On Thursday, February 28th, my midwife checked me and told me my cervix was tightly closed. She also ran a bunch of tests on me because my blood pressure was very high and she feared I had preeclampsia. I was really discouraged because I thought I had made some progress. I called my mom and asked her to come because I was upset about everything.
My mom came to town on Friday the 1st of March. Saturday the 2nd, I had to go to the hospital for follow up tests and was told all looked great and that I did not have preeclampsia after all so now we just had to get baby here!!! Mom and I were researching and trying many things to try and get my labor going. I had many false labor starts and my midwife was starting to talk induction due to my gestational diabetes. I wanted to get Declan out safely and quickly before my midwife wanted to induce me. One of the things we tried was making Eggplant Parmesean with extra oregano and basil in the sauce. There's a restaurant in Atlanta, GA that guarantees that if you eat their eggplant parm, you will be in labor within 48 hours. You can view Eggplant Parmigiana babies here- Scalini's Baby Wall. So Sunday the 3rd, I ate a huge serving of Eggplant Parm and it was DELICIOUS! Much better than drinking castor oil!!!
Monday and Tuesday I felt pretty typical... 9 months pregnant and just ready to get the party started. We ran a bunch of errands on Tuesday and finished up our to-do list. I kept telling Donnie that as soon as my to-do list was done, I would go into labor because then everything would FINALLY be ready. He didn't believe me and kept putting off a few of his to-do's but they were finally finished around 9pm on Tuesday evening. My mom and I played a few rounds of crazy gin and I had a few cramps while playing cards but I went to bed around 10:30pm feeling completely normal. I had NO idea that I was going into labor just a few hours later.
Wednesday, at 2am, I woke up to a strong contraction. I got out of bed, went to the bathroom, drank some water and tried to go back to sleep. I had another contraction around 2:15am. I ignored it, I figured it was the same false labor I had been having the weeks before. I fell back asleep thinking nothing of it. Then woke up to another contraction not long after. I had to get up on my hands and knees because I was having pain in my back with each contraction. I looked at the clock and it was 3:30am. Donnie was supposed to be getting up at 4:45am for work and I was hoping to distinguish real labor from false labor before then so he could call out of work. I woke him up and said "I don't think you're going to work today!" and he went back to sleep. I tried to lay back down to get some rest and I was only laying there a few minutes when my water broke in bed at 4:10am. I yelled "Donnie my water broke!!!" and he sprung out of bed yelling for my mom who was sound asleep on the couch. She didn't even know what he said, she thought he told her he was going to work. Suddenly everyone in the house was moving quick. My water was GUSHING. Even with pads on, I could not keep myself dry.
I called my midwife, Louise, and she told me to rest if I could, keep hydrated, eat some good food and call her when I wanted to go to the hospital, I was expecting it to be hours before I went to the hospital. I called my doula, Sara, and told her I was in a good deal of pain with each contraction and that my water broke. Thankfully she lives right up the road because I could not wait for her to arrive. I texted and called the few people who needed to know I was in labor and we ran around getting everything ready for the hospital, my water still gushing. (I was told a week before I went into labor that I had a very HEALTHY amount of amniotic fluid, a friend and I even joked that I might flood my house... I wasn't expecting THIS much fluid though!) My contractions got REALLY close, REALLY quick. When I talked to my midwife they were 7 minutes apart, and at 5am they were already 2-3 minutes apart and getting more intense. Donnie and I took a shower and we talked about how we couldn't believe the day was here. I was able to joke and laugh in between contractions while I got ready so I still thought it was going to be a long labor but my mom was scared we wouldn't make it to the hospital and her pressure made me think it was time to leave, so by 5:30, we were in the car on our way.
In the car I played my pandora radio and chatted with Sara in between contractions. I took notice that it was a rainy morning with wet roads but in my mind, it didn't matter because I was going to the hospital to meet my son! I held Sara's hand and closed my eyes to cope with each contraction. I was uncomfortable in the car because I just wanted to move around but I was able to cope. The hour car ride went pretty fast, Donnie stayed calm and got us there safely. Donnie left Sara and I at the ER entrance to go to patient registration. When I stood up from the car, the seat was SOAKING wet. My water still gushing down my leg, I stood at the patient registration desk answering all the questions, shaking because I was soaked and freezing cold. Finally I was all registered, and it was time to head up to labor and delivery.
We got to the maternity floor and into the delivery room. I had been in the delivery rooms before for my NST's but I was placed in the delivery room that I had never been in before and it was somehow different then the others. Maybe it was just that I knew I'd be having my baby there that day. The nurse helped me get my wet clothes off and hospital gown on. She told me I had to have an NST to make sure baby was handling everything okay. I don't even remember the NST but I remember Louise checking me and I was at 2cm. I thought to myself that I should have stayed home longer but it didn't matter now, I was there and I wasn't leaving. I had my mind set on getting into the laboring tub so when the nurse finally asked, I was thrilled.
I remember getting into the tub and feeling instant relief. The contractions were still intense but I was able to cope much better. I was resting in between contractions by laying on the sides of the tub with a wet towel under my head as comfort. I had no sense of time laying in the tub. I just knew that it felt good to be there. I vomited a couple times and I remember Donnie and Sara switching roles after I threw up. I later found out that the smell from me vomiting was making Donnie sick which is why Sara came in. I remember waking up to a few contractions in a lot of pain so I would flip over onto my hands and knees to try and cope. I woke up and realized the water was getting cold and I wanted fresh water so I got out of the tub and dried off. I was checked again and I was already 8cm dilated. I could NOT believe it. I didn't know this, but I was only in the tub about an hour and a half when I got out. So in an hour and a half, I dilated 6 more cm. I was in transition now and I could tell. My body, specifically my right leg, was shaking involuntarily. I never got back into the tub. My back labor was the worst part. I kept complaining about my back. At some point I got on the birthing ball. Sara and Donnie tried hip squeezes and pressure points to try and help but nothing was relieving the pain.
At 10:20am, I was 10cm dilated and it was time to push. We tried the birthing stool first but I was very uncomfortable there. I knew it wasn't going to last long. I pushed through a couple contractions and then moved back to the bed. I lost track of time and lost some memory of my labor so some of the story may become a little confusing. While pushing, I realized my contractions weren't effective. They weren't strong enough for me to push up against. I was tired and I hadn't eaten anything since the night before plus I had vomited a good amount. I was drinking water and juice to try and give my body the energy it needed to get my through but it wasn't enough. I needed to receive IV fluids which is not standard hospital procedure so I was disappointed but it wasn't the worst thing that could happen so I didn't fight it. Some time later, I heard the words I really did not want to hear. "We need to think about pitocin." I knew it was my only option, if my midwife was suggesting it, then it was necessary. So I was put on a low dose of pitocin to make my contractions stronger. Within a few minutes, my contractions were already stronger and I was back to pushing. I tried a few different positions. At one point the midwife told me Declan was not responding well to me pushing and I needed to try and not push through a few contractions to let him recover. I tried with all my might to not push and it was so hard. I finally let out one push with each contraction instead of three or four and that helped Declan's heart rate. Some of my pushes were effective but some were not. My midwife asked if I could eat something to try and get some energy because I needed to push more effectively. Sara gave me a ginger chip and I drank some more water and I tried to push again. Changing positions every few contractions to try and use gravity to pull Declan down.
I looked up at the clock a few times but it is all such a blur. I really don't remember some things. I didn't realize that so much time had passed. Unfortunately, Louise told me that if I did not get this baby out soon, I was headed for a Cesarean Section. I was so angry. I was NOT going to have a C-section. I didn't say anything to Louise. I just put my mind to the fact that I was having this baby vaginally. They came and did blood work for the c-section and I just kept on pushing with the contractions. FINALLY I had made some progress and they could see the baby's head. Everyone was yelling very loud that they could see the baby and I just had a few more pushes and the baby would be here. I didn't believe them. I had been pushing for so long, I didn't believe that he was finally coming. But I kept pushing anyway. Then, Louise told me she called the backup OB because Declan needed to be vacuumed out unless I got him out before the backup OB got there. I gave a few more of my best pushes and Declan FINALLY came at 3:25pm! It seemed like he FLEW out in one push even though I know that's not the case. He was delivered after 5 hours of pushing, just 13.5 hours after my very first contraction. Louise was holding him and cleaning out his mouth and nose and I was reaching for him, I just wanted to hold him. It felt like many minutes passed by before she finally placed him on my chest even though it was less than a minute truly. I just kept repeating "he's here, he's actually here!" The backup OB walked in JUST THEN. But Declan was already here so he said congratulations and walked out. I looked at Louise and said "C-SECTION MY ASS!" It was the only thing I could think to say. LOL
I was bonding with the baby and I noticed that the cord stopped pulsating and they clamped it, but my placenta had not delivered. I asked Louise if I was supposed to push it out and she said if I felt the urge to go ahead and push but I didn't. A lot of time passed by and I heard the words "retained placenta". Louise started vigorously massaging my stomach to try and get my placenta out. It hurt so BAD. My stomach is still bruised a week later. She massaged, and massaged and massaged. I felt blood pouring out of me but I just focused on Declan and held my mom's hand. I was in so much pain but I tried to ignore it. They called the backup OB again and Louise told me I could be put under general anesthesia to have the placenta removed in the OR or I could have it removed in the delivery room with or without narcotic pain medication. I chose to have it removed without pain medication. I delivered part of the placenta but the rest was stuck. The backup OB arrived again and quickly put on scrubs and reached in and pulled the rest of my placenta out. Finally, my labor was OVER. Louise informed me that I had a tear that needed to be stitched up, she said it was a pretty typical tear. It took her forever to stitch it up though. I received three layers of stitches.
About two hours after my delivery, they took Declan to weigh him and check him and also do some newborn procedures. Declan weighed in at 7 pounds 5 ounces and was 20.5 inches long. His APGAR score was 9 out of 10, losing only 1 point because his hands and feet were a little blue but he was mostly pink all over. Donnie stood by Declan while he was being checked and I looked over and fell in love all over again. He was protecting our son for the first time and he was doing a mighty fine job of it, talking to Declan through the whole thing.
Finally, we are a family of three.
