So Thursday, February 25th, I had a regularly scheduled ob appointment. During my appointment, I actually got to see my doctor (which didn't always happen), and she basically said that the baby wasn't coming on his own and I had to pick either March 2nd or March 6th to be induced. She said those were my only 2 options. She really wanted me to pick March 2nd because she felt the sooner the better.
I left the appt really upset and really disappointed. I was so disappointed that this doctor was not giving my body the chance to do what it is meant to do naturally. I needed more time than that. I decided on March 6th as an induction date knowing that at least it would be after my true due date, but it really bothered me picking a day to birth my baby.
That night, I talked to a friend who is a NICU nurse at the hospital, and she really calmed my fears about my decision to get induced on the 6th. I was still not happy about the whole induction thing, but I was feeling better and looking forward to having another week to relax and prepare. I then settled down on the couch to watch the winter olympics which is what I had been doing every night for almost 2 weeks.
At 1am-ish I was half awake tossing and turning for what felt like a long time. At some point, I was having what felt like menstrual cramps which I thought was very strange since no one mentioned cramps in our birthing class. Then I started to freak out because I couldn't feel the baby. So for the first time in my entire pregnancy, I called the midwife who was on call. She reassured me that this was normal and usually indicated that labor would be starting soon. She told me to take some Tylenol PMs and take a hot bath and then go back to bed. By this time, it was 3am, and as soon as I got in the bath, I felt my first contraction.
I got back and bed, and Adam and I started to time my contractions. They were consistently 6 minutes for over two hours. I couldn't sleep this whole time because the contractions kept waking me up, but Adam slept right by my side with his hand on my stomach. At about 5am, they seemed to start getting closer so we got more serious about timing them.
Sometime between 5:30am and 6am, we decided it was time to call the midwife again. My contractions were anywhere between 2 and 5 minutes apart. Adam and I were thinking that it was not real labor because the contractions were not consistent, which for some reason we thought was necessary for labor. The midwife said to come on into the hospital if that is what we wanted to do. Of course it was! We were terrified!
So at 6am we slowly start getting ready. I took a shower, dried my hair, put on makeup. Adam sat down and had breakfast. I called my boss to let her know that I would not be at work today. Eventually we got ourselves together and left the house at 7am. My neighbor still talks about how he saw us leave the house early that morning and thought to himself that the only reason we would be leaving that early is if we were having a baby...too bad a had to leave more like at 6am - 6:30am to get to work for the last 2 years! :(
At this point, I was so glad we chose Northside Forsyth because it was only 15 minutes away, and there would be minimal traffic. Adam really dislikes a certain route that I like to take when going towards Cumming, but since I was the one in labor, I got to pick which way we went! Ha!
7:21am - checked into the hospital. I think we were in room B4, but I can't be sure. All I know is that Forsyth has beautiful rooms, and I was so glad to be there. Adam and I were so excited, but nervous. We honestly thought we'd be sent home. It seems that most first time parents get sent home from the hospital at least once.
8:30am - Got checked by the charge nurse. She was great! I think her name was Kim, but I can't be too sure. At that point I was 3cm dilated and 80% effaced. She said the baby was very low and that I was definitely in labor. Adam and I were relieved to know that we would be staying and having a baby, and we finally called our families. My mom and aunt Becky went straight for the airport. Adam's family was at work, and since we figured it would be an all day thing, there was no point in them dropping everything that they were doing.
9am - 9:30am - Although my ob only gave me 2 options for inductions because those were the dates that someone from our practice would be at Forsyth, she was at the hospital the day I was in labor. She had a c-section and a surgery scheduled. So sometime between 9 and 9:30, she came into my room. She was shocked to see me there, but I think she was happy because she didn't have to deal with me not wanting to be induced. She broke my water, and we got our first bad news of the pregnancy: there was meconium in the fluid. My doctor explained to me that because of the meconium, I would have to stay in the bed during my labor and be strapped into all the monitors at all times. The NICU team would be attending the delivery, and I would be unable to hold the baby once he was born. His cord would be quickly cut, and he would be handed over to the NICU team for suctioning.
10:30am - I got checked and was somewhere between 4 and 5 cm. This is about the time when I started to feel a little uncomfortable during my contractions, but they were still very manageable. I was not in a lot of pain, but it was starting to build. They told me that going forward, they would not be checking me very often due to the meconium and the risk of infection. The nurse started to ask me if I wanted an epidural. She explained to me that my doctor ordered pitocin for me because she wanted the baby out fast because of the meconium. But thankfully, I had an awesome nurse (I think her name was Amy), and she said that as long as I continued to progress, she would not give me pit.
At this point I felt like I had to make a decision. I didn't want an epidural, but I really hadn't thought too much about my labor and how to prepare for the pain. Since there was the threat of pit, and knowing that an epidural would allow me to relax and speed labor along, I decided to do it because I was nervous little Tobey would end up in the NICU b/c of the meconium. While I don't think epidurals are bad in and of themselves, I do think that women are meant to experience the pain of labor. Genesis 3:16 - "I will greatly multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children..." Women are intended by God to endure that suffering for their children as Christ suffered on the cross for us. It's a way for women to unite their sufferings with Christ. Anyways, that's something I am going to think about and pray about next time around, but for Tobey, I feel I made the right decision considering the circumstances.
11:30am - The anes. doc finally comes in to administer the epidural. Around the same time, my pain went from 0 to 60. Not only was I in unbearable pain during each contraction, I felt like I was going to vomit and pass out at the same time. Hindsight is 20/20, and now I know that I was in transition by that point (somewhere between 7 and 10 cm dilated). At the time, I didn't know that because they didn't want to check me. So as I am getting the epidural, Adam and the nurse are right in front of me, but I can't see either of them because of the pain. The epidural was the craziest thing...I felt like I was getting electrocuted in the back. Not cool. I'm pretty sure I was screaming.
11:45am - I was so glad the epidural was all over with, and I could now take a nap. I laid down thinking that I had all afternoon to get some sleep since I had been up most of the night. Adam went to get some lunch.
12:30pm - The midwife comes into my room, lifts up my leg, and asks if I feel anything. I told her I couldn't feel anything. She said that I should because the baby was crowning, and it was time to start pushing. When I heard this, I was freaking out. I could not believe it was time. This was the moment. She then started to make some phone calls and got things set up. She would deliver the baby because my ob was in her surgery.
12:45pm - Time to push! I was surprised at how exhausting pushing was. It took about 7 or 8 pushes to get the babe out.
1:09pm - Tobey Adam was born! He was rushed over to the NICU team who suctioned him out. They said that he had swallowed more meconium then they had seen in a long time. They were working on him for about 30 minutes. He finally started to cry, and he was very high pitched. The nurses said that he sounded like a little girl, which I found a little insulting. They also said he was a peanut and guessed that he would weigh 6#, 7oz. I called my mom, but she was in the air on her flight so I had to leave her a message.
Tobey Adam
February 26, 2010 @ 1:09pm
7#, 2.5oz
20 3/4 inches long
I am SO glad you got to have him naturally. What a little cutie... and he still looks like himself too!
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