Friday, July 25, 2008

Micah's Birth Story

I know the ladies on BOTB would like to have my birth story handy so I am copying and pasting it from my old blog.



Well, I believe it's about time I post Micah's birth story, right?



On June 5th I went in for a follow up appointment to check my blood pressure and to get the results from the tests they ran that day. Come to find out I was slightly pre-eclamptic and they thought the best thing for the baby & I was to go over to the hospital and be induced that day. We ran over to the hospital at 2:30 pm and didn't even get up to L&D until close to 3:30. The nurse gets me all hooked up and tells me they have 2 options. (1. they can put a cervadil in to help my cervices thin out so they could break my water or 2. go ahead and break my water if I am dilated and effaced enough.) At 5 pm the Midwife came in, checked me and said that they were going to do the cervadil. (now with this, it has to stay in for 12 hrs and you can't eat or drink anything that isn't clear liquids) She was ready to put it in at 5pm and I had to stop her b/c I hadn't eaten dinner and wanted to. Thankfully they let me and she came back at 7pm to put it in.



So from 7pm to 7am on June 6th I just watched TV and laid in bed waiting for this thing to work it's magic. 7am the next morning the MW came back and said that I was far enough along they could break my water. She suggested I get up, shower and eat a good breakfast since this would be the last time I would be able to do any of that until after I gave birth.



10:07am on June 6th the doctor comes in to breaks my water. It was like the freaking ocean opened up and let out. This is the point they considered me in 'labor'. They also started my Petocin at this time to help the contractions and labor quicken up. Nothing really happened until 12:30 when I actually started to feel strong contractions.



4:30pm the contractions got painful enough that I wanted the epi. I call the nurse and she calls the anesthesiologist to tell him I would like one! Not 15 mins later he was in my room ready for me. For the ladies that believe this would hurt, it doesn't AT ALL. It was actually heaven sent from a good looking guy in blue scrubs along with a Tar Heels doctors cap on! ha This eased the pain enough for me to take a few naps off and on throughout the day. Every few hours the epi would ware off enough (not all the way) that he would have to come back to give me a shot to kick it back into gear and he would also up the dose that was dripping into my IV.



All day and throughout the night the nurses would have me roll from one side, back to the other then onto my back to try and help me dilate more. It would take me rolling on one side for 30 mins, then back to the other for another 30 mins and onto my back for the last 30 mins to dialate 1 cm. Around 11pm (13 hrs later) I was only dilated to 6 cm and 70% effaced.



Around 1 am on June 7th my mom comes in to tell me her, dad and 2 of my aunts were going back to our house to try and get some sleep. She also informed me that the nurse told her even when I do dilate and thin out enough to push I would probably be pushing for 2-3 hours. (Thanks for telling me this mom)



2:30am I look at DH bawling my eyes out and tell him that I can't do it anymore. Even if I do dilate enough to push I wouldn't be able to b/c I was just too tired. He tries his best to reassure me that everything will be ok, but it's hard to do when you have been rolling side to side for the past 17 hrs. The nurse continues to check me throughout the night I never dilate a big enough amount to call the Dr in.



10:00am on June 7th the MW comes in, checks me and tells me I only dilated to 8cm and was 80% effaced. After 24 hrs of 'laboring' I didn't make enough progress to push. She talks with the Dr. and they determine that it's best we have a c-section.



We all get prepped and ready for the c-section. They take me into the room first, get me all hooked up and pumped full of more meds to numb me even more. After the anesthesiologist gets me numbed enough the doctors come in & bring Scott in also. They start, Scott looks at me and asks if I am ok. I tell him yes, that all I feel is alittle pressure which they said I would. It didn't hurt, just a little tugging. Then BAM, all of a sudden I feel the worse pain in the world. It literally felt like they were pulling my insides out. I honestly think Micah was in the birth canal because the pain was that low. I didn't just feel this pain one time, I kept feeling it over and over. Every time I felt it I would squeeze Scott's hand, then I couldn't take it anymore and I screamed out. The anesthesiologist came over to me and started to pump more meds into me (not sure at this time what it was) and leaned over me to tell me he was going to make it all better. (Scott said whatever he was pumping into me he must have ran out of or it wasn't strong enough b/c he had someone leave to get more of it)



The only things I remember after that is Micah crying for the first time, they hand him off to the nurse, she cleans him and asks Scott if he would like to cut the cord. He said no b/c I was reaching for him again due to the pain I was in. After this, I was out and don't remember anything. Scott took a picture of Micah and I but I don't remember it. Moments you imagine for 9 months (such as seeing your baby for the first time and feeding him for the first time) were taken away from me b/c of all that pain. (I truly believe this pain was just a hot spot. It may have happened b/c I had the epi for so long or it may have happened b/c my body didn't want to take it in that one spot)



Micah was born at 10:31am on June 7th, 2008. He weighed 8 lb .6 oz and was 20 3/4 inches long.



When I woke up I was in the recovery room shaking from the Anestassia and Scott was there! He told me what happened and then kept asking the doctor and nurse if I was going to be ok. They reassured him that the shaking was due to the meds but of course it worried me and him at the same time. After I calmed down a bit he decided it was best to go see our families and Micah in the nursery. He came back with plenty of pictures to show me!



The pain from the c-section was horrible at the beginning but it's much better now. The first night in the hospital was the worse. It was so hard to get out of bed to use the bathroom. It took a few weeks to fully recover to where I could do everything on my own.



My recovery went very well. My mom stayed for 3 weeks at the beginning and was a VERY big help. From doing laundry, cleaning and cooking dinner it wouldn't have been done if she wasn't here. It still hits me hard every now and then that Micah is finally here. Even when I was pregnant I could never imagine him being here, changing his diapers, feeding him or just loving him. It's all a reality now.Even though I had to go through so much to have Micah here, I wouldn't trade it for the world. I believe Micah has already brought Scott & I closer together, I loved Scott so much before and didn't think I could love him anymore, I was wrong. Seeing him as a father made my love grow for him beyond imagination. Micah was love at first sight and I never imagined I could love someone like I spill my love into him.



No comments: