Birth Story...
It's been nearly a month and I'm just now able to get to this! I'm kinda bummed I couldn't get to it sooner because I know there will be things I've forgotten. Oh well, better some than none I suppose! I am going to use/add to the timeline that Jenni, our doula, wrote up for us to start with, so it'll be more like a timeline than a paragraph...
Isaac Arthur was born on 1/10/11 at 10:03pm and weighed 7 lbs, 13.5 oz, and was 21” long.
Players:
me
Tom, husband
Jenni, doula (OMG, if you need a doula and are in the Cincinnati area, you should hire her.)
my mom
Dr. Kaiser, evil OB from my practice (we've discussed her before)
So on Sunday, 1/9, I started to have some signs of labor--some bloody show, increased pressure, etc. Went to the mall with Beth, but nothing really happened. Got schedule together and figured I'd be working on Monday! I had trouble getting to sleep/being comfortable.
Monday, 1/10
3:30 am
I gave up on staying in bed. Was on the computer, thinking I might be having contractions. Started tracking them with contractionmaster.com. They varied a bit, but were about five minutes apart already! They didn't bother me too much, though I felt better if I stood up during them. They lasted maybe 30 seconds. I played stupid facebook games and composed emails about being officially on maternity leave.
4:30 am
Called my mom to let her know I was pretty sure this was the day. Contractions were still pretty consistent.
5:00 am
Started calling my sub, my boss, etc. and sending emails.
Called Jenni to let her know what was going on. Apologized for waking her. :) She told me to wait at least an hour and give her a call back with how things were progressing. Woke Tom up to let him know what was going on, but that he should still sleep.
6:30 am
Texted Jenni that things hadn't really changed. Took a shower, but asked Tom to be there and time the contractions--didn't really want to be alone! Shower felt nice. Contractions were easy to work through; didn't have to concentrate too hard or anything, but really liked to sway through them. Mom was on her way--she left around six, I think.
7:15 am
Texted Jenni again--should I be calling the doctor? Contractions were getting stronger and maybe closer but not longer (still 45 second duration).
8:00 am
Things seemed to slow down for a while. Longer pauses between contractions.
9:45 am
Texted Jenni again, contractions were back to 5 min apart, 1 minute long, and had been for about an hour. I recalled that this was when one was supposed to call the doctor and figured perhaps I should. It occurred to me that I didn't know WHY I would call the doctor at this moment, but that whole 5-1-1 rule...
10:00 am
Called doc's office, forgetting that Monday is Dr. Kaiser only, all day (only one in the office Monday, then on call Monday night til Tuesday at noon. We told Isaac not to come during her time, but he had other plans!). When she called me back and I told her what was going on, she said, "Okay, I'll let the hospital know you're coming" or whatever, and I said, "Well, I was going to wait a while, I'm doing okay here..." so she says, "Then why did you call??" I stammered out something about that I thought I was supposed to, 5-1-1, Kacey said to request a certain LDR room, etc. Dr. Kaiser said she couldn't do anything til I was ready to go to the hospital, so I should call back when I was. *sigh*
Called Jenni to report and she decided to come over.
10:30 am
Mom arrives.
11:15 am
Jenni arrives. Mom and I were outside walking despite the freezing weather. I was still able to walk through the contractions. We probably walked for about 20 minutes and I couldn't feel my legs anymore, so back inside we went. For next 90 minutes, contractions were coming anywhere from 4 to 8 minutes apart (most in the 5-6 min range) lasting about 1 minute, but still not totally organized as every 3rd or 4th has a 10 min or longer break. Jenni was a bit perplexed by the rhythm and tried to contact some other doulas to see what they thought.
12:40 pm
We decided to go to Meijer for a change of scenery. The rhythm of the contractions continued, but I would have to stop occasionally rather than just walk through them. We ran into my aunt, Sue, while walking around--too funny. :) We got everything on our list and decided we should probably eat some lunch.
1:20 pm
We headed to 2-Putt--relatively healthy food close to the house. I had veggie beef soup and salad and convinced the table to get zucchini planks so I could have one. :) The pattern (regular 5-6 minutes then a random 10 or 12 minute) continued, and I had to stand up whenever I had a contraction. I asked later if people had looked at us funny or anything--it wasn't particularly busy, but there were some other people there, and I figured SOMEONE would have noticed me standing and leaning on Tom (the table was wobbly) every five minutes or so! However, apparently no one cared. Go figure. Of course, I wasn't moaning or anything.
3:00 pm
We go back at the house, hoping for everyone to rest for a bit. I didn't want to lay down, so I sat in the rocking chair and tried to put my feet up, but I had to stand for each contraction. Around 3:15 the last 10-minute break was noted. Then contractions settled into a more predictable rhythm of over a minute duration, coming every 5-7 minutes.
4:00 pm
I asked Tom to start gathering everything for the hospital. Apparently my disposition also changed--got more serious, a little less confident about staying at home--though still worried about getting to the hospital too soon! I called the doctor's office back and had to talk to Dr. Kaiser again (UGH). She grudgingly agreed to let the hospital know I preferred a certain labor/delivery room, though she made it clear that she thought that was dumb. No really, the woman has an attitude.
4:19 pm
We depart the house for the hospital. The car ride was not as bad as I thought it might be, but it sure wasn't fun. I chugged water the whole way there. :) When we entered the hospital, I stopped in the hallway to work through a contraction and we had several people ask if I was okay. Also used the bathroom--I should note that I was peeing really often all day.
4:45 pm
We check in at the labor/delivery desk. We have a moment of confusion when the receptionist (nurse?) called someone to say that the "direct admit for a c-section" was there. Um, no. All four of us about had a heart attack. Tom was supposed to be answering questions while I worked through contractions, but he kept having to think about it, ask me stuff, etc., so I ended up doing most of the registering. :) We hung out in the hallway waiting for our triage room--they were super busy for some reason. I had started to get a headache, so Jenni massaged my head. She and Tom also massaged my back/hips during contractions. It wasn't bad, really, that hallway--there was no one around. They kept giving me water, too.
5:10 pm
We are admitted to the triage room (3117). Contraction rhythm about the same with contractions consistently longer than 1 minute, about 5 minutes apart. Changed into a gown and all that. Mom and Jenni fed me almonds and water as much as they could. :) I'm sure I peed like three times. Found the gown annoying. Leaned on the wall or bed and swayed through the contractions, which were getting stronger.
5:55 pm
Nurse finally came back to examine me. Had to sit/lay on the bed for monitoring--agony! I don't remember the details exactly, but it was miserable. I did a lot better when I could move at will. And I can see why people avoid cervical checks--they HURT. A lot.
6:25 pm
Exam complete. I was 5 cm dilated, 90% effaced, baby was at -1 station, bag of waters appeared full and intact. I was to be admitted. You know, someday. I again asked for the room I wanted, and found out that it was available. Yay! Just before 7:00 we start to see shorter intervals between contractions. More in the 3-4 minute range. Jenni and mom continue to push water and almonds, and I get some Smarties out of Jenni as well. :)
7:45 pm
Here is where I start to get fuzzy on how exactly things happened, so Jenni's timeline really helped here. :)
We were finally in the labor/delivery room (3112). Mom and Jenni brought all our stuff up from the car. They do all the workup stuff, and give me the IV I need for the GBS antibiotics. In my HAND. I hate that. And it hurts like hell. They start the fluids without the antibiotics and I ask them to stop--it's making me cold, and I'm not in need of fluids! And the nurse even let me keep drinking water. She seemed wary of me being able to execute a natural birth, but she was not unsupportive. I have a feeling she may have even been helpful if we hadn't had Jenni.
Because of my BP readings (from the automatic BP cuffs, which never work right on me), Dr. Kaiser instructed the nurses to have me lie on my left side for 10 minutes. I think I said something to the effect of "I'm sure Dr. Kaiser wants me to lay on my left side. That's her solution for everything!" (previous encounter...) The nurse said something like, "Okay, but will you?" And I did, but DAMN. Lying down was NOT OKAY. We also get 20-minutes of baby heart monitoring at this time. Baby sounds great, of course! :) We get a better BP reading afterward and I'm finally allowed to get up.
Contractions are getting much more intense and we suspect Laura is entering transition. <--they didn't tell me that! :)
8:15 pm
I tried to hang out on the ball, but for some reason they asked to check me. Nurse Renee examined me and I was 7 cm dilated. Jenni suggested now would be a great time for me and Tom to get in the shower. The shower was great, except that I wanted to lean forward, supporting myself on the bars in the shower, but the IV in my hand was really painful when my hand was how I wanted it. Tom ran the shower on my back and he and Jenni did some massaging. I was VERY focused. The contractions were getting more intense, but I was still coping okay, making lots of noise. :) Occasionally, they would remind me to keep the noises low. I did pretty well with that overall, but yeah.
8:45 pm
Nurse Renee brought the IV antibiotics to the shower to start the drip. I was becoming more grunty with each contraction and Renee suspected I might be complete. Laura returns to bed for exam. She is 9 cm dilated. The antibiotic IV is removed and we go back to the shower. The doctor is on the way. In the shower, I started to get a bit frantic with the contractions--they were coming faster and stronger and I had trouble keeping up my low noises--I was closer to crying or screaming! But Jenni kept talking to me and reminding me what to do. Tom was terrified, I think! But he was there, trying to help as much as he could!
9:10 pm
Renee suggests that when the doctor arrives, she might want to break the sac that is between baby’s head and the exit as it appears the sac is already broken up high and leaking steadily, but there is a balloon of it at the bottom creating a barrier. In the end this is not done as it breaks spontaneously. (Jenni came and told me about this, but I pretty much didn't care. :) )
9:16 pm
Time for more baby monitoring and another BP reading. I went back to the bed and they let me be on my hands and knees with upper body supported by upper segment of bed. BP is 130/88. I figured out that I was feeling urges to push and didn't know what to do about it! They told me it was okay to push, but I didn't really do anything productive, I think.
9:30 pm
Lower part of sack breaks and Renee observes there appears to be some meconium in the fluid as it is greenish in color. I was still over the back of the bed, so I was just told about this. Dr. Kaiser arrived. She insisted on doing an exam, of course, so I moved to my back for the exam and I was 10 cm - complete! It is okay to push. Dr. Kaiser said that I could push for a while on her knees but that ultimately I will need to move to my back because if the baby’s shoulder gets stuck she can’t help her unless I'm on her back. *eyeroll* She also said she'd rather I stayed on my back to push some so that I could get a better feel for how to do it. As rolling over AGAIN was not particularly appealing, and since they had the squat bar set up that I could use somewhat, I stayed on my back and began pushing. Dr. Kaiser was telling the room about how she couldn't stay in the position she was in too long--something about knee surgery? I don't know, the woman would not stop talking. To me, to herself, etc. It was horribly annoying.
9:46 pm
Dr. K tells Laura (paraphrasing) “Laura, I can tell you’ve got a big baby in there and there’s no way he’s coming out without tearing you. We don’t need to decide right now but we’ll have a point where we’ll have to decide if we allow the tear or cut an episiotomy to let him out.” Fortunately, Laura let’s this unhelpful information slide off her and continues to focus. (LOL, leaving Jenni's description here. :) I will say that this conversation she wanted us to have never happened.)
This part is really fuzzy. I know they had an oxygen mask they kept giving me between pushes. I was supposed to be doing X number of pushes or whatever and they were trying to coach me, but I just felt like I had NO control over what was going on. (The next day when Dr. Kaiser came to check on me, she said that I actually had good control, but it sure didn't feel that way at the time!) I was a little scared, but mostly impressed that my body was just taking over! Tom was putting a washcloth on my head and that felt nice, when it was cold. When I found out it was him that had been doing the washcloth, I vowed to teach him how to cool washcloths quickly--I still need to do that. :) I should say that I pretty much had my eyes closed through this whole time; I had no idea where anyone was or what anyone was doing.
10:03 pm
After a few more pushes, baby is out! He comes out with his eyes wide open, totally alert. He does not look particularly big. Dr. K begins working to stop the bleeding and a pitocin drip is started because there is a lot of bleeding.
I did not feel the "ring of fire" or any of that; I was kind of surprised to hear how much I tore because, while there was pressure and all that, it didn't feel particularly bad.
Tom didn't want to cut the cord, but Dr. K asked mom if she wanted to, and she did. I don't think they let the cord finish pulsing, but I was too out of it to realize. I did ask to see the placenta, and they did come try to show it to me, but it was crazy in there. I did hold Isaac immediately, but had to pass him to someone when the repairs started--it was too painful and I couldn't hold him.
10:30 pm Dr. K has completed the repairs. There was a 2nd degree tear that extends to the rectal muscle but not through the rectal muscle. This part was AWFUL. They claimed to have numbed me, but I swear I felt EVERYTHING. I cried and Jenni held my hand and talked me through it. Thank God for Jenni. Tom had skin-to-skin time with Isaac while this was going on. Apparently they had some nice conversation; I had no idea, still, what else was going on in the room.
After the repairs, Isaac had a chance to breastfeed, which he did like a champ!
10:50 pm Dr. K leaves, after babbling something at me, which included that I'd see her tomorrow. Great. But THANK GOD she left, right? Jenni hears Renee report Apgar scores of 8 and 9. He is perfect!
I think Jenni left around 11 or so.
My first trip to the bathroom was not great--I got dizzy from the blood loss and all that. And I got my fancy underwear, gigantic pad, and ice pad. That thing was great. Such a process, though.
We moved to our postpartum room around 12.
Found out later that 1/10 is also Dr. Kaiser's birthday--at least we made her work on her birthday!
I'm sure there's so much more, but I have to stop somewhere! Story of our first month will perhaps come soon. :) Things have not gone at all to plan since the birth, but Isaac is wonderful, and that is what matters.
ETA: Mom's additions (I'll integrate these at some point):
-- shortly after we got home from 2 Putt, you started to softly moan with the contractions
-- every time you had to pee, it made a contraction start. You did not like that.
--- I got to do stuff like send text messages with updates, watch the level on the antibiotic bag, refill water bottles, hand you your glasses, add something to Jenni's notebook when she was busy, find out what was happening re: getting your labor and delivery room.... etc. I was just honored to be invited and happy to fill in where needed. Jenni and Tom were doing the "hands on" stuff with you. I was back up :-)
--- When you were pushing, they would coach you about holding your breath instead of making the loudish gruntish noises... something about keeping your strength or energy or something on the pushing part. You did a great job of following their coaching suggestions
--- You started to request the oxygen between pushes
-- Tom cried
-- Dr. Kaiser never had the episiotomy conversation with you because Isaac went from crowning just a little bit to shooting out all at once! It was amazing. I thought his little head would work itself out and then there'd be a pause for the next contraction. But nope. His head slipped out and the rest of him just kept on coming! His eyes were wide open and his arms and legs were flailing. If Dr. Kaiser had looked away for just a second, she would have missed him altogether. It was just a couple seconds til he started to cry.
-- they laid him on your chest/belly right away and quickly wiped him off a little and then gave him a blanket. Your first words to him were "Hi Mister." He started trying to suck on your chest-- he was too high up for breast -- he'd pull up his little knees like he was going someplace. You were so sweet with him. Like you had been just waiting for him to show up for your whole life. It was astounding to see my daughter holding her own baby. I saw your hands instantly transform into "mommy hands," gently stroking Isaac. I saw you instantly transition into Isaac's mommy-- the person who will protect him forever.
-- after just a minute or two, I think, they started with the sewing up stuff. You asked Tom if he wanted to hold Isaac, and I think he said not yet? So you said, "Mom, take him". I did!! He was crying a lot. Someone told Tom to take off his shirt and warm up Isaac, and he did. Tom held Isaac on his chest, near his face, and started talking to him. Tom was a natural from the first second he held Isaac.
-- Tom stayed with you and I stayed with Isaac when the nurse took Isaac aside to assess him and weigh him, etc.
-- Cutting the cord is really hard to do. It is so fibrous and slippery and the scissors are so small. It took me at least three tries to get the cord cut.
Isaac Arthur was born on 1/10/11 at 10:03pm and weighed 7 lbs, 13.5 oz, and was 21” long.
Players:
me
Tom, husband
Jenni, doula (OMG, if you need a doula and are in the Cincinnati area, you should hire her.)
my mom
Dr. Kaiser, evil OB from my practice (we've discussed her before)
So on Sunday, 1/9, I started to have some signs of labor--some bloody show, increased pressure, etc. Went to the mall with Beth, but nothing really happened. Got schedule together and figured I'd be working on Monday! I had trouble getting to sleep/being comfortable.
Monday, 1/10
3:30 am
I gave up on staying in bed. Was on the computer, thinking I might be having contractions. Started tracking them with contractionmaster.com. They varied a bit, but were about five minutes apart already! They didn't bother me too much, though I felt better if I stood up during them. They lasted maybe 30 seconds. I played stupid facebook games and composed emails about being officially on maternity leave.
4:30 am
Called my mom to let her know I was pretty sure this was the day. Contractions were still pretty consistent.
5:00 am
Started calling my sub, my boss, etc. and sending emails.
Called Jenni to let her know what was going on. Apologized for waking her. :) She told me to wait at least an hour and give her a call back with how things were progressing. Woke Tom up to let him know what was going on, but that he should still sleep.
6:30 am
Texted Jenni that things hadn't really changed. Took a shower, but asked Tom to be there and time the contractions--didn't really want to be alone! Shower felt nice. Contractions were easy to work through; didn't have to concentrate too hard or anything, but really liked to sway through them. Mom was on her way--she left around six, I think.
7:15 am
Texted Jenni again--should I be calling the doctor? Contractions were getting stronger and maybe closer but not longer (still 45 second duration).
8:00 am
Things seemed to slow down for a while. Longer pauses between contractions.
9:45 am
Texted Jenni again, contractions were back to 5 min apart, 1 minute long, and had been for about an hour. I recalled that this was when one was supposed to call the doctor and figured perhaps I should. It occurred to me that I didn't know WHY I would call the doctor at this moment, but that whole 5-1-1 rule...
10:00 am
Called doc's office, forgetting that Monday is Dr. Kaiser only, all day (only one in the office Monday, then on call Monday night til Tuesday at noon. We told Isaac not to come during her time, but he had other plans!). When she called me back and I told her what was going on, she said, "Okay, I'll let the hospital know you're coming" or whatever, and I said, "Well, I was going to wait a while, I'm doing okay here..." so she says, "Then why did you call??" I stammered out something about that I thought I was supposed to, 5-1-1, Kacey said to request a certain LDR room, etc. Dr. Kaiser said she couldn't do anything til I was ready to go to the hospital, so I should call back when I was. *sigh*
Called Jenni to report and she decided to come over.
10:30 am
Mom arrives.
11:15 am
Jenni arrives. Mom and I were outside walking despite the freezing weather. I was still able to walk through the contractions. We probably walked for about 20 minutes and I couldn't feel my legs anymore, so back inside we went. For next 90 minutes, contractions were coming anywhere from 4 to 8 minutes apart (most in the 5-6 min range) lasting about 1 minute, but still not totally organized as every 3rd or 4th has a 10 min or longer break. Jenni was a bit perplexed by the rhythm and tried to contact some other doulas to see what they thought.
12:40 pm
We decided to go to Meijer for a change of scenery. The rhythm of the contractions continued, but I would have to stop occasionally rather than just walk through them. We ran into my aunt, Sue, while walking around--too funny. :) We got everything on our list and decided we should probably eat some lunch.
1:20 pm
We headed to 2-Putt--relatively healthy food close to the house. I had veggie beef soup and salad and convinced the table to get zucchini planks so I could have one. :) The pattern (regular 5-6 minutes then a random 10 or 12 minute) continued, and I had to stand up whenever I had a contraction. I asked later if people had looked at us funny or anything--it wasn't particularly busy, but there were some other people there, and I figured SOMEONE would have noticed me standing and leaning on Tom (the table was wobbly) every five minutes or so! However, apparently no one cared. Go figure. Of course, I wasn't moaning or anything.
3:00 pm
We go back at the house, hoping for everyone to rest for a bit. I didn't want to lay down, so I sat in the rocking chair and tried to put my feet up, but I had to stand for each contraction. Around 3:15 the last 10-minute break was noted. Then contractions settled into a more predictable rhythm of over a minute duration, coming every 5-7 minutes.
4:00 pm
I asked Tom to start gathering everything for the hospital. Apparently my disposition also changed--got more serious, a little less confident about staying at home--though still worried about getting to the hospital too soon! I called the doctor's office back and had to talk to Dr. Kaiser again (UGH). She grudgingly agreed to let the hospital know I preferred a certain labor/delivery room, though she made it clear that she thought that was dumb. No really, the woman has an attitude.
4:19 pm
We depart the house for the hospital. The car ride was not as bad as I thought it might be, but it sure wasn't fun. I chugged water the whole way there. :) When we entered the hospital, I stopped in the hallway to work through a contraction and we had several people ask if I was okay. Also used the bathroom--I should note that I was peeing really often all day.
4:45 pm
We check in at the labor/delivery desk. We have a moment of confusion when the receptionist (nurse?) called someone to say that the "direct admit for a c-section" was there. Um, no. All four of us about had a heart attack. Tom was supposed to be answering questions while I worked through contractions, but he kept having to think about it, ask me stuff, etc., so I ended up doing most of the registering. :) We hung out in the hallway waiting for our triage room--they were super busy for some reason. I had started to get a headache, so Jenni massaged my head. She and Tom also massaged my back/hips during contractions. It wasn't bad, really, that hallway--there was no one around. They kept giving me water, too.
5:10 pm
We are admitted to the triage room (3117). Contraction rhythm about the same with contractions consistently longer than 1 minute, about 5 minutes apart. Changed into a gown and all that. Mom and Jenni fed me almonds and water as much as they could. :) I'm sure I peed like three times. Found the gown annoying. Leaned on the wall or bed and swayed through the contractions, which were getting stronger.
5:55 pm
Nurse finally came back to examine me. Had to sit/lay on the bed for monitoring--agony! I don't remember the details exactly, but it was miserable. I did a lot better when I could move at will. And I can see why people avoid cervical checks--they HURT. A lot.
6:25 pm
Exam complete. I was 5 cm dilated, 90% effaced, baby was at -1 station, bag of waters appeared full and intact. I was to be admitted. You know, someday. I again asked for the room I wanted, and found out that it was available. Yay! Just before 7:00 we start to see shorter intervals between contractions. More in the 3-4 minute range. Jenni and mom continue to push water and almonds, and I get some Smarties out of Jenni as well. :)
7:45 pm
Here is where I start to get fuzzy on how exactly things happened, so Jenni's timeline really helped here. :)
We were finally in the labor/delivery room (3112). Mom and Jenni brought all our stuff up from the car. They do all the workup stuff, and give me the IV I need for the GBS antibiotics. In my HAND. I hate that. And it hurts like hell. They start the fluids without the antibiotics and I ask them to stop--it's making me cold, and I'm not in need of fluids! And the nurse even let me keep drinking water. She seemed wary of me being able to execute a natural birth, but she was not unsupportive. I have a feeling she may have even been helpful if we hadn't had Jenni.
Because of my BP readings (from the automatic BP cuffs, which never work right on me), Dr. Kaiser instructed the nurses to have me lie on my left side for 10 minutes. I think I said something to the effect of "I'm sure Dr. Kaiser wants me to lay on my left side. That's her solution for everything!" (previous encounter...) The nurse said something like, "Okay, but will you?" And I did, but DAMN. Lying down was NOT OKAY. We also get 20-minutes of baby heart monitoring at this time. Baby sounds great, of course! :) We get a better BP reading afterward and I'm finally allowed to get up.
Contractions are getting much more intense and we suspect Laura is entering transition. <--they didn't tell me that! :)
8:15 pm
I tried to hang out on the ball, but for some reason they asked to check me. Nurse Renee examined me and I was 7 cm dilated. Jenni suggested now would be a great time for me and Tom to get in the shower. The shower was great, except that I wanted to lean forward, supporting myself on the bars in the shower, but the IV in my hand was really painful when my hand was how I wanted it. Tom ran the shower on my back and he and Jenni did some massaging. I was VERY focused. The contractions were getting more intense, but I was still coping okay, making lots of noise. :) Occasionally, they would remind me to keep the noises low. I did pretty well with that overall, but yeah.
8:45 pm
Nurse Renee brought the IV antibiotics to the shower to start the drip. I was becoming more grunty with each contraction and Renee suspected I might be complete. Laura returns to bed for exam. She is 9 cm dilated. The antibiotic IV is removed and we go back to the shower. The doctor is on the way. In the shower, I started to get a bit frantic with the contractions--they were coming faster and stronger and I had trouble keeping up my low noises--I was closer to crying or screaming! But Jenni kept talking to me and reminding me what to do. Tom was terrified, I think! But he was there, trying to help as much as he could!
9:10 pm
Renee suggests that when the doctor arrives, she might want to break the sac that is between baby’s head and the exit as it appears the sac is already broken up high and leaking steadily, but there is a balloon of it at the bottom creating a barrier. In the end this is not done as it breaks spontaneously. (Jenni came and told me about this, but I pretty much didn't care. :) )
9:16 pm
Time for more baby monitoring and another BP reading. I went back to the bed and they let me be on my hands and knees with upper body supported by upper segment of bed. BP is 130/88. I figured out that I was feeling urges to push and didn't know what to do about it! They told me it was okay to push, but I didn't really do anything productive, I think.
9:30 pm
Lower part of sack breaks and Renee observes there appears to be some meconium in the fluid as it is greenish in color. I was still over the back of the bed, so I was just told about this. Dr. Kaiser arrived. She insisted on doing an exam, of course, so I moved to my back for the exam and I was 10 cm - complete! It is okay to push. Dr. Kaiser said that I could push for a while on her knees but that ultimately I will need to move to my back because if the baby’s shoulder gets stuck she can’t help her unless I'm on her back. *eyeroll* She also said she'd rather I stayed on my back to push some so that I could get a better feel for how to do it. As rolling over AGAIN was not particularly appealing, and since they had the squat bar set up that I could use somewhat, I stayed on my back and began pushing. Dr. Kaiser was telling the room about how she couldn't stay in the position she was in too long--something about knee surgery? I don't know, the woman would not stop talking. To me, to herself, etc. It was horribly annoying.
9:46 pm
Dr. K tells Laura (paraphrasing) “Laura, I can tell you’ve got a big baby in there and there’s no way he’s coming out without tearing you. We don’t need to decide right now but we’ll have a point where we’ll have to decide if we allow the tear or cut an episiotomy to let him out.” Fortunately, Laura let’s this unhelpful information slide off her and continues to focus. (LOL, leaving Jenni's description here. :) I will say that this conversation she wanted us to have never happened.)
This part is really fuzzy. I know they had an oxygen mask they kept giving me between pushes. I was supposed to be doing X number of pushes or whatever and they were trying to coach me, but I just felt like I had NO control over what was going on. (The next day when Dr. Kaiser came to check on me, she said that I actually had good control, but it sure didn't feel that way at the time!) I was a little scared, but mostly impressed that my body was just taking over! Tom was putting a washcloth on my head and that felt nice, when it was cold. When I found out it was him that had been doing the washcloth, I vowed to teach him how to cool washcloths quickly--I still need to do that. :) I should say that I pretty much had my eyes closed through this whole time; I had no idea where anyone was or what anyone was doing.
10:03 pm
After a few more pushes, baby is out! He comes out with his eyes wide open, totally alert. He does not look particularly big. Dr. K begins working to stop the bleeding and a pitocin drip is started because there is a lot of bleeding.
I did not feel the "ring of fire" or any of that; I was kind of surprised to hear how much I tore because, while there was pressure and all that, it didn't feel particularly bad.
Tom didn't want to cut the cord, but Dr. K asked mom if she wanted to, and she did. I don't think they let the cord finish pulsing, but I was too out of it to realize. I did ask to see the placenta, and they did come try to show it to me, but it was crazy in there. I did hold Isaac immediately, but had to pass him to someone when the repairs started--it was too painful and I couldn't hold him.
10:30 pm Dr. K has completed the repairs. There was a 2nd degree tear that extends to the rectal muscle but not through the rectal muscle. This part was AWFUL. They claimed to have numbed me, but I swear I felt EVERYTHING. I cried and Jenni held my hand and talked me through it. Thank God for Jenni. Tom had skin-to-skin time with Isaac while this was going on. Apparently they had some nice conversation; I had no idea, still, what else was going on in the room.
After the repairs, Isaac had a chance to breastfeed, which he did like a champ!
10:50 pm Dr. K leaves, after babbling something at me, which included that I'd see her tomorrow. Great. But THANK GOD she left, right? Jenni hears Renee report Apgar scores of 8 and 9. He is perfect!
I think Jenni left around 11 or so.
My first trip to the bathroom was not great--I got dizzy from the blood loss and all that. And I got my fancy underwear, gigantic pad, and ice pad. That thing was great. Such a process, though.
We moved to our postpartum room around 12.
Found out later that 1/10 is also Dr. Kaiser's birthday--at least we made her work on her birthday!
I'm sure there's so much more, but I have to stop somewhere! Story of our first month will perhaps come soon. :) Things have not gone at all to plan since the birth, but Isaac is wonderful, and that is what matters.
ETA: Mom's additions (I'll integrate these at some point):
-- shortly after we got home from 2 Putt, you started to softly moan with the contractions
-- every time you had to pee, it made a contraction start. You did not like that.
--- I got to do stuff like send text messages with updates, watch the level on the antibiotic bag, refill water bottles, hand you your glasses, add something to Jenni's notebook when she was busy, find out what was happening re: getting your labor and delivery room.... etc. I was just honored to be invited and happy to fill in where needed. Jenni and Tom were doing the "hands on" stuff with you. I was back up :-)
--- When you were pushing, they would coach you about holding your breath instead of making the loudish gruntish noises... something about keeping your strength or energy or something on the pushing part. You did a great job of following their coaching suggestions
--- You started to request the oxygen between pushes
-- Tom cried
-- Dr. Kaiser never had the episiotomy conversation with you because Isaac went from crowning just a little bit to shooting out all at once! It was amazing. I thought his little head would work itself out and then there'd be a pause for the next contraction. But nope. His head slipped out and the rest of him just kept on coming! His eyes were wide open and his arms and legs were flailing. If Dr. Kaiser had looked away for just a second, she would have missed him altogether. It was just a couple seconds til he started to cry.
-- they laid him on your chest/belly right away and quickly wiped him off a little and then gave him a blanket. Your first words to him were "Hi Mister." He started trying to suck on your chest-- he was too high up for breast -- he'd pull up his little knees like he was going someplace. You were so sweet with him. Like you had been just waiting for him to show up for your whole life. It was astounding to see my daughter holding her own baby. I saw your hands instantly transform into "mommy hands," gently stroking Isaac. I saw you instantly transition into Isaac's mommy-- the person who will protect him forever.
-- after just a minute or two, I think, they started with the sewing up stuff. You asked Tom if he wanted to hold Isaac, and I think he said not yet? So you said, "Mom, take him". I did!! He was crying a lot. Someone told Tom to take off his shirt and warm up Isaac, and he did. Tom held Isaac on his chest, near his face, and started talking to him. Tom was a natural from the first second he held Isaac.
-- Tom stayed with you and I stayed with Isaac when the nurse took Isaac aside to assess him and weigh him, etc.
-- Cutting the cord is really hard to do. It is so fibrous and slippery and the scissors are so small. It took me at least three tries to get the cord cut.