Sophia
We arrived at the hospital at seven am and they took us up to labor and delivery. They had me get into my gown then I was in the bed and hooked up to monitors. Eventually my doctor came in, Rampton, and we talked for a bit and he checked me. I had not dilated at all and my cervix was still far back. He decided at that time that we should start up the pitocin. So, they got my IV set up and soon I was hooked up to it. It took about two hours for me to even feel a tightening in my uterus. They were slowly increasing the dosage. Eventually the tightening became actual contractions. An hour or two later they started to piggy back. So the nurse lowered the dosage and then Rampton came back to the hospital to check me. This time when he did he tried to get a finger into my cervix. That hurt like a bitch. It was while I was having an intense contraction too. At this point he pulled up a chair and decided we needed to talk about options. He told us that my cervix had moved forward but barely. He said he had made a mistake. He said I was a three on the bishop score and I needed to be a five and at this point he didn't see the point in pitocin because it wasn't going to work on me right now. He wanted to know what I wanted to do. We could do the gel that helps the cervix and see what happens. Hook me back up to pitocin tomorrow if it works or discuss a c-section. We decided on the gel after I cried for awhile getting mad at myself for nothing working.
They took me off of pitocin but I had been on it for six hours and I needed to be off for at least one hour for them to give me the gel. Once they took me off my contractions didn't stop. In fact they got regular and three minutes apart. I had them for about two hours before Rampton came back in to check on me. At this point nothing had happened at all with my cervix and Sophia had left the pelvis and was floating again. He told me at this point that I have two bones in my pelvis that protrude a bit farther then normal and he believes her head is getting stopped by them. So, he brought in Dr. Curtis to discuss the c-section. Rampton is only a family practitioner so he can't do the c-section but he can help. Curtis' job was to tell us the pros and cons of vaginal birth and the c-section. At the end she wanted to know what we wanted to do. The funny thing is I hear a lot of people saying their doctors push them towards the c-section and she was trying to push us away from it. Here is the problem in my eyes: I was 42weeks that day, her heart beat at this point was up in the high 160s and low 170s which was making them all nervous, she had left my pelvis, my cervix had yet to dilate and nothing was happening there. I had no idea if anything ever would but I felt that my body just wasn't going to cooperate. At the same time, I felt if I said I wanted a c-section that she wouldn't be happy about it. My husband sort of wanted me to wait and see over night if anything happened. I felt that there was no point in putting myself through a night of contractions, by this time mine was dying off, when I was certain by morning nothing would have happened and then we would have just decided on the c-section. So for about fifteen minutes I sat there trying to decide what I wanted to do even though in my mind I was shouting c-section. Dr. Rampton came in at this point and pulled up a chair. I looked at him and said, "I think I am leaning towards a c-section.." and he, the doctor with the lowest number of c-sections, said he thought that was the right decision. He didn't think she was going to come on her own and apparently he thought this before the version because of my pelvis, because of the breech position, and the fact that she has never dropped. When he told me he thought it was the right move I nodded and said, "Then lets do it." An hour later I was prepped and ready to go.
Fifteen minutes later the anesthesiologist walked in. The first thing I said to him was that he was going to be fun. He just looked like a blast. His answer was, "Of course, I take the pain away!" He explained what he would be doing and how it would affect me. Thirty minutes later I was walking to the OR and shaking bad. That room is so damn cold! They got me up onto the table and gave me the spinal. The numbing shot hurt so, so badly but it worked! Left a huge bruise too. Then he gave the spinal and they had me turn and lay out on the table. The catheter was inserted, thankfully I couldn't feel that, and my gown was rolled up and that orange stuff was put all over me. By this time I was getting nausea. Let me tell you, it freaked me out. I did not want to throw up there. The anesthesiologist was comforting me and telling me he's giving me something and to just take deep breathes. Few minutes later I was way better but boy did I have the shakes really, really bad. So, he put this thing on me called the bear hug. It was this big plastic thing with bears on it. He hooked a tube to it that blows hot air over me. It was amazing. All the doctors soon came in and the nurses. By the way, the evening nurse was named Charm and she had been amazing. She had walked into the room when she first got there and said "we're having a baby on this shift!" and also told me, after I decided on the c-section, that she thought I made the right decision too. The plus to the c-section was that he didn't tie my arms down. That was something I didn't want to happen. I just had to keep them where he placed them. He did also tell me that I might feel like I couldn't breathe because it numbs you up so much. I just remembered to breathe against the gown in front of me so I could feel the breath coming back against my face.
Curtis apparently pinched me and I didn't respond so she told me that she was starting. Rampton was in there too. Matt eventually came in and he sat beside me for a moment but soon he stood up and looked over the sheet to see what they were doing. Then I was told lots of pressure because they were pushing her out. Rampton suddenly goes, "Wow, you guys make big babies!" and then few moments later he said something along the lines of, "This was the right choice. She would never have fit." Then I heard her cry. They took her to the warmer and Matt went with her. I just laid there and watched them cleaning her up. I listened to the doctors talking and making jokes while she was crying in her warmer. She had HUGE thighs. That was all I could see. Then Matt brought her over to me and I got to meet her for the first time. She was so beautiful. They took her out and my friend Jet came in to sit with me while they finished me up.
The downside is I take a long time to wake up from anesthesia. When I had my gall bladder taken out they had to keep me over night because I woke up so slowly. This was no different. I had the shakes so bad that when they got me to my recovery room it took me three hours to get over the shakes and even be able to really open my eyes. Charm kept asking me if I wanted to see Sophia and I kept saying no because I had the shakes so bad I couldn't hold her and I could barely keep my eyes opened. I know that Matt came in to check on me once and Jet a few times. One thing for sure, you lose all sense of modesty about that point. Charm and another nurse had to clean me. Eventually, I was ready to see her. They brought her in after her bath and I got to hold her. She had such bad hands and feet. She was in there for way too long and the protective that covers their skin had left and her hands and feet were just so covered in dead skin and peeling badly.
I tried breast feeding her and she slept with us in the room that night. The next day I was able to get up and shower. I felt so much better after my shower. Everyone was amazed I was up and moving already. I didn't feel bad and I wasn't that sore. I did have an emotional break down during the day. My nipples were so sore from trying to breast feed, I couldn't give her what she needed, and I was just mad at my body for now cooperating. That nurse was so nice too. She told me to just cry and let it all out. Matt took Sophia out to the nurse station so they could watch her for a bit and he just held me and we talked about what was wrong. He held me while I cried and eventually I felt better. The only problem was that night. I got so, so sick to my stomach and nausea during the night. What I didn't realize is your bowels and insides are not working right away and I ate some greasy food for lunch. I totally screwed myself there and the night was horrible. By this time she had lost 9% of her body weight and my milk had not come in yet. I couldn't feed her anything during the night because I was in the bathroom the whole time thinking I was going to throw up. I told them to give her a bottle because she was hungry and there was nothing I could do about it. So, Matt fed her a bottle. By the next day I was feeling better. Rampton came in in the morning to check on her and me. He is amazing with her. When he talked to me I started to cry, because I was upset I had to use the bottle and he told me he was glad I had. That I was following my instincts and taking care of my child the best way I could at the time. He held my hand and let me cry. We went home that night. I think going home is scary!
I went into this birth expecting a c-section. My mom had to have one. I assumed I would too. I was right. My breast milk didn't come in until a week after she was born. Apparently my mother's milk never came in. Sophia by this time had had so much bottle that she didn't understand the nipple. I sometimes could make her feed with a breast shield but it was a battle and she just got more frustrated then anything. So, I gave up on it. Milk dried up in two days because she hadn't really ever nursed. We've gotten down a pretty good routine. She sleeps pretty well through the night. Last night I put her down at 10:30pm and I had to wake her up at 4:45 this morning because she hadn't woken yet, so I could feed her. I had the baby blues in the beginning but I'm doing better. I was having trouble letting my husband help at night. I didn't want to wake him up. I felt bad doing it. On top of it I couldn't get her to sleep in her bassinet so I just slept with her on the couch all night. Now I've figured out how to get her to sleep by herself and she's growing quickly. Already she can hold her head up for long periods of time to look around. She has quite the attitude when she wants too though, just like I thought she would when she was in the womb. I love her to death. I can't imagine leaving her with a baby sitter when I have to go back to work. It's going to be hard. I want to thank EVERYONE for all your help these past 9+ months. You've all been amazing and answered so many questions for me. I wish everyone the best of luck!!
Sophia Victoria-Marie
2/28/09 @ 8:00 pm
9lbs 3oz & 20 1/2inches
Head 14 1/2 chest 14 3/4
They took me off of pitocin but I had been on it for six hours and I needed to be off for at least one hour for them to give me the gel. Once they took me off my contractions didn't stop. In fact they got regular and three minutes apart. I had them for about two hours before Rampton came back in to check on me. At this point nothing had happened at all with my cervix and Sophia had left the pelvis and was floating again. He told me at this point that I have two bones in my pelvis that protrude a bit farther then normal and he believes her head is getting stopped by them. So, he brought in Dr. Curtis to discuss the c-section. Rampton is only a family practitioner so he can't do the c-section but he can help. Curtis' job was to tell us the pros and cons of vaginal birth and the c-section. At the end she wanted to know what we wanted to do. The funny thing is I hear a lot of people saying their doctors push them towards the c-section and she was trying to push us away from it. Here is the problem in my eyes: I was 42weeks that day, her heart beat at this point was up in the high 160s and low 170s which was making them all nervous, she had left my pelvis, my cervix had yet to dilate and nothing was happening there. I had no idea if anything ever would but I felt that my body just wasn't going to cooperate. At the same time, I felt if I said I wanted a c-section that she wouldn't be happy about it. My husband sort of wanted me to wait and see over night if anything happened. I felt that there was no point in putting myself through a night of contractions, by this time mine was dying off, when I was certain by morning nothing would have happened and then we would have just decided on the c-section. So for about fifteen minutes I sat there trying to decide what I wanted to do even though in my mind I was shouting c-section. Dr. Rampton came in at this point and pulled up a chair. I looked at him and said, "I think I am leaning towards a c-section.." and he, the doctor with the lowest number of c-sections, said he thought that was the right decision. He didn't think she was going to come on her own and apparently he thought this before the version because of my pelvis, because of the breech position, and the fact that she has never dropped. When he told me he thought it was the right move I nodded and said, "Then lets do it." An hour later I was prepped and ready to go.
Fifteen minutes later the anesthesiologist walked in. The first thing I said to him was that he was going to be fun. He just looked like a blast. His answer was, "Of course, I take the pain away!" He explained what he would be doing and how it would affect me. Thirty minutes later I was walking to the OR and shaking bad. That room is so damn cold! They got me up onto the table and gave me the spinal. The numbing shot hurt so, so badly but it worked! Left a huge bruise too. Then he gave the spinal and they had me turn and lay out on the table. The catheter was inserted, thankfully I couldn't feel that, and my gown was rolled up and that orange stuff was put all over me. By this time I was getting nausea. Let me tell you, it freaked me out. I did not want to throw up there. The anesthesiologist was comforting me and telling me he's giving me something and to just take deep breathes. Few minutes later I was way better but boy did I have the shakes really, really bad. So, he put this thing on me called the bear hug. It was this big plastic thing with bears on it. He hooked a tube to it that blows hot air over me. It was amazing. All the doctors soon came in and the nurses. By the way, the evening nurse was named Charm and she had been amazing. She had walked into the room when she first got there and said "we're having a baby on this shift!" and also told me, after I decided on the c-section, that she thought I made the right decision too. The plus to the c-section was that he didn't tie my arms down. That was something I didn't want to happen. I just had to keep them where he placed them. He did also tell me that I might feel like I couldn't breathe because it numbs you up so much. I just remembered to breathe against the gown in front of me so I could feel the breath coming back against my face.
Curtis apparently pinched me and I didn't respond so she told me that she was starting. Rampton was in there too. Matt eventually came in and he sat beside me for a moment but soon he stood up and looked over the sheet to see what they were doing. Then I was told lots of pressure because they were pushing her out. Rampton suddenly goes, "Wow, you guys make big babies!" and then few moments later he said something along the lines of, "This was the right choice. She would never have fit." Then I heard her cry. They took her to the warmer and Matt went with her. I just laid there and watched them cleaning her up. I listened to the doctors talking and making jokes while she was crying in her warmer. She had HUGE thighs. That was all I could see. Then Matt brought her over to me and I got to meet her for the first time. She was so beautiful. They took her out and my friend Jet came in to sit with me while they finished me up.
The downside is I take a long time to wake up from anesthesia. When I had my gall bladder taken out they had to keep me over night because I woke up so slowly. This was no different. I had the shakes so bad that when they got me to my recovery room it took me three hours to get over the shakes and even be able to really open my eyes. Charm kept asking me if I wanted to see Sophia and I kept saying no because I had the shakes so bad I couldn't hold her and I could barely keep my eyes opened. I know that Matt came in to check on me once and Jet a few times. One thing for sure, you lose all sense of modesty about that point. Charm and another nurse had to clean me. Eventually, I was ready to see her. They brought her in after her bath and I got to hold her. She had such bad hands and feet. She was in there for way too long and the protective that covers their skin had left and her hands and feet were just so covered in dead skin and peeling badly.
I tried breast feeding her and she slept with us in the room that night. The next day I was able to get up and shower. I felt so much better after my shower. Everyone was amazed I was up and moving already. I didn't feel bad and I wasn't that sore. I did have an emotional break down during the day. My nipples were so sore from trying to breast feed, I couldn't give her what she needed, and I was just mad at my body for now cooperating. That nurse was so nice too. She told me to just cry and let it all out. Matt took Sophia out to the nurse station so they could watch her for a bit and he just held me and we talked about what was wrong. He held me while I cried and eventually I felt better. The only problem was that night. I got so, so sick to my stomach and nausea during the night. What I didn't realize is your bowels and insides are not working right away and I ate some greasy food for lunch. I totally screwed myself there and the night was horrible. By this time she had lost 9% of her body weight and my milk had not come in yet. I couldn't feed her anything during the night because I was in the bathroom the whole time thinking I was going to throw up. I told them to give her a bottle because she was hungry and there was nothing I could do about it. So, Matt fed her a bottle. By the next day I was feeling better. Rampton came in in the morning to check on her and me. He is amazing with her. When he talked to me I started to cry, because I was upset I had to use the bottle and he told me he was glad I had. That I was following my instincts and taking care of my child the best way I could at the time. He held my hand and let me cry. We went home that night. I think going home is scary!
I went into this birth expecting a c-section. My mom had to have one. I assumed I would too. I was right. My breast milk didn't come in until a week after she was born. Apparently my mother's milk never came in. Sophia by this time had had so much bottle that she didn't understand the nipple. I sometimes could make her feed with a breast shield but it was a battle and she just got more frustrated then anything. So, I gave up on it. Milk dried up in two days because she hadn't really ever nursed. We've gotten down a pretty good routine. She sleeps pretty well through the night. Last night I put her down at 10:30pm and I had to wake her up at 4:45 this morning because she hadn't woken yet, so I could feed her. I had the baby blues in the beginning but I'm doing better. I was having trouble letting my husband help at night. I didn't want to wake him up. I felt bad doing it. On top of it I couldn't get her to sleep in her bassinet so I just slept with her on the couch all night. Now I've figured out how to get her to sleep by herself and she's growing quickly. Already she can hold her head up for long periods of time to look around. She has quite the attitude when she wants too though, just like I thought she would when she was in the womb. I love her to death. I can't imagine leaving her with a baby sitter when I have to go back to work. It's going to be hard. I want to thank EVERYONE for all your help these past 9+ months. You've all been amazing and answered so many questions for me. I wish everyone the best of luck!!
Sophia Victoria-Marie
2/28/09 @ 8:00 pm
9lbs 3oz & 20 1/2inches
Head 14 1/2 chest 14 3/4