Friday, September 03, 2004

My Birth Story

I have really debated posting this, because I know a lot of my family reads this blog and I don't necessarily think this is appropriate for everyone to hear. But the more I think about it, the more I know I want to have Ivy's birth story recorded somewhere where I can look at it when I want to and I won't lose it! So here is a copy of the e-mails I sent to my Mommies Group in the days following Ivy's birth. If you don't care to read it, that's fine with me. But if you do chose to read it, remember the intended audience was a bunch of women who had either just gone through what I had or were about to, and not my parents and grandparents and strangers on the internet!! There are plenty of typos, and nothing is capitalized, but oh well.



i went into the hospital at 6:30am on friday. personally, i think that is a stupid time for them to tell me to be there since the nurses change at 7.... they asked me all sorts of questions and did some initial admitting things, but didn't start my IV until around 8am. my mom and her friend bob got there around 9am... basically we all just sat around and talked, watched TV... the moniter showed i was having really regular contractions, 2-3 minutes apart, but i felt NOTHING. eventually, i could feel tightness in my uterus, but no pain at all. around 1pm donna (my new midwife) got there. she checked me and i was "a good 3cm." yeah, i was 2-3 when i got there, so that was very discouraging. she broke my water at that point.... that was when i actually started being able to feel the contractions, but it was not bad at all. i agree with lea when she said that they push epidurals at the hospital... the nurse knew tha ti was in all likelihood going to get one, but she kept asking if i was ready for it, basically every time she came in the room....which ws a lot because i had to have my blood pressure and pitocin checked every 30 minutes. anyway, around 3pm i decided i was ready for the epidural. theywouldn't check me to tell me how far i had progressed since my water had already broken, but i felt it was time... i was starting to be in a lot of pain. so my mom and nathan went downstairs (bob was already gone, he just came to drop my mom off) and the epidural man came in. yeah, they totally messed it up and had to do it twice which was NOT a fun experience. i guess a resident did it the first time and it really hurt... the anastesiologist (sp?) pulled it out and did it again. it sucked that they had to do it twice, but it was definately worth it in the end. it took them almost an hour, so around 5pm nathan and my mom came back in the room with my dad andstepmom.... i guess they had gotten there shortly after i started getting the epi. i was pain free and in a darn good mood til around 7 or 7:30.... i started feeling something around my vagina and asked the nurse if the midwife could check me. donna asked if it felt like i had to poop and i said no, because the pressure (darn close to pain) was in the front, not the back. so she checked me and i was at 4!!!! i almost cried! it had been so long and that was it, 1 cm!!! almost as soon as donna left, i started feeling like i had to poop. i figured it was just power of suggestion, you know? so i didn't say anything for a little bit, but mentioned it to the nurse the next time she came in. she said she was sure donna wouldn't come running back to check me since she had just been there, but she'd be sure to let me know. around 8, donna came to check me..... i was at 9 or 9and a half. it happened so fast. when she checked me, it really started to hurt... she put me on my side with my leg up in a stirup to open my hips up that last bit.... then my epidural pump started beeping... the nurse check it and it didn't seem like there was anything wrong with it, but i was really in some pain... so they called for another pump... yeah, that one didn't work either. by this time, it was really too late... i really really had to push. i actually don't remember a lot from this point on... i kinda flipped out. nathan was really really great trying to calm me down, but i went a little crazy i think. my mom said that donna said "i know it hurts, i've done it three times" and i screamed at her "WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS THREE TIMES?" i started pushing at 8:15 and ivy was born at 8:28pm. honestly, as soon as they put her on my stomach i forgot about the pain i had been through. she was just so little and perfect.

after actually giving birth, we stayed in the LDR room for about an hour. i got to eat (and i ordered one of everything, lol... soup,salad, chips, a sandwich, a pepsi.... ). my dad and stepmom left when i got in the shower. after i got out of the shower, there was a lot of blood on the shower floor and such... dh asked if that was normal and the nurse said yes. then, i got super dizzy and told the nurse i didn't feel good... she sat me down in the wheelchair and i felt better pretty quick. my mom and my dh went with me to the postpartum wing of the floor.... i settled into bed and they took ivy for her first bath and to be measured and stuff. dh left to take my mom back to our house to spend the night, but was coming back. my postpartum nurse told me to make sure she was there the first time i went to the bathroom (i think cuz of the epidural?). so i called a couple of my friends and then called the nurse in so i could go to the bathroom. i told her it felt like i was leaking. she pretty much said "yeah, you'll bleed" and i was like "no, it feels like i am leaking through my pad." when she looked she seemed a little concerned and helped me towards the bathroom. she helped me take my underwear off and sit on the toilet. as soon as i sat down, i said "i don't feel good" and basically fell forward. the nurse caught me... i heard her pull the call for help thing and then there were more nurses... i don't really remember a lot of what happened.... i just remember two big guys carrying me to my bed. my nurse said i never passed out, that i was talking to her the whole time.... but i really don't remember anything. i guess i was passing HUGE clots... (tmi, i know) they had to put an IV back in me and a cathader and give me a shot of something to stop the bleeding. it was really scary, especially since dh wasn't there. everything turned out fine, though, aside from having to be checked every 15 minutes that night! ivy stayed in the nursery because i really felt like hell... i felt really guilty about it because i know they had to give her formula, but i really needed the rest.

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