Nina Lynn, A Birth Story Part 2

Jesse is absolutely amazing with her.

I love her milk drunk faces.

She is so serious.

OK! Part 2, here we go.

The doctor came in at 5am on Sunday morning and let me know she was going to start me on a medication called Cytotek. It was to help soften my cervix so that I could dilate hopefully on my own and become fully effaced. I took the medication and tried to go back to sleep.

Here's the thing about hospitals, you can't sleep. You're hooked up to IVs, a blood pressure cuff, there are so many monitors beeping and lights in your eyes, and the nurses check  you every 2 hours. I know that's their job, but come on. I was exhausted. I basically got no rest after I took the medication. The contractions were about 6-7 minutes apart at that point and I would breathe through them. Not awful, but not pleasant. 

My mom came to the hospital early that morning to hang out with me while Jesse went home to let the dog out and get some extra pillows (he got no sleep either). Things started to get painful. The nurse had me walk the halls to "open me up" but it was so painful. I would have to stop every 3 minutes to grip the wall and breathe through a new contraction. By 12pm, I was done. I was exhausted, my entire body hurt, I couldn't bear it any longer. Finally Jesse walked through the door and I burst into tears. The weight of the last 3 days had come to a head and I sobbed in Jesse's arms. The doctor ordered the epidural and the anesthesiologist was able to administer the medicine (after 3 tries and a lot more tears).  

I remember feeling the medicine course through me and my body relaxed. I laid down flat and fell asleep finally. The rest of Sunday afternoon and evening is sort of a blur. I did my best to get some rest but the massive amounts of pressure in my bottom would overwhelm me at times. The anesthesiologist would come in and give me a "boost" of epidural and it would relax me enough to fall asleep, only to wake up 2 hours later and need it again. But he came in every time like my own personal drug dealer. It was amazing.

My water broke some time during the evening. I remember the nurse checking me and saying she could feel it. She scratched it with her fingernail and it broke. At one point the anesthesiologist and Jesse helped me to sit up, and out gushed everything! It was the oddest feeling.

During the evening and through the night the nurse and doctor would check me every 2 hours. I was dilating 1 centimeter every 2 hours. It was an excruciatingly long night. Finally, at 5:30am, after using the birthing peanut, having pitocin pumped in me all night, and no sleep, I was 10 centimeters. 

I started pushing around 6:15am. I have to stop here and tell you how incredible Jesse was. The entire time he put up with my pain, my complaining, my tears, and when it came time to push, he held my legs, counted through each push and contraction, kept his eyes on me, fed me ice chips, got me anything I wanted or needed. He stayed by my side the entire two hours I pushed. He held my hand, fanned me with a pillow when I got hot, encouraged me when the epidural ran out half way through pushing, and talked me through crowning. I can't even explain how supportive he was, it reduces me to tears. 

About an hour and a half into pushing, I felt liquid leaking out. The doctor told me our baby girl had made a bowl movement in the womb and we needed to speed things up a bit. They broke the bed down, and got ready for delivery. I got worried. I had read about meconium poisoning and how horrible it could be for her. I got so nervous, I kept asking the doctors and nurses what was happening, how close she was to coming out. They told me not to worry, but that Jesse couldn't cut the cord because they had to get her right to the nursery team to make sure she was OK. The time between the meconium leaking and her crowning is so blurry. I pushed with everything I had. I remember her crowning and the nurse giving me a play by play, "her ears are out, now her eyes, her nose, her mouth!" 

I pushed as hard as I could, but suddenly the nurse pushed the bed back as far as it would go, there was a flurry of movement, they told me to bear down hard on my stomach and I felt it. The doctor cut me and I screamed in pain. The nurses were pushing on my stomach and Jesse was telling me to push hard and I felt her little legs come out. They grabbed her and took her away and we finally heard her cry. Jesse's face in that moment is something I'll never forget. I told him to run over and see her while they cleaned me up. The doctor had to cut me laterally in two places because she had shoulder dystocia. Basically her little shoulder got stuck and they had to get her out immediately. 

The aftermath was sort of a blur. They stitched me and cleaned me up, I nursed our daughter and they moved us to the postpartum room. She weighed 7 lbs, 1 oz, was 20 inches long, and born at 8:23am. 

Here's the thing. This was a long post, but my labor was long and hard. Maybe not as long and hard as some, but I wasn't expecting to labor for 72 hours. When it was all said and done, I was so happy she was here. But I won't be having another baby for awhile I think!

She is so perfect. She makes the most adorable noises, she was worth every single night of heartburn, every swollen toe, every minute of those 3 days of pain.  Nina is here and I couldn't be happier. Sometimes I stare at her and just tear up because I love her so much.

Things are so different now. Our lives revolve around this little peanut, and even though it's hard sometimes, and I'm more tired now than ever, I seriously wouldn't trade anything. 

Nina Lynn: A Birth Story, Part 1

Nina Lynn

Our beautiful daughter was born August 8, 2016 at 8:23am.

Buckle in, this is going to be a long one.

The Thursday before my due date (8/4) I was having back pains and very mild contractions, mainly Braxton Hicks. So I texted my boss and told her I would work from home that day just in case. I had a really busy day at the office on Wednesday, so I was just attributing the pain to that, thinking I had overworked my body. Thursday passed and I felt fairly relaxed all day, even managing to watch my 5 month old nephew for an hour or so while his mom went to a doctor's appointment. By the end of the day, I was back on the birthing ball, hoping something would start!

Friday morning around 3:30am I woke up with contractions every 7-10 minutes. They were painful, but totally manageable and I breathed through them until about 6:30am when I finally got out of bed to go to the bathroom. I had been slowly losing my mucus plug for days and when I wiped, I saw bright blood. I may have jumped the gun a bit, but I was nervous, so I called the doctor and he asked me to come into the hospital to just get checked. Jesse had gone to work around 5:15am, but I asked him to keep his phone on him at all times just in case. When I called he kept saying, did your water break? But are you sure? I wasn't sure, but the doctor said to come in, and I wanted to be better safe than sorry. When we left for the hospital, the contractions were 6 minutes apart. By the time the doctor checked me, they were 10 minutes apart and I was still only 50% effaced and not dilated. And thus began my 3 day prodromal labor.

Prodromal labor is a labor with real contractions that can happen as close as 2 minutes apart, but the intensity of the contractions isn't enough to where your body can dilate quickly and on its own. Therefore, at one point I had contractions every 2 minutes, but was only 1.5 centimeters dilated with no end in sight.

They sent us home from the hospital and Jesse got me Dunkin' Donuts to cheer me up. The worst part was being sent home. I had called my mom and told her what happened, she had gotten excited, and I had to squash it. The rest of Friday I just tried to relax, but contractions would still happen every 7-10 minutes so it was almost impossible. Jesse and I laid around and took a long walk trying to start something, hoping my water would break. We went to bed around 11pm and I was thinking, this is my life now. Contractions every 10 minutes and nothing to show for it.

I woke up Saturday morning at 1:30am. The contractions were definitely stronger and were now 5 minutes apart. I waited it out. I did not want to be sent home again. Finally around 3:30 I called the hospital in massive pain. They were so strong and so close together, 4 and a half minutes. The doctor asked me to come in (a different doctor than the day before). I woke Jesse up, he loaded us in the car as he had done the day before, and we got to the hospital. By the time I undressed and they checked me, they had slowed way down. Maybe every 7 minutes. I was so disappointed. I had dilated to 1.5 centimeters though, but by this point I had been in labor for basically 24 hours, running on no sleep.

We hung out in a labor and delivery room until around 8am and the doctor gave me two options. Go home and try to rest or start pitocin and see if it works. I wanted to avoid pitocin like the plague, so we opted to go home.

Saturday we slept (me until around 12 and Jesse until about 2) and my mom brought us dinner. She knew how disappointed we were and how exhausting it had been. I was STILL having contractions. Every 5-7 minutes, but I did NOT want to go back to the hospital. Finally around 9:30pm, I had enough.The contractions were hitting 2-3 minutes apart. I was terrified. They were painful and my sister-in-law kept texting me to go to the hospital. I told her no, this isn't it. She insisted and I called the doctor. I remember telling the doctor though tears, I can't be discharged again. She assured me I wouldn't be.

We managed to make it to the hospital though I'm not sure how. I could barely walk and was in a lot of pain. They wheeled me to Triage and I remember the nurse saying, you won't be with me for long! You're going to have this baby soon! I told her no, it's prodromal labor. Don't get my hopes up.

Sure enough, I was still only 1.5 centimeters dilated. But they admitted me and gave me a super cool medication that allowed me to zonk out for around an hour and a half. My body was so tired. I had been contracting for 48 hours on almost no sleep. Around 5am the doctor flipped the lights on and told me her plan.

To be continued!

Still here...

how far along: 39 Weeks, 2 Days

due date: 8/7, 5 days away, 12 days away from induction day, ? days until she's here?

size of the baby: a small watermelon. at this point mommy instincts puts her at over 7.5 pounds.

baby is: moving further into my pelvis if all this pelvic pain and pressure is any indication.

movement: good. she sort of just pushes on my belly. poor thing is running out of room.

gender: girl!

total weight gain: yikes, not sure. thought i was doing well keeping it at 25 pounds, but i haven't weighed myself in awhile, and i'm eating whatever the heck i want.

stretch marks: really none. i've lathered on the burt's bees belly butter every day and i've been lucky.

symptoms: oof. so Jesse and I decided to go out to eat on Friday night as it may be our last date night for awhile. while we were there, i started to feel very sick and nauseous. then the pain started. contractions and pelvic pressure and pain. i told Jesse and he rushed to get the check and get us out of there. he gathered up the go bags and I told him just to give me a minute. I was able to relax and the pain went away. then Saturday we had a pretty normal day and I was able to borrow a birthing ball from a mom friend of mine. I spent most of Saturday evening on it, trying to open up my pelvis and hips. Saturday night I woke up at 1:30 with the worst cramp I had ever felt. I went downstairs and sat on the ball, tried to stretch my back out as that was killing me too. Contractions were every 8 minutes, but then they subsided around 3:30am and I was able to fall back asleep. the entire time I kept wanting my water to break so it could be the real thing! now i'm learning this might have been prodromal labor? 

wedding rings on or off: they're on maternity leave.

belly button in or out: still flush.

maternity clothes: if not that, then sweatpants.

  

sleep: not great. last night wasn't bad, but i'm very uncomfortable and my body is waking up 30-45 minutes before my alarm every day. as if to say, ok you've been in this position too long, time to get up.

missing: nothing.

cravings/aversions: still really cold drinks.

cries: almost cried Saturday night from the pain, but I was able to get into positions to manage it. 

nursery: basically done! Jesse has constructed the bookshelves (baby steps people) but needs to hang them. hoping he does that today!

Jesse is: honestly he was pretty cute on Friday night. I told him how much pain I was in and he immediately wanted to get the check and grab our go bags and get out of the restaurant. He has also been opening the car door for me and helping me in and out, which has been very sweet.

best moments: i want the best moment to be today at my appointment. i want her to tell me I'm dilated and more effaced than last week. i want that!

not so best moments: i'm not sure. Saturday was painful, yes. and not progressing or anything happening was a bummer. but i really want the pain, i want to know i'm in labor.

looking forward to: having her!

next appointment: today at 3. from then i assume we will schedule the next appointment for next week and then we will be induced on the 14th!