So, how did it all go down? Pretty differently than I expected, really. I was all prepared for a vaginal delivery, and we had packed all sorts of things to keep us calm and distracted throughout the process. Things like DVDs, iPod, books, aromatherapy massage oils, etc. I don't think we wound up using any of it!!
Because the amniotic fluid in my uterus was lower than normal and because Caiden was a week overdue, Dr. Beth was eager to get things moving. She was quite surprised that I hadn't started labor by the morning hours of 4.3! We arrived at the hospital at 10am for another non-stress test (to monitor any contractions and baby's heartbeat) and found out that the Dr. was actually planning for me to stay put - good thing we brought along our bags! :D We got settled into our room (which acts as the labor, delivery and recovery room and is also a private room) and Dr. Beth arrived after a little while. She examined me and found me to be 4cm dilated and about 75% effaced. She and the nurses were surprised to find that I was 4cm along with little to no contractions! There were some other women in the maternity ward who had been heavily laboring for 26 hours just to get to where I was with no effort!
Since my body was finally starting to get things moving, the Dr. offered to break my bag of water to try and get labor moving into the active stage. I agreed this was a good move and the procedure was totally painless. Mom, Brian and I spent the next couple of hours walking the halls in an effort to start labor. But alas, Caiden was determined to stay put! Around 2 or 3pm, Nurse Sue started me on a very low dose of Pictocin (the artificial "start labor" drug). We had to be particularly cautious in not moving things too quickly due to my uterus being at risk of rupture from my prior myomectomy. After about 3 hours, the contractions were starting to become more noticeable and lasting 2 min on average. Luckily, I was only really feeling the peak of the contraction which was only about 10-30 seconds long. However, as time went on, these were getting stronger and by 8pm I was ready for the epidural.
I was really nervous about getting the epidural, and my nerves combined with all the extra fluid they had to push thru my system caused me to get a massive case of the shakes. I could not stop quivering and shaking to save my life! The anesthesiologist was very nice and explained what was going on and helped me be aware of what to expect at each step. After the epidural was administered, Nurse Pat brought in some warm blankets which really helped the shaking subside. It was really weird feeling my feet and legs gradually go numb, and the right side of my body was noticeably more stubborn about going numb than the left!! At this point, Dr. Karen had taken over for Dr. Beth. I had met her before when we made our Valentine's night visit for my pre-term contractions. I really like Dr. Karen - she is very personable, and it is very clear that she loves delivering babies. :)
After another internal exam, I hadn't made a whole lot of progress compared to where I was at in the morning. :( Only dilated by another cm or so and no change to the cervix. Over the next few hours, the Pitocin dosage was upped incrementally, but thankfully I wasn't feeling the effects thanks to the epidural! I was, however, annoyed at being hooked up to all sorts of monitors and IVs! Talk about being monitored for everything!
Around midnight Dr. Karen stopped by for another visit and exam. With no more progress having been made, she told me that by 2am she would be strongly encouraging a Cesarean section if I was still holding steady at 4-5cm. I had been trying to rest for the last couple hours, but my nerves and anxiety were getting the better of me. By 1am, Brian and I discussed the options, and we felt that going with the C-section was probably the best route. So we let Nurse Pat know that we were ready to get this baby delivered!
Dr. Karen came into the room shortly after all excited and clapping her hands and exclaimed: "We're gonna have a baby!!" Within 10-15min, I was being wheeled down to the OR and prepped for surgery. Brian and Mom got suited up in their scrubs and sat with me during the procedure.
I could hardly believe that 10 min after being wheeled in, I was giving birth!!!! It was strange feeling the doctors pushing on my abdomen as they pulled out the baby. The anesthesiologist was great about keeping Brian ready for grabbing the first snapshots of Caiden making his way into the world, and I got to see the birth happening through a cut-out in the surgical drape. :)
Immediately following the birth I was exhausted!!! I could barely move, but I reveled in watching Brian become completely entranced by Caiden. While he was busy doing new father stuff, Mom stayed by my side stroking my forehead and telling me what a great job I did thru the delivery. It was great having both of them there in the room with me. :)
After finding out how big he was, lemme tell ya - I was SO glad we went with the C-section. I think I would have been a lot worse off had I delivered him vaginally. :P
Once I was all stitched up and Caiden was all checked out, they wheeled me back into our room. Evergreen believes in 24 hour rooming in which means Caiden stayed with us the entire time. It wasn't long before I got some of my energy back, and I was finally able to hold my new son in my arms. I don't think it had hit me quite yet that this was our baby, but I was enthralled with him and just couldn't stop staring at him.
Within a couple of hours we were on the phone calling up friends and family to share our wonderful news. By 7am or so, we were good and tired out and finally dropped off to sleep for a little while.
The next few days in the hospital passed quickly. Brian quickly became a pro at diaper changes, and I started navigating my way thru breastfeeding. Each day I was feeling better and stronger and significantly less pain. We also had visitors! :D Kristi, Nik, Rob, Jim, Sharon and Wesley all stopped by to meet Caiden and to see how the new parents were doing. It was great seeing everyone and connecting a little bit with the "outside" world. :)
As for the hospital experience itself, I could not have asked for a more pleasant and attentive staff. The nurses and doctors were absolutely amazing, and Nurses Pat (labor and delivery nurse) and Karyn (daytime recovery nurse) particularly stood out for their kindness, attentiveness and help they provided to us.
Man this post got awfully long! But I wanted to capture as much as I could before the details started to fade too much from memory. Next post will be all about the first week at home with Caiden. :)
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