Saturday, February 5, 2011

The Birth Story - Part 2

So, we left off when the doctor came again to check my progress at 12:30pm. I was only at 4 cm and 60% effaced so she broke my water. At 1:30 the Doula, Lisa arrived and at 2pm my Mom arrived.

Steve and I were still wandering the halls with Frank (the Pitocin drip/IV machine), and the contractions were getting a bit stronger. Lisa would join us as we walked – and at one point a Mom and new baby were leaving the Labor and Delivery wing to go over to Mom and Baby (recovery), and I lost it. I finally just broke down crying. Not because of the pain (which at the time, I would say really was not bad at all… yet) but because it finally was all real… The lullaby they played – the little family going to the Mom and Baby unit, and the little newborn in her arms. Lisa said that every time you cry or throw up you get a centimeter… so I embraced it!

After about 3pm the contractions started coming on stronger and harder. It was enough that I would have to stop… or breathe – but not very bad yet. I did start to feel a little nauseous at about 4pm and the contractions were 3-5 minutes apart and getting stronger.

At 5pm the Doctor came back to check me. I was only 5 centimeters and 70% effaced and at a -2 station… so progress was being made for only really feeling the contractions for about 2 hours. But the doctor was leaving for the night and said, “We’re going to have to start talking C-Section.” Umm… WHAT? The baby was doing great, as was I, and we had 24 hours after the water broke before we even considered C-Section as long as there was no risk to Boden or myself.

I burst into tears immediately (and Steve too was really upset). Thank god for Lisa, who with the nurse assured us that we did nowhere near need to make a decision that drastic, and that we still had a lot of options to explore. Especially since if Mom and Baby are doing well, you have 24 hours after the water breaks. It had been only 4.5 and, I’d only started really having contractions for a few hours.

At around 7pm the doctor came and checked me again and I was 6 cm dilated and at a -1 station, which meant I was making good progress. Yay! The doctor was leaving for the night but would tell the on call doctor about my progress and make sure she was kept up to date.

This is where everything gets a bit … well, fuzzy. Time was just passing at this point, and the contractions were getting more and more intense and hard to deal with. I would labor in the tub for a while, which was awesome…. Then I would move around and try different positions. Back to the tub… the bathroom felt like a very safe space – but the pain was becoming more and more unmanageable, and the pitocin contractions were closer together and stronger, and just didn’t give me the break that natural contractions give you.

At one point everyone got dinner and it was just Steve and I. A little later Steve ran out and met his Mom for dinner. Take Note husbands: when you can get dinner – get something bland. Steve got a roast beef sandwich with everything on it, including onions, pickles, peppers…

When he walked into the room I immediately started throwing up and made him change and brush his teeth. It was brutal!

Our Nurse Allison became like our doctor for the rest of the night. She would check me, and keep us informed of the progress. I would lose motivation and Lisa and Steve would keep me on track. Reminding me how to breathe and how to relax.

As the contractions became more intense, and there was no rest period between them, we started to weigh our options on pain relief… but I was already at 8cm and just needed a little break, so I got an IV narcotic called Nubain to take the edge off. It didn’t relieve the pain, but gave me the rest I needed to make it all the way to 10cm.

Finally, the nurse checked me and I was at 10cm. Yay! I could do something about the pain and PUSH! The nurse called the on call doctor to come to the hospital, and I started to push the baby out… a mirror was brought it, but it was a little more horrifying than motivating!

Apparently I was a good pusher, because we beat the on-call doctor. After only 20 min, it was clear the baby was coming. There happened to be a midwife at the hospital, (both Lisa and the nurse thought maybe they’d be delivering Boden). The midwife rushed in, and was telling me to “stop! And slow down!” so that she could get her gloves on. 27 minutes of pushing and Boden arrived!

It was thrilling and amazing, and we are so blessed and excited. We are still deciding who he looks like. He has Steve’s coloring but sometimes he looks like I did as a baby, and definitely got my clef chin.

We can’t wait for everyone to meet him.

Boden Matthew Fezler was born at 11:26pm on 1/25/2011. He was 21 inches long and weighed 7lbs 12 oz.



Going home from the hospital



Handsome Boy!

2 comments:

  1. Yay! So glad you were able to stand up for yourself and had Steve and the doula there to help you. I can't wait to meet him!

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