At my 36 week appointment with June, I was told that I could
choose to be induced on November 9th at 39 weeks – I didn’t have any
kind of complications or medical reasons to do this, but my Dr said it
decreased the chance of needing a C section & he assumed I might have a big
baby based on Daniel’s size. One less week of pregnancy sounded great to me so
I said YES!!!
Having a date made me less anxious because I wouldn’t have
to worry about going into labor on my own, but it created more anxiety knowing
exactly when it was going to happen. I had a ton of nerves leading up to it,
but I was also so excited to be done with pregnancy.
The week before was spent with tons of last minute prep for
the baby & Daniel and I soaked in some quality time knowing it wouldn’t
just be the 2 of us anymore. The day before my induction, I got a blessing from
my dad & one from Daniel & I really did feel a lot of peace & calm
overall, especially knowing what I was about to do. I was still terrified but
really ready to be done.
We were supposed to go into the hospital super early in the
morning, but they called the night before and said it would probably be later.
So we ended up going in at 9:30 am on Tuesday November 9th. They
checked to see if I was dilated & I was only between a 1 & 2 and about 80%
effaced. My Dr had said I wouldn’t need any cervical softening medication, but
the nurse that checked me that morning said I did. So she called my Dr and they
got me started on Cytotec or Cervidil (I don’t remember which one) and they
said it would take 3 oral doses and 12 hours for my cervix to soften, then they
could start me on Pitocin. So Daniel and I hunkered down and prepared for the
long haul. They also told me I couldn’t eat at all while on either medication,
but I would have a short break before I started Pitocin where I could have a
granola bar.
The first dose took a while to kick in, but it eventually
did & I started to feel a little crampy. They got me on the second dose
& it went pretty quickly from there. I started having contractions every
1-2 minutes that were pretty intense (similar to Pitocin contractions) because
they reached their peak really quickly and stayed that way for a while before
subsiding & they were really consistent. They were so consistent that they
never gave me a 3rd dose because I was having such consistent &
strong contractions. Around midnight I was ready for the epidural, I HATED
those contractions! I got to the point where I just started crying every time a
contraction started because I knew it would hurt & I was barely getting a
break in between them. They told me they’d give me a pain med through my IV
& go get the anesthesiologist to give me my epidural. The pain med worked
for a little bit but wore off quickly. It took almost 2 hours to finally get my
epidural and I was soooo ready for it, I wasn’t scared at all. I was only
dilated to a 4, but it happened quickly and the contractions were induced so
they were INTENSE. My epidural went really smoothly and worked immediately – I
was sooo much more comfortable. They told me to try to get some sleep because
they were going to start me on Pitocin. I was able to sleep from about 2-6 am,
but it wasn’t great sleep because the nurses were continually checking me. They
realized I didn’t need Pitocin because my body was progressing really quickly
on it’s own & at 6 am the nurse checked me and told me I was at a 10 and
“complete” and I was ready to have a baby! So she called my Dr and he said he’d
be in in a couple hours, which was okay because the baby was slightly turned
and they needed to try & move her before I started pushing. So they put
weird things between my legs & made me lay in weird positions to try and
get her to turn. My epidural was wearing off quickly and I was starting to be
able to feel contractions, which SUCKED!!!! Contractions at a 10 are no joke!!
I started getting really nauseous and I was in so much pain, I kept pushing the
epidural button, but it wasn’t working! The nurse went to get the
anesthesiologist & he put something in my IV that made me basically fall
asleep, which was around 9:30 am – then I woke up to the nurse grabbing my knee
at telling me I needed to start pushing, which was at 10 am. I knew right away
that I wasn’t really numb, but there was nothing we could do. My Dr came in
& he expected me to be pushing for a while, so he thought he was just going
to pop in & check on me, but he looked down there and said “oh! We’re
having a baby right now!” so he got suited up and they explained how to push
& told me to start pushing. They had warned me that most first time moms
push for at least an hour minimum, but it’s usually around 3 hours. Because I
wasn’t really numb, I was able to feel everything & I just started pushing.
It was so painful & I could tell as soon as her head started coming that it
just wasn’t going to fit ☹ There was a scary moment where we lost her heartbeat
for a second, but they found it again and just kept telling me to push. I
remember a nurse saying “you’re going to have a baby in one more push” so I
pushed (and I think I screamed a little) and out came June! It only took 20
minutes. She was born on November 10th at 10:31 am 7lbs 3 oz. Unfortunately I
didn’t really even know what was going on because I was in a ton of pain, and I
had to be stitched up. They tried to hand her to me, but I wasn’t really able
to focus on her right away. Daniel did tell me that she had his nose & I
was excited about that. My Dr could tell I was feeling a little more than I
thought I should be able to, so he stitched me up pretty quickly (which I felt
& it was very painful). After the stitching & everything, my epidural
finally kicked in (haha). I was able to be numb and hold June & I loved her
right away. They let us lay there for about an hour & June took to
breastfeeding right away, which was awesome!!!
They brought out a different
bed to put me in to transfer me to the recovery unit & they realized I
wasn’t numb when I was able to move myself from one bed to the other on my own
an hour after she was born. But it was done at that point & I was just sooo
glad to not be pregnant.
The recovery was pretty smooth, although June had some
pretty significant congestion & had to be monitored in the nursery for a
little while because her oxygen was dipping, but it all turned out fine &
we were able to go home on Thursday.
Postpartum recovery really was very smooth & uneventful
for me & I was in awe of my body and how quickly it was able to recover.
And JUNE!!! She had a hard first 2 ½ weeks, but then she got on more of a
routine & she was more pleasant & awake & we just fell in LOVE!!!!
She is so precious, I can’t even describe how much I love her.
Overall, it was a pretty good experience considering I was
giving birth, and I was so thankful for the opportunity. And now I have June, so
I think it was worth it 😊
No comments:
Post a Comment