I haven’t shared our birth story yet because I’ve been unsure about how to publicly do it. I don’t want to overshare my or M’s life (although my family will tell you I’m way past that point here in Blogland), but I want to tell my story here in my space.
So here’s a condensed, watered down version.
We were scheduled to be induced on December 4th but I started feeling contractions at 2:30am when I took the dogs out. After an hour and a half (and a warm shower) I woke K to tell him the baby wasn’t going to wait until 8am. He got up, showered & dressed, and we kissed the dogs goodbye. We stopped to get K some coffee and we were on our way.
At the hospital they admitted us right away since they already had a room ready for me. I was all hooked up, examined, and was told I was two whole centimeters- ONE more than I’d been at our OB appointment the week before. Talk about feeling bummed.
On the bright side, I didn’t have to be induced- I was laboring on my own. Another dr. stopped in and told me that going from 1 to 2 centimeters was big leap, even though it didn’t feel like it. He said I should be excited and positive- I was definitely making good progress. That made me feel a little better.
When they popped back in to check me a few hours later I was at 4 cm and was told I could get an epidural any time. I was still feeling pretty good… but then they had me change positions. HOLY OUCH, BATMAN. About 30 minutes later I told K to page my anesthesiologist for the drugs.
Sidenote: I had a wonderful anesthesiologist. She was skilled and funny and supportive and dry humored and informative. And my epidural worked like a freaking charm. It was the BEST decision ever for me. Contraction pain was a ZERO until it was time to push- then it was a mild pressure but still mostly pain-free.
I got an epidural, was reexamined at 5 cm, and was given instructions to sleep as much as I could. For 90 minutes I drifted in and out of sleep. Poor K stayed awake the whole time. When the doctor returned for a cervix check I was NINE CENTIMETERS. It was a little after noon and we decided to inform our close friends and family. K gave them permission to start arriving at the hospital around 2pm. We were sure I’d be pushing & our baby would almost be here by then.
Such naive little parents-to-be. This is where the fit hits the shan.
At 3pm I was ten centimeters and ready to push. At the exact same time my doctor was heading into the OR for an emergency c-section. So I was told to wait.
And wait.
And wait.
An hour and a half later I was finally given the green light.
My labor was pretty easy. My delivery was not. I pushed for four hours. M’s head was turned sideways and she was not wanting to come out, despite being so close the nurse and doctors could touch her. Fortunately her heart rate stayed even and happy. (Mine, on the other hand, started getting pretty high toward the end.)
My doctor was pretty checked out the whole time (which really pissed me off). At hour 3.5 she came in, checked on me, and started to leave again. I finally stopped her and asked what the we could do differently to get this kid out.
She gave me a very snarky answer, then started listing the risks of forceps and vacuum extraction… but then ended up advising we go that route given my exhaustion. *insert eye roll and murderous glare here*
When we made the decision to use the vacuum the entire room changed. The lights came on, the table with all the medical tools was uncovered, and we gained an additional doctor, three more nurses, and two NICU nurses. Everyone suited up in protective sterile covers (except poor K, lol).
They wanted to try to the forceps first but M’s head and my pelvic bone prevented them from working. With the vacuum you get three tries/pop-offs to make the baby come out… If that doesn’t work, you’re headed for a c-section.
I’m not trying to be dramatic, but I feel like I’m only halfway through the story and I don’t want to rush the best part (aka the part where M finally arrives… spoiler alert, lol). I will finish up with part two on Tuesday!
Life as Louise 
Great story
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Thank you!
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OH MY GOSH – what a cliff hanger 🙂 I cant wait to see what happened.
Hopes that you got to kick snarky doctor in the face 🙂
SOOO glad your epidural worked & you had a pretty good time of laboring.
My favorite part – on the way to the hopsital, you getting K coffee. Priorities are a thing man 🙂
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Ugh. That doctor… *eyeroll* And she was SO nice at my follow up appointment 6 weeks later. A totally different person. So weird.
I couldn’t eat or drink anything since we didn’t know if I’d be induced. I was so jealous of his coffee but I knew he’d need it. Lol
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I’m curious about a few things! First, I think I mentioned to you that they used a vacuum with R. I do remember getting told the risks, but I don’t recall being told that you get 3 tries before you do a c-section. Do you mean like 3 pushes and if that doesn’t work they do a c-section? I wonder if that’s a new thing or maybe that was the case for me too and I didn’t know! Also I’m so sorry your dr was checked out. I’m curious if you felt like she was not engaging with you during your pre-natal appointments too, or was it surprising how she was acting during labor? That’s so frustrating! Final comment: I’ve heard a few of my friends have a similar experience regarding being ready to push but having to wait. I cannot wrap my mind around this, and I wonder if it’s the difference between having an epidural or not? Both times when I’ve been ready to push it’s an involuntary body movement and I HAVE TO PUSH RIGHT NOW. There would be no way to wait. For that hour and a half were you uncomfortable, or were you just hanging out? I seriously and just confused by this concept whenever I hear it!
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I didn’t remember the 3 pop off rule- K did. They told us about it in our birth class at the hospital weeks before she was born. Apparently legally they can only attempt the vacuum three times. So they get three failed attempts or pop-offs. That’s what we were told anyway.
We went to a women’s clinic and cycled through different doctors throughout my pregnancy. I had seen her once or twice during that time and didn’t have a problem with her at all. I also did my postpartum 6 week appointment with her and she was friendly and great. Honestly… I think she was exhausted and fed up after doing 3 emergency c-sections that night. Still… not a great excuse for the bedside manners she displayed in our room.
I’m sure it’s easier to not push when you have an epidural. The contractions aren’t as painful and you pretty much just do nothing when they happen. In hindsight I should’ve said no, I need to push now. I was WAY too agreeable and complacent for most of my delivery…
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Sorry about the checked out doctor. That sucks.
I don’t understand how they could tell you to just wait when you were ready to push? I always thought when it got to that stage there was no stopping it!
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With the epidural it was pretty easy for me to not push. My nurse explained that the contractions would continue to push baby down the birth canal, but as long as I didn’t push the process wouldn’t good too quickly. I should’ve told them no. Maddie’s head turned sideways and I truly think it’s because she was forced to just chill for an hour and a half when she was ready to come out.
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Gurl, you can’t end on a cliffhanger! I mean, sure, we know M arrived but still … that’s mean! 😀 I’d been a little irritated by the checked-out doctor too. Grrrr … and I respect people have strong feelings about epidurals but HELL yes would take one. Absolutely. No guilt. No shame.
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Lol… sorry!!
Yeah, the doctor had a very irritated. Her snarky answer? I asked how we could move the process along faster and she said, “You can push harder.” BITCH, ARE YOU SERIOUS!? K was afraid I was going to spring off the table and strangle her. But I was too tired. I just stared at her and wait for her to give me a real answer.
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The doctor would piss me off too especially after waiting an hour and a half to push!
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Ugh. Yes. So rude during my delivery. I was mad but too exhausted to do anything but glare.
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OKAY cliff hanger!!
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Oopsies… Sorry!
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Dang you left us hanging!
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I really didn’t mean to! Reading back I realize that I sure did!! Oops!
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I hate that your doctor was checked out, that is awful! My friend and I had the same doctor. I loved her for the 15+ years I have been with her, but Chris made a few comments during my pregnancy the two times he went with me, that he didn’t care for her but it was my body my doctor my decision. She was there when i got to the hospital, but her shift was over and another doctor actually delivered Zoe when it was time. It turns out, that was probably the best thing that could have happened. Because my friend had to have an emergency c-section as well, but had my doctor and she messed up really bad and my friend found herself in the ER two days later and had to have another surgery to fix what she had done.
So after that, her and I both switched doctors. Now I look back, and I see where what Chris had said about her during my pregnancy rang true when I think about it. Now that I have a different doctor, I am so thankful. She listens, and takes more time with me and I couldn’t be happier. Do you plan to switch doctors after this?
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Man… blessings in disguise.
Our dr office has you cycle through the different doctors and midwives during your pregnancy so that you know the doctor who’s on duty when you go to the hospital. It just happened to be this one. I’d seen her a few times during pregnancy and liked her, but she was a totally different person that night. Very irritating. I saw her for my 6 week postpartum appointment (and she was great) but I plan to request someone else for my next check up/pap there.
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First off, your doctor is so rude. I’m glad the epidural worked so well though and you didn’t have a ton of pain. That’s a lonngggg delivery though. Man! I’m excited for part two. 🙂
-lauren
http://www.shootingstarsmag.net
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Sigh. I’d gladly take the rude doctor for the amazing epidural, ha. It was awesome!
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Aww, I loved reading this! It’s amazing that you went into labor naturally RIGHT before you were going to be induced. Love it! And love that you got an epidural… I swear they are MAGICAL!
Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry you pushed for 4 hours though. With Caleb, I pushed for over 2 hours and felt SO BAD by the end. And I HATE that the doctors always leave in between the pushing… it’s sooo discouraging.
I’m really glad they ended up giving you the vaccuum. I had it with Holden because his heart rate was dropping so they wanted him out quickly. I loved it! It made life so much easier.
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I was so grateful that my body was like, “Ok let’s do this.” Lol. And the epidural was the BEST decision I made all day. Hahaha.
Four hours sucked & I completely agree about the dr. leaving thing. I was not about to let her leave after 3.5 hours. UGH. M’s heart rate stayed steady the whole time (she was so happy on the inside, lol) but mine started to spike at the end.
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