Thursday, February 10, 2011

The Birth Story...For those of you who know I want a home birth, and think I am crazy, here is why...


So today, two weeks later, I am finally able to sit down at the computer and share with you my birth story. Things did not go as planned, and I am glad that we were able to keep our minds open and just go with it. Being a nurse who often floats to the floor I delivered on, I am well aware of the complications that can happen, and am so thankful that things didn't end up how I thought they would- God was in control the whole time, He just wanted to make sure I knew that! PS-I am not sharing the doc's name or gender, because some of you know who they are, and it was the exact doc that I did not want :)

Thursday morning, 1/27, I woke up to contractions about 5:30 am. I laid in bed, and realized after waking up consistently every so often, that I might be in early labor. I grabbed my phone and started timing- about every 7 minutes apart. I stayed in bed, thinking  "today could be the day", but didn't get Jose up. With our first born, I was in labor thirty something hours. I knew it could take a while. Besides, I had my OB checkup that morning at 9:45.

I got up to use the restroom when the sun came up, was still having contractions every 7 minutes, and decided to get Jose up. We started packing some last minute things, throwing in laundry, and got all the dishes out of the sink. Micah had spent the night at my parent's the night before because I knew they were going to check me, and that's a little uncomfortable with him sitting there :)

We got to the doc a little early, and they put me on the monitor. Of course, my contractions hardly showed up, and as soon as I laid down on the table, they significantly slowed down. The PA checked me, and I was 3cm- "Alright, I'm going to send you over!" I thought she was crazy. Send me to L&D at 3cm?!? Every 7 minutes apart?! I knew my body, and I knew this was going to take a while, so I bargained with her. "Please, I live 15 minutes from Lawnwood. I know I have to have antibiotics during labor. My water has not broken. I PROMISE, if any things changes with my contractions or my water breaks, I will go straight there." She said okay, and told me to head there after lunch if nothing changed. Riiiiiiight. Fat chance of that happening. I wanted a natural labor, and the doctor that was on call was the only one that I did not like, and happens to be quite strict about being in bed, and on the monitor, pretty much the whole time. If I was going to be in labor for hours, I would much rather have been at home in my shower or in my bed, and allowed to eat and drink.

We got some Chipotle for lunch, and headed to the house. I took a bath, sat on my birthing ball, rocked, and tried to relax. My contractions increased to about every 3 minutes apart, and Jose started getting squirrly. By 1-2 pm he did seem like he wanted me staying home much longer, so I agreed to start packing up. We got in the car, and started driving towards Lawnwood, but in the car my contractions slowed again- ever 7-9 minutes or so. I told Jose to head to the ball fields near Lawnwood, and we got out and walked. After about 20 minutes, they were back up to every 3 minutes. We decided I should probably go get checked, but I had a feeling that I was not as far as every one thought. Jose thought my contractions were too close together, and my mom kept telling me that second babies are faster than first ones, so I caved.

After all that walking, we get to the hospital, head upstairs, and there are no clean rooms because so many women are in labor or just delivered. They were cleaning my room, and I was talking to my MD at the nurse's station, and then we decided to go visit my girls on 4th floor. It was so fun to chat with all my coworkers! My PCC was timing my contractions at the desk, and all my friends were there to wish me luck. We headed back downstairs, and at 3:30 the room was finally ready. I got in my gown and got checked- only 3-4 cm! I KNEW I should have stayed home. The doc would not let me leave, wanted me to stay on the monitor for half an hour and watch the baby, and then walk for an hour and see if I progressed. We got a salad (once I was admitted, I knew I would not be allowed anything other than ice chips), and proceeded outside to walk.

We booked around the hospital and all the surrounding streets for an hour, the sun going down, and freezing our butts off (about 55 degrees out). By the time we got upstairs to be checked again at 6:30pm, my nose was running, I was freezing, and contracting every 3 minutes. The doc had left to go home, and the nurse checked my vitals. BP was 130/86, heart rate was 110, and I was 4-5 cm. She called him, and he was concerned about my blood pressure. OF COURSE it was elevated, I had been charging around the hospital, I was freezing, and in the middle of a contraction! Because of that, and the fact that she said I was close to 5 cm, I bought myself a room for the night. And the worst part was- the doc said they were concerned about my blood pressure, and that I was on strict bed rest; and if I didn't start progressing soon, that they were augmenting my labor with Pitocin.

I, at this point, am thoroughly enraged. I basically tell the nurse to recheck my pressure- which was 110/70 after chilling in the room for a while- and ask her to call the doc and see if I can walk. When I was stationary, my contractions slowed way down, and I knew if I could not be up, that I would for sure not progress to "their" standards, and end up on Pitocin, and then end up with an epidural because of the pain. Everything I did NOT want. The doc, after being called back, did not budge, and I was left with the choice of either signing out AMA (against medical advice) and ticking off my doctor, or staying admitted, in the bed, on the monitor, with no freedom to labor as I wished. We ended up staying, because I knew I could not sign out AMA and then face my doc when I came back in- I would end up having a C section because they wanted to smite me :)

I got an IV in after 3 tries, and then I got  my new nurse after shift change, and she had absolutely no personality. She had been there 20+ years, and did not like the fact that other nurses were coming to check on me, that the super knew I was there, and that my husband was a Trauma nurse, and that I was a nurse.  Then the lab came in and blew more veins. My blood hemolyzed, and the lab had to come and draw me again. At this point, it's about 8pm and I am crying like a baby. My contractions have all but stopped, my beautiful labor plan is out the window, my husband is getting angry at my doctor and my nurse. I texted my family with the update, and to please pray that my body would take over and start contracting again so that I would not have to end up with an augmented labor. Jose and I turned down the lights, put on some worship music, and I tried to relax. The nurse gave me until midnight, when she would check me again, as my limit for the Pitocin to start if I had not progressed. I was supposed to be having a friend come watch the birth because she wants to be a midwife, but I had Jose text her and politely tell her no. I only wanted him there, not even my mother, because everything was going wrong.

About 10pm, I started having contractions again about every 5-7 minutes apart. Over the next hour, Jose helped me get up to the restroom about every half hour because I was on fluids (I secretly tried to get up a lot because every  time I was out of bed my contractions sped way up). He fed me ice chips, and rubbed my back, but I knew he was getting tired. He dozed between contractions, and I just woke him up when they got bad. I laid in bed and prayed and prayed and prayed. They were getting stronger- but not strong enough

All of the sudden, about 11pm, I started contracting every 2 minutes, and HARD. Jose was not being much help because he was exhausted, and I was having a really hard time coping with the pain- it was much stronger than with Micah. I was still only about 5-6 cm, and I was starting to cave and possibly want an epidural. I would have never in my life wanted one, but the contractions were every 2 minutes, lasting about 100 seconds, I was getting about a 15-20 second break in between. Then the nurse told me that my white count was too elevated for an epidural. I was ticked, not about the epidural, but because hours before I had asked her how my labs were and she said "everything was fine". I threw up in the bathroom because of the pain, and then asked for some Stadol (an IV pain medication), I asked for only half of the dose (1mg) because I don't do well with pain meds, and had her give me some Zofran with it. The pain medication did nothing for the pain, only made the room spin so bad I had to keep my eyes physically closed. Then it made me start seeing things with my eyes closed- weird colors, like I was inside a kaleidoscope.

Midnight came, and the nurse checked me. I was 6 cm, maybe a hair more. She would run it by the doc, who was there for an emergency C-section of another patient, but she said that my body had progressed enough and they would continue to monitor my pressure, but no Pitocin for now. Thank God! About 12:30, the contractions got really hard. Backtobacktobacktoback. Absolutely no break in between. Jose cut the music, I couldn't stand it any more. I was gritting my teeth and biting my pillow to keep from screaming. Polar opposite from Micah, which was much slower and more controlled. I made fun of women who were vocal during labor because mine was so silent and focused the first time. Now that I look back at this labor, I knew it was because I was in transition, and it was going FAST. I knew about 1 am that I would get a break for about 30 seconds from a contraction, and I asked Jose to help me to the bathroom because I had to go so bad. I sat on the toilet, shaking from the pain, and felt the intense urge to push. I pushed the bathroom door open, and told Jose to get the nurse. "Why?" "Just get the nurse now. I feel like I have to push."

He runs out and gets her, and by then I am already maneuvering back to the bed. He grabs the IV pole, and I get back in. Ms. No Personality nurse waltzed in, and says "I just checked you 40 minutes ago, you can't be ready yet." I retorted back that I was not stupid, and I knew I was ready to push. She checked me, and SURE ENOUGH, I had went from 6-10 cm in about 40 minutes. This is why my pain was so bad, why I was so unable to focus, and so vocal. Then she tells me- "You'll have to blow, the doc is still in the emergency C-section. So I blow. And moan. And blow. And accidentally push, then catch my self and make my self blow. After 15 minutes, I tell her that I can't blow any more, this baby is coming. She gowns up, gets everything ready, and thank God, another nurse walks in to see if the first one needs help. In about 2 minutes, I have Jose holding a leg, the new nurse holding a leg, and No Personality sterile-d up and ready to catch a baby. I am pushing, and Levi is crowning, and lo and behold, the doc walks in, and says "STOP PUSHING!" so that they could gown up and help.

I saw the doc walk in, and grunted "Thanks for joining the party!" Now, I know I should have responded with grace and courtesy, but REALLY? You screw up my whole labor, leave and go home for most of it, and then waltz in at the last possible second and tell me to stop pushing?! Are you crazy?!

No one will tell me what is going on or is speaking at this point, but I know, I just know, that I am probably pooping all over the place. I am pushing with reckless abandon, because I feel like it's the biggest BM of my life. Then, the doc says to stop pushing again, but I can't, and then Jose and the nurses are telling me too, STOP PUSHING! I ask why, and Jose says the head is out. WELL WHY DIDN"T ANY ONE TELL ME?! Of course I would have stopped pushing- I thought I was going to the bathroom everywhere and that's why everyone was silent! I give one final push when asked to, and then Levi is placed on my belly. That cry was the most beautiful sound in the world. I didn't care about pushing for the placenta. Or being sewn up with not enough Lidocaine. Or Ms. No Personality. Or the fact that my ideal birth had been so far from what actually happened. All that mattered was that Levi was there, healthy, and Jose and I had made it. In the end, everything worked out- No Pitocin, No Epidural, Natural birth! It was just in a round about way, and God's hand was over it the whole time.

Levi Mateo: 8 lbs, 5.5oz; Born 1/28/11 at 0158
Levi Mateo Molinuevo was born at 0158 on 1/28/2011, which is his Abuelo's birthday (Jose's dad!) He was a very healthy 8 lbs, 5.5 oz, and 20.5 inches long. We were able to go home the next day and add him to our family!