Warning: This is probably pretty long for most people. I wanted to record all the details. :o) Enjoy!
The induction was scheduled for 06:00 on December 29, 2009. I couldn't sleep at all before-hand. I tossed and turned, played
solitaire, lied quietly in the darkness..I was wide awake until about 03:15. And the alarm went of at 04;30. Goodness, that is early.
Mom went with Paul and I to the hospital where we checked into Labor and Delivery. They were in the middle of shift change, and the shift before was really busy with 4 boys being born. I was weighed, +16.6 lbs, and taken back to my room, Labor Room 4, at 07:10. Kelly was my nurse for the induction, and she was also my nurse when I was sent home after my 24 hour observation. It was really nice to see a friendly face.
She brought mom and Paul back and started an IV for me. I was
GBS positive so she needed to give me some antibiotics before Katie arrived. When she placed me on the monitor, my contractions were already 6 minutes apart and lasting about a minute and a half. I had no idea that I was even having contractions! I thought it was just Katie stretching out!
WooHoo!
Dr.
A was in the hospital delivering the 5
th boy of the day, and she came in at 09:23 to break my bag of waters. They put a fetal scalp monitor on at that point to monitor
Kaitlyn's heartbeat, and I was not able to get out of bed. That part was not so fun.... I was a "stretchy" 3cm, 50% effaced and station -3. Pretty much where I was at during my appointment the day before.
Denisse and Nomi showed up shortly there-after.
Denisse picked up tacos and magazines for Paul along the way, and Noemi said it was
sleeting/hailing when she arrived. Back in Oklahoma, they were experiencing a snow storm, much like the day when I was born.
Kelly started the
Pitocin at 10:16 at 2ml/hr. I had already received a 2g and 1g bag of
Ampicillin at that point and would get the last bag of 1g
Ampicillin at 12:30pm. They increased the Pit to 4ml/hr at 10:57, 6ml/hr at 11:45 and to 8ml/hr at 12:11. I was able to breath through the contractions pretty well when the
Pitocin was going at 6ml/hr and thought I could hold off on pain medication for awhile.
Tara arrived from
Sinton, and Tamara and Elizabeth had made their way to L&D, as well. They were doing a good job keeping me preoccupied and distracting me from the pain. Mom would brush my hair, which I
love, and Paul rubbed my back and gave me lots of encouragement and reassurance.
I remember being pretty nervous when they increased the
Pitocin to 8ml/hr. I was worried that the contractions would become too painful, and I was trying to wait to get the epidural until I was closer to 6 or 7cm
dilated. Papa called to check on us frequently via
Skype, and I remember he told me I should just get the epidural because I was starting to tear up with all the pain.
After the fourth contraction on 8ml (12:27), I told mom "THEY REALLY HURT NOW," and asked my nurse how long I had to wait to get the epidural once I requested it. She said I was the only one laboring and anesthesia would be there right away. I decided to go ahead and have them come to place one. Dr. B did such a great job with my epidural and had it infusing by 12:45. She only had to attempt once, and the worst part was the sharp "bee sting" sensation when they injected the lidocaine. Paul stood in front of me and supported my shoulders while the epidural was being placed. The contractions were so painful and were getting closer together, around every three minutes.
With the epidural, my right leg went numb first, but I could still move my toes and bend my knee. My left leg pretty much went completely numb, and I had to have help to bend my leg or move it across the bed. But the pain was gone. I only knew I was having contractions because I would get a very mild tightening sensation in my stomach. Unfortunately, I was only at 4 1/2 - 5cm after the epidural was placed, but I was 80% effaced and -2 station. At this point, I was much more calm and Paul went to the cafeteria to get lunch with Tara and Denisse. Mom and Noemi stayed in the room with me, and Elizabeth and Tamara had gone home to rest.
They increased the Pitocin to 10ml/hr at 13:00 and my contractions were about 2-3 minutes apart. The fetal monitor wasn't picking all the contractions up, though, so mom wrote them down when I would tell her I felt the tightening or she saw them on the monitor screen. The nurses continued to increase the pit frequently; to 12ml/hr at 1:30, 14ml/hr at 1:56 and 16ml/hr at 2:36. They re-checked me at 1:56 and I was 5cm dilated, and 80% effaced.
At 3pm, Kelly went home and Jennifer took over my labor care. Apparently, Jennifer assisted with the delivery of the baby earlier that day, so we told her she was going to be our "good luck charm." She increased the pitocin to 18ml/hr at 3:10 and I remember thinking, "How high are they going to increase this drip?!" I was so glad that I couldn't feel anything. By this time, we were making more progress.
Jennifer checked me at 3:58, and I was 7cm, 90% effaced and the baby was at -2 station. I asked her what I could do to bring the baby down and she recommended changing positions (I was on my back) to my side. We started out on the right side first and Paul and Mom helped me turn to my left and back to my right every so often.
Eventually, I started having some pain in my right lower back that gradually got worse. Paul
massaged my back, which worked initially. Eventually, the pain spread to my right pelvis and was more internal. Leslie and Noemi took turns with Paul rubbing my back as it hurt so bad. I finally asked my nurse about whether or not I should get a bolus for my epidural. I was hesitant because I didn't want to be so numb that I couldn't feel to push, but the pain got too intense to manage and they called Dr. B back. Jennifer decreased my
pitocin to 14ml/hr, as well, and I received the bolus at4:41. This time my right and left sides were completely numb!
The next time Jennifer came in to check me, Dr.
A came in, as well. They were planning to place an internal monitor to measure the contractions because the monitor was having a hard time keeping track of them. I was feeling the tightness and pain but the monitor wouldn't show a change in my
TOCA score. At 5:35, Dr.
A told me that I was "done and complete!" It took me a minute to process what she was saying. "You're done! We are gonna push!" She exclaimed. The baby was still a little high according to my nurse, so I asked if I could labor down more if the pushing wasn't working.
People moved very quickly at this point, bringing over supplies, turning on the warmer, disassembling the bed, etc. They told me that I needed to have those not staying to leave the room, and I asked if "five people was too many." :o) My nurse didn't answer me, but Noemi went to the waiting room since usually only 2 or 3 people can stay. Mom stood on my right side and Paul held my left leg. Tara took some pictures for us and
Denisse cheered me on.
I started to push at 5;40. I was determined to make some good progress because I didn't want to be one of the mom's that pushed for 4 hours. My doctor kept telling me what a great job I was doing pushing and exclaimed that she could see Katie's hair after only one or two contractions. She even had Paul come and look and his face lit up with excitement when he saw her hair too.
I couldn't feel anything at all, and I didn't understand how she was already so far down the birth canal where they could see her hair. It didn't feel like what I thought it would when she was that low, but their faces of excitement and encouragement motivated me to keep on pushing hard. Dr. A had been trying to stretch me so that I wouldn't tear during the contractions, and she told me right before I delivered that she "was gonna cut just a little bit because you are gonna tear!" I remember feeling a light "pop" when Katie's head emerged and another "pop" when her legs and feet delivered. I opened my eyes to see her and thought "She looks just like Paul!" She was/is so beautiful and perfect!
Kaitlyn was born on
December 29, 2009 at 6:04:26pm and weighed 6 lbs and 5 oz. She was 20.5 inches long with the most beautiful skin and round shaped head. She has such long arms and legs with long fingers and big feet. One of the girls told me "She
definitely doesn't have your feet mom!" as my feet are small for being 5'6". We are so in love with our little angel and so thankful that she made it here safe and sound.
