Logan is
On Thursday, January 7th (five days past my due date with no signs of labor in sight) the doctor scheduled an induction for Sunday, January 10th at 8 pm. On Saturday the 9th, Roy's friends were heading to the casino to hangout and watch the band so we decided to join them after getting some sushi for dinner. We had spent the past week or so laying low and waiting for something to happen. I had been lounging around most of the time so we thought it would be a good idea to go to the casino and walk around. I was a bit hesitant to go because I was so pregnant but I saw a couple of other pregnant ladies there so I didn't feel too out of place - but who cares at this point, right?
We got home around midnight and decided to stay up and watch TV. Roy fell asleep but I stayed awake. I forgot what we were watching but at around 3 am I woke him up and we headed to bed and I stopped to use the bathroom. I felt a small pop inside my body while I was peeing and then I felt some leaking which didn't feel like pee. I thought, "Did my water just break?!"
I told Roy and I called the OB. Their answering service paged the on-call doctor and she called me back. I told her what happened and she said I could head to the hospital. Contractions started not long after I felt the pop. They were immediately uncomfortable and I'd say a level 2 or 3 on the pain scale. I thought they weren't supposed to be that bad at first? We got busy getting our stuff and made it to Holy Spirit Hospital around 4:30 am.
Once I was settled in the nurse or midwife checked me and I was at 1 cm dilated (same as I was the last time they checked at my 40 week appointment). I labored all morning and at one point the nurse kind of scolded me and said I needed to work through the contractions by breathing and not fight them. I guess I was tensing up too much, making it worse for me. I tried to relax but it was difficult. I remembered the breathing exercises we did in childbirth class and it did help a tiny bit but I just wanted to curl up in a ball.
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| Our last meal out as a childless couple. |
She came back later and told me I needed to either get up and walk around or get in the Jacuzzi tub. Walking around seemed impossible (and I was leaking fluid continuously) so I chose the tub. I somehow got out of bed and made it in there with her help. Roy was with me the whole time and I'm sure he felt terrible and helpless watching me in so much pain. I felt bad for him! I would periodically ask him what time it was and I was surprised that time was going so fast. What I thought was 20 minutes was actually 2 hours.
I knew I needed something to eat for energy and I opted for toast with jelly. I was able to eat one slice. I spent the rest of the morning and afternoon in the tub. Contractions were still painful but the tub felt good. I was probably shriveled up like a prune. They say you have breaks in between contractions but mine felt like they just came one right after another in steady waves and the lulls were still painful.
At 4 pm (12 hours into labor), I was checked and was 3 cm dilated, 80% effaced, and -2 station which was disappointing to hear. I thought I'd at least be at 5 cm. Since I had a long way to go I requested an epidural and got one at 5:40 pm. They said they normally don't give one until you're at least 4 cm but because I'd been laboring for awhile they were going to allow it. The epidural was fantastic and I felt no pain after that.
At 7:20 pm they started me on Pitocin to help speed things up. It was supposed to help you dilate at a rate of 1 cm per hour. They checked me at 11 pm and there was no progress. It was now Monday, January 11th. They checked me again at 7 am (nearly 27 hours after my water broke) and I was only at 4 cm. The midwife suggested either trying to keep moving positions to help the baby move down more or consider a Cesarean. The baby's heart beat was steady but would fluctuate depending on how I was laying. Being only at 4 cm after over 24 hours of labor was discouraging - how much longer to get to 10?
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| I was so bloated from the fluids pumped in me. I had Shrek feet for two weeks. |
I made the fairly quick decision to get the C-section. I had a feeling it might end up the same way even if I decided to labor on. 6 cm was a long way to go and there was no guarantee that I'd get to 10 and even if I did, I might not be able to push him out. I really didn't want the epidural to fade and find out I'm only at 4 cm either. I guess it seems like I'd given up but knowing that my mom had a C-section with me I was prepared that I may have to get one also.
Once I decided to do the C-section, the nurses were on it. I guess they are used to prepping for this surgery in a hurry. I didn't feel nervous - just excited to meet Logan! I think Roy was ready, too! I was also ready to get the recovery process started. I never had surgery before so the experience was interesting. They gave me more anesthesia and I felt nothing from the chest down. It felt like I was floating. Roy was able to be in the room with me. The incision was made at 8:30 am and Logan was born six minutes later and his cry was so cute, just like him.
The surgery took about 30 to 45 minutes (I think anyway, I was pretty high on meds and in la-la land) and once Logan was out it seemed like forever until I got to see him. Roy saw him right after they cleaned him off and he was able to see the nurses do the APGAR tests. I remember hearing the nurses counting. Roy finally did bring him over (I wish we got a photo of all three of us together) and I remember being in awe of his face. He was finally here!
While we were all in the recovery room (I was getting a million blood pressure readings because it was really low) the OB who performed the surgery stopped and told us that my cervix was swollen so even if I did labor on, he didn't think the baby would have made his way out naturally.
So that's Logan's birth story! Hopefully I'll post a recovery update before his half birthday in July!
