SUMMER FAMILY FUN

Thursday, January 01, 2009

The Story

Well, it all began around 5am when I got up to get ready to go to the hospital. We rolled into the L&D admissions around 6:00 and we were all set to go. They were ready for me and my L&D nurse - Mo (who I ADORED!)- was already all set up to get me started. They hooked me up to IV right away and I think I had to wait for the results from my blood work to come back before they put me on the PIT. However, I'm pretty sure I was on PIT by 7:30. Mo rolled off her shift around 7:30 and I Annette rolled on. The morning was pretty uneventful. My nurse-midwife stopped by and checked me out and I was only at a 2. The lady next door to my room was also one of her patients and there to be induced with her 3rd child and I think she had her baby around 11:30am, so I was hopeful. Ha!

My contractions could never get organized. They'd be intense for a little while, but not for any amount of time and I hung out at a 3 for FOREVER! I was hesitant to get the Epi too soon because I didn't want to slow labor. Finally, around 1:00 (which is when I was getting ready to deliver The Boy) I asked for the Epi and I'm thinking it was around 3pm when the anesthesiologist got me going. Then, nothing. I just laid there for forever and the contractions just kind of piddled out. They came every 2-3 minutes, but they were nothing to write home about. I got so BORED just laying there in the bed. Around 6pm the anesthesiologist - who is a HOOT and a total genius at his job - came in to see how I was doing. I got in trouble because I hadn't changed positions. I was so worried that I wasn't supposed to move much, that I had been laying on the same side the entire time. He told me I need to move up in bed and switch sides every 15 minutes and that would get the baby to come. He said it wasn't in any book, but it was his experience. I trust him. He is so awesome and lives for his job. I had him with The Boy too and I remember him making me crack up the entire time. Oh! The reason I had no idea to move from side to side, was that with The Boy I got my Epi around Noon and started pushing around 1:30 with him, so I wasn't ever just hanging out for 3 hours wondering what to do.

Mo rolled back on at 7:30 - WAHOO!!!!!! She had another patient that wanted her, but he chose me because we bonded that morning. I am so grateful for her. On Sunday we had a lesson in Relief Society about heavenly help from angels that come into our lives and I know that she was mine that day. She didn't mess around - she told me to listen to the anesthesiologist and she upped my PIT a little and just stayed on top of everything. That's when things started going crazy. LOL

I felt nauseous (had nothing with the boy), I could feel LOTS of pressure (the Epi wasn't helping) and I got the narliest chills. I was hopeful about the pressure and chills, because when that happened during The Boy's labor, I was ready to push without about 20 minutes. Nope, not with this little lady. The anesthesiologist stopped back in and Mo said I needed a booster shot of Epi stuff - whatever that was - and it helped with the chills for a little bit. I was a little bit out of it during this part because I was just so exhausted by this point in the day. It was only after talking with Will that I remembered what had happened. So, after the Epi booster shot my blood pressure totally dropped to a dangerous level, but my pulse was racing. The anesthesiologist had to give me something to level me out, but not (oh! I can't think of the word now) because my pulse was so out of control. I was kind of having an out of body experience at this point and felt like I was floating and viewing everything from a 3rd party perspective. The anesthesiologist got me under control after about a 1/2 hour of constant monitoring and my contractions organized and became intense and I could the pressure LOTS! I think by then it was around 9:00 and the anesthesiologist said he was sure I'd have this baby by 11pm. I wanted to scream, "Eleven??? Are you freaking kidding me? I can't do this for another 2 hours!" However, I did. LOL

The chills never did go away and I think they are what totally sucked my energy out. I wasn't cold, but I just couldn't stop shaking. It was SUPER annoying. But it's just my body's response to pain and exhaustion, so I had to live with it. FINALLY this little lady moved down and put pressure on my cervix to do what it was supposed to be doing all along. It was evident after she was born, that she didn't spend much time in the birth canal because she only had a little Yamaka of a cone head right at the back tip of her head. She was just taking her sweet time and really had no intentions of coming anytime that day if we hadn't forced her out.

I started to get blurry on details at this point because I was SO TIRED, but I think Mo had me do some preliminary pushes around 11:00 to see if it was time to call my nurse-midwife back in. Sure enough! It was time. About an hour before I was thinking, "For get a vag delivery, just cut this baby out! I'm done!" However, I'm very grateful I just waited a little big longer. Mo told me later that when she rolled back on that night, she was worried I was going to have to have a c-section because I had been going on for so long with no real progression. Thank goodness for prayers and Dr. P (anesthesiologist) because he was another angel that saved my day.

So, even though I was totally exhausted, I had to push and by this time the pressure was so extreme that I just wanted to push whenever I wanted and forget about contractions. But my N-M, Mo, Will and another L&D nurse coached me through it. They just kept cheering me on. I started pushing around 11:15 and the little lady popped out - literally - at 11:29. The cord was around her neck - which Mo & N-M knew because her heart rate dipped everytime I pushed - so once her head emerged they wanted me to stop pushing so they could get the cord off. They both shouted, "Whoa! Slow down! No more pushing!" And I assured them, as I lay completely flacid on the bed, that I wasn't doing anything. Isabella just came on out after her head cleared. My N-M handed her to me right away and I got to hold for a good little bit before the baby nurse asked if it was ok to take and do her assessment. I agreed and Will cut the cord and got all the important pictures taken of her weighing in.

Oh! And how we finally settled on a name? I think around Noon we decided we were down to Lexi and Isabella, but we never agreed on either one. When they handed her to me, I saw that she was a girl, and everyone in the room said - almost at once - what's her name, I exclaimed, "Isabella!" through my sobs. So let it be written, so let it be done. LOL

**SIDE NOTE**
Will was amazing during this entire day. He did whatever I asked and when I was shaking to death with my fake chills, he just held my hands and stood by me. I really couldn't have been blessed with a more amazing husband. I rarely sing his praises on this blog (1) because I know it embarrasses him and (2) because I'm just not that type of person. I read my friends blogs and they always wax so eloquently about their husbands and I never know how to put into words how awesome he is. So, I'll just put it this way - MY HUSBAND ROCKS! When people asked how we came to choose Isabella as the name, he said, "Well, after 18 hours of what she went through, I couldn't argue with her. She deserved it." Like I said, he rocks.
**END NOTE**

This is where it gets interesting. My N-M was trying to stitch up my 2nd degree tear, she was having a dickens of a time because I just wouldn't stop bleeding. They upped the PIT and after a little bit gave me a shot of something (I think hemabate), but that didn't work very well. By this time my N-M had me stitched up and had to go next door to deliver another lady. Mo stayed to stop the bleeding and ended up give me methergine (I think) anally as another way to stop the bleeding. She just kept massaging my abdomen and doing her magic and finally -after about 2 1/2 hours - they got it under control. I was totally out of it and kept telling Mo I would do whatever she told me to do. She was visibly relieved when things got under control and she let me have 6 saltines and some water. LOL She was worried about giving me food since I had been throwin up during transition. Will says he is pretty much traumatized for life after seeing me laying there bleeding to death. Mo kept telling him not to look, but I'm sure it's like a car wreck where you can't look away, but you know you shouldn't be watching.

I never did get really nervous, but while Mo went to get the methergine tablets, I asked Will to give me a blessing. I knew Heavenly Father was watching over me and I just needed to exercise my faith and have the blessing. It was after the blessing, the methergine and Mo working tirelessly that it all came under control. After my crackers and water I got moved to postpartum. However, I didn't get to go in a wheelchair. Mo and one of my postpartum nurses moved me to a gurney and wheeled me over to my room. Luckily we got a private room! Then they moved me from the gurney to my postpartum bed. They got me all cleaned up and put together, kept me on the PIT and IV, left my Foley catheter and my Epi catheter in.

Mo said goodnight and gave me hugs. My postpartum nurses checked on my several times during the night and change my ice pack for the nice "little" hematoma I also got from the entire experience. Lovely. I had the PIT/IV fluids, catheter and Epi catheter (it didn't have medicine coming through it, but Mo said we'd be tempting Mother Nature to remove it) all night and into Tuesday. I finally got rid of my IV around Noon on Tuesday. I had to keep my Foley and Epi until the N-M on call came in to check on me and she didn't come until around 2pm. Once she did and cleared me, I was so relieved to have everything removed and to get out of bed and walk around. It had seriously been 24 hours since I had last walked.

They kept Isabella in the nursery all Monday night and into Tuesday day. When Will and The Boy came around 10:00 I called and had them bring her in. I hadn't seen her since they took her away the night before and I was so relieved to have her back. I just couldn't really take care of her in my condition and then I was worried about getting her before Will got there because I couldn't get up to get her or change her diaper or anything. It was so lame and so different from my experience with The Boy. But so is life!

So, that's my story. My vitals and everything were fine the entire rest of the time. My hemoglobin only dropped from 13 (pre-labor) to 10 after all the blood I lost. So, I didn't have to have a transfusion. Phew! I guess if they had dropped to 6 or below, then I would have had to have had some blood given to me. I am perfectly fabulous now and feeling like I just had a baby, instead of like I just had a horrific labor/delivery experience. I can tell I had major IV fluids pumped into me and laid in bed for over 24 hours because I am retaining major water. My cankles and tight fingers are sicking me out, but it should pass within a few days. I walked the block with The Boy today and have kept my feet up, laid on my side, and drank lots of water to help the process along.

I feel very blessed that Heavenly Father watched over me, gave me my angels and helped my body to heal. What have I learned from this experience? Next time, I'm just letting the baby come when she wants to come. No inductions for me again!

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Congratulations! What a beautiful little family! It sounds like you had a hard time but you were being cared for by many angels! "Bella" is beautiful!

Mandy said...

Oh. My. Gosh. You poor girl!!!!! You just talked me out of ever considering an induction!

I'm glad everything turned out okay. I was thinking about you all day on Monday, and I'm so happy that you and your beautiful little girl are home!!

Vivian said...

I'm so glad everything turned out fine. We were worried about you and prayed for you the whole time.

Silly keeps asking when we can go over again and see the baby. We really enjoyed holding her and just watching her.

Cory said...

i think i jinxed you with my induction story!! sorry. i'm with you, i won't be induced again. i would rater have a 13 pounder than go through that!!

The Ordeel said...

Poor you! I am so glad you had the best care at that hospital. Taht makes all the difference. Heavenly Father was sure watching out for you and Isabella. Beautiful name, by the way. I am glad everything is wonderful now. What a cute little family!

Kenna said...

Wow! What a story! I'm glad everything (and everyone!) turned out ok! You're sure not making childbirth sound like fun! I can't wait to see you both. Someday!

Jamie said...

Congrats! She's beautiful and I'm so glad to hear you are both doing fine now!

jenerekfamily said...

Yuck. That is exactly the reason why a doctor would REALLY have to twist my arm to get me to agree to an induction. Glad you pulled through!

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