Aaron's Birth Story

It's already a little foggy, but I'll try to put everything down before I forget it.

At 2:30am on Aaron's due date, I had my first contraction in the middle of the night. I didn't get too excited because it didn't seem that strong and didn't last that long. Around 3:15am, I had another one, and the next one around 4:00am. About that time I came downstairs and fiddled around on the computer because I couldn't sleep, and then fell asleep around 4:30 until 6:30am. At 6:30am, I noticed I was having more contractions, but about 10-15 minutes apart. They were lasting between 20-30 seconds apiece, but inconsistent. At some point mid-morning, I had bloody show - got really excited, but the contractions stayed inconsistent even with that.

I am grateful that Aunt Ann had come to be with us, and she and Emma were getting along very well. After lunch, Ann took Emma out shopping and I labored at home for a while. Joe started keeping track of my contractions, and they were between 5-7 minutes apart, and lasting 55-60 seconds. By the time Emma & Ann got home, they were stronger and coming closer together. At 4-ish I was in enough pain that we decided to head to the hospital. I hugged Emma and Ann, and we headed out.

Luckily at home with the ball, I was able to labor without much significant pain but I was feeling pretty icky. So from first contraction to getting to the hospital, it was 14 hours.

Sadly enough when I got there, the nurse who checked me (who never introduced herself) said I was only 2 cm dilated. Which is exactly what I've been for the last 3 weeks. So she hooked me up to the monitor and said she'd be back. What she didn't say is that I needed to be hooked up for at least 20 minutes, if not longer, to get a "baseline" (whatever the heck that was supposed to be). I was pretty miserable at this point, and finally I told her I needed to labor OUT of the bed, not laying flat on my back. I was getting some bad back labor pains too, which was odd since Noodle was facing the right direction.

Finally they let me get out of the bed and I labored for a while, but again was feeling really bad at this point and started to ask if I could walk around. She finally un-hooked me and Joe and I made exactly one lap around the hallway/nurse's station before I came back and asked her to re-check me. I was 4cm at that point, so she said they could admit me. She took forever to get my IV in, and then they took me to a room down the hall.

I asked for a birthing ball, but the one they brought me was half-deflated, so that lasted all of one contraction. I was really having some horridly strong contractions, and by this time was asking for my epidural. What they didn't mention right away, but did later on was that they wanted an entire IV saline bag in me before they'd even call the anesthesiologist. Joe was trying to help by putting pressure on my back, stroking my hair, etc, but I was begging for the epidural. I was crying and moaning so loudly, and I have no shame to admit I about ripped off the arm of the hospital bed, rocking back and forth so hard when I was laboring. At some point my legs got really weak and I even dropped to the floor a couple of times.

Finally -- 30-40 minutes after they moved me to the room (about 2 hours after we got to the hospital), the anesthesiologist made it in and got the epidural in to me. I didn't realize it at the time, but they kicked Joe out of the room during the procedure. That bothered me after the fact, but I also know I was in a lot of pain to not even notice. Once the epidural was in, he gave me two immediate boluses of the medication, and the contractions started to be more tolerable. I was still pretty miserable though. And I started shaking... violently and uncontrollably. I wonder if it was part fatigue, part epidural, and just part hormones. The nurses brought warm blankets, and as I calmed down from the pain, it helped.

Joe came back and and held my hand, stroked my hair and talked me through the worst of it at this point. I remember another anesthesiologist coming in to give me a 3rd bolus since I was still feeling a significant amount of pain and discomfort. At that point, I was still moaning pretty loudly with contractions -- Joe put on some music for me, which helped, but it was still painful right around my buttocks and back. The original anesthesiologist came back and said he could give me a 4th bolus, which might or might not work, but that they had given me "a very large dose of epidural, larger than normal" so he wouldn't guarantee anything. I said that was fine, and glad I agreed because the 4th dose took all the pain away. I couldn't feel anything from the waist down, but that was totally ok at that point.

Then it was a matter of time. I was still having great contractions, and it didn't take any time at all to get up to 10cm. They called the OB resident, who broke my water and then the nurses had me do a couple of trial pushes. When I made great movement getting him down, they called the OB on call from the practice (Dr. D'Angelo) and she headed in from home. I started pushing around 9pm, and thought he was moving quickly but he really was coming down slowly.

One difference between Aaron's labor and Emma's -- the nurses and Dr. D worked at stretching me with each contraction and push, and he really made good movement (all things considered). I think what took so long is that my contractions slowed down, so they ended up giving me pitocin to speed things along. This time I had them bring the mirror on the ceiling down so I could see what was going on. It was amazing to see his head get closer and closer with each push. And then finally, at 10:54pm, with one gigantic push, his head came out and the rest of him followed. They laid him on me and let the cord stop pulsing, and then Joe cut the cord. 20 1/2 hours of labor from that first contraction.

While they were cleaning him up, I noticed that his cry was wet-sounding. They had called the NICU nurses just in case because Dr. D saw that there was meconium around his head when I was pushing. I'm glad they did -- he was struggling to breathe, even though he pinked up well and his O2 stats were fine. We did some skin-to-skin time which helped a little, but he was still pretty raspy. So the NICU nurses went back and forth about taking him up, and finally made the decision to take him up to the unit. Thankfully enough, on the elevator ride up while using the CPAP, he seemed to fully recover. Joe texted me from the NICU and said they were going to keep him and monitor him, because they had already alerted the staff. The respiratory therapist, at least 6 nurses and the NICU nurse practitioner were all working together to make sure he was ok.

In the meantime, Dr. D. knew my history and checked to make sure the placenta came out fully. She worked to get some membranes out that had stuck, but she really did a great job making sure I wouldn't have any complications. I didn't lose that much blood, in my opinion, and the placenta and umbilical cord looked really healthy. Yes --I asked to see it! Although I couldn't see much in the little container that they had it in.

I had to stay down in the labor and delivery for 2 full hours before they took me up. After Joe knew that Aaron was ok, he came back down and stayed with me. We got settled in our room, and then around 2am I finally got to go in to the NICU to see my son. He tried to nurse but was too sleepy, and then around 4 am they called me again to try and feed him, and he latched on like a champ.

He got discharged from NICU around 2pm the next day (11/25) and stayed with us for most of the day and night. I had them take him to the nursery twice, just so I could try and get some extra rest.

Before I forget -- we had wheeled him down around 2pm directly from NICU to our room. Not 2 minutes after he was in our room, Emma and Aunt Ann came to visit! I caught it all on video, even though we didn't know exactly when they would come. Emma was so sweet with her little brother, and then she got distracted by the hospital snacks and the fact that the TV was on (Football Sunday). They left after about 45 minutes, but it was good to see them.

Even though by Ohio Law, we had 48 hours, I really didn't want to wait that long so after lunch on Monday the 26th, we bailed. All the paperwork was signed, and we gathered up our things and left. I felt a million times better physically than I did after Emma's birth -- I think a sign of a better labor/delivery process, and the fact I didn't have a big chunk of placenta still stuck in my uterus. Overall the nurses were great (with the exception of the ones in triage), although it wasn't really the "cushy" hospital that everyone makes St. Ann's out to be.

About 2 hours after we got home, Aunt Ann headed back so she could be there for Uncle Kirk's surgery (reconstructive ankle). She's my hero -- she really was amazing while she was here, and we're so grateful to have had her for the time we did. We've had a wonderful couple of days with him home. He's a good sleeper so far, a great eater, and just sweet. Emma has done a great job adjusting too.

My milk came in today, I'm tired but not totally exhausted, and we're finding a way to make our new family of four work together. Joe has the name of a good urologist who will do the vasectomy, and we're totally done.

So this is our family. No longer do I need to try to conceive, worry about ovulation, time intercourse, freak out about miscarriage, or panic when I bleed. We can focus on just experiencing our little family grow. :)

Pictures to come!

Emma's little brother

Meet Aaron:

8lbs, 5oz of trouble. He spent the night in the NICU because he was working a little too hard to breathe--his O2 sats were fine, but his respiration rate was too high. By the time they wheeled him up to the NICU, though, he was fine. X-rays showed he had some fluid in his lungs that took a while to clear. So we're just waiting for him to be discharged from the NICU.

Emma's Birth Story

All day on Saturday, 12/19, I was wondering if our little one would start making her appearance "on time" (like Mommy) or be late (like Daddy). At our Tuesday appointment with the OB, I was only dilated 1cm and maybe 50% effaced (guessing from what the OB said). We had scheduled a NST for the following Wednesday and talked about possible induction dates if she didn't come before the 27th. I knew as a first-time Mom I might be later, but was prepared for that. We took a long, long walk that day (about 3.5 miles) and took care of lots of things around the house. The only thing on the "to do" list that I didn't get done was vacuum.

At 2am on Sunday, 12/20, I woke from a sound sleep with some menstrual-type cramps and strong pains. By 2:30am, they were not going away and were about 10 minutes apart. I ran into Joe in the hallway (I was sleeping in the guest bedroom so I could spread out with all my pillows!) and told him hat I was cramping and thought I was going into labor. I went downstairs to use my exercise ball and lie on the couch, and told him to go back to bed. He did, but didn't go back to sleep. :)

Between 5am and 10am the contractions slowed to every 30 minutes, and I was worried that this might be "false" labor and they would stop. By 10am, they picked back up and were averaging 5 minutes apart, about 45-50 seconds long. I used the exercise ball and the heat sock, and wasn't doing too badly. That lasted through the afternoon and early evening, and by 5pm the contractions were about 60-70 seconds long and between 4-5 minutes apart. My lower back was starting to hurt, but not too badly.

Around 6pm, we took a short walk around the neighborhood to help me feel better. We looked at the Christmas lights, and when I had a contraction, Joe would help support me. It was such a pretty night, and I really enjoyed getting out of the house. When we got home, I ate some supper and noticed the contractions were getting stronger and closer together. By 10pm, they were about a minute apart and 70 seconds long. I lost my mucous plug around that time, and got very excited!! My back was getting more sore and we were using the heat sock more often. I told Joe it was time to head to the hospital around 11pm.

We got the hospital at 11:30pm and I was dilated 2-3, so they had me walk around some more. After 45 minutes of walking around, I was in pretty excruciating pain and my lower back was killing me. Turns out little Trouble was still posterior and pressing on a nerve. But at least I was dilated 4cm. I couldn't really support myself during my contractions at this point. They were super-strong and because I had no exercise ball and no where I could really get comfortable, I started to feel horrible. Between the sleep deprivation and the lengthy home labor, I was also exhausted.

By the time they got me up to a room, I caved and asked for an epidural. The contractions were amazingly painful. It worked great although was a little strong, I couldn't feel my legs and my contractions slowed down. Unfortunately, after a couple of hours my epidural wore off and when they came in to give me a bolus, the line had moved into a blood vessel and my blood pressure shot up to 174/98, and my ears were ringing. I almost passed out, and they ended up removing the line and giving me a second epidural.

Again, that epidural wore off -- I noticed that it only was working on the left side of my body. The right side of my body was completely normal and felt every contraction and pain. At first I thought I could handle it and at noon, they had me start pushing. I just couldn't do it... the pain was so bad with it only being on one side of my body, and after talking with the head anesthesiologist, I decided on getting the third epidural. It was the last one I could get -- so it was either that or nothing.

It worked great, and wasn't too strong. I pushed and pushed and pushed. Started in curved C position, then did side-lying pushing, and for a half an hour or so, did hands & knees pushing. My cervix still had a small lip on it that was preventing her from coming down, but that finally went away. They were not increasing the pitocin enough, in my hindsight opinion, so my contractions weren't pushing her down enough. She was still posterior, and rotated to the right side of my body.

This is where it gets hazy... the OB comes in (not my regular one, but sadly enough, the one I changed from at the beginning of my pregnancy) and was so annoying. I know he was helping "stretch" me, and that I was so fatigued I could barely push. Joe was amazing, and the nurses were amazing -- kept encouraging me. Eventually they did say they needed to use a vacuum to get her out because she was really wedged in my pelvis. It was the most painful thing I'd ever felt, as the epidural had mostly worn off at that point. But she came out.

And she was beautiful... they put her on my belly and I started to sob. She was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen. The nurses had to remind the OB several times that I wanted to let the cord stay intact until it stopped pulsing, and then he cut it. The cord was very small, and my placenta apparently didn't look great, but at that point I didn't care. I had enough energy to push out the placenta and hold my little one. The OB left at some point, saying I was ok. I ended up with one first-degree and two second-degree tears.

At this point I was blissful -- I got two of the three things I wanted. No induction and a vaginal delivery... I'm not ashamed of needing the pain meds!

Things took a turn for bad here....

My tailbone started to hurt, and my pain level spiked. I asked my nurse for help, because I was in so much pain. I even told her I thought I broke my tailbone, and I know I was crying from the pain. The epidural was completely gone at this point, and I was writhing and hurting. The nurse tried to check my uterus but it was too painful, and she couldn't even massage my uterus like she is supposed to after birth. She called in an OB resident and he examined me, and said my uterus was not contracting properly. Then he said something to the effect of needing to get in there and pull out the blood, and he put his hand in *somewhere* and started pulling out blood clots. Big ones. I know I was screaming and crying, and trying to reach down to get him stopped. I begged him to stop. The nurse was so wonderful and got me an order for pain med, and gave it to me through the IV... and then held my hand until the resident was through. Joe said it was a scary amount of blood and clots.

It was finally over, and I was feeling better. We went to our room and got settled in, and at that point it sunk in that my little girl was finally here. When they brought her from the nursery (where she got her first bath), I was amazed at how gorgeous she was.

We stayed the 48 hours in the hospital and then came home. My blood loss was significant... my hemoglobin was 12.3 when I went in the hospital, 10.8 after birth, and then subsequently dropped to 7.3, 6.5, and then the morning before I left, 6.3. I was "borderline" for a transfusion, but I really didn't want to stay another day and so just came home on iron supplements and with strict orders to rest and not walk too much.

Joe has been absolutely amazing, and has taken on so many responsibilities. I couldn't have done this without him. Even with the pain and all the complications, I'm so glad she's here and we're spending this time with her.

My Living Angel

We're home... I'll be posting my birth story as soon as I can, but I wanted to post a couple of pictures of my angel. We have truly been blessed. Daddy and I are both in awe, and we can't really believe she's here. We also can't express how appreciative we are of the love and support we've gotten from everyone -- especially those of you here who have followed my story. The generosity of everyone has been such an amazing gift.

She's Here!

Miss Emma Marie (named after my paternal grandmother and maternal great-grandmother, and Marie was my middle name) arrived yesterday! Mommy is sore and tired, and Daddy has already changed his first diaper. We couldn't be more proud!

Pictures and my birth story to follow.... probably when we get home on Wednesday. Thank you all for your love and support -- I couldn't have made it this far without you!