Labor Story..Finally posted
Carla and I had gone to bed around 10:00 I think on Monday, Oct. 10th, 2005. I had been having false labor pains for about a week, on and off. I had seen the doc on Friday, and was 2 cm, still thick. We went to the mall and did some walking to try and get the contractions that I was having to become more regular. We went to bed. I started having some bad pains. Carla dozed off to sleep and I laid there for awhile trying to go to sleep. Around 11:00, I was feeling hungry and decided to get up and eat. I got something to snack on, a Healthy Moms bar and a glass of milk, and sat down at the computer. Around 11:45, I noticed the pains were still coming, so I started timing them. Finally, we were having some regularity. They were coming in at about 5 min apart. At 12:45, I told Carla "I think this may be it". So at 1:00am we called the doctor. He said it sounded like real labor to him, and to go on to the hospital, that he would call and let them know we were coming.
So we had to get Jacob out of bed. We just grabbed his backpack, that we had packed previously, and a blanket. We put him in the car with his blanket. We then had to drive to Carla's mom's house, 20 min in the opposite direction of the hospital. We then went to the hospital.
We checked into Labor & Delivery triage around 2:00 am. There was one other person in there that had come in the door with us. When the nurse checked me, I was still only about 1.5 to 2 cm and thick, baby's head up high. So she called doc and let him know. They told us to walk for about an hour. So I walked around the L&D floor for a while. Stopping every few minutes for the contractions. I went back to triage. Still no change. But they hooked me up to the monitors and all was fine. I asked about pain meds, because I was hurting pretty good. Let me tell you this nurse in triage was a nut job!! She acted so clueless. She said that she didn't usually work in L&D. Duh! lol So when she talked to the doc again around 6am, he said to admit me, and that I could have some IV pain meds. Here is where things started to get bad.
The nurse tried to start my IV line. She blew out 2 of my veins! I had heard her blow out the vein of a patient next to me about half an hour earlier. So then another nurse tried, and still no go. Finally, the IV team was called in and she got in with no problem. So it took 4 painful tries to get my IV started. Carla was calling the triage nurse "Nurse Ratched" by this point. To her face! lol I was then able to have Stadol, and it was mixed with Phenergan to prevent nausea. Night night! I was so tired. I woke up a bit later feeling very hungry. I was able to have some cereal. The doc came in and checked me..I think I was 3 cm. This was around 7am I believe. He palpitated my belly, and said the baby felt about 8 1/2 lbs.
It was a couple hours later before they were able to get me into a room. We were told they were very busy. We got one of the last rooms on the floor. Anyone past that, they sent to the annex wing. They hooked me back up to the monitors and I was set to go. About an hour or so later the new doc on call (whom I had seen several times in office) came in to check me. I was 3 cm and thinning out. She asked if I wanted more pain meds. Finally, I was offered the blessed epidural. In no time at all the anesthesiologist was there. How's this for a name? Dr. Gut..lol.
This was a horrible experience. The epidural I had with Jacob was almost painless. This epidural was straight out of hell. It was so painful I couldn't wait for it to be over. Once it kicked in, I felt much better. I could move my legs enough to move around, but felt little pain. Carla says I slept a lot, but I don't remember it being that much. The baby's heart rate wouldn't stay on the monitor, so they had me move to my side. It hurt a whole lot, so they moved me back a while later. Even with the epidural, I was feeling some of the contractions. They didn't have any more pumps for the epi, so it was just a continuous stream.
Now I didn't see the doc for about 6 hours or better. Each time the nurse would come in, she told us how busy it was and how the Dr. was going from operating room to operating room. The nurse finally checked me and I was still only 4 cm..thinning, but baby's head was up high. Finally, the doctor came back right before 8pm. I was still at 4cm and baby's head was not coming down. We had asked about breaking the water, but she said it was too risky with the baby's head up that high. She said we could try and force the issue to have the baby vaginally. Not sure what that would have entailed. But after almost 20 hrs, I said I just wanted a c-section. She agreed that was probably the best course of action.
So we were wheeled into the OR soon after. They prepped me and then Carla came in. It was so weird how numb I was after they added more meds to the epidural. I didn't feel anything. Carla kept peeking around the curtain. Finally, I heard them say something about a cord around the baby's neck. Carla says it was only once, and the nurse says it wasn't tight. Seconds later, at 8:52 pm, on October 11th, I heard her cry. I started crying too. Cadence Rhiannon entered the world screaming for all she was worth. She sounded really mad! lol The doctor held her up over the curtain, but I only got a brief look because she dripped blood and amniotic fluid in my eye! I started dozing a bit. I heard them say she was 8lbs 3 oz. Finally, Carla was able to go around the curtain and be with the baby. She was excited about getting to see them sewing up my uterus! lol A few minutes later, Carla brought Cadence over for me to see. She kept saying "look, she looks just like Jacob". It was then time to go to the nursery. Carla asked if I was ok so she could go with the baby.
I dozed off. The next thing I remember was them taking the epidural tape off my back and removing the epidural. He had told me taking off the tape would be the worst part. It was nothing compared to putting the epi in! Less than an hour after she was born, I was back in my room, asking if they were almost done in the nursery. Finally Carla brought the baby in, and I was able to hold her. It was a very surreal experience.
Carla stayed with me the first night, but had to go home the next couple of days for the other kids. I sent Cadence to the nursery at night usually so I could sleep. They would bring her to me to nurse. On Thursday, they said that she had jaundice. She was also having uric acid crystals in her diaper. So they suggested giving her some formula to hydrate her. Between that and the jaundice, we relented, and Carla gave her her first bottle. She then had to go under the bili lights. She was under there for about 14 hrs. Her levels weren't super high, but they were being cautious. I started to cry when they said she might have to stay a day or two.
Fortunately her levels came down, and she was able to come home with us on Friday afternoon. She is doing fine now.
So there is my story. I hope I remembered everything. It's hard to remember with Jacob from 7 1/2 yrs ago, so I wanted to make sure I wrote this down to share, and to remember.
My hospital and doctor was fantastic, even if it was a little crazy. I wasn't ready to go home! But even with our rough start, I'm glad she's here. Thanks if you've read this far!
So we had to get Jacob out of bed. We just grabbed his backpack, that we had packed previously, and a blanket. We put him in the car with his blanket. We then had to drive to Carla's mom's house, 20 min in the opposite direction of the hospital. We then went to the hospital.
We checked into Labor & Delivery triage around 2:00 am. There was one other person in there that had come in the door with us. When the nurse checked me, I was still only about 1.5 to 2 cm and thick, baby's head up high. So she called doc and let him know. They told us to walk for about an hour. So I walked around the L&D floor for a while. Stopping every few minutes for the contractions. I went back to triage. Still no change. But they hooked me up to the monitors and all was fine. I asked about pain meds, because I was hurting pretty good. Let me tell you this nurse in triage was a nut job!! She acted so clueless. She said that she didn't usually work in L&D. Duh! lol So when she talked to the doc again around 6am, he said to admit me, and that I could have some IV pain meds. Here is where things started to get bad.
The nurse tried to start my IV line. She blew out 2 of my veins! I had heard her blow out the vein of a patient next to me about half an hour earlier. So then another nurse tried, and still no go. Finally, the IV team was called in and she got in with no problem. So it took 4 painful tries to get my IV started. Carla was calling the triage nurse "Nurse Ratched" by this point. To her face! lol I was then able to have Stadol, and it was mixed with Phenergan to prevent nausea. Night night! I was so tired. I woke up a bit later feeling very hungry. I was able to have some cereal. The doc came in and checked me..I think I was 3 cm. This was around 7am I believe. He palpitated my belly, and said the baby felt about 8 1/2 lbs.
It was a couple hours later before they were able to get me into a room. We were told they were very busy. We got one of the last rooms on the floor. Anyone past that, they sent to the annex wing. They hooked me back up to the monitors and I was set to go. About an hour or so later the new doc on call (whom I had seen several times in office) came in to check me. I was 3 cm and thinning out. She asked if I wanted more pain meds. Finally, I was offered the blessed epidural. In no time at all the anesthesiologist was there. How's this for a name? Dr. Gut..lol.
This was a horrible experience. The epidural I had with Jacob was almost painless. This epidural was straight out of hell. It was so painful I couldn't wait for it to be over. Once it kicked in, I felt much better. I could move my legs enough to move around, but felt little pain. Carla says I slept a lot, but I don't remember it being that much. The baby's heart rate wouldn't stay on the monitor, so they had me move to my side. It hurt a whole lot, so they moved me back a while later. Even with the epidural, I was feeling some of the contractions. They didn't have any more pumps for the epi, so it was just a continuous stream.
Now I didn't see the doc for about 6 hours or better. Each time the nurse would come in, she told us how busy it was and how the Dr. was going from operating room to operating room. The nurse finally checked me and I was still only 4 cm..thinning, but baby's head was up high. Finally, the doctor came back right before 8pm. I was still at 4cm and baby's head was not coming down. We had asked about breaking the water, but she said it was too risky with the baby's head up that high. She said we could try and force the issue to have the baby vaginally. Not sure what that would have entailed. But after almost 20 hrs, I said I just wanted a c-section. She agreed that was probably the best course of action.
So we were wheeled into the OR soon after. They prepped me and then Carla came in. It was so weird how numb I was after they added more meds to the epidural. I didn't feel anything. Carla kept peeking around the curtain. Finally, I heard them say something about a cord around the baby's neck. Carla says it was only once, and the nurse says it wasn't tight. Seconds later, at 8:52 pm, on October 11th, I heard her cry. I started crying too. Cadence Rhiannon entered the world screaming for all she was worth. She sounded really mad! lol The doctor held her up over the curtain, but I only got a brief look because she dripped blood and amniotic fluid in my eye! I started dozing a bit. I heard them say she was 8lbs 3 oz. Finally, Carla was able to go around the curtain and be with the baby. She was excited about getting to see them sewing up my uterus! lol A few minutes later, Carla brought Cadence over for me to see. She kept saying "look, she looks just like Jacob". It was then time to go to the nursery. Carla asked if I was ok so she could go with the baby.
I dozed off. The next thing I remember was them taking the epidural tape off my back and removing the epidural. He had told me taking off the tape would be the worst part. It was nothing compared to putting the epi in! Less than an hour after she was born, I was back in my room, asking if they were almost done in the nursery. Finally Carla brought the baby in, and I was able to hold her. It was a very surreal experience.
Carla stayed with me the first night, but had to go home the next couple of days for the other kids. I sent Cadence to the nursery at night usually so I could sleep. They would bring her to me to nurse. On Thursday, they said that she had jaundice. She was also having uric acid crystals in her diaper. So they suggested giving her some formula to hydrate her. Between that and the jaundice, we relented, and Carla gave her her first bottle. She then had to go under the bili lights. She was under there for about 14 hrs. Her levels weren't super high, but they were being cautious. I started to cry when they said she might have to stay a day or two.
Fortunately her levels came down, and she was able to come home with us on Friday afternoon. She is doing fine now.
So there is my story. I hope I remembered everything. It's hard to remember with Jacob from 7 1/2 yrs ago, so I wanted to make sure I wrote this down to share, and to remember.
My hospital and doctor was fantastic, even if it was a little crazy. I wasn't ready to go home! But even with our rough start, I'm glad she's here. Thanks if you've read this far!
posted by Kris @ 6:05 PM
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