My birthing experience wasn’t quite like I had planned… I contracted on and off for 5 weeks before my due date (it was quite emotionally exhausting). Twice the surges were 2 minutes apart so I went in and my cervix didn’t change in an hour so I was sent home. Many nights they were consistent and would become closer together, then I would go to bed and they would be gone in the morning. When I was 39 weeks I chose to be induced but the pitocine made for a very uncomfortable labor. After going for nine hours naturally I was only at a 5 but was so exhausted I wasn’t sure I would be able to go any further. I was in quite a lot of pain. Timothy was quite anxious and wasn’t as prepared for everything as we thought. Neither was I. I ended up getting an epidural because I couldn’t relax despite our efforts. A hot tub worked for a good hour and a half with breathing and visualizations but with the contractions coming strong every 25-30 seconds I felt I couldn’t do it, and that’s when I asked for the epidural. Once I had the epidural I got to a 9 and a half is less than an hour and a half. I was told to push when I felt pressure since the monitor wasn’t picking up the contractions. With 5 pushes her head popped out then I was told emphatically to “stop pushing!!!” Cause they weren’t expecting her to come out so easily. Then when the midwife was positioned I was told to give one last push for her shoulders and then Tim received her.
They put her on my tummy and she was quite and looking around. Since the midwife was used to very vocal babies, she wasn’t sure if she was breathing. With that, she said she needed to cut the cord and get her to the respiratory therapist. Tim cut the cord and she was taken to the baby warmer right next to me in the room. It was announced, her heart rate was good and she was breathing. A few minutes later she was back in my arms. I unwrapped her and stuck her on my tummy and hooked her up to my breast. She didn’t really cry at all for the first few days. But about an hour after she was born she stopped breathing for a good 15 seconds which was like an eternity, and turned really purple. Three nurses rushed in to check things out. They took her to the nursery to have her monitored for awhile. Tim went with her. She stopped breathing 3 other times in the hospital so we were sent home with an apnea monitor so we could help her if it happened again at home. Thankfully it didn’t. Now, I find it ironic that we had to clamp the cord cause we couldn’t tell if she was breathing and doing so is probably the cause that she stopped breathing the 4 times in the hospital.
Launi- the midwife that delivered me was AMAZING! Super supportive! she helped me so much for that 50 minutes while we were waiting for the epidural. She suggested counter pressure and calmed me down when I started really freaking out. The whole time she new I wanted to have a natural birth and kept on saying I could do it, and that I was doing great. When I asked for the epidural she new I wouldn’t be doing it unless I really felt like I needed it so she said to me, that’s fine, I understand completely if that’s what you want now. We had a good talk about it. She listed some other things we could try but we decided in the end that because of my exhaustion, the epidural would help me get some rest. I loved them. There is no way I could/would have made it those 50 minutes if I wasn’t with that woman. I would definitely recommend them if couples are looking for a care provider.
Now, with knowing what to expect with the whole labor and delivery experience, I plan to try again next time. Hopefully without pitocine. That alone I feel would make the experience less stressful and exhausting.
