The nurses hurried and got my IV in because I tested positive for GBS which is nothing for me but potentially harmful for the baby. I had to have a dose of penicillin in me for the baby's sake before he was born. So we went to a room and I laid down which helped slow the contractions down. I didn't worry too much because every time I got up the contractions started up in full. It was kind of nice to have a relaxing morning - I even got to doze a little between contractions while we waited for the meds to travel through my system. About noon the doctor came in to break my water and deliver this baby. Funny enough I hadn't dilated any more so he decided not to break it quite yet.
Now instead of laying in bed relaxing, I was up walking and bouncing on a ball and doing all sorts of exercises to encourage labor. After a couple of hours, the doctor came back and broke my water even though I still hadn't changed. He stayed pretty close to the room after that because both he and the nurse knew that as soon as I felt the urge to push this baby would be fast. They left the room for moment and I had to page them back in. Unfortunately not because the baby was coming but because I had suddenly gushed so much more water that it was dripping off the sides of the bed! I swear that baby had a 20 gallon pool at his disposal!
Well, fast forward another 2 hours or so until about 4 p.m. I'd been thinking all day thoughts like, "He'll be here before noon." "He'll be here before church is out." and still no delivery. About 4 we decided to add pitocin to my IV. Again, figuring that even a small amount of intervention would encourage the baby enough for him to shoot out. The doctor and my nurse had really not left the room much since they broke my water. Now they didn't leave at all. I had a really great doctor and nurse. They were awesome!
Long story short (uh,,,too late) baby C still wasn't born. Finally about 6:40 I couldn't take it anymore. I was exhausted and the pain was too much. I was still unchanged, 8 cm, and didn't know how much longer this would go on. I requested the epidural and tried to hang on. The doctor left to go brief his replacement. (Remember how I said he was awesome? His shift had ended an hour earlier but he'd stayed because he really wanted to be there for the delivery.) All of a sudden, seriously, I felt the urge to push. I could feel baby C's head pushing through the birth canal. My nurse ran around the side of the bed, pulled the "code" lever and caught C's head. I had to give one my push to get his shoulders out but I didn't even have to wait for a contraction. Which was good because the cord was around C's neck 5 times and he had to get out right then. The doctor, who'd waited around for an extra hour so he wouldn't miss the delivery, rushed back into the room. Poor guy, just missed it! And poor Roy mostly stood there panicking - not sure about what to do!
Everything happened so fast from the time I felt the urge to push and over the next 5 minutes that I don't really know what happened. I know there was a team of nurses working on C to get him crying and clear out his lungs. I remember the nurse anesthetist came in the room to give me the epidural about the time I was pushing C's shoulders out. I remember them trying to determine the time of birth. My nurse finally settled on 6:52. She didn't actually have time to look at the clock seeings she was busy trying to revive my baby. I remember the doctor delivering my placenta. Glad he got to participate at least some! I really remember feeling relief that the contractions were over.
I am forever grateful for the awesome team of nurses who took care of my baby. I'm especially grateful for an amazing nurse and doctor who encouraged me through the long hours and were good company for me and Roy during the long day. I am most grateful for my nurse who caught C and was able to unwrap the cord from his neck and revive him before the team could arrive.
2 comments:
Whew! Close call and yet another miracle baby. So glad he's here safe. :)
He's beautiful!!!! Love you!!
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