jtownsend: Avery's Birth Story

Posted Thursday, May 15, 2008 11:00 AM

" I couldn't believe this tiny human being was inside of me and finally here after we waited so long..."

A long-awaited gift

My husband and I tried for years (unsuccessfully) to get pregnant, and after a few rounds of fertility treatments, surgeries, and other measures, we finally got pregnant via In Vitro Fertilization. I went through nine months of the pregnancy just in awe that I was finally carrying a child!

Going for the induction 

I was actually induced on our daughter's due date, April 10th. My doctor suggested this date since I was nervous about being overdue. I was rather against induction at first, except that I really was miserable and finally said, "Let's go for it." My plan was completely opposite than what ended up happening -- I had planned for a natural birth, to labor at home as long as possible, and to then go to the hospital. Oh well! I went in on the morning of the 10th, and they started me on Pitocin around 8:30 a.m. At about 10 a.m., the doctor broke my water and things really got going from there. I've never experienced a natural birth, so I'm not sure what contractions feel like with that, but I will tell you that I have a pretty high pain tolerance and the Pitocin paired with having my water broken was sheer horror. I could hardly breathe through my contractions and just about ripped by DH's hands off! (He complained after the birth that he thought he might need a splint for a couple of fingers... I didn't find that funny).

Struggling with the pain 

It's really unlike me to cry out in pain or to ask for help, but I ended up semi-panicking and begging my husband to please help me. He was so upset because he couldn't do anything except advocate for me. We asked the nurse for the epidural and she said great, but that I had to get two bags of fluid through my I.V. first. I almost died; I really could not wait. It's like being on fire, and having someone say, "You'll have to wait an hour, and then I'll spray you with the hose." But I had no choice and they started me on the fluids.

Halfway through the first bag, I was in agony and told my husband again that I could take this anymore, and he ran out to the nurses station and made it happen. I love him! They cheated on the bags of fluid and the anesthesiologist came in right away and administered the epidural (which I don't really remember since I was using all my power not to move with my contractions). The epidural was obviously not as bad as my contractions, since I have very little memory of it!

Close call 

After the epidural, I was finally much more comfortable, so my husband and parents went to the cafeteria at my urging to have some lunch. It was 12:30. Half-an-hour later, the nurse noticed I was making faces with each contraction and asked if I was okay. I said, "Yeah, but I'm feeling them again...not as bad as before, but I'm definitely feeling them." She quickly checked me and said my daughters head was right there! At this point I immediately thought that my husband and parents would miss the birth, so I called DH, but he had turned his phone off. My father, thank goodness, had his on and I told him to come up right away, since they were prepping me for delivery. As soon as the nurse finished checking me, I was amazed at the assembly line of people setting up for the birth -- it gets pretty crazy towards the end!

Delivering baby

I began pushing around 1:30 p.m and finally delivered Avery Jane at 2:13 p.m.! I had a small tear which a small stitch took care of, and a very good recovery. It was a great induction and I was so surprised. She was not able to be placed on my tummy after birth, since her cord was wrapped tightly around her neck. The doctor couldn't unwrap it from her neck and had to cut it off. Because of this, my husband wasn't able to cut the cord, but it wasn't a big deal; our daughter's well-being was a bigger priority.

It felt like an eternity before I was able to hold my daughter, but as I watched them clean her and suction her, she looked so beautiful. I couldn't believe that this tiny human being was inside of me and finally here after we waited so long for her.

Looking back 

The biggest surprises about giving birth? Inductions can go well; my husband is even more amazing than I never knew; nurses see births every day, so your pain is something they see all the time -- don't expect them to jump when you say you can't take it anymore! I was really scared that being induced would lead to a c-section, but everything worked out wonderfully. I hope for anyone getting induced, it turns out as great as mind did. And take my advice: get the epidural a little earlier than you think you need it!

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