Cajungirl0717: Jeanne's Induction Birth Story

Posted Monday, August 30, 2010 3:51 PM

"I just wanted it all to be over and be holding my baby. Little did I know, it had only just begun..."

Just the beginning...

On April 5, 2010 at 5 pm I went to the hospital to be induced. My OB told me the week before that she doesn’t let her patients go past the 40 week mark (I was 40 weeks that day). At 6 pm, I was 2 cm with little effacement. They started me on the cervical pill. My mom, dad, and husband were in the room playing cards. I was listening to Eclipse on my iPhone. At 7 pm, I started feeling small contractions every 20-30 minutes. The nurses came in to check on us every half hour. The contractions started coming a little closer, but still nothing serious. I would just focus and breathe as we learned in class each time one came on. At 10 pm, I was still just 2 cm and was administered another dose of the pill. The contractions had gotten a little closer and were starting to twinge. At 10:30 pm I was a little upset because my husband was still playing cards with my parents and I was working through the contractions by myself. This is mostly because I was trying to be a “big girl". My mom could see that I was starting to feel a little pain, so she and my dad left. As soon as they walked out the door, I started crying. I just wanted it all to be over and be holding my baby. Little did I know, it had only just begun.

Starting to panic

At midnight, the contractions were about 7 minutes apart and they were starting to hurt. I had the nurse administer some pain medicine in the IV. It helped to make me drowsy, which made the contractions worse because I would doze off and wake up right in the middle of the contraction (instead of feeling it build up). My husband panicked when I asked for another dose at 2 am because apparently the medicine made me stop breathing when I dozed off. The contractions at this point were 2-3 minutes apart. At 2:30 am, I begged the nurse to come check me. Sure enough I was 6-7 cm. Bring on the epidural!!
 
As we waited for the anesthesiologist to come, the contractions started coming closer and harder. At 3:30 am, I had a contraction, sat up in bed, had a contraction, stood up, had a contraction, walked to the bathroom, had a contraction, used the bathroom, etc. I could barely catch my breath in between before they started again. I tried to get on my hands and knees, lie on my side, walk around, but nothing eased the pain. My husband was so supportive. I had to remind him to talk me through each contraction. I did yell at him once because when I asked him to talk me through a contraction, he started talking about the weather. The anesthesiologist came in at 4 am. As she got things ready, she told me to make sure I stayed completely still as she inserted the needle. I never realized how hard that would be during the constant contractions! I have mild scoliosis, so after two failed attempts to get the needle in, she finally found the right spot. After the medicine started, I could feel the pain subside almost immediately. I was asleep shortly. My mom came in the room at 6:30 am (1st time grandma was so excited). I asked her to help me turn in my bed because I couldn’t feel my legs. When she lifted up the blanket, she mentioned that my water had broken. I never felt it, obviously. A nurse came in to check me, and I was 10 cm and almost fully effaced!! They called my OB at 7. She didn’t believe that I had gone that quickly, but the nurse assured her that she could feel the baby’s head when she did the exam.  She told me that because of the color of the water, that my baby had probably aspirated some meconium and the NICU team was coming in to help. My OB finally arrived at 8:13 am. I started pushing at 8:15 am. I could feel the pressure of my baby coming, but it didn’t hurt. The epidural was wearing off, which is what I wanted. At 8:37 am on April 6, 2010, my little girl was born at 7 lb 4 oz and 20 inches long.

Beautiful baby girl

When the OB first put her on my stomach, my husband,and I cried. She was so beautiful (and had a head full of hair). She wasn’t breathing when she first came out, and I could see her feet and hands were blue. The NICU people quickly went to work removing the stuff from her nose and lungs. When I heard her cry (it seemed like eternity), I cried again! My OB was stitching a small tear and talking to me to try to keep my focus. Because of the meconium and Jeanne’s temperature being low, she was brought to the nursery to be warmed. I didn’t get to see her until 10:30 to nurse. She did have to be put on antibiotics per her pediatrician for an infection, but we were able to leave 2 days later with our baby girl.

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