The Birth Story

It started out just as we had posted. On Monday, April 30th, we checked into our hospital at approximately 4 PM. Instead of being put into one of the big birthing suites, we were put in this little tiny closet of a room that is used for outpatient testing...the birthing unit was FULL! Of course, we were fine with that...after all, I wasn't in labor yet! They got me all hooked up to the monitors and we got ready for a long night. We decided on dinner and sent my Mom off to get it. While she was gone, my doctor came in and inserted the Cervadil. At this point, my cervix had not changed at all - I was barely 1 centimeter dilated, and it was high and firm. Bailey was no where near engaged.

Not to worry! Ever the optimist, I settled in on my back while the Cervadil did it's thing. Dinner arrived, and Kelly and I had fun trying to feed me soup while flat on my back! LOL - note to self...

For the first two hours of the Cervadil, I was unable to move positions or get up. So we hung out and then eventually got ready to go to bed. My mom went home. Kelly, lacking any bed of her own (or even a comfortable chair) climbed into bed with me. At around midnight, our nurse came into the room. They were going to allow me to take off the monitors so that I could get some rest! WooHoo!!! At this point, she gave us some shit about whether or not Kelly was going to be allowed to crash with me in the bed...the nurse tried to tell her no. I asked her what she would do if we did it anyway. She didn't say much, and left in a huff. Fuck her. Kelly climbed in and we settled down to get some sleep.

Just as a I was drifting off, I started to have contractions. Bad ones. I didn't realize that they were contractions though...I thought I had to poop! But it was really bad. I ended up sitting up for about an hour and a half on the side of the bed and rocking back and forth, just willing my body to relax. I did pretty well tolerating the pain. I was off the monitors, so I was able to just be there in silence and labor. Eventually, Kelly and I decided that we should let one of the nurses know that I was contracting. The nurse came in (the same one) and hooked me back up. Of course, this meant that I couldn't be in any position that was comfortable for my laboring body.

Indeed, I was contracting - about a minute apart and they were pretty intense. After a short while, the nurse decided to check my cervix. She had long finger nails and while I will keep the graphic details short, she hurt the hell out of me. Cervadil makes a person really sensitive anyway...but this woman was not very good at her job and she was dumb enough to think that she could not hurt someone with her nails.

The end result is that I had not dilated at all at this point. We continued on through the night.

At around 9:00 AM, I was transferred into one of the big labor and delivery rooms. My Cervadil was removed and I was able to shower. I felt much better, but not rested...Kelly and I had spent the night up and in labor! My regular doctor checked me and found my Cervix to be completely unchanged. Uggg. We started Pitocin.

I spent all day Tuesday on Pitocin. I had a few periods of contractions that I could feel - even though I was contracting all day. I just couldn't feel them. It was strange. They had me up on a pretty high level, and my body wasn't reacting at all. At around 12:30 in the afternoon, Kelly's mom, stepdad and aunt showed up. By the time 6 PM rolled around, my cervix was still unchanged. It was slightly softer, but that's really it.

My doctor came in and asked us what we wanted to do - were we ready to give up yet? At this point, we all discussed the options and decided to try one more induction method - a Foley Catheter.

Essentially, this is a small balloon that is inserted just inside my cervix, then inflated with saline water. It sits on the inside of the cervix, applying pressure and causing the release of prostoglandins. The insertion also strips the membranes.

The procedure was extraordinarily painful for me and I ended up sobbing while it was being done. My vagina was extremely sore from the Cervadil and from being mishandled by women with long fingernails. It was very, very rough. At the end of the procedure, though, I was given some pretty strong pain drugs via IV and passed out. When I woke, it was about time for our moms to go home and let the catheter do it's thing through the night. Kelly had a pull out recliner to sleep on and we went to bed. The catheter had to be removed after 6 hours...which was approximately 1:30 AM in the morning, if it had not fallen out on its own. At 1:30, the nurse came in (the one with long fingernails again) and removed the catheter. She also checked me. No change.

We went back to bed. The next morning - Wednesday, May 2nd - my doctor checked me. Still no change and no contractions through the night. I showered again and got ready for another day on Pitocin. We spent the day on Pitocin, and once again, I had a pretty strong rhythm of contractions, but I couldn't feel them. Nothing. No pain at all. And no dilation. At around 2:30, my doctor came in and we decided to go forward with a c-section. There was no progress and Bailey was not going to be coming out on her own anytime soon. They didn't take me off the Pitocin until around 6 PM. Interestingly, I passed my mucus plug while waiting to be prepped for surgery. We thought we might get lucky and have real labor start, but no such luck.

We were prepped for surgery. The epidural was extremely painful for me. Eventually, they got it in and all the other preparations for surgery were complete. Kelly can tell this part of the story better than I can - I was pretty out of it. They brought Kelly into the surgery room after they made the initial cut into my abdominal cavity (this is normal). I laid there and tried not to panic (it was hard for me) while she told me that she loved me and I just stared into her blue eyes. I remember thinking that everything would be fine as long as I could see her eyes. We heard them make a comment about the cord being wrapped around Bailey's neck and Kelly stood up to watch them pull her out of me. The doctors all commented and laughed about how huge she was! At this point, I heard her cry. She didn't scream in the room very much - just cried a bit.

It gets a bit woozy for me at this point. I know that Bailey was brought over to me and I saw her face before she and Kelly left the room. The intensity in the room had gone up, though, and the doctors had gotten very serious. What I didn't know at the time was that they were struggling to stop my bleeding. Because of Bailey's size, my uterus was not properly contracting to cut off the bleeding. I lost a lot of blood. I got very nauseous and vomited on the table. That was tough. The doctors kept telling me that I was fine, and I just closed my eyes and tried to relax. I imagined lots of things, but I just kept focusing on my daughter and my partner just down the hall and I got through it.

I was eventually wheeled into the recovery room. Bailey was being bathed and they were finishing up her measurements in the room just off the recovery room. Kelly was there. I laid in bed and listened to her cries as they cleaned her, while Kelly went back and forth between us. I was in a very strange place - sort of there but not really. The nurses were still working on me, pushing on my belly and getting clots out. I know it's gross, but that is what they were doing. The bleeding hadn't stopped yet and I was just waiting for them to finish up and bring me my daughter.

Eventually, the bleeding let up some. Enough that the situation calmed down. Kelly brought Bailey to me. We loved her. Stared at her and cooed at her. It was wonderful. We breast fed. Eventually, we called our moms in the from the waiting room to meet her.

What I found out later is that my blood levels had dropped extremely low. I was monitored for the possibility of a transfusion for three days, but didn't end up needing one.

All told, it wasn't the dream birth...but it was ours and it brought us Bailey. I regret nothing, and only hope that the next one will be able to be a bit more natural. We'll think about that when the time comes, though!

Here are some pictures:

Right before the c-section

Pulling her out

Under the WarmerFinally together...