So, here's the story.
Baby D never spun his little body into laboring position. However, he did turn back to his original position (back against my right hip, facing my left hip), which was really good news! I could feel him move and knew he was turned back to the side so I tried doing some more spinning exercises but they were really starting to make me sore and wear me out. By Thursday, October 22, I gave up and decided I'd just wait until induction time.
Friday, October 23- I went in for the NST and saw my midwife. She said I was having small contractions and confirmed that Baby had turned back to the side. We went over the plan for induction the next day (how we'll get baby into position) and I was pumped and ready to go! That afternoon, I picked Mertoddler up from daycare and went to a local farmer's market to shop for pumpkins. He chose a handpainted bulldog pumpkin and I couldn't say no to his sweet face so we came home with TWO massive pumpkins. That sweet little face of his convinced me to spend $20 on a prepainted pumpkin but we still needed a regular pumpkin to carve. Hence, spending too much money on pumpkins. Oi! The sweet owners gave us two baby pumpkins when they found out I was being induced the next day. It was a fun little outing before his little world was rocked.
We were scheduled for induction at 5 AM the following morning. We were instructed to call in at 4 AM to make sure there was a bed for us. But that night, I got a call from Labor and Delivery telling me that there were 6-7 women scheduled ahead of me and not to come in the next morning. The charge nurse told me to wait until someone called me and if we didn't hear anything by 10:30 AM, to call for a status update. I immediately texted my midwife who said she'd get me in somehow and told me not to worry. So, I decided to remain positive and enjoy sleeping in.
Saturday, October 24- Baby D's BIRTHDAY
We were up by 7 the next morning with no word from the hospital. My mom came over around 7:30 as Merman and I were getting ready. We had our bags packed and by the door. I cleaned the whole house because I knew my mom would be here and I wanted it to look nice for our return home. Then we played the waiting game. I was anxious but enjoying my time with Mertoddler. Mom and I were able to go over everything she needed to know to hold down the fort. By 10:30, I hadn't heard anything so I texted my midwife. She called back to tell me that she bumped me up on the list so I was next to be called! Whooooo!! (It really pays to know people). We were told to wait a couple of hours while they prepped the room. So Merman went out to grab lunch for all of us. As luck would have it, the hospital called while he was gone and wanted us to come immediately.
As Mr. Merman walked in the door, I couldn't help but exclaim that we needed to go now! He was so excited that he started loading up the car with our stuff. Before we left, we gave Mertoddler a little gift bag from us. It was an assortment of toys, games, and activities for him to do while we were in the hospital. He was so excited and kissed us goodbye. I thought I'd be super emotional telling him goodbye for the last time as an only child but it was a fleeting feeling. My adrenaline kicked in and I was ready and excited to go! I couldn't wait to see him as a big brother. We climbed in our new car and stuffed our faces with Chick-Fil-A as we rushed to the hospital.
12:30ish PM- Once there, we had to fill out all the paperwork and wait a little bit before they put us in our room. The very first thing they did once we were put in a room was swab my nose to test for COVID-19. ARGH! That was the longest 15 seconds of my life. I had no idea it would be so bad but it was torture. Everything in me was cringing and I had to force myself not to grab that nurse's hand and pull the swab out. AND, Mr. Merman didn't even have to get swabbed! LUCKY!! But he did have to keep his mask on the whole time we were there. I'll take a 15 minute swab over mask-wearing for 48 hours.
2:10 PM- We started the pitocin! This time I was laid back in the bed, texting friends, turning on a movie and just hanging out and waiting. They started the pitocin at a 2. My midwife checked me and I had dilated a bit more. If I remember correctly, I was almost at a 4. They went on and did a catheter as I knew I'd be getting an epidural pretty soon. The midwife wanted me lying in some contorted positions while laboring. There was no way I was going to suffer through contractions in those conditions so I told the nurse I wanted the epidural pretty quickly after being induced. Because of this, she started the IV fluids that are required prior to getting the epidural.
It wasn't long before I started feeling the contractions. They weren't horrible but were pretty uncomfortable. I was lying on my side with the peanut ball between my legs. With each contraction, I held onto the bed rail and breathed through them. As they intensified, we phoned the nurse and asked her to speed the epidural up.
3 PM- Merman surprised me with the most beautiful push gift! A ring with three pink sapphires in it. Baby D's birth stone (and mine). It's absolutely beautiful!
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4:30- I was given the epidural. What a different experience! With Merbaby I was having such terrible contractions that I could barely sit still for the epidural. I hardly remember having it done because I had escaped to "survival mode land." This time, I was fully aware of what was going on and able to sit still through contractions. Which made it much scarier. Merman held my hand and stood in front of me. I was feeling very anxious and doubting whether I really needed it. The anesthesiologist put the needle in my back and asked if it felt centered. It felt like it was off to the right a little, so he had to REDO the whole thing!!! I was so upset but held still while he inserted yet another massive needle into my back. But, within minutes, I felt that calming numbing feeling start to take over my lower body and relaxed.
5:15- My midwife came in to check me again and I was 5 cm. dilated! Things were progressing quickly! She decided to break my water to get things moving along. I don't remember much after that. The epidural has a way of making me feel sleepy and calm so I rolled over and took a nap.
6:30- My blood pressure was getting low so they gave me ephedrine. I don't remember much about this either because I went back to sleep afterwards.
8 PM- My memory is a little blurry for the next bit. But I know I was feeling the contractions through the epidural. It wasn't bad but it seemed like they were coming nonstop and getting increasingly more uncomfortable. I called the nurse and asked her when they wanted me to get in the contorted position to flip baby and also upped the dose of my epidural with the push of a button. The nurse wanted to check me before we got out the stirrups to flip baby. But when she looked down there, she exclaimed that it was go-time! I was 10 cm. dilated and Baby D was trying to come out. So she ran to get my midwife.
The midwife said it didn't matter if he turned at this point cause he was coming out no matter what. Also, she said he would likely turn as he entered through the birth canal.
8:20 PM- I started pushing! She instructed me to push slowly to get a few practice pushes in. She was afraid that a full-forced push would send the baby flying out. Once again, I had the mirror so I could see what all was going on. I saw how the tiny little pushes were actually pushing him forward. After 2 of those, she told me to push a little harder. 3 contractions later and with very little effort, Baby D came out!
8:27 PM- Little Baby D was born into the world. My sweet baby boy!
They put him on me and started cleaning him up, sucking out fluid, etc. Mr. Merman cut the umbilical cord and by 8:30, we were doing skin-to-skin, I was able to do skin-to-skin for the full hour this time and it was GLORIOUS! I loved every second of it. However, it did feel like it was only a few minutes in the grand scheme. That sweet hour went by so quickly.
This time, my placenta came out as it should. No digging or retention. Thankfully! Because of my history, the midwife prepped for that. We continued the pitocin at a higher dose to help my contractions continue. That was supposed to help get the placenta out but also help with the bleeding. However, my bleeding didn't stop as it should. Once again, I was having post-partum hemorrhaging. There was a lot of bleeding and clotting that wasn't stopping. I'm unsure of the medical details but the nurse kept pushing large clots out. Then they would measure and weigh them. My midwife wasn't happy with what she was seeing and made the comment, "It's a good thing you're not having anymore babies." She said that my body just doesn't like to stop bleeding after birth. This scared me. Merman and I immediately looked at each other wondering what she meant by that. I was given TXA through the IV. But that didn't stop or slow the bleeding, so they gave me a Methergen injection in the thigh at 9:41 PM. When that wasn't working, the midwife came in and gave me Cytotec. If I remember correctly, she put two pills in my butt and one in my vagina. At this point, she told that there was only one more medication to try. I asked what would happen if that last medication didn't work. She just gave me a look but never answered. She also had someone come in and start another IV on me "just in case" but didn't say what it was for. I was texting two nurse friends and one made the comment that I might need an emergency hysterectomy. Which explains the "not having anymore babies" comment from earlier. I tried not to freak out and focused on my new sweet baby.
9:30 PM- After skin-to-skin, they took him to be weighed and evaluated. He was 7 lbs. 12 oz. and 20 1/4 inches long. He rated beautifully on the APGAR scale and by 10 PM, we were being moved to the recovery room.
My bleeding had finally slowed down to a normal amount. They tested my iron levels and ironically, it came back higher than it had been prior to delivery. My midwife was shocked and said she didn't believe it. So another blood draw was scheduled for the next morning. She still wanted me to take an iron supplement because she felt that I'd lost too much blood. However, I refused to take it because I didn't want to become constipated. Because I was feeling okay, my color was good, and the test showed healthy iron levels, they were okay with me skipping a dose. I asked the nurse if we could wait until my next blood test and she agreed. Especially since my prenatal has iron in it. (PS: My iron levels dropped slightly the next morning but were still at a really good level so I never needed to take the iron supplement).
Once in the recovery room, we were as happy as can be. I wasn't allowed to shower or clean up until all the IVs were taken out. And that couldn't happen until my bleeding had slowed to a certain point and my levels had been tested again. So, I just snuggled that baby and squeezed out drops of colostrum for him. Everyone left us alone for the most part that night. It was very quiet and much different than our experience with Merbaby. I cuddled him all night and let him practice latching and sucking. We slept for a few hours and basked in the glory of a new little life.
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| View from my bed on a rainy Sunday |
I've never been happier and am so in love with this little man. What a calm and pleasant birthing experience (aside from the hemorrhage scare). I wouldn't change a thing about it. Our little Baby D is just perfect. :)
