Eleanor Marie: Birth Story

When I finally decided to drag my butt out of bed on Tuesday morning (July 7th), I got a message from an old friend telling me she was currently working in a labor and delivery unit and to let her know if I had any questions. I of course did and after talking to her a bit, she was livid that I hadn't had a non stress test being 9 days overdue. She talked me through what I needed to say and do (lying basically) to be admitted and taken seriously. I got dressed, we packed up the Pilot for the 3rd time, and went to Rubio's for lunch. I hardly ate my favorite salad. Afterwards, we made our way to the hospital. On the check-in screen, I marked that I thought I was leaking fluid (a legitimate fear, I wasn't sure) and decreased fetal movement (lie, that baby was nuts at all times). 

We got checked in and went to triage. They gave us the last bed available (which they keep open for emergencies), but they had to give it to me since I claimed decreased movement. I felt awful. They hooked me up to the monitors and checked me (3 cm still) and checked my fluid (not leaking). The nurse looked at me like I was crazy and Derek and I decided she was our least favorite nurse yet. She took forever to come back to us each time and she was constantly called out of our curtained off room. We were there 3 hours before all of the tests had been completed. She came in and told us we'd probably be going home. And then.... Derek pulled out the sad teary voice and basically begged her to not make him take me home a third time. That's when her demeanor changed and she quickly became our favorite nurse. She called my doctor and basically told him we were staying. She told us it'd probably be 5 hours until we got a bed, but to go get our laptop and some dinner and hang out in triage watching Netflix. We weren't leaving!! We started discussing what we wanted for dinner after calling my mom to tell her. We hadn't even decided on dinner when I heard a new nurse say "I'm going to go put her in her room" and I started to cry thinking about another girl getting a room and I still wasn't going to get one for hours. And then.... She pulled my curtain back!! I thought she was kidding! 

She walked us to room 114 around 5:30 pm, got me situated in my bed, turned the tv on for us, and got me admitted. They drew my blood and then started my pitocin. I told her I wanted to talk to the anesthesiologist about my spinal cord and she said it may be a few hours. My mom showed up quickly after and we watched an episode of Suits. The nurse said my contractions were strong and 2 minutes apart, but I thought she was crazy. All of my non-pitocin contractions were way stronger than these. I barely felt these except for a crowded feeling in my ribs. I would stretch out a bit and I couldn't feel them anymore.

At 9:50, I felt two little pops in my lower abdomen. And then I started to feel excruciating pain almost immediately. I suffered through it for maybe 10 minutes and decided I needed to pee. It was when I stood up to walk to the bathroom that I realized the two pops I felt were my water breaking. Weird sensation. I made it back to my bed and the contractions felt unbearable. The nurse checked me and I was 4 cm. I started out laying on my right side and when a contraction would hit, I'd grab on to the railing and pull my face and chest as close to it as I possibly could. I'd stop breathing and Derek and my mom had to remind me how to. My mom would put a lot of pressure on my hips which helped. I got really sick after just a few contractions and threw up a few times. I ended up sitting up to throw up and realized that I could focus better by sitting up. So I contracted for awhile sitting up. Somewhere between 10 and midnight, the anesthesiologist came in. He was a short Middle Eastern man that I could hardly understand. He came in ready to place my epidural and seemed so bugged that I wanted to talk about it first. I told him about my herniated discs and he got nervous. He started playing with his hair net and saying that he wasn't too sure it was a good idea. He said if something went wrong we wouldn't know if it was his fault or something that was there before. If he was nervous, there was no way I was going to get it. So I mentally tried to suck it up and pull myself together to get through it. He came back in maybe 10 minutes later and explained that people with my condition get epidurals to manage the back pain we feel. So he felt like it would be okay. His initial nervousness still had me terrified so I turned him down again. 

The nurse came in at midnight to check me and I was at 5 cm. At 12:10, I needed to go to the bathroom. I barely made it there and I got so sick. I felt so horrible and delirious and the pain had gotten the best of me. I couldn't do it anymore. At 12:20 I decided that I didn't really care if it paralyzed me, I needed relief. The anesthesiologist came back in at 12:30 to place it. He made my mom leave the room and made Derek sit on the bench 5 feet from my bed. I had to sit up and deal with my contractions on my own while trying to hold completely still. My contractions were strong and lasting so long that by the time they ended, the next one was starting. I could tell he was frustrated with me. He placed it once and I felt the worst funny bone sensation radiating from my left hip to my kneecap. I screamed in pain and he pulled it out. He placed it again and I felt the same sensation, only worse, on my right side. He told me my spaces were tight and that if he couldn't get it placed right the third time, we couldn't do it. He placed it again and I felt the same pain on my right side but he said it worked. They got the tubes all taped and labeled, checked me (6 cm!) and had me lay on my back for an hour. Slowly I could feel the contractions become less and less intense until I couldn't really feel anything anymore. The nurse had me lay on my right side for a half hour and then my left side for a half hour. I slept for almost that whole hour. She checked me at 2:25 am and I was 9.5 cm! I was so excited my heart rate shot up and we couldn't get it to go back down very quickly. She had me lay on my sides again and we quickly realized baby wasn't doing well when I laid on my right side so I stayed on my left. Baby was at a 1 station and I started feeling so much pressure. I was in pain, but hitting my little epidural button wasn't helping. They wanted me to let baby move down a little more and wait for the urge to push. At 4:40 am, baby was at a 2 station and while I hadn't felt the urge, she decided it was time to start pushing. She got two other nurses and put my feet in the stirrups and we started pushing. I was awful at it. The nurse had to tell me to stop pushing in my face and start pushing in my bottom. It made sense, I did my best to switch over. Grabbing the handles at my sides wasn't doing it so she told me to grab behind my knees. I didn't feel like I could grip my thighs well enough to effectively push, so I ended up reaching for heels which felt like a super woman move. There were moments were I felt so funny. I told them I deserved a dozen raspberry filled Krispy Kremes. Derek told me he'd get two dozen and I told him no, I have weight to lose! I had all the nurses laughing.  And then I got to a point where I was ready to pass out. I couldn't hold my head into my chest anymore and my mom had to prevent me from keeping it on the pillow. Baby's heart rate started dropping and they gave me an oxygen mask. Pushing with an oxygen mask on your face? Horrible. I couldn't focus and I felt like I was suffocating. So we compromised. In between contractions, my mom held the mask right above my face so I didn't have to wear it. I was ready to give up when mom reminded me of the bet we made earlier about how much hair she'd have. Mom told me I was about to lose the bet since I was certain she wouldn't have any hair. That gave me so much motivation, mom and Derek could see her. The doctor was called in and I felt like it was still taking forever. I could feel my contractions but I honestly felt like my pushes weren't doing a single thing. Finally the doctor said I just needed a few more good pushes and she'd be here. It was the most surreal thing to see her purple little head. And then one more push and he threw her little purple body onto my chest. She wasn't screaming, but I wasn't worried. I knew she was ok. They suctioned her mouth and she had the cutest little cry. All I could say was "hi baby" and "I know it, they made me do things I didn't like either" ha! She was so beautiful and calm and alert. We got two hours of skin to skin before they came in to measure and weigh her. 8 lbs 2 oz and 21 inches long. She was perfect. And worth every bit of what I'd just gone through.