Baby Julian Jett has arrived!!!
**Born on May 15, 2014 @ 11:53 pm**
**6 lbs 7 oz**
**18.5" long**
(I kept asking little Julian to come out at least 1 week early, and he obliged.....such a good baby)
Here is our birth story...
My due date was set for May 22nd. At this point in my pregnancy (at 39 weeks), I was officially DONE! I was so uncomfortable and so ready to have my baby in my arms instead of in my womb (lol). At my 39 week check up, I was dilated to 2 cm and 50% effaced. I had been that way since the week before with no major changes. Being that he was essentially "cooked", my doctor and I agreed that it would be ok to make an appointment to be induced the following week if the baby didn't decide to come out on his own, but in my gut, I knew that he would. I really did feel that my body and my little guy would know what to do without help. This wasn't my first rodeo, after all.
That 39 week check up was on a Thursday, and the next morning when I woke up and went to the bathroom I noticed some blood. It was minor but I knew to keep an eye on it. Throughout that morning I had a ton of "Braxton Hicks" contractions (as I had had for a long while already). My abdomen would tighten and release every few minutes with no notable pain (at least no more than the discomfort I had already been feeling). As the day progressed, I could tell that I definitely was feeling "off". I was hot, kind of queasy, grumpy, and very tired. I didn't have much of an appetite and had to go to the bathroom much more frequently than normal. That being said, I chalked it up to the hot weather and nothing more (duh). Around 3 pm, it finally occurred to me that I was in fact having pain with those "Braxton Hicks" contractions, and that perhaps they weren't just "BH" after all.
I started to time them around 4 pm and realized that they were around 6 minutes apart (and starting to get noticeably more painful). The general rule of thumb for second babies (per my doctor at least) is that the contractions should be somewhere between 5-7 minutes apart (regularly) for an entire hour and they should be at least 30-45 seconds in duration. At that point, you are supposed to call the doctor & get ready to head in. Mine were fluctuating a little bit, but around 5 pm, they seemed to be pretty consistently 5 minutes apart and lasting around 45 seconds at a time. I called the doctor and told him what was going on and he said that I need not rush or run any red lights, but that I should start making my way in the direction of the hospital. My mom was going to come and stay home with Oliver so I called her and had her come over. She got to my house around 6:30 pm, and we got ready to head out.
By the time we reached the hospital, it was just before 8pm. We checked in to triage and they hooked me up to monitors to confirm the progress of the labor. The nurse "checked" me and I was still just about the same as the day before (2 cm dilated). At this point I was in a lot of pain and couldn't believe that my labor wasn't "progressing". She actually contemplated sending me home if my labor wasn't dilating my cervix enough. Ummmmm......NO! I was not happy about that idea at all. She also said the the baby was very "sleepy" and while his heart rate was fine, he wasn't showing a lot of movement with the contractions. She wanted to "wake him up" a bit to see how he was tolerating everything, so she made me drink several cups of water & juice to try to give him a burst of energy. It was hot all day at home (like 95 degrees hot), and I was very dehydrated. I didn't feel great. I felt even worse with a belly full of juice while contracting. Ick.
At this point I was in a lot of pain and was SURE that this was "it". After watching the regularity of my contractions, & seeing that the baby was moving around a little more but not much, she decided to have me walk the halls for an hour to try to get things moving. Yep...one whole HOUR! She said she would check me after the hour was up and if I was still barely dilated she would most likely be sending me home. Again, very unhappy that I wasn't just being admitted and given my ever-so-desired epidural, I did what I was told and walked the halls with my sweet husband. I felt like I had to stop and double over every 2 minutes, mid sentence. I was in misery. I felt like I had to go #2 urgently at all times and was in a lot of pain. At this point, my husband basically refused to take me home even if the nurse insisted. He said we would sit outside of the hospital in protest!! (lol). My sister decided to head over to the hospital at this point too, since she was going to be in the room with us, and she too was convinced that things would happen sooner rather than later.
As the hour came to an end, I was sure that progress had been made (and felt like I already had a baby between my knees), so I laid back down to be checked again. To my delight (and utter pain) I was already at 4-5 cm and much further along than before. The nurse said she was surprised that I progressed so far in just one hour. Ummmm......yeah!!! This is not my first baby and I KNEW I was in active labor. I KNEW IT! She said to go from 2-5 in under an hour is fast. I declared that it had to be time for my epidural, and the nurse agreed (PHEW!). We were admitted and led into my birthing room and I climbed into the bed. It was just after 10 pm.
I was still in a ton of pain but was relieved to know that I would be numb before I knew it. The anesthesiologist was on her way down so the nurse set up to give me my IV. She prepped my hand and stuck me, but then shouted "Oh Shoot! I missed". She said that I had "rolling veins" and while she thought she hit the right spot, my vein rolled out of the way and she missed. I was also still a bit dehydrated so she put a hot towel on my other hand and planned on setting up the IV there instead. After a couple of minutes (contractions not letting up at all, mind you), she went for the other hand, and MISSED AGAIN!! At this point I was writhing in pain and was in disbelief that she missed again. I almost didn't care that each stick hurt so bad, I was just watching the clock tick away and with every minute I had to wait, my epidural was that much father away. Ugh. Feeling nervous that she'd miss again, she decided she would call for reinforcements, and had another nurse who is an "IV super star" come to get the job done. I was begging for mercy now. The new nurse entered and prepped the side of my wrist to enter there instead of my hands (which each already had puncture wounds). She got ready, set, and O.M.G. - - she MISSED!!! I started to sob. I could not believe my ears and started begging out loud "Please hurry. Please be numb" and moaning "I can't do this anymore. I can't. I can't". I was not my best self at that moment. I was miserable. Finally the nurses agreed to have the anesthesiologist come and get the IV in so that she could do the epidural directly after. As I waited for her to arrive, I couldn't even cry I was in so much pain. I was just begging-- begging for the pain to stop.
Once the anesthesiologist came in, she tried her best to move quickly and opted for the back of my forearm for my IV (mid way between my elbow and my wrist). She prepped and stuck me and got it. Finally!!! The IV was in. I was so thankful but I knew the hard part wasn't over. She let me stay laying down on my side, prepped my back and slowly inserted the epidural. I could feel the numbness begin at my toes and creep up my legs slowly. I started to feel peaceful. Of course the last place to feel numb was my abdomen, but I didn't care. I could take a deep breath now. Finally. I was numb. I was exhausted.
At this point it was around 11:30 pm (yes, that whole IV ordeal took over an hour - torture I tell you). Literally seconds after the epidural was in, I felt something in my bottom and thought for sure that I had gone #2. I was SO embarrassed, and said "Uh oh! I am pretty sure I just pooped. Sorrry!!!!". The nurses assured me that it was ok, and that they'd get it cleaned up quickly, so they rolled me onto my back and pulled my leg over, and what I thought was poop was not poop at all....it was a protruding bag of water!! My amniotic sack was still intact and was literally protruding out, ready to come out. The doctor came running in and gowned up. He told me to push once, and then to back off. He then said to give a half of a push and lo and behold, my baby boy was out!! He came out like lighting and cried right away!! Ahhh....relief. He was born at 11:53 pm, just before a new day began.
I only had my epidural for the last 5 minutes of the whole thing, but I suppose it was the best 5 minutes to be numb (no ring of fire for me, thank you very much, especially after dilating to 10 with no pain medicine!!). I went from 5 cm - 10 cm in less than an hour. Crazy fast. The nurse proclaimed that I had what was called a "precipitous delivery".
This is when the total time between the beginning of labor and birth is three hours or less. This is not that common, but under certain circumstances it can occur, and it has a unique set of problems that should be managed carefully. While it might seem ideal to women who have had long labors to get through labor and delivery quickly, precipitous labor is not ideal for mother or child. Pain is intense and mothers may not have access to pain medications because of the rate at which labor is progressing. There is greater risk of tearing, uterine bleeding, hemorrhage, and low oxygen levels for mom and baby.
I am so happy that my baby boy made it into this world healthy and happy, and despite all of the "drama", all is well that ends well. In my next life I am owed an epidural in a timely manner, at 4 cm with many hours of numbness before the baby's arrival. ;).
Here a couple of shots from our first day(s) home.....
...and here is our little {big} guy now at 6 weeks old.....(he was a whopping 8 lbs 13 oz at his 5 week check up)
These are the best days of our lives xo
