birth day

We had a scheduled induction for February 18th because I had measured several weeks ahead for my dates. The actual induction was great, and not at all what I thought it would be like. I was scheduled to go in for an induction at 8:00, and five other women had inductions that morning. I was dilated barely one centimeter but they said I was about 90 percent effaced. The doctor came by and broke my water at 8:30 and it didn't hurt at all. It felt about as uncomfortable as a pap smear or an exam. After, it was the weirdest feeling. It was like I was peeing my pants but I had no ability to stop it or sensation of needing to pee. My doctor just sat down and talked to me about the day and the nurse and Josh were both in there and I had to stop in the middle of our conversation to laugh because I was soaking wet from my hips to my ankles and I felt like a nursing home patient. Josh said to just pretend I was on a float trip and peeing during a conversation. From then on, every time I had a small contraction, more fluid would come out, and they just kept changing the towels and everything under me every few minutes until it slowed down. I went through 12 towels in 3 hours!

They started the pitocin at 9:00 and I didn't really feel anything at first. The IV went into my left arm just above my wrist and it didn't hurt that bad. They also started pumping fluids in me along with the pitocin. I could tell my contractions were getting a little stronger and a little closer together. Josh would go and stand by the monitors to see when I was having a contraction and how far apart they were (they'll explain the monitors to your husband too, if he wants) - Josh was fascinated by keeping track of Ben's heartbeat and how far apart my contractions were. After about 3 hours on the Pitocin, I asked for my epidural. It felt like I was having bad pms cramps by then, and it definitely wasn't intolerable, but I didn't want to wait too long. They checked me again, and I was only dilated to a 2, but they went ahead and ordered the epidural. About a half an hour later, I was starting to have the kind of contractions that I couldn't really talk through, and I started doing some focused breathing but it still wasn't really that bad.

I was still glad I got the epidural when I did. When I got the epidural, they had me roll over on one side, but sometimes they make people sit up and lean over. Josh held my hand while they did the numbing shot and it wasn't pleasant, but it only lasted a few seconds. When they put the epidural in, my whole left leg kind of felt shocked for a split second, but then it started to take affect pretty quickly and my whole left side was completely numb. I could still feel some on my right side, but the contractions didn't hurt anymore. They had me lay on one side for a while and then on the other for a while to help distribute the meds more evenly. The left was still completely numb and that didn't change, but the right was kind of iffy, and I may have had what's called a "patchy block" where it doesn't completely take. However, I could barely tell when I was even having contractions and they kept upping the pitocin every half hour.

After couple of times during the day, Ben's heart rate started to drop just a little, so they cut back the pitocin and checked me. I was still dilated at a two each time, and I was really disappointed. They acted like it's unusual but not a huge deal and we'll just keep going. I really couldn't feel the contractions at all once they cut the pitocin back, so I slept for almost three hours. When I woke up, they checked me again and I was still at a two, but my cervix was starting to thicken and swell, so my effacement was decreasing.

Around 5:30, my doctor suggested a c-section if I continued to not progress. His shift ended soon, but I decided to wait it out a little longer to see if anything would happen. Around 8:00 the next doctor came in and checked me because the pitocin was effacing Ben's heart rate again. She checked me and said his head was pushing against my cervix, but my cervix was still at a 2, and my cervix was starting to really swell and get hard and Ben was developing a knot on his head where he had been pushing against me. They said he must be in a poor position and probably has his head tilted to one side and I won't progress any further. So I agreed they could turn off the pitocin and get me in line for a c-section.

From that point on, things did not go well. I do not respond well to anesthesia, and I ended up needing to be completely put under (so Josh wasn't allowed in the room). After, because I'm allergic to morphine, they had to use some non-typical treatment for pain relief and the whole evening just did not go that great. The most important thing is that Ben was born at 10:15 p.m.! I had been pumped so full of fluids and had such a poor reaction to some of the iv meds that I am swollen and drugged looking in all of my pictures. I still feel puffy but nothing like what's in the picture attached to this note. It's the first one taken of the 3 of us.

The next day, my doctor told me I would have had to have a c-section no matter what because of his position and because of a problem he has with his skull. This, my level of fluids, and his being in a weird position were most likely why I was measuring so far ahead for my dates.

I am so happy to be a mommy. He is so sweet and has a great temperament. We are so lucky that breastfeeding has gone so well for us. The Cox staff was great and I asked the nurses a million questions.

Because of the c-section, I can't lift anything other than Ben, and I can't drive for at least 3 weeks. The grandparents have already divided up days to come over and help and I'm sure we're going to need it.

Josh has been amazing though all of this. I won't be able to get out of bed without help for the first couple of days, so Josh is changing every diaper, doing every burping, calming him down every time he cries, and brings him to me for every feeding. I'll be a little more mobile once the IV's out, and even more so after a few days, but I still can't do much of anything other than breastfeed and tell people what to do. Every day will get a little easier and I can't believe how much Ben has changed already!