I had dilated because I started pushing as soon as she left the room.
My midwife kept putting her hand in crevices and what not which really hurt so I kind of got mad, and then she got mad back and said she was trying to help the baby...which scared me, and really it was just scary scary. I guess Milly girl was twisted all up and not coming down properly so she was low enough to put pressure but twisted and I couldn't push her out and that coupled with the low heart rate made things stressful for the MW. I pushed about 4 times and wasn't getting anywhere, but then....THEN the craziest thing happened....my baby girl flipped over (Nik saw her head completely twist) I thought I had pushed her out because it physically felt like my lower parts had been ripped in two and I breathed a huge sigh of relief. Except then another contraction came and I felt the most intense urge to push...so I did and out came her head, then on the next contraction out came the rest...she was here! We had a baby girl.
Nik's notes ended with these three points
12:30 ish - uhhhhhhh
12:50 - Baby GIRL!!!!!!!!
12:55 - placenta (cuz u wanted to know)
I hate that I didn't get to enjoy this labor and writing this all out has been extremely hard for some reason. I'm sure some of you will understand. This was probably the worst labor experience for me. I don't think it was the pain that made it so bad, it was the fear and uncontrollable-ness of the situation. I'm so thankful that we were in the hospital and we weren't at home because Amy would have taken us to the hospital anyways and I can only imagine how much worse it would have been to transfer from home to hospital without knowing what was going on. I think Jesus was holding all of us and got us through what seemed like the scariest moments of my life. I'm so thankful that my Amelia is here and is completely healthy and completely perfect.
One Thing Before I Leave…
4 days ago
7 notes:
Oh Dana, I am so sorry that it was scary. I think those labor emotions and struggles can be some of the hardest we ever go through. I am so, so sorry that it was scary, and that it got so weird and intense with your midwife and with just all of it. I really hope you will get a chance to work through that soon and put it all in the Lord's hands and that He will give you peace about it.
But I am so glad that God was with you, and that you were where you needed to be, and that your sweet baby girl flipped over just when she needed to. I am praising God for that! Amelia Carolynn is such a beautiful name. Yay God for such a darling, healthy little girl.
And you had Nik take a whiff of the NO2!! Oh man, how that cracks me up.
Thankful, thankful, thankful that you and your little girl are safe and healthy. God definately knew what He was doing!
I understand scary/not what you were expecting labour. But just sing His praises for the healthy little girl you get to hold in your arms this morning.
Very lovely Dana. Sometimes I think birth expectations can be so hard and draining. Especially when you are trying to please everyone in your life... the natural ones, the "birth is dangerous"ones and all of the in between ones... but I'm so happy that God was with you and that you were obedient to his leading. It's a lovely story and full of promise. Milly will be prayed for and protected. She's so beautiful and so are you!
i am glad that I just remembered to check this!
Mostly, I am just feeling so thankful right now that you and your sweet girl are safe.
I totally feel for you in the having your labor not go how you planned...but still so beautiful and thanks for sharing with us.
Love you friend...now I want to have another baby!
wow... you are amazing!
SO proud of you Dane! And I hope you have time to process and embrace the experience. You have such a beautiful baby girl. What a miracle!
i didn't even know you wrote on this anymore...i'm so glad milly is here and healthy and beautiful! i'm sorry your labour sucked but look at what you have now...your baby girl, finally!
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