I'm wondering if we should start copying and pasting the birth stories here when we get them....seems most of the new moms so far have too much on their plates to repost them here.

Any objections?

Had to go to page 22 to find this one....still think there's another I haven't found yet...

MrsFontenot79 Birth Story-Beaux

Beaux arrived at 31w1d!

 jess_11883 Birth Story

We had our twins!

ErinAnthony Birth Story

Bennett's early delivery - birth story

dshade05-Birth Story

Colton is here!

I was just saying in another post that I think it might be better to LINK to your birth story... that way we can all go to that person's post and leave a comment, etc.  We don't want to fill this thread up with comments.

I don't know!?!?

Here's a link to CrystalNANTM's birth story of Brennan Joel

 http://community.thenest.com/cs/ks/forums/thread/40929581.aspx

Karizmalei's Birth Story

 http://community.thenest.com/cs/ks/forums/thread/41494962.aspx

Here is Ella's birth story. 

http://community.thenest.com/cs/ks/forums/thread/41440639.aspx

Pictures are here:

Hopefully this works, this is Lenox James Fisher's Birthstory and first pics :)  Gosh, we just adore our perfect little boy!

http://community.thebump.com/cs/ks/forums/thread/41849255.aspx

Abigail Marie is Here! 

here is a link to my original post: 

http://community.thebump.com/cs/ks/forums/41850701/ShowThread.aspx#41850701

Here is the full story:

On Thursday 8/26 I had my 39w appointment.  Well, after the internal, the MW had a feeling that baby was breech, so we had an ultrasound.  And, sure enough, she was.  So, we had 3 options: try acupuncture (80% success rate), an external version (60% success rate), or schedule a c-section.  We went with the acupuncture since it was the least invasive procedure.  We had the session scheduled for Friday 8/27 and went ahead and scheduled an external version for Monday the 30th just in case. 

The acupuncture appointment was at 2:30pm.  He used a techinque called moxibustion, which, is supposed increase circulation and other things within the uterus, which is somehow supposed to encourage the baby to turn.  When I got home, I started feeling crampy and had a little bit of bleeding, but, I attributed it to the internal I had the day before.

Around 5:30, the "cramps" seemed to be more regular, and also painful.  So, for the heck of it, I timed about 5 of them.  They were about 8min apart and 45sec long.  So, I called DH and told him I might be overreacting, but I might also be in early labor.  He got home, and the contractions were bad enough that I couldn't really walk through them.  DH suggested we go for a walk, "just to see" whether they were real or not (BH = go away w/ walking, real = get worse with walking).  Well, we literally made it around the block, they hurt SO bad, and I started to get worried because LO was breech and I didn't want my water to break or have any complications that could affect her being delivered safely.  So, at 10:45pm we headed to the hospital.

We get there, I get checked in, and, sure enough, she's still breech, and I'm definitely in labor.  I was dilated 5cm and had a "bulging bag of waters."  Despite the fact we had been preparing for a natural birth, with her being breech, I had to have a c-section.  I had a short emotional breakdown trying to cope with the fact that I was going to have a baby that night, and that I had to have a c-section, which meant I had to have a spinal block (that was the weirdest, freakiest, grossest feeling ever, and I hope I never have to have another one), and that I wouldn't get to hold my baby right away because I'd be getting sewn up.  Thank God DH was there so he could be with her all that time.  

At 12:25am, she was born via c-section.  She was 7lbs 15oz, and 20" long.  She was a fairly fat little thing, and her breech baby legs were so funny.  But she is beautiful and I'm so happy she is here! 

Birth Story C&P :)

Here's what I've been up to for the last 5 days

10:00 p.m. 8/5/10:  “I didn’t know I was in labor”  Just before DH and I went to bed, I felt a huge whoosh of fluid that kept flowing down my legs.  It soaked through 3 different pairs of undies and several Poise pads.  I wasn't yet 35 weeks pregnant, so I knew we had another month before the baby would arrive. 

The whoosh would have been a tip-off to most people, but I had been leaking fluid for the last 2 weeks.  My doc had ruled out a UTI and amniotic fluid leaks through fern tests or paper tests at her office and through a biophysical ultrasound at the hospital. I was soft, but not dilated.  I really believed that every pregnant chick pees on herself in pregnancy.  I knew that I had a follow-up biophysical ultrasound the next morning at the hospital, so I figured I would tell my doc about the whoosh at that point.

Then, I started throwing up and having diarrhea.   I seriously thought I had food poisoning because I had some really strong pains in my stomach.  It felt like my pelvic floor muscles were tightening. 

For 5 hours, my night went something like this:  big whoosh of water, huge pain in stomach, get up to vomit, climb back into bed and pray for sleep.  This happened about 5 times an hour, but nothing timeable. 

At 3:00, I woke up DH and told him I didn’t know what was wrong with me.  We called the on-call doc, who said to come into the hospital for an exam.  I begrudgingly and half-heartedly packed a bag—I truly believed the doc would send us home in a matter of hours.

4:30 a.m. 8/6/10:  “We’re not sure what we are doing here”  We arrived at the hospital- unsure what to tell the nurse when she asked whether we were there for an induction, c-section, or birth. Two fern tests (paper tests) revealed that the fluid was not amniotic fluid.  My cervix was still soft, but not dilated.  The machines were not picking up whether I was having contractions.  The doc was puzzled.  A final test—Amniosure—revealed that indeed, my water had broken.

Because of the fluid leak for the last 2 weeks, the med team wasn’t sure whether my water broke last night or had broken over the last two weeks.  I received antibiotics and the doc finally decided to induce. 

9:00 a.m. 8/6/10:  “We’re having a baby”  The nurse started Pitocin and increased the dose slowly from 2 to 6 over an hour.  I felt the contractions start to really strengthen—they were very uncomfortable, but bearable.  The machines still weren’t picking up the contractions though.  I was still throwing up sporadically and DH would hold the bucket up to my face.  The Zofran finally kicked in thankfully.

After only an hour on Pitocin, the nurse checked my progress.  I was 7 to 8 cm dilated, but I thought she said “7/8 of a cm.”  The contractions at that point had been really torturous and I didn’t think I could do this without an epidural since I believed I hadn’t made much progress.  So I caved and asked for the epi.  This was the best decision I made that whole day.

10:30 a.m. 8/6/10:  “Push, push, push!”  I was fully dilated and the nurse told me we were ready to push.  Because of the epi, I couldn’t feel when a contraction was happening.  And the machines still wouldn’t always pick up on the contractions.  So I had to rely on the nurse, who would feel my abdomen.  When the nurse said ready, she and DH would grab each leg.  I would breathe in deeply, crunch my stomach, and attempt to bear down.  We would count to 10 before I exhaled.  We did 3 sets of these for every contraction.

I couldn’t feel whether we were making progress—and this is the only regret I have about the epi.  I couldn’t tell whether I was effective in pushing- especially since the doc thought the baby would be born really quickly given my speed in dilating. 

I was starting to get discouraged and tired.  DH told me I would fall asleep and snore between contractions.

12:00 p.m. 8/6/10:  “If I use the vacuum, I can only do it if you push with everything you’ve got”   After an hour and a half of pushing, the doc told me that the baby (despite its tiny size—a preemie) was having trouble navigating my narrow pelvic bones.  She advised that we would try a vacuum with pushing, but warned me that if it didn’t work quickly, we would have to have an emergency c-section.

12:35 p.m. 8/6/10:  “It’s a BOY!!!”  The doctor stood on a stool for leverage and pulled with all of her might while I pushed all I could for a series of 4 contractions.  I honestly didn’t feel a thing and was so surprised when they told me we were done.

Kinner Valentine G.  finally arrived and let out a squeal!  He was perfect in every way, weighing in at 5 pounds, 6 ounces and 18 inches.  We got to hold him briefly before he was whisked away to NICU2 for 8 hours of testing and observation—because he was a preemie and so small.

I got stitched up—I had a 2^nd degree episiotomy.  This was the only regret DH had about the day—that the doc had to cut me.  Kinner passed all of his tests and joined me in recovery that evening.  We went home together 2 days later.

As I reflect back over the last 5 days, I am so thankful for everything in my life.  I’ve never felt so much love for Kinner or for my supportive DH, whose daddy instincts are so on-target.  Kinner nurses really well and I relish greeting the sun with him every morning.

Here is my birth story!

I had my baby boy! Ethan Liam arrived on 12 August at 8 pm! He’s 6lbs 5 oz and 20 inches long! He is also completely perfect! And the delivery was 99% natural – no epidural, no pitocin, no stripping of membranes, no induction methods at all. I did cave and get two doses of fentanyl as I moved from 5-9 cm. Otherwise, it was all me and my baby. 

Ethan arrived after 93 HOURS of labor. I started contracting every 3 minutes on Monday nite at 2300 (when I was exactly 36 weeks). I went in a few hours later because I was spotting and actually soaked a pair of underwear. The birthing center did an NST and Ethan looked fine on the monitor so they sent me home as I was still closed. I continued to contract every 3 minutes around the clock and most of them were like menstrual cramps. Nothing too painful.

Wednesday nite things got a little rougher and then on Thursday morning at 8:30, my water broke. We headed into the birthing center and found out that I was 2 cm. They kept me and I started to walk around and sit on the birthing ball to keep things going. Luckily my body was into it and the contractions got progressively stronger. I used Hypnobabies to try and keep myself calm and I remember that with each contraction I would repeat over and over “It’s just pressure, it’s not pain.” After a few hours I switched to repeating the phrase “It has to end sometime” and would just say it over and over during the contractions. Luckily I would have two “easy” contractions for every “hard” one. Also, all my pain was in the lower front of my abdomen, over the pubic bone. I did not have back labor at all.

But at 3:30 pm, in the middle of a hard contraction, I suddenly felt a HUGE punch to my pubic bone and that is when I went out of my mind. I flew into the shower but it didn’t seem to help with the pain. Hypnobabies no longer applied. My husband kept telling me that I was doing a great job and I kept saying I was not and I couldn’t take this pain. I was moaning or screaming as loudly as possible through each contraction without caring who heard me. After 30 minutes I insisted that someone check me, as I was hoping this was transition. Unfortunately I was only 5-6 cm. I asked for a received a dose of fentanyl – which only lasts 15 minutes in the body but you can only get it once an hour. I took two doses, at 4pm and 5pm. At 6 pm I was 9 cm and they said I couldn’t have anymore fentanyl. Mind you, this entire time I was screaming and moaning and seriously hating life. My husband was a real champ though and stuck through it with me the whole way. I kept yelling about how I didn’t want this and asking someone to help me. I did not, however, ask for the epidural because I did have enough presence of mind to know that I wouldn’t be able hold still for it. So there was no point in asking for it out loud.

Cut and Paste - Clark was originally due on September 12th.

SUPER LONG sorry

Thursday afternoon, we welcomed the addition to our lives that made us into a family. Clark Allen Howard was born at 12:56pm on Thursday, August 26th at 37 weeks 4 days. He weighed 7 pounds 7.2 ounces and was 20 1/4 inches long. He is the most amazing little baby and soooo easygoing and we have already had our hearts completely melted by him!

Onto the birth story – all the details that everyone keeps asking about

Wednesday, I was feeling very stabby and frustrated because I had been in quite a bit of uncomfortable pain for weeks with several rounds of contractions but not really any progress. At my appointment the previous Friday, I was 3 cm dilated and 80% effaced, but nothing had happened since. I was feeling very frustrated because everyday people were calling to ask about my lady bits, or stopping to see me and asking why I was still there, but yet I was still over two weeks from my due date. I felt like it just wasn’t going to happen anytime soon, despite feeling like I was going to go early for weeks. I left school pretty late after a meeting that made me miss a friend’s baby shower, with my desk in a terrible mess that I had resolved to pick up the following day. I went to Burger King to eat with Jason, then walked around Target for a bit and finally got home around 9 pm. At 10 pm, I went to bed, and heard Jason pop in the door at 10:30pm from work. At 11pm, we were both sleeping pretty soundly.

Just like any other pregnant lady, I woke up to pee around 12:35 am, and went through the ordeal of getting up out of bed and then getting resettled. When I got back in bed, I noticed I had wet pants. I really didn’t think anything about it because it wasn’t much at all, and again, pregnant women leak all the time. I got up around 12:45am to change my underwear and all of a sudden, it started gushing. I quickly soaked through two ginormous Grandma sized pads (that I had bought at Target that day for after the birth lol thank goodness!), so I woke Jason up. We didn’t rush around too much because I didn’t start having contractions for about 20 minutes, and then when they did come, they were about 7 minutes apart and very mild.

We finally left about 1:30 to head to the hospital, and the tires started shaking after about 10 minutes on the highway. We pulled over and sure enough, the tread had ripped off my front passenger tire. Jason changed the tire quickly and we were on our way again, although Jason thoroughly enjoyed telling everyone that I changed the tire in four minutes flat the rest of the hospital stay as the running joke. We got to the hospital at 2am and unloaded at the emergency entrance because the entrance to the birthing center was closed. Ironically, the wheelchair Jason pushed me in had half-flat wheels, too, which made it really hard for Jason to push. We got into the room and settled in, knowing that I was in for a long haul since my contractions were still far apart.

After hanging out and trying to sleep (although it didn’t happen at all due to the excitement), at 9am they checked me and I was only 3-4 cm and 80%, exactly what I had been the previous Friday. They started me on Pitocin, which I wasn’t happy about, but I knew that due to the risk of infection, I only had about 16 more hours until they would start talking about a C-section, and that was something I absolutely did not want if I could avoid it. The Pitocin didn’t really help that much, but my contractions were more often. I was able to breathe through them pretty easily until about 11 am, when they started to become a little difficult. At 12 pm, my contractions finally started to pick up and so I asked to be checked at 12:30 pm. When the midwife checked me out, I was 100% effaced but only 6 cm dilated. I had a monster contraction just after being checked that made me lose my focus and stopped my ability to deal with the pain, and from what my mom and mother in law said, the measuring instrument started going crazy when this happened. The midwife finally told me that even though I was planning to go natural, I should consider an epidural because at that point, I’d have several hours of labor left, and if that was too much to handle, I would be too exhausted to push, especially since I had already been in labor for 11 hours with only 2 hours of sleep from the night before and no food since 8pm. While being talked to, I had another monster contraction, one that actually made the other people in the room start to cry. I looked at Jason and said as calm as can be that even though I didn’t want the epidural, I was too exhausted and I couldn’t take this if the rest of the contractions were going to continue this way. He knew I was serious, so he said yes to the midwife and she walked out of the room to put the order in with the anesthesiologist after having upped the Pitocin even further.

The next seven minutes were hell on Earth. I had four more life-shattering contractions, lasting about 90 seconds each and only about a minute apart. They were so bad they made my mom and Jason cry, and my mother in law and grandma had to walk out of the room. All of a sudden, I couldn’t stop the feeling of wanting to bear down. I tried so hard not to push because I wasn’t ready, but my body just kept pushing. My mom ran into the hallway, and the midwife was kind of upset because she said there was no way I should push – I was just at 6 cm only a few minutes ago, but my mom insisted that she come and check me. Just as the midwife was checking, the anesthesiologist walked in with the epidural cart, but she yelled at him that it was too late – Clark’s head was about ready to crown! They screamed for a table to get me pushing, and just a few short minutes later, Clark was born. Honestly, the pain of those final contractions was soooo much worse than actually pushing and crowning, which is not normally how it feels. Pushing felt like a relief compared to the contractions, and it really does feel like you are pooping a very large watermelon. Clark came out crying, which was kind of weird because they didn’t have to do much to get him going. The cord was wrapped around his neck, but not tightly, and the midwife wisked it off super fast, but since he was crying there was really no danger.

After giving birth, I was so exhausted, but I had to birth the placenta, which wasn’t bad at all compared to what had just happened. Then they started stitching. Because I progressed way more quickly than normal, my perineum didn’t have time to stretch and it tore. I had second degree tears, which she assured me would only take about 20 minutes to stitch. They offered to let me hold Clark, but I had no strength in my left arm due to the IV, and I was so exhausted and hurting from tearing, so Jason held him next to me so I could see him.

The stitching took much longer than expected – every time she would put in a stitch, a small blood vessel would pop and I’d start to bleed even more. This meant that it took over an hour to stitch me up and that I got twice as many stitches as I would’ve needed. I finally got to hold Clark an hour after he was born. I felt so terrible for this, but I held him for only a minute and then wanted lunch and a small nap. I wanted to be with my little one, but I knew that I couldn’t be a good mom if I passed out on him and that emotionally and physically I was so overwhelmed that I couldn’t bond yet. Thankfully, Jason and everyone else understood and let me eat and doze off for about 20 minutes.

When I finally got a chance to really spend time with my little one, I felt terrible because while I was so happy he was here, I was in so much pain and I still didn’t really feel like he was mine. I know it was just the overwhelmed feeling of everything that happened and so quickly, but it made me feel really terrible. I started Kangaroo Care with him, and that made it better. Slowly but surely, I realized that this was my little one, and that all our hard work had paid off.

Clark is an amazing baby and now, three days later, I hate having him away from me for more than a few seconds! I’ll write more details about the first few days later, but for now, let’s just say I’m happy that the birthing part of the experience is over.

Ta-da!

http://community.thenest.com/cs/ks/forums/thread/41898786.aspx

Everlyn's Birth story.

I went in to labor on the 24th at 9pm. I had been telling DH all week that the full moon puts women into labor but we didn't really think it would happen! Contractions started around 9 and were 7 min apart from the get go but not too painful. By 11:30 we decided to go for a walk around the block and see if we could get them closer than 6-7 min. On our walk they seemed to be less painful but still coming any where from 5-7 min apart. We went back home to wait it out some more but when I tried to relax they picked up and became more painful and were 5 min apart.

12:30 I tell DH I want to go to the hospital, Contractions are anoying and something told me they weren't going to be going away. Get to the hospital and its dead so we got a room right away and a nurse comes in has me change and checks me, still 1.5 cm just like I was at my last Dr. appointment. She tells us they are going to put us on a two hour watch and to walk the halls a bit in hopes that my cervix starts to change. We walk for about an hour or so and she checks me again, still nothing.... LAME. By this time contractions were every 5 min and I was starting to worry that I would be sent home, well because it was dead the Dr. on call said that they would admit me because they had seen my pain increase and was having contractions now every 3-5 min. At 6 am I am 3 cm and contractions have me swaying and low moaning. I had to stand the whole time because sitting was not an option lol. Got my Epi and all was right with the world =).

At 8 am a new Dr. comes in and tells me she is going to check me and break my water. I am 5 cm now and she tells me by 11am- noon we will be having our baby, Woo Hoo! No sooner than she leaves I start to feel this pressure, I mean crazy pressure like my pelvic bones are moving! I call for the nurse and she tells me the epi wont numb that kind of pain because well, my bones are moving. I tell her she has to check me because I feel like I'm fighting my body not to push. Now remember I just had my water broken about 10-15 min ago and was 5cm, well she checks and lo and behold I'm fully dilated and +3! The nurse runs out of the room to page the Dr. and then things really pick up, the nurse tells me to push with my next contraction. I wasn't one of those people that found pushing a relief to me it felt like pooping a watermelon but man that pressure on my bones was killer. I kinda lost it , felt like I was floundering I wanted to sit up, didn't feel like I was making enough progress and the pain was mounting. I remember reaching my breaking point and saying " Just take her out" lol. Eveyone reasures me that just one more contraction should do it and I needed to give it everything I got. I pushed and pushed and pushed again, thought I was going to pass out but then POP her head was out. The rest was easy, she just kinda slid out and they put her on my chest. She cried right away and so did my husband.

DH was wonderful and even after she was taken over to be weighed he stayed with me petting me and telling me how proud of me he was. I never thought I could love that man more than I did but...

I told him to go to his daughter and comfort her while they stiched me up (second degree) and take some pictures. Everlyn Grace was born on Wed Aug 25th at 9:23am. She weighed 6 pounds 10 oz and is 18 in. We are so in love.

Treyton Michael- August 27 at 6:40pm 6lbs 14oz, 19.5 inches (repost from the board) :)

Alright, so this all started on August 27th at 4:00 in the morning. I was laying in bed, and I woke up to wake up DH because of his snoring (like every other night, lol) and I started to feel a little wet in the undies, so I went to the bathroom and all of a sudden a gush of fluid! I started yelling from our bathroom "MIKE, wake up, My Water BROKE!!".

DH woke up in no time, and hurried and got dressed and he was ready with in 5 min. He thought that once the water broke, it took like 10 min for baby to be here. lol so we drove to the hospital and was there around 4:45 AM, I walked into the hospital with a towel between my legs because the water was not stopping. We got into our room, and the nurse had to keep checking to see if my water actually broke, and once she did they got me all hooked up and started the GBS antibiotics. Nurse said I was 1 1/2 cm dilated and was still pretty thick. They started me on Pitocin at 7:40am and right after that I had my first contraction. All morning I was having contractions that were minor and not at all consistent.

At 1:00pm I got an epidural, which was not at all painful for me, and I took it very well. at 2:30p I was checked again and dilated to 6-7 cm and 80% effaced, at 3:50p my doctor checked me and I was at 7cm and 90% effaced and baby was at -2 station. I thought this day would never end!! It seemed like it was taking forever, comparing this one to my first who was born within 7 hours of labor. At 5:30 (2 hours later) the nurse had checked my cervix and I had not progressed at all. The new nurse had asked me how long I've been in my position (on my back) and I told her I havent changed my position at all today. Nurse said she hates to hear that patients don't change their positions, due to other nurses.

The contraction monitor on my belly wasn't picking up any of my contractions either, so the nurse removed it and instead put in a contraction monitor in my cervix to monitor the strength of my contractions, and had me turn onto my riht side. Almost IMMEDIATELY my contractions were very intense and every 40 sec and lasting 10 sec. The monitor was showing the contractions straight up and down and very consistent. I was having so much pressure in my cervix and in my rear. I started to feel the need to push, so I told my nurse. She checked me 20 min after turning me on my side, and said I was fully dilated and baby was at station +2.

She went and called the doctor whom was on call (and BTW i havent even seen during this pregnancy) He was 10 min away from the hospital and said I couldnt start pushing for 4 min so he could make it on time. lol It was so crazy how fast this happend, and the nurse started to set up everything for baby and for the delivery!

8 min. later with my husband on one side, and the nurse on the other holding up my legs because I could not, it was time to push. She told me to push 3x with every contraction and after 3 contractions, she told me to stop or he'd be here too fast. We could see his head with each little push. Dr. walked in and suited up. He sat down, and after 3 big pushes, my little boy was here!! at 6:40pm 6lbs 14oz. and 19 1/2 inches long! The first thing the nurse said was that his pink skin looked perfect! Nurse had to suction his nose and mouth because he had quite a bit of fluid.

Our daughter was the first one in the room to see him! Our entire family was waiting outside the door to see him, I loved having so much support!

Treyton Michael is doing amazing, he has to keep being checked up for his Jaundice, but it's nothing to worry about until we get our second testing done tomorrow. Our family feels so complete, and we are all very happy!

August 31, 2010:  Grant Thomas arrived via induction at 39 weeks, 4 days (original EDD was 9/4).

Grant Thomas is here!  He was born at 5:40 pm; weighs 7.11 lbs; 18.75 in long! 

 Short version:

I was induced this morning at 6am.  About 3 cm at that time.  Pitocin started at 7:40 am.  I had some mighty tough contractions.  If you're having a lot of painful contracts, make sure you have an empty bladder!!!  If not, you will feel 100 times worse than you should!  I was able to actually breathe and walk the hall for a while since my bladder was empty (yahoo!).  At 12:30 pm, they broke my water and the contracts were getting stronger.  I did great breathing through them; however, I only lasted until about 1:30 when I requested the epidural.  A bit painful, but totally worth it!  I was happy to say the least.  I got the cathedar (sp) put in after I was super numb.  Yahoo again!  I was able to get some rest and by about 5pm, I was complete.  I was pretty numb, so it made pushing more challenging; however, I only pushed for 20 minutes before he was born.  I was able to watch him come right out and that was super cool!  I had a 2nd degree tear, but it was nothing compared to my first delivery. 

We are formula feeding and he's doing well.  We are in total awe of him and know that there is a bunch of love for he and his big brother! 

First moments with Mommy!

My birth story!!

http://community.thebump.com/cs/ks/forums/thread/41990206.aspx 

Mia Marie-Lyn

http://community.thebump.com/cs/ks/forums/thread/42024513.aspx

Jonah David's Birth Story

Cameron arrived on 8/27/10!

I had an u/s on Tuesday 8/24 to check on growth.  They estimated baby to be 9lbs 3oz, but of course that could be off by a pound in either direction.  I saw the doctor on Thursday 8/26.  She said that we needed to talk about delivery, as she was concerned about baby's size.  She gave me the choice of induction or a c-section.  She warned me that with a vaginal delivery, a major risk is shoulder dystocia.  I scheduled the induction for Friday morning and left the office.  I called DH and told him the news.  He was pretty freaked out about the risks of the vaginal delivery and urged me to consider the c-section, but of course said he supported whatever decision I made.  I spent the day crying and stressing about the decision and talking with other moms.  Just before the office closed, I called back to cancel the induction and scheduled the c-section.  That night we sent DD to my parents house and got everything ready.  I was very tearful and scared every time I talked about the c-section.  DH told me he still felt strongly about not taking the risk, but was supported me if I wanted to change my mind.

We reported to the hospital for the c-section at 9:30am on Friday 8/27.  They took me into a room and started a monitor on the baby.  I signed the consent for the surgery.  The nurse started questioning why I was having a c-section.  I truly believe this woman was sent to me by God!  She went above and beyond what I think she needed to do/say and gave me even more to think about based on her personal and professional experiences.  She talked about how conservative my doctor is and gave me the real odds of the baby having complications from a vaginal delivery.  I know she could sense my hesitation with the surgery.  She told me it wasn't too late to change my mind and left the room for me and DH to talk.  He told me he could tell how badly I wanted the induction and to go for it.  The nurse came back in and I told her I wanted the induction.  She called my doctor and got me into a room right away.

They checked me and I was 3cm.  They started Pitocin at 10:45am and the doctor came in at 11 to break my water.  My contractions started within a half hour.  They got strong and close together very quickly.  I progressed by 1cm every hour.  I got the epidural at 1pm and spent some time relaxing while talking to DH, my mom, and sister.  Around 3:30pm, my mom went to pick up DD from daycare and hang out until baby was born.  Just before 4pm I told the nurse I had an urge to push.  She checked me and I was 10cm!  She called the doc and I had to wait about a half hour for her to arrive.  I did a couple practice pushes with the nurse while waiting.  Once the doctor arrived, I only had to push 2 times and Cameron was born at 4:35pm.  He was 8lbs. 9oz. And 21 ¼ inches long. 

I am so happy I went with my maternal instinct and had the vaginal delivery.  Labor and delivery was a piece of cake compared to DD, who was smaller.  Baby is perfectly healthy and nursing like a champ. 

I am so overwhelmed with love and had no idea how I could ever love 2 little people this much.  I am truly blessed! 

Here's my birth story!  Sorry it's so long!

http://community.thebump.com/cs/ks/forums/ShowThread.aspx?PostID=42054596#42054596

My Dr induced me on Friday, August 20th, when I was exactly 36 weeks pregnant (IUGR). DH and I got to the hosptial that morning at 6am to get things started. They started me on pitocin at 6:45am, and told me they would come back every 15 minutes to up the dosage. I was still having preterm labor contractions, but the pitocin was there to amp things up. So weird, because less than a week before that, I was admitted there to STOP labor, now I'm there to deliver. We found that kinda funny anyway.

At 9am, my Dr came in to break my water. Unfortunately, Rylie was too high at that point (there was room for the umbilical cord to come between her head and my cervix), so she told me she would come back around noon to see about doing it then. My cervix was also still closed at this point, but I was 85% effaced. So, DH and I continued watching the movie "Knocked Up" and episodes of "The Office". The contractions were about 2 minutes apart and very manageable.

At noon, she came back in, and this time she was able to break my water. Holy cow, there was a TON of fluid!! It felt like someone had poured 2 gallons of warm water on me down there. I felt so gross and unsanitary. I just had to lay there in it. Gross! Shortly after that, my contractions started getting more and more frequent and more and more painful. Around 1:30, a nurse came in to check and see if I was dilated yet, and I was, but it was only a 1. Wth?! I told DH that I didn't want any visitors anymore. I didn't want anyone else to see me like that. After another hour of intense pain, the nurses felt bad for me and called my Dr and begged her to let me have an epidural. I was still only at a 1, but my Dr and nurses thought that as soon as I got the epidural, things would start progressing at a much faster rate.

I got the epidural around 3:30pm - hallelujah!! Sweet relief for the first time in 3 1/2 hours. I went from bawling hysterically in pain, to being calm and actually taking a nap (DH and I were preparing ourselves for a long night). A little before 6pm, I looked over at DH and said, "Right now would be a great time to have a baby!" I sent out a text message to our family/friends letting them know that things were going very slowly. A few minutes later, I started feeling a lot of pressure and contractions again. My nurse came in and got the anesthesiologist to come in and give me a boost with my epidural. The nurse checked me, and I was still at effing 1! I continued feeling intense pressure in my pelvic/hooha region. So, about 5 minutes after she checked me the first time she checked me again, just in case, and she said, "Well, you're at a 3, no 4, nope, make that 5!" Finally! We were getting somewhere. They started debating on whether or not to give me more medicine, because they weren't sure if there would be time for it to kick in before I delivered. The nurse decided to check me again, and she said, "You're done. You're ready" Wait, what?! I went from being dilated a 1 to a 10 in less than 15 minutes!

Chaos began, calls were made to my Dr to get here in there. I was pushing, and they were telling me not to push, etc. DH and I were excited and nervous, thinking "Wow, this is really it!" All of the nurses kept saying, "You're barely going to have to push at all. I can already see the head!" If they could see her head while they were walking by, was I really going to be able to hold her in until my Dr got there? Finally, my Dr showed up. I pushed once with the first contraction I had. When the second once came on, I pushed two times and she was out. We did it! Rylie Marie P was born at 6:44pm at 4lb 10oz and 18 inches long. My labor/delivery was pretty much 12 hours exactly.

The feeling I had when I saw her for the first time was amazing. No words can express how I felt. I started crying and kept thinking "She's really here! And, she's alive and crying!" We are so in love with her. I can't wait until the rest of you have your LO's. It's incredible!

Your Name/Screenname: Amanda/elvnprincess
Baby's Name: Amelia Beth
Date of Birth: 9/4/2010
Original Due Date: 9/6/2010
Weeks Pregnant: 39
Weight: 7 pounds, 6 ounces

Height: 20.5"

Share your birth story:

I was originally set to be induced due to hyperemesis on Friday, September 3rd. However, on Thursday, September 2nd around 6pm I entered the early stages of labor. Contractions were 3-4 minutes apart increasing in intensity. I was advised by the on-call OB to go right to L&D and be monitored there. I was admitted there and was to stay the night. I had back labor the entire time I was there. But no matter how many contractions I had, my cervix wasn't changing. I was sent home the next day with instructions to return to L&D that evening to begin the induction. Amelia had other ideas. I continued to have the back labor until I returned. Never have I before experienced such torture in my entire LIFE. It got to the point where I could not even breathe through the contractions. All I could do really was yell or moan. Stuff like that.

So we returned at 6pm planning to have the Cervadil inserted and go from there. My OB checked me before doing so and I heard her say "Good for you!" I knew that meant progress. After having been 50% and 1cm for weeks, I was 2cm and 100%! So the back labor did SOMETHING. I then had the epi inserted ( I had to with the back labor), and then the OB went ahead and broke my water. This was probably about 630pm or so. She advised me to call my mom (which I had my husband do).

I want to note here that the epidural was definitely a great and needed thing. I probably would have had a much, much longer labor without the epi. If you are in pain and fighting contractions, this can delay progress big time. My legs became spaghetti and I had to be turned to a different side every 15 minutes, but it made all the back labor bearable. And so I labored. And I got nauseated as I dilated. And I puked, several times. It's normal to puke while dilating. It's a good thing. I had some back pain, either from the epi or the bed, so I was given something called Fentanyl (sp?) that would put me to sleep for bits at a time. However, the first time I took that, it slowed down my progress big time. Ended up needing some pitocin to go from 8cm to 10. No biggie! BUT Pitocin definitely puts your contractions one after another after another.

But finally, around 1015am, I was ready to push! And holy crap no one told me about the pressure on the rectum and cervix that hurts so bad!! Pushing was a real challenge, but fortunately I did not need to push long. I think I ended up pushing for about half an hour. My doctor would have me hold my pushes to the count of 5, take another breath and repeat twice. Then wait for another contraction, and do it again. At one point, I was getting tired, but Amelia's head was halfway out so they had me touch her head. That was all I needed to regain energy and get her the rest of the way here.

There are no words to describe how I felt when she was out and put on my chest. It was just simply amazing. I cried A LOT. After a very long and hard pregnancy (and then the 41 hour labor) she was here! How amazing it all is. It's amazing to look at her and know that she is what was in me all this time. I only ended up with a very small "perfect" tear as my OB called it.

All in all, what an amazing experience this was. 41 hours of labor for this perfect little being!

From Amelia Beth - EDD 9/6/2010

Gavin Michael was born 8/27!!! 

I was woken up Thursday morning by a call from my doctor. She advised that the results of my latest 24 hr urine test were in and I had failed it badly. We were definitely dealing with preeclampsia. She told me to go ahead and bring a hospital bag in to the appointment that morning because they were going to induce me and get the baby out ASAP. Holy crap!!! She had called at 8:30 and I was supposed to leave my house at 9:30 for the appointment. So I jumped out of bed and started running around like a madwoman getting things ready. My hubby was at work (I was only supposed to get an NST that morning) so I had to call him and tell him the news. He was in shock, too. Throughout the pregnancy we had experienced so many complications and were told so many times that labor was imminent. It was hard to believe this time it was happening for real.

My brother, sis-in-law, and 3yr old niece came and picked me up and drove me down to Tampa for the appointment. They did a BPP and determined that Gavin was fine. The tech estimated that he was about 6lbs, 15oz. Since my vitals were actually stable at this point, the doctor gave me the option of waiting until evening to be induced. I was so happy to get a break; I think I was still in a state of shock at this point. So we went to the mall and my hubby met us there. Had a big lunch at Cheesecake Factory and just walked around. It was soooo nice to be out and about after being on strict bedrest for the last several weeks.

At 7:00 we checked into the hospital. It was very surreal walking in the doors and realizing that everything was about to change. Our nurse was fantastic (actually, all the nurses were amazing throughout the 3 days) and she went ahead and got me hooked up on monitors and inserted the cervidil. I had some cramping that night but nothing major. Hubby stayed with me and my family went home. I couldn’t sleep that night; still had a bad head cold and I had to lay perfectly still or I set off the monitors and the nurses had to come in to re-adjust them.

At 7:00 the next morning they went ahead and inserted the pitocin. It didn’t take long for the contractions to start coming hot and heavy. They came in waves; I would get 3 or 4 in a row close together, then a break of a few minutes. The pain was bad but not unbearable and I thought I could just work through it. But my BP and pulse started getting high again, so I had to get the epidural. The epidural insertion really wasn’t bad at all. The numbing shots were the only thing that really stung. It kicked in almost instantly and I was stuck in bed from that point on. It was so nice having my family coming in. Will stayed with me and the rest of them rotated in and out. It was especially nice having my brother, who’s a paramedic, since I trust his advice implicitly.

By 3:30 that afternoon, I was dilated to 8 and 100% effaced. I was ecstatic that everything was going according to plan, but that’s where things stalled out. From that point forward, the baby didn’t descend. He was still at -2 station. At one point, my mom noticed my nurse staring at the monitors. She came and rolled me on my side, then left the room. All of the sudden, there were several nurses, the doctor and the anesthesiologist crowded in the room. Gavin had gone into distress and was having severe decelerations with each contraction. They kept rolling me from side to side trying to get him stabilized. So freaking scary; how could we come this close and face the possibility of losing him??? The doctor was explaining they needed to do a c-section and they wheeled me out of the room with Will in tow. I’ll never forget the look on my mom’s face; she looked terrified.

The c-section was quick, but honestly pretty awful. My hubby had enough time to get in a gown so he could be in the room with us. The medical team was so busy concentrating that they didn’t talk to us. I had no idea what was going on and didn’t even know when the surgery started. They had my arms stretched out and tied down, like a cross. I should mention that I had started vomiting a few hours earlier. They kept giving me Zofran but it didn’t help. Well, on the operating table I started puking again. Since my arms were tied down, I had to just turn my head and try to get it into the bowl. Horrible.

But then I heard my baby crying and realized he had to be out. Will left me and went over to watch him get checked out. He came out absolutely perfect on August 27, 2010 at 5:54pm: 6lbs, 15oz just like the tech predicted! He was breathing fine and had no distress once he was delivered. We were wheeled into a recovery room where my entire family was waiting. It was amazing to watch them all descend on his bassinet… definitely love at first sight! By this time, they’d given me some stronger anti-nausea meds which unfortunately knocked me out. But I remember Will setting him on my chest so I could cuddle with him until I was unconscious. It was so amazing to stare into those eyes and realize this was the miracle we had been hoping for all along.

The rest of the hospital stay was a flash of memories. The morphine, anti-nausea, and other meds had me knocked out a lot of the first day and I hate that. We tried breastfeeding but he has some issues with the suck reflex so we’re still working on it. It breaks my heart that I wasn’t able to be there for him when he was first born. But things are getting better and it’s amazing how quickly my health has returned. My BP is back to normal and I got a great report at the cardiologist’s office yesterday. I have some sadness when thinking about the delivery, because it was somewhat traumatic and the exact opposite of what I wanted. But I have to keep in mind that it’s all worth it because we have Gavin now.

My little guy is absolutely perfect. Such a sweet little guy and incredibly mellow. He loves cuddling and has quickly become a mama’s boy. This last 9 months was such a marathon of challenges and obstacles. It still doesn’t seem real that he made it and he’s here with us safe and sound. I know his twin is up in heaven and we’ll meet one sweet day. In the meantime, I’m so ecstatically happy and in love with my son. I am blessed.

Tuesday afternoon, DF and I went to have lunch, and right around the time our food came, I started feeling some mild contractions. We ate lunch, and finished up some errands, and I was still having contractions. They were about 10-15 minutes apart, and felt like menstrual cramps. I called my Dr.'s office and they told me I could come in to get checked. My Dr. was super busy, and it was a good hour and a half before he finally checked me... He said I was 100% effaced, and at 2 cm's. Unfortunately, I had scar tissue from a Chryotherapy that was holding my cervix at 2, but Dr. said he would break up the tissue in the morning at my appointment. So, we went home and I continued contracting throughout the night. 

 Wednesday morning, I woke up and wasn't having many contractions anymore. We had our appointment, and again, my Dr. was backed up. When we got to the room, he told me that he couldn't bust up the scar tissue today because he had 3 girls in labor and a c-section. He checked me again, and I was still at 2, but he told me to go to the hospital at 7 the next morning to be induced. I had not wanted to be induced, but with the circumstances of my cervix, it was for the best. 

We had a lazy rest of the day, considering I would have a lot of work to do on Thursday. We napped, and tried really hard not to be too anxious. I think I finally laid down for the night around 12:30 and woke up at 4:30 am. I got ready for the hospital and was getting nervous, excited, and anxious. DF and I stopped by the donut shop to get him some breakfast, and then we headed to the hospital. Admitting took a good 30 minutes, and then we got set up in our room. My mom got there around 8 am, and I had to answer a ton of questions, and get my IV set. 

After all this was done, my Dr. checked me, and then the nurse started a light pit drip.  It took about an hour to get the contractions going at a regular pace, and then Dr. came and broke my water, and busted up the scar tissue around 9:45 am. Things slowly picked up, and I started feeling stronger contractions that I had to breath through about 30 minutes after. Around 11:30 the contractions were getting really strong, and really close together. I was squeezing DF fingers, and breathing through them, but the pain was really intense. I finally got to the point where I was squeezing my mom's and DF's fingers and it was getting really hard to get through the contractions. 

The nurse checked me (they didn't want to check me too much since my water was broke) and I was at 5 cm's, and I broke down and asked for an epidural. The anastesiologist came in pretty quickly, and got things set up. I was shocked that they didn't send my mom and DF out for the epi. DF supported me while I got the epi, and the contractions made it really hard to sit still. After the epi was in, it took another 5 minutes to get the medicine started. That was the worst wait in the world! Finally, it kicked in, and it was the sweetest relief EVER! The only thing that was annoying was that my legs were completely numb, and I couldn't move them myself.

After I was numb, things were so much better. DF and I played a little bit of cards, and then I sent him to get lunch for himself and my mom. I didn't need my labor coaches fainting from hunger! He left about 1:30, and shortly after that I started feeling some pressure down low. I hadn't felt anything before this except a tightness in my ribs with each contraction, so I figured things were progressing. DF got back to the hospital at about 2pm, and I started feeling sick to my stomach and my body felt really strange. The nurse came in about this time, and I let her know how I was feeling. She gave me a puke bag, and decided to check me to see if I was in transition. Sure enough, I was 10 cm and baby was at +1, +2 station. OMG! I was in shock that it was almost time to have the baby, and I got a little emotional. I couldn't wait to find out if we were welcoming a son or daughter to the world.

The nurses set up the room for delivery, and called the Dr. to tell him where I was at. The nurse said it would be within the hour... While she was setting things up, the pressure was getting worse, so she checked me once more and could see baby's head. She even let my mom and DF look. The nurse called my Dr. again, and told him to come now. He got there, turned off the epi, and broke down the bed. I couldn't feel anything, so DF and the nurse helped me hold my legs, and we waited for a contraction. In the meantime, we were all laughing and talking and anxiously waiting to find out what baby was. The nurses were so excited that we were team green!

When the contraction came, they told me to push, and I pushed the best I could with no feeling. The next one came and I pushed until baby's head was crowning. Unfortunately, I was beginning to tear in the same spot I tore with DD, so Dr. asked me if I wanted to be cut, or just tear. I told him to do what he thought was best, so he gave me a small episiotomy. Pretty much as soon as he did that I had a contraction and I barely pushed and the baby was out! My Dr. said, "It's a girl!" and we all started crying/laughing. DF got to cut the cord, and then they took her to get cleaned up. My mom actually got to help clean her up and clamp the cord.

Baby Evalynn was absolutely perfect. The nurse gave her a 9/10 APGAR score, which they don't give out very often. She has a great set of lungs, and is absolutely beautiful. She was born September 2nd at 3:05 pm, weighed 7lbs 15 oz, and was 19.5 inches long. She looks just like her Daddy, which was the first thing out of my mom's mouth when Evalynn was born.

Although it wasn't exactly what I thought I wanted, I couldn't have asked for a better  labor and delivery experience. I did not stick to my birthing plan, but I wouldn't change a thing about my experience. My nurses were amazing, and my Dr. was awesome. Everyone involved made my job easier, and were really great supporters.