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Post by cookswithwine on May 21, 2019 18:38:07 GMT -6
Share your previous birth stories here!
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Post by Deleted on May 21, 2019 21:40:35 GMT -6
I'm mostly copying and pasting but I will try to tl;dr these a little so they don't get out of control.
DD1 (Induced for BP - found out later my pre-e was grossly mishandled. My BP at my 38 week appointment was 190 over 120 and they SENT ME HOME FOR A WEEK. Yup.) At the hospital, I was given Cervadil around 7 pm and was offered an Ambien to help me sleep through the night. However, around 10 or 11 pm my contractions were so strong that I was incapable of sleeping. At 7 am the next morning I was started on Pitocin to get labor going. Because of my blood pressure, at this point I was started on a magnesium sulfate drip and confined to bed. Magnesium sulfate has some pretty rotten side effects such as memory loss, muscle weakness, headache, lack of energy, etc. Since I was confined to bed anyway, I figured I might as well get an epidural. Thankfully the epidural allowed me to sleep most of the day as I labored away. Around 4:30 the hospital staff expressed some concern – it appeared that baby was facing the wrong direction and more than likely had the cord wrapped around her neck as her heart was decelerating greatly with each contraction. I was also not progressing as quickly as I should have been. I was given the opportunity to try some new positions before they said they would have to start considering a c-section. I labored for a bit in a new position and magically baby shifted and it was time to go! After about 30 minutes of pushing our little girl was born. She was in some distress as there was meconium in the amniotic fluid and the cord was wrapped around her neck, but she was doing well enough that DH was able to cut the cord and we heard her cry right away. Unfortunately I had to stay on magnesium sulfate for 24 hours after delivery. I think this was the worst part of the whole experience. I could not leave the bed, I wasn’t supposed to eat, and I felt cloudy and out of it.
DD2: March 3 I started having some cramping on my drive to work. It got a little bit stronger and when I looked at the clock I realized that each one was about 6 minutes apart from the next. I did some quick math and given that I needed to go to the hospital when they were 5 minutes apart and considering the fact I work 30 minutes from home and the hospital, I lasted about 2 hours at work before jumping in the car and driving myself home. DH and I went about making arrangements – we took DD1 to daycare, called my mom to drive down from neighboring state to pick her up, dropped dog off to board, and then we waited. We walked about 4 miles I think and the contractions would speed up a little (3-4 minutes) but then would slow back down to 6 minutes when I sat down. This went on for about 14-16 hours until I was so frustrated that I just decided to go upstairs and go to bed. I woke up on my due date to find the contractions had basically disappeared (I would get a stray one every 15-20 minutes but nothing more than that). I was too embarrassed to show my face at work again so I took the day off (it was a Friday) and prayed baby would arrive before Monday so I wouldn’t have to show up and explain myself. Well, Saturday morning I started having contractions again around 2:30 am, went downstairs to watch TV and figured they would go away. They got stronger and closer together so when DH woke up at 7 I told him this was it (ctx were 1.5 minutes long, 6 minutes apart). We both showered and got to the hospital shortly after 9. After having contractions for something like 30 of the last 48 hours, I begged for an epidural but was told I had to get a bag of fluids in first. After the bag of fluids (around 11 or 11:30) the anesthesiologist came and placed the epi. The nurse said the on call doc was delivering at a different hospital but once she got here she would break my water and check me. As the nurse walked out I shouted after her that my water broke, she checked me and I was complete, and I had to wait for the back-up on call doc (who thankfully lives 3 blocks away). My epi wasn’t all the way kicked in but the doc showed up and in 3 or 4 pushes she was out!
DD3: Induced at 41w, same kind of routine as the first. Cervadil at 8 PM (my cervix was high and closed, it does nothing on its own until go time lol. The doctor was shocked I was a 3rd time mom at 41w gestation bahaha). Pitocin started around 7 or 8 am. I think I got an epidural around 9 am.
Around noon they were having me try laboring in different positions as she was presenting sunny side up when they lost her heartbeat on the fetal monitor. The nurse moved it around for a minute or two and couldn't find it. They called the doctor in and he tried twice to place a scalp lead on her and still couldn't find it. At this point DH and I were losing our shit and they were calling for an OR suite to be prepped (which both of them were in use so I think they were prepping a triage room as an emergency OR). They pulled in an ultrasound machine and were finally able to find her heartbeat. It looked like she was having decels and the doctor thought maybe she had a slight arrythmia. Most terrifying moment of my life.
Meanwhile my epidural was failing. And I went from 6 cm to complete in about 10 minutes (edit: time stamps later showed I went from 4 cm to delivery in 20 minutes) so she was caught by the nurse (with an assist by the anesthesiologist who was coming in to check on his shitty epidural job). Yay for accidentally unmedicated birth!
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My OB at my first appointment for this 4th baby told me I have to very adamantly tell the nursing staff that I have drawn out early labor with very fast active stage 😂 I'm a little nervous about getting a nurse who blows me off but no use worrying over that now. I have my fingers crossed for no induction and a delivery like DD2.
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Post by friendofdobby on May 21, 2019 22:01:39 GMT -6
We started talking induction at my 40w appointment. I was 0cm dilated then and remember crying while driving back to work.
At 40 + 6 we went in to the hospital to get the Cervadil placed around 8pm. They placed the Cervadil and the plan was to break my water in the morning. Water broke on its own around midnight. I labored all night resting off and on. I asked for the epidural around 7am. At that point I was at about 3cm. I was able to get some sleep after the epidural was placed. They were checking me every so often and I was progressing. I stalled out in early afternoon and they decided to try pitocin. Baby didn’t handle that well and I was placed on oxygen for awhile. Pitocin did kick things up again and I was ready to push around 3:30pm. I was at a good stage with the epi where I could feel enough to push and wasn’t totally numb. After 1.5 hours of pushing and a 2nd degree episiotomy DS was born at 4:59pm. He had the cord wrapped around his neck and didn’t cry for a minute or two. They got him breathing and fixed up and brought him to me. Love at first sight. 7lb 9oz, 21.5 inches long. Born 10/6/14.
Worst part for me was the no eating or drinking from Sunday afternoon until Monday evening. I was so thirsty and felt so weak. I’d really really like to avoid an induction this time around if possible but, all things considered, it went pretty smooth.
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Post by Deleted on May 21, 2019 22:08:04 GMT -6
friendofdobby ugh, I so agree about the not eating. When I got induced with DD3, the doctor rounded first thing in the morning and the nurse made a point of asking if I could have some toast and water. The doctor rolled her eyes, the nurse said something about studies showing improved clinical outcomes, and the doctor reluctantly agreed. The nurse told me later she purposefully asked the doctor in front of me so the doctor would have a harder time saying no 😂 I was so grateful for that nurse!!
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Post by Deleted on May 22, 2019 5:11:46 GMT -6
friendofdobby: That was one of the things I was upset about during labour. I wanted to eat so badly but my body was like "NOPE." peachesncream: Also, are US hospitals still operating under the assumption that you shouldn't eat in labour? Because that is complete nonsense! You're body is doing such hard work, you're going to be hungry! Of course friendofdobby felt weak because they are freaking starving you! Canadian hospitals feed you at the normal meal times and say nothing about snacking.
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Post by Deleted on May 22, 2019 6:24:33 GMT -6
At my 40w appointment we scheduled an induction for the following Monday because DD was an unstable lie. I was pretty happy when my water broke on Saturday around 9pm except that it meant I had to go the hospital right away to check for umbilical prolapse. DD was head down but since my water had broken, I was admitted to the hospital. Got a couple hours sleep then contractions started around 3AM. By the time they brought breakfast (~8AM?), the pain of contractions was getting hard for me. I couldn't sit on the yoga ball and the nurse and I disagreed on how far apart my contractions were. Before I could finish my breakfast, my body starting evacuating and I was either throwing up or on the toilet for what seemed like forever. Nurse was not at all supportive during this, when we asked her how to deal with this since I was only 5cm, she suggested morphine (we had asked to not to be offered medication). Tired and ready to cry and worrying DH would cry too, I said yes. Morphine took away the awful pain & the body evacuation but not contractions. On morphine you're supposed to be able to move around but all I wanted to do was lie down, DH apparently napped during this time and morphine made me have stupid thoughts & worries. My contractions changed and I knew it was time to push, I tried pushing and felt her head at my cervix so I told DH to go get the nurse. She said it probably wasn't time yet then said "oh you're at 10cm!" Apparently there was some chatter about the on call OB/GYN getting back in time but I was too busy listening to my body to care. I was the calmest I'd been since the contractions started. We pushed for 1.5h I believe, I had a really minor tear that I'm almost convinced happened with the last coached push. I mean if someone says "one big push and you'll see your baby" you're going to want to push HARD. She was born at 12:34PM and was immediately put on my chest but at some point was taken away because she was purple. Turns out she had swallowed a ton of amniotic fluid so they had to suction her nose & throat, poor girl. I ended up having an "emergency" gall bladder removal 7.5w PP so I'm really hoping that was the cause of the contractions becoming awful & causing the bodily evacuation.
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Post by Deleted on May 22, 2019 7:16:48 GMT -6
@kore yes, US hospitals are still in the dark ages of no food during labor. It is the worst (in my opinion) for inductions since your entire labor occurs in the hospital. If I remember right, DD1 was born at about 6 PM and they spent a good 2 hours stitching me up afterwards so by the time they were done the hospital kitchen had closed - I don't think I ate again until the next morning, so 36+ hours without food. With DD2, I'm pretty sure I delivered her and very promptly asked for a menu 😂
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Post by cookswithwine on May 22, 2019 7:33:16 GMT -6
Some background info: I found out O was breech at 36w. I tried “spinning baby” excercises, a chiropractor and an external version at 37w to turn him. Nothing worked and he stubbornly kept his butt snug in my pelvis instead of his head, so a c section was scheduled for 39w4d.
Birth Story 11/14/16 I went to bed at 10pm and slept until 2:30am. At that point, I noticed H wasn't in the bed. Apparently I had developed a bad snoring habit late in pregnancy. I tried to go back to bed but I was so anxious and full of nerves that I barely slept until my alarm went off at 6:00am.
11/15/16 7:30am We arrive at the hospital. We get checked in and taken to our temporary room. (3 total mothers can fit in it) The nurse preps me, I am also visited by my OB and anesthesiologist. H puts on paper hospital scrubs and we all walk to the OR. 9:30am At this point H and I are separated. Which was scary to me. I was taken into the OR first which was freezing!
9:38am The anesthesiologist did my spinal block and I laid down. At which point I was bare from the stomach down for all to see. No modesty in child birth. Once they had the sterile divider up H joined me. O was out very quickly. The OB pulling him out was the weirdest sensation, lots of tugging (felt like she was trying to pull a deflated beach ball out of your stomach). Once he was out he was all I was focused on. The nurses remarked what a good size baby he is. He proceeded to pee all over the OR 3x. We did skin to skin in the OR as soon as he was checked out. He got a 9 apgar score. Then H and the baby nurse took him to the nursery for more tests while I was being stitched up. He was born at 10:03am; 8lbs and 19”
10:40am The c section was done. I was wheeled into the recovery room, same room as when we started. At this point I was feeling very loopy from all the drugs. I asked the nurse if it should feel like I had a few glasses of wine? She said that was normal. O and H joined me soon after. We were able to do skin to skin in the recovery room and nurse right away.
12:00pm They wheeled us into our maternity room. My family was waiting in the lobby and waved as we went by. Eventually, my family was able to come see us. Then H's family arrived to visit. I was exhausted though (I think the drugs were affecting me) so they all left so I could rest.
The 1st Night 10:00pm They removed my catheter and I got up to walk for the first time. It wasn't as terrible as I was expecting. Wee hours of the morning: We eventually got on a routine of nurse, diaper change, swaddle, bassinet for 1-2 hours. It was exhausting and there wasn't much sleep. O did great though.
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Post by moreorless on May 22, 2019 7:51:49 GMT -6
I went in for an appointment first thing in the morning at 40 + 5. Doc had ordered a non-stress test and ultrasound. Baby wasn’t moving much during NST, which really freaked out the nurse, but I wasn’t worried because he had kept me up all night with his movements. I did feel what I thought were some slow stretches and rolls. My awesome laid-back doctor came in and predicted that he would wake up during the ultrasound—he did, punched repeatedly at the wand. She also told me that the stretching movements I was feeling were contractions. I was 4cm dilated. She offered to have me come to the hospital after lunch to break my water and get active labor started, claiming that this would make me feel “more in control”. I decided to just wait for labor to start on its own, since we were clearly headed that way regardless.
I met DH for lunch and we discussed the appointment and agreed that waiting was best for both of us—it was a Friday and this would give him a clean break from work before his paternity leave. I cleaned the house and tried to nap. H came home early, so we took a long walk then made supper. I was feeling irregular contractions by this point. After supper he suggested we try to nap again, since we’d likely be up all night. I eventually managed to doze off, but woke up at 8:30 to my water breaking. I tried to encourage H to shower and shave before leaving for the hospital, but he didn’t want to waste any time. I called ahead, since it takes some time to get a room ready, and we headed out to the hospital. Contractions were almost immediately 3 minutes apart.
We spent the first 2 hours laboring in triage, since there was no room available yet in the natural birth center at the hospital. That was the worst, since I wanted to walk or sit on a ball, but there was just no room. They finally brought us to the room and I asked to get in the tub, but the nurse said it was too soon and contractions would slow down if I did. I disagreed, but managed to get through a couple hours on the ball before she finally agreed to let me get in the tub. Laboring in water was amazing. I managed to doze off in between contractions, and I think I actually progressed faster for being so relaxed. The nurse checked at one point and I was 6cm. She planned to come back in an hour for her next Doppler check, but about 30 minutes later I felt the need to push. She was a bit dismissive when I sent H to go tell her, but when she checked I was just about fully dilated. I got out of the tub and ended up kneeling on the bed supported by the ball. Pushing took about 45 minutes. They noticed some decelerations during contractions, so they kept having me change positions, which helped baby but definitely slowed down pushing. DS was born at 05:17, with a nuchal cord. We were able to do immediate skin-to-skin, and he pooped all over me as soon as they put him on my chest. We sat this way for a couple hours before they cleaned him up and weighed/measured.
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Post by moreorless on May 22, 2019 7:59:17 GMT -6
@kore my hospital with DS had a natural birth center inside it, and I opted to deliver there. They encouraged light snacking and provided a fridge to keep food items in. I brought a variety of things that sounded good to me, but ended up nauseated for most of labor so I didn’t eat at all. I was incredibly thirsty and drank tons of water. This time I’m not sure what to expect from the hospital policies (we now live in a state with awful outdated healthcare), but I plan to bring snacks anyway and eat if I feel the need.
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Post by Deleted on May 22, 2019 9:04:52 GMT -6
peachesncream: NO!! I remember after DD I was like "Soo did I miss lunch?" as she was born right at lunch time and they were like "No! We kept it at the nursing station because we didn't want anyone to interrupt your delivery." And then I feasted. I cannot fathom a hospital thinking it's okay to leave you 36h with no food! moreorless: I had the same issue. This time I want a plethora of corn chips and other stomach calming foods.
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Post by Deleted on May 22, 2019 10:47:48 GMT -6
I was induced at 38+6 due to GD and gestational hypertension.
Wednesday 11/18, MH and I went to dinner at my favorite Mexican restaurant, then headed over to the hospital (we were supposed to check in at 8pm but got there a little early). I was hooked up to an IV and Cervadil was placed around 9ish, I'd guess. I was 0cm dilated, 0% effaced, -3 station. Lol. I sent MH home to sleep since we were very confident nothing noteworthy would happen overnight and we only lived about 5 minutes from the hospital. Around 10:30, I was given an Ambien and I actually had a pretty restful night's sleep. Apparently I'd been having contractions all night, but wasn't feeling them (they were showing on the monitor but weren't painful or even noticeable to me).
Thursday 11/19, MH came back to the hospital early the next morning, around 7am I'd guess. Around 8am, the Cervadil was removed and I was hooked up to Pitocin. The plan was to gradually increase the Pit as needed. Again, I had contractions all day (according to the monitor) but felt nothing. By around 5pm, the Pit had been turned up to the highest dosage my doctor was comfortable with, and it was clear nothing was going to happen. So the Pit was stopped and I was allowed to have some dinner and a shower. My cervix had not changed AT ALL throughout the day, so my doctor decided to once again place Cervadil for the night and go from there. So we literally just repeated the previous night. Cervadil was placed, I sent MH home to get a good night's sleep, and I got my Ambien. I slept well again, and again had contractions throughout the night but didn't feel anything.
Friday 11/20, MH came back early again. Cervadil was removed and I was hooked back up to Pitocin. By now, I was starting to feel a little bit of discomfort, which felt like a relief because it meant things were progressing at least. At this point I remember asking the nurse when I'd be checked again because I wanted to know if I was progressing. She said they wouldn't check me until I was asking for pain meds - which really pissed me off because I wasn't sure if I'd want them at all, especially if my contractions weren't getting to me. I didn't see that nurse again, and I was checked shortly after. At about 1pm, the doctor advised I was at a "tight 2" but that he was confident he could get in and break my water if I wanted - it would just mean I'm now on the clock and if I don't progress, I'd need a c-section. I was SO HAPPY that *something* was happening that I gladly had him break my water. It was at this point that contractions really started to be painful, so I asked right away for the epidural. I was given 2 back-to-back doses of Fentanyl while waiting for the anesthesiologist and wow that stuff was like floating on the happiest cloud ever. My anesthesiologist looked like Al Roker and I thought that was great (hello, drugs). While getting the epidural placed, my blood pressure tanked, and the nurse ended up having to physically hold me because I was on the verge of passing out. But once it was in, I was feeling great. I was able to rest as my body just kind of took over and luckily, having my water broken + epi placed seemed to do the trick. By around 9pm, I was starting to feel the epi wear off on one side, so the nurse gave me the peanut ball and placed me on that side to let the meds flow that way....no sooner than her walking out of the room did I feel the urge to push and sent MH to get her. Sure enough, I was at a 10 and baby was on her way. I only pushed for about 15 minutes, and C was born at 10:16pm. The cord was wrapped around her neck, but the doctor cut it quickly and I was able to hold her right away. I did tear and he had to do some like cross stitch situation, but thankfully the drugs hadn't worn off yet! Our families were both at the hospital, so our Moms came in shortly after she was born and then an hour or so later they reminded me that the Dads were waiting too, and they came in. No one other than me (not even MH, oops) got to hold her until probably at least midnight. I was just so in awe of how in love with a person I didn't even know I could be!
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Post by friendofdobby on May 22, 2019 16:33:41 GMT -6
friendofdobby ugh, I so agree about the not eating. When I got induced with DD3, the doctor rounded first thing in the morning and the nurse made a point of asking if I could have some toast and water. The doctor rolled her eyes, the nurse said something about studies showing improved clinical outcomes, and the doctor reluctantly agreed. The nurse told me later she purposefully asked the doctor in front of me so the doctor would have a harder time saying no 😂 I was so grateful for that nurse!! Ughhhh I hate the no eating policy!!! I’m glad you had an understanding nurse!
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