A Birth Story

First of all, if you're not an "all the gory details" birth story kind of person you may want to skip this post. If you are, well then read on.

First, let it be said, I apparently am not meant to have easy labors/deliveries. I was hopeful that with how much more complicated Molly's pregnancy was relative to Joanna's that I was in for a SHORT, SPEEDY, EASY delivery. That wasn't in the cards for me


You may remember that my due date was May 29th, my birthday. Partially because I was due on my birthday and over Memorial Day weekend when my Doctor would be out of town I elected to be induced a few days before my due date. Of course though, being induced was dependent on being a good candidate. I went to the doctor the Friday before I was scheduled to be induced and was reassured by my doctor that with the progress my cervix had made over the past two weeks and how my cervix felt that I was an excellent candidate for induction. In fact, he was surprised that I hadn't already gone into labor with the number, frequency and intensity of the contractions I was experiencing.

On Tuesday morning, May 24th, we anxiously awaited a call from the hospital telling us when we could come in for the induction. The call finally arrived at 9am and we were told to arrive at 10am. We got the hospital, the nurse got my IV started (she did a beautiful job, it didn't even hurt!), and got a bag of IV fluids and some antibiotics started since I was group B Strep Positive. She also asked me if I was feeling the contractions I was having, which were about 10 minutes apart. They weren't the kind I had to breath through, but they were definitely uncomfortable.

About an hour later my OBGYN arrived to break my water. With Joanna my water broke on it's own, so having it broken for me was an interesting experience. I saw an interesting look on the doctor and nurses faces, and a few seconds later they informed me that baby had passed A LOT of meconium (the stool that forms in the bowels before the baby is born- usually passed in the first few days after birth). At this point my doctor said something to the effect of, "I'm glad we didn't wait any longer to induce". Not a HUGE deal though, they would just have two extra people in the room when she was delivered to make sure she hadn't aspirated (breathed in) any of the meconium. Unfortunately I know a little too much for my own good sometimes and I was a little nervous about aspiration pneumonia, but tried to convince myself that they knew what they were doing.

Shortly after my water was broken and the pitocin started I began to have nice, regular, intense contractions. They were the kind that I was breathing hard through, and gripping Christian's hand hard enough to break it. About an hour and a half in I asked for my epidural (I'm a WIMP when it comes to pain), and after that I was feeling MUCH better. Baby wasn't. Some of you might remember the ordeal I had while in labor with Joanna. My uterus is EXTREMELY sensitive to pitocin (refer back to Joanna's birth story if you want details), and I started having too many contractions. So, the nurse turned up the IV, turned down the pitocin, and we waited. She came back in, turned up the pitocin, and for awhile things were fine. Then baby started to show signs of distress and they had to turn the pitocin back down to give her a break.

It took about four hours, but I finally made it to 5 cm. 5 cm is the point where things usually start to move faster, especially for second timers like me. Not so with this labor. in fact, my doctor came over from his office about 2 hours after I reached 5 cm and was shocked that I wasn't making progress. He left after an hour, but put me in the very capable hands of one of the other OB's in the practice. Then the fun really started.....

They turned up my pitocin and baby's heart rate started to slow WAY down again. They gave her a break. They turned it back up again, same thing. A few hours later, still no change from 5 cm. They turned up the pitocin again, baby was fine, but my contractions some how got less intense and less regular. After about 5 more hours (9 total at this point) of this sort of pattern the on call doctor talked with Christian and I about doing an emergency C section. Baby was NOT handling labor well and was starting to show even more signs of distress and it was time to get her out. I was absolutely terrified!

A few weeks before I was scheduled to be induced I had started praying for an easy labor, a smooth delivery, and NO C-SECTION. I kept having this very clear feeling: "just be ready", but of course I am a dummy and just ignored it. Word to the wise- do not ignore answers to prayers like this! I was barely holding it together, but the anesthesiologist assured me that he would give me lots and lots and lots of drugs in my epidural and get me nice and numb. He also assured me that if I was feeling anything more than pressure during the surgery that he would just knock me out. Ok, great.... the on call doctor called my regular OB, who dropped everything and raced in to perform my C-section (he's seriously the BEST OB EVER!!!!). Having my doctor there made me a little calmer, especially when he walked into the OR and teased me about this being the "curse of being a nurse", particularly because he knows I want to be an L&D nurse. Commence the slicing and dicing.

I ,of course, felt MUCH, MUCH, MUCH, MUCH. MUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCH better once Christian was back in the room, all suited up and looking like a Ghost Buster. Again, I think I probably gripped his hand harder than I ever have before, choking back tears the entire time.

It still amazes me just how fast they can get a baby out once they start. I didn't even know they had sliced me open and my doctor said "her head is out". With the meconium problem they suctioned her mouth and nose really well, and then out came the shoulders and then rest of her. No sooner did they tell me her shoulders were out I heard the most beautiful sound you ever hear as a mother, the very first cry of your baby. I bawled harder than she did, and I don't cry much.

Christian got to get up and see her right away. I unfortunately had to lay on the operating table and wait while I was put back together. That part was not fun. During the C section itself I didn't feel anything but pressure. During the stitching up however I kept feeling sharp, stabbing pains. Even with a considerable amount of morphine I was in intense pain, but I got through it. Finally when they were finished I got to see Molly for the first time. She was so beautiful, and though I couldn't hold her, it was wonderful to see her in the arms of her Daddy and know she was finally with us, safe and sound.

The recovery from a C-section is a totally different ballgame from my vaginal delivery with Joanna. I get a little impatient with having to take it easy, but I'm getting there. A few days after Molly was born, while I was still in the hospital, I did experience some chest pain, shortness of breath, and a period where I hyperventilated. I got to undergo every test under the sun (or so it seemed), but luckily it was nothing serious. I did have to stay an extra nigh in the hospital though, basically chained to the bed, which was frustrating because I had been up and walking earlier in the day.

We have been home since Saturday morning now, and we're adjusting well to life with two girls. Molly is a pretty good baby. She eats well, she sleeps well, and as of today is only an ounce short of her birth weight.

I miscarried for the second time almost exactly three years ago. That was two years in to the process of trying to start our family. Had you told me then that three years later I would be sitting here, typing a blog post about the birth of my second child, I don't know if I would have believed you. I am extremely grateful for my daughters. They are the answer not only to my prayers and Christian prayer's, but the prayers of many, many, many friends and family. For now, our family feels complete. I certainly am not in any hurry to go through pregnancy and labor again any time soon. We'll take it one day at a time, one baby at a time, and as God see's fit to bless us from here on out.