Farrellashleigh: Holden's Chaotic Delivery

Posted Tuesday, December 01, 2009 3:59 PM

"It is truly amazing that he came out of me; I still just can’t wrap my head around it..."

Let the games begin

We headed into the hospital at 7 p.m. to start the induction. First we were settled into our room, which I must say was like a luxury hotel suite; it was HUGE--talk about plush! There was a pull-out sofa for dad to sleep on, zero gravity recliners for other visitors, a flat screen tv with games, educational videos, and movies on demand, plus the free room-service menu, which included things like jumbo sea scallops, lamb top sirloin, and pork medallions. I mean, even the bathroom was plush, complete with hair dryer, and a decorative curtain valance for the tub! After taking pictures of all of the “amenities,” we got ready for a night of interventions. I was checked, and the games began with me dilated and 60% effaced. I was given Prostin, which is similar to Cervidil, every four hours to help ripen the cervix. We waited until the morning to make the next move and to see what the game plan would be.

Pain sets in

My body actually started laboring on its own after two doses of the Prostin, but we went ahead with another dose because it would just further things along. Once the doctor came in the following morning, we started the Pitocin. I was now at 1 c.m. and 75% effaced, and the plan was to break my water at noon. In the meantime, the contractions started coming full force, and they were getting pretty painful. Everything that people said about Pit was true, at least I think so. I'm new to this whole process, but I can say that it became painful quickly--that’s all I know.

At this point, I didn’t want to get the epidural yet because I didn’t want it to slow things down, and I didn’t want to be tied to my bed that early. I held out for a couple more hours and then asked for some IV pain meds to tide me over. I was given Stadol, which worked great to knock out the pain, but the OB came in thirty minutes later to break my water and decided to crank the Pitocin at the same time, so it was a double whammy.

Fasten your seatbelts!

The contractions immediately became completely out of control--occurring every two minutes at most. I was soon shaking from the pain, and I was begging for the epidural. The nurse told me that they’d rather I wait it out a little bit longer, until there was some progress with my cervix because I was still at 1-2 c.m. and 75% effaced; so, I attempted to hold out for longer. I made it one hour, until I was absolutely spent and told the nurse that I didn’t care about my cervix, and that I couldn't wait. I needed meds, and I needed them STAT!

Not part of the plan

About thirty minutes later, they came in to do the epidural, which was a piece of cake. After dealing with those contractions, a little needle stick was nothing to fear! It felt similar to getting a tattoo. It was just a few seconds, and the needle was in and out. I was doing my best to keep it together because I was still getting contractions every two minutes, still shaking uncontrollably through them. At last the catheter was placed, and I was anxious to experience some relief.  Unfortunately, I ended up being one of the lucky people whose epi doesn’t work as planned. It only took on one half of my body. GREAT! They tried tipping me over to one side and ultimately replaced the catheter to attempt to get it positioned correctly, but it never worked. The only solution was to crank up the meds in an attempt to relieve pain on the side on which it wasn’t working fully, but this made the other side 100% numb to the point that I couldn't even lift my leg.

Struggling through the pain

The pain was becoming almost manageable at this point. I could deal with feeling the pain on one side, and I was more comfortable for about another hour or two. Once the epidural was placed, Shaun ended up going to run some errands, since it looked like I was going to be there for quite some time.  After all, I had only dilated 1 full c.m. since we had gotten to the hospital! But it seemed that as soon as he left, the pain returned on that one side with a vengeance! I started shaking again and called for the nurse to bring the anesthesiologist back in to do something--anything! Unfortunately, as lucky would have it, the nurse sent her to the wrong room, so it took an HOUR for her to come in and fix me. I was dying! I was so nauseous that they ended up giving me Zofran to keep me from puking, until, finally, the woman came in to fix the meds. She cranked up the epidural, gave me another bolus, and a shot of Fentanyl, which took the edge off one more time.

So close...

The nurse checked me again after this, and, all of a sudden, I was 6-7 c.m.! I scrambled to get a hold of Shaun to tell him to get back to the hospital! The shaking continued, and the nurses said that I was transitioning, and they started preparing the baby bassinette area. Shortly after, Shaun showed up, I was checked again, now at 8-9 c.m., 100 % effaced, and the baby was "right there." The doctor went to get changed, and, as soon as she returned, it was time to push! Holy Cow!

Pushing was overall very painful because, once again, the meds and epi started to wear off, which meant that I basically felt everything on my left side. We ran into some issues with the baby’s heart rate dropping during the contractions, which apparently happens more frequently in small babies. His heart rate would drop to the fifties (normal is 140 bpm) during contractions, and the doctor told us after about three pushes that we may need to use a vacuum to get him out because it wasn’t safe to have his heart rate continually dropping like this for such a long amount of time.

...And yet so far

Needless to say, this became my newest motivation to push like a maniac. I was told that I pushed amazingly for a first-timer, but, in all honesty, I really didn’t feel like I was accomplishing anything. I kept wondering why--if I was really doing such a great job pushing, then why was he not out?! Regardless, I kept going. It seemed like I was there for seven hours, just pushing. I was getting exhausted, and I was still shaking uncontrollably from the pain. I was on the oxygen mask, and everything was just becoming increasingly and entirely overwhelming.

The pushing

We then started pushing four times per contraction, instead of three, and, by then, I just didn’t have anything left inside of me. I told her that I had one more good set of pushes in me, so she got the vacuum ready just to help him make his way under the pelvic bone, and, with that, I gave it my all. Four pushes later, he was out, thank God! As soon as he was out, I felt a burning sensation and asked frantically if I had torn. Shaun looked at me and said, “Babe, she had to cut you." I guess the vacuum popped off of his head as he was almost out, and he started sliding back in, so she grabbed the scissors, cut me, and grabbed his head. Much to my own surprise, I had to have a last minute/emergency episiotomy...just to put the icing on the cake.

All's well that ends well

Holden Liam was born at 8:32 p.m., November 5, after just less than an hour of pushing. Our little guy weighed in at 5lbs., 3oz., and 18 3/4 inches long. He was staring all around the room from the moment he came out of the womb--eyes wide open, very alert. Soon after delivery, he was taken to the nursery to be suctioned because it turned out that he had gotten some fluid in his lungs. He was back in the room with us about an hour later, though, and he has been doing fantastic ever since! He is absolutely precious and already looks like a little man--not your typical newborn. It is truly amazing that he came out of me; I still just can’t wrap my head around it. Our beautiful baby boy is finally here, and he is worth every second of discomfort these past nine months, not to mention every minute of my crazy labor! I am amazed--at myself for doing it, at him for being here with us, at this whole experience. Holden is here at last!

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