Terra's Birth Day

While I was hoping to go into labor naturally this time around, my impatience won out and I set up to be induced Tuesday April 22nd. Unlike with Ty, the hospital had space at the set time so we didn't have to be pushed back.

 

 

We got to the hospital around 7:30am and by 7:40 we were all settled into the room where my angel would come into the world.At 8:05 the doctor came to check me to see if I had dilated any more from my last appointment, but I was still at a 2. Because I had tested positive for the Group B Strep I had to be put on an IV again so they could give me the antibiotics. Unfortunately, the IV didn't go as smoothly as it did with Ty. They were having trouble finding a good vein and when they finally decided on one in my left hand it still gave trouble. It was hurting me and I started to feel faint, which turned into a big scare. I had what is called a vagal response. My blood pressure dropped and the baby had a negative response to that. They had to put me on oxygen for a while and keep a close eye on me. They brought in someone who has more experience with IVs and they put the IV in my right hand while I was put on my hands and knees and everyone else was working with me to take deep breaths. A lot of that time was a blur to me because I was just doing my best to focus on breathing. By 9:15 the IV was in and they had the antibiotics going. 

They kept the oxygen on me a while longer and didn't start the Pitocin until they were sure that baby and I were doing well and that I had had a good dose of the antibiotics. Finally at 11:38 they got the Pitocin started. About every half hour they came in to check my vitals and up my dose per hour of the Pitocin. At 2:18pm I was dilated to a 3 almost 4, 70% effaced. I'm glad my hospital had some movies on demand, because this labor took a lot longer than it had with Ty. I spend the first part watching The Hobbit: An Unexpected Adventure. When the movie finished it was about 4:45 and I decided I wanted to try the bath this time. If was very relaxing and definitely helped me relax through the contractions. After 45 minutes I decided to get out because I was worried I might be getting too warm. The doctor checked me and I was dilated to a 5 and 80% effaced. He went to take care of someone else giving birth, then came back and broke my water at 5:40pm. Things still took a while to pick up, but at 8:00 I was dilated to a 7 and 90% effaced and the contractions were getting harder to just breath through. Still, I was determined to not get an epidural, but at 8:05 I caved and asked for a dose of Fentanyl. It really helped to take off edge so I could relax and breath through the contractions. At 8:35 the contractions were getting really painful again so I told Lee that I thought the Fentanyl had worn off. He called the nurse back in and she informed us that the Fentanyl only lasts about 20 minutes so we asked for another dose. She also informed us that once we get close to the baby's birth they can't give me another dose because it can have adverse effects on the baby. I knew that I was started to feel a little pressure around 8:50pm and that made me a little sad because I knew I wouldn't be getting another dose, but I was much more happy to know that my little girl was almost here! They came and checked me and I was dilated to an 8 almost 9 and 90% effaced. Pretty soon after I really felt like I needed to make a bowel movement so Lee and the nurse helped me to the bathroom. After a very strong contraction the nurse recognized that I needed to be back in the bed because the baby was coming. I was still convinced I just needed to poo and told them I was going to poo all over the floor. The nurse said that was fine but that I really needed to get back in bed. As they helped get me back to the bed Lee informed me that it wasn't poo, but baby stuff and that the head was actually visible during that last contraction. That was at 9:06pm. The nurse got the doctor in the room quickly and had to stop me from pushing once so they could get everything ready. By 9:12pm I had my little girl placed on top of me and just sat enjoying my beautiful new baby. She weighed 8 lbs 12.2 oz and is 21 inches long.

 

 

One thing I find interesting that they do differently at this hospital is that they wait 24 hours before giving babies their first bath. Because of this I ended up with some inky footprints on me, but they were adorable so I didn't mind.