Grand Rapids Nesties
jillianmb
member
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Let's talk about birth
I'm not pregnant, but many of my friends are starting to get pregnant/ttc so our conversations increasingly are turning to hospitals/birth/OBGYNs/midwives/home births etc.
So what was your pregnancy(ies) and birth(s) like? Did you have a midwife or OBGYN? Best parts (both of pregnancy and birth)? Worst parts? Would you change anything?
TTC September 2010 thru October 2011
SA February 2011: Normal
RE App. October 2011 - Recc. Clomid and IUI
Taking a break from TTC to pursue adoption
Met our 2 year old son in Russia July 2012!
Court trip October 2012
Home November 24 2012!
adoption blog: addingaburden.com
Re: Let's talk about birth
I have 3 wonderful children...
Pregnancy - I suffered from severe Hyperemesis all 3 times. Spent many days in the hospital getting re-hydrated. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperemesis_gravidarum. Each time I would lose around 20 lbs before I actually started to gain weight.
Births - My first one was a c-section at 41 weeks because I was not progressing and he was estimated to be 9 1/2 lbs. No contractions, no dilating, nothing. He was over 10 lbs when he was born. My second one was a repeat c-section because my hospital in Chicago did not do VBAC and I would have had to go into the city to do it...but it was over an hour away in good traffic. He was 9 1/2 lbs. My third was a repeat c-section as well. Luckily she was only 8 3/4 lbs!!
OB GYN all 3 times.
Best Parts - hearing the heartbeat, whether it's the first time ever or your last appointment before giving birth the 3rd time. Brought a tear to my eye every single time! Feeling the baby move around. Trying to figure out body parts when they are bigger.
Worst Parts - being so sick. I wish I could have actually enjoyed my pregnancies...especially my last one but I was sick all 9 months. I even threw up on my way to the hospital to have her!!!
Not sure if I'd change anything! I love that my boys are so close in age and they have a little sister to protect!!
Wow lilybean you make big babies! Emotionally how did you come to grips with the fact that you would not experience a vaginal birth? Or did it not matter to you?
I LOVE your daughter's name. Thanks for sharing your story!
TTC September 2010 thru October 2011
SA February 2011: Normal
RE App. October 2011 - Recc. Clomid and IUI
Taking a break from TTC to pursue adoption
Met our 2 year old son in Russia July 2012!
Court trip October 2012
Home November 24 2012!
adoption blog: addingaburden.com
Ha! Pretty sure the second 2 would have been over 10 lbs if they went that long gestationaly too. LOL...
I really didn't have a problem with it until a few people pointed it out to me. I wanted my second to be VBAC and then when I found out he was going to be just as big and my hospital didn't offer it...kind of made that decision easy. I moved back to Grand Rapids a month or so before delivering Adalyn so I didn't even consider it as an option. Either way....end result I have 3 wonderful children that I carried for 9 months.
I felt great when I was pregnant with Calvin! His birth was just fantastic. I was able to do a med-free birth, and with the support of my midwife and husband, it really wasn't that bad. 12 hours of labor and pushing and then he was born. I'd do another med-free birth in the hospital, but I definitely don't feel comfortable doing a home birth, I myself would get too distracted.
Best part of pregnancy: the baby kicks, I miss them.
Best part of birth: Not knowing the sex of the baby, it was so exciting to find out what the baby was once he was born and laying on my chest. There's nothing like that moment when they are first born!
Worst parts of pregnancy: horrible acid reflux
Worst parts of birth: getting stuck in the transition phase for a.long.time.
I wouldn't change a thing! Overall, I had a great experience
TTC September 2010 thru October 2011
SA February 2011: Normal
RE App. October 2011 - Recc. Clomid and IUI
Taking a break from TTC to pursue adoption
Met our 2 year old son in Russia July 2012!
Court trip October 2012
Home November 24 2012!
adoption blog: addingaburden.com
I felt great when I was pregnant with Calvin! His birth was just fantastic. I was able to do a med-free birth, and with the support of my midwife and husband, it really wasn't that bad. 12 hours of labor and pushing and then he was born. I'd do another med-free birth in the hospital, but I definitely don't feel comfortable doing a home birth, I myself would get too distracted.
Best part of pregnancy: the baby kicks, I miss them.
Best part of birth: Not knowing the sex of the baby, it was so exciting to find out what the baby was once he was born and laying on my chest. There's nothing like that moment when they are first born!
Worst parts of pregnancy: horrible acid reflux
Worst parts of birth: getting stuck in the transition phase for a.long.time.
I wouldn't change a thing! Overall, I had a great experience
I don't know what's up with double posting of my replies today...
I delivered at Spectrum downtown. I saw the midwives with the practice Associates in OBGYN - they are located on College above the Omlette Shop, I had lots of good breakfasts after my appointments
- and they deliver both at Spectrum and St. Mary's. There are three midwives there: Sandy, Gail and Amy. I love them all, but saw Gail the most throughout my pregnancy, and Sandy delivered Calvin. I originally would have loved for Gail to deliver him, but Sandy was absolutely perfect and I'm so glad she was there. I loved the thought of midwives (even if you end up with an epidural) because they are there the whole time to help you labor, and just don't show up to "catch" the baby. I could go on and on 
If you want to know about my pregnancy you can watch the episode on Mystery Diagnosis.
To make it short, my pregnancy was fine until about 14 weeks when I started having severe pains in my tailbone area. Nothing would help it and I was eventually diagnosed with coccydenia, which meant my tailbone was slightly out of alignment because your joints get looser during pregnancy to prepare your pelvis to widen for the birthing process. It finally stopped at 19 weeks and I was fine until 30 weeks when they found out Hudson wasn't growing. I got put on bedrest, I had to go to my ob twice a week for blood pressure and non-stress tests, and was sent to triage 3 times. My water broke at 36 weeks. I had to have an emergency c-section because Hudson's heartrate kept dropping. My water broke 2 hours before Hudson was born, so it was a fast but terrifying experience. He was only 3 lbs. 10 oz when he was born so he was in the NICU for 12 days before we could take him home. Thankfully everything turned out fine. I'm excited to be pregnant again now that I know I have a uterine anomoly and am at risk for high blood pressure. I will be closely monitored next time around and that gives me a lot of relief. I would also like to try for a VBAC next time around and my ob is all for it as long as things are looking good!
goodgollie I remember you telling me about this before and wow it is an amazing story! I was wondering how it would affect future pregnancies- so glad to hear that they know what the problem was/what to look for.
So when you were on bed rest what happened to your job? Did you take sick leave or did it count toward your mat leave?
TTC September 2010 thru October 2011
SA February 2011: Normal
RE App. October 2011 - Recc. Clomid and IUI
Taking a break from TTC to pursue adoption
Met our 2 year old son in Russia July 2012!
Court trip October 2012
Home November 24 2012!
adoption blog: addingaburden.com
I delivered in Holland and it was great! I just used an OB and had an epidural.
I LOVED being pregnant it was great. My baby was 8lbs 1oz, so he was a decent size, but I never felt uncomfortable during the pregnancy. I never once woke up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom and did not expereince morning (or allday) sickness what-so-ever. I would get pregnant again in a heartbeat (if it were that easy) but I don't know if I want more kids.
Birthing was fine, it was really long for me, or at least it felt that way. I was induced so it was nice to know when he was coming, I was terrified of having my water break while I was at work or out in public somewhere. We did not go to a birthing class so I wasn't really sure what to expect, but that was okay with me.
He had some heart issues in utero and they rushed him to the nicu when he was first born because he wasn't crying so that was scary, but everything turned out fine!
I would not have changed anything. Over all it was a great experience and I can't believe I have a 1 year old already!
Kubes I have many questions- hope you don't mind!
How many of the 12 hours of labor were in the hospital? Were you able to get up and move around or use a tub/shower for pain relief? Did you have to get an IV or use one of those monitoring belts? Was Calvin placed on your chest right after? When did they take him to check him out? How long did you stay in the hospital?
TTC September 2010 thru October 2011
SA February 2011: Normal
RE App. October 2011 - Recc. Clomid and IUI
Taking a break from TTC to pursue adoption
Met our 2 year old son in Russia July 2012!
Court trip October 2012
Home November 24 2012!
adoption blog: addingaburden.com
Boy I hope when we have kids I have a pregnancy like yours! So he was born in the summer then? Just curious how you liked having a summer baby? My siblings and I were all born in the winter and I always wonder how that was for my mom- having a new baby and being stuck inside and all. Do you think the season of birth makes having a newborn easier or harder?
TTC September 2010 thru October 2011
SA February 2011: Normal
RE App. October 2011 - Recc. Clomid and IUI
Taking a break from TTC to pursue adoption
Met our 2 year old son in Russia July 2012!
Court trip October 2012
Home November 24 2012!
adoption blog: addingaburden.com
Jillian you are cracking me up. You are doing some serious research here! I was only on bedrest for 2 weeks and I used my short-term disability. It did not count toward my maternity leave and I took a full 12 weeks after Hudson was born.
Goodgollie: I remember that, I saw the episode, pretty cool that you and my Doctor were both on it
The best thing about my pregnancy was that I had no morning sickness, feeling the kicks and punches, watching the belly grow and anticipating the sex of the baby. It was amazing to find out after delivering that we had a girl. I loved the anticipation.
The worst thing about pregnancy: Knowing that she was a miracle child and that I may never beable to experience it again. It still makes me very sad, though I am truly, truly blessed to have her.
Delivery/Labor: I was in Labor during Easter Sunday. I wasn't feeling well all day, but got through it and had a very rough night. Woke up Easter Monday with cramping that was five minutes apart (nothing like they described in birthing class) so I called the emergency line and the nurse told me to get to the hospital immidately. Was admitted at 9:30 am dialated at 6 cm. It wasn't until around 4:30/5:00 that the pain was so bad contractions started to feel like they described in class, I couldn't take it (I wanted to go natural), but ended up having an epidural, though I could still feel some of it. It wasn't until 9:32pm that she was born.
If you don't mind me asking, why was your DD a miracle?
I don't mind you asking....I have stage IV endometriosis. If you are not familiar with it it is when the tissue that lines the uterus (endometrium) grows in other areas of the body (mainy pelvic region) it can be a very painful disease and causes infertility. I was diagnosed in Dec. of 2006 during an emergency surgery due to a large blood filled cyst bleeding into my pelvic region. My left ovary was ontop of my right ovary and it was a mess. My dr. cleaned out as much as he could, and I went onto Lupron six weeks after that, and then I was able to concieve my daughter just a month after getting off of the Lupron. I have not been so lucky since. I have had two other surgeries done since, along with other medications.
I never mind, I think birth is such an awesome experience, I could talk about it for hours! (this ended up REALLY long)
I was in the hospital the whole time, although I was hoping to be at home for much of the laboring. I was 41 weeks and 3 days pregnant when I went in to be induced. I was about 3cm dilated when I went in and was apparently having enough contractions that they couldn't use the cervix softener meds on me. Which was fine, I didn't want them anyways! Since I was already admitted, DH and I did a lot of walking the floors to progress enough that my midwife could break my water. When she came in two hours later to check on me and another patient, I was far enough along that she was able to break the waters, and thank God because I did not want anything to do with pitocin!
Besides my IV for testing positive to Strep B (I needed to have it attached to me for like 15 minutes, every 4 hours or so), I could get up and move around as much as I wanted. I was going to get into the tub/shower to help with the contractions, but once I made it to the bathroom I just couldn't get my strength up to lift my leg up and over during a contraction, so I just squatted on the floor instead for a while. I am so thankful I was able to move around, Calvin's heart rate kept dropping, and without the ability to keep changing positions to keep it up, we probably would have ended up in a c-section. We found out once he was born that the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck, causing the drops in heart rate, but our cool-as-a-cucumber midwife just quickly unwrapped, clamped and cut it. She didn't make a big deal out of it or freak out or anything.
They only had the monitoring belts on once in a while, but they were wireless so I was still able to move freely. There are only a couple of those wireless belts, and you have to ask for them
Calvin was placed on me right afterwards and MH announced the sex of the baby. SO COOL! I held him and let him try to nurse right after he was born, probably for at least an hour or so. My family even came in to see him get cleaned up and have his first bath, see him get his feet stamped, and then handed back to us. They never took him out of the room. And he roomed in with us in recovery.
Calvin was born on a Monday morning, and we left Tuesday night. We went in Sunday night to be induced. Not one nurse informed me of how long people typically stay. I honestly had no idea that after the baby is born you have a full 48 hours to stay. I got a lot of grief from a nurse who called us the next day to check in and see how things were. She asked how I was, and I said, "tired". And she kind of snapped back with, "well, you did leave a DAY early". Whoa.
I think I answered everything. I've never really written his birth story down anyplace, and I probably should! You can always PM me if you have more questions too
That's fantastic that you were able to conceive her!
My OB/GYN is Dr. Klyn, and I delivered at Butterworth. The whole birth story is in my blog below.
But the short version is that I went into labor naturally at 38w6d. After 16 1/2 hours of labor Baby Rebel was delivered via c-section because I didn't progress past 6cm and his heart rate was fluctuating with every contraction.
I did get an epidural, and for me that was the worst part of the whole experience. The pain of getting it done was excruciating! I had tears pouring down my face, and the nurse had to hold my shoulders really tight in order for me not to move for the doctor. My sister, SIL, and best friend all told me they felt nothing, so I guess I'm just special. I still get a pain in the middle of my back almost daily.
The best part of the birth was just getting to see him. Seeing the little person that was moments ago snug in my belly is pretty amazing. And with having a c-section makes it kinda hard to really believe that that baby actually came out of you.
The best part of pregnancy was as others said, getting to hear the heartbeat. I even recorded it on my phone so I could listen to it anytime. I loved getting to hear his heartbeat since he didn't start kicking until I was 23 weeks.
The worst for me...sleep. It got so that no matter what side I laid on that knee and hip would start to ache. Plus changing positions hurt. And I love sleep, so knowing how much pain I would be in once I went to bed was pretty awful. I didn't have morning sickness, just would cough/dry heave if my stomach got empty.
My Profile
I use(d) an OB/GYN and thankfully I loved all of them in the office we go to. I had the lovely opportunity to have my water break at work at 11 o'clock at night! I was 38 weeks. Thankfully, I work at the hospital I was delivering at so one of my co workers popped me in a wheelchair and took me up to labor and delivery - my husband met me there shortly after.
I had to be given quite a bit of ptosin (sp) because nothing was happening by 9am the next morning. I got an epidural and it was the best decision I ever made! My contractions had started getting really bad by the time I was dilated to 4. After I got the epidural my doc came and checked on me (he'd been checking on me throughout the day) and told me that it was up to me, but that he'd like me to "labor down" for quite a while. I was good with that. I got to rest up for a few hours and by 3pm I was ready to start pushing. I only pushed a few times and only for a 1/2 hour.
I was so nervous about the actual labor part of giving birth, but for me, it wasn't bad at all! I really hope my next labor/delivery goes as smooth as this. My doc told me that even though my water broke at 11pm the night before, he didn't want to start "counting" my labor time until I started feeling contractions - which was at 9am after I was given ptosin. That pretty much puts me at 6 hours of labor and 30 minutes of pushing.
I know it almost makes me nervous to have another because everything with Logan was so good!
Having him in the summer was great. I was able to get out for walks and even just sit outside if I was sick of the house. we didn't get out much, but I think knowing I was able to was nice, were as in the winter it is SO much harder, i don't think I would have ever ventured out. It was also nice to not have to worry about so many germs and illnessess when we went out or when people came over because it was summer. September is a great month the concieve!
My pregnancy and labor and delivery were rainbows and butterflies.
lmao. They say you forget the pain, right? Ha.
I was sick from weeks 6-16 and ended up in the hospital overnight somewhere around week 27 from back pain (they thought it was a kidney stone) and my delivery was sort of rough. Epidural failure, two 2nd degree tears, 2 ER visits within 5 days of being home, etc. The pain was so bad during labor I thought I was literally going to die. Hehe.
But it was SO SO SO worth it and I would do it 1,000,000 times over again.
And there were definitely some good parts. I think I pushed 3 times and he was here. I feel awful when I hear about girls pushing for hours and hours.
My first pregnancy was great until 32ish weeks... I got pre-eclampsia, and spent a week in the hospita. I felt great, but ended up with a preemie. Labor was long and horrible because of the meds I had to be on. She spent 2 weeks in the hospital.
After 2 miscarriages, I got pg again, super stressful beginning because I was worried about another miscarriage. But all was fine. In the middle of pregnancy I started seeing a specialist to watch for pre-eclampsia again, but at 35 weeks this time. I made it to 37 weeks, but was induced again. Labor wasn't horrible, until the end when I was put on the meds again.
I saw a family doctor both times. The second time I started seeing an OBGYN, but I didn't like the office, so I went back to my regular doctor, and a specialist.
Oh! And both times I was on bedrest for 2 weeks... not the end of the world though.
I would do it all over again in second.
TTC September 2010 thru October 2011
SA February 2011: Normal
RE App. October 2011 - Recc. Clomid and IUI
Taking a break from TTC to pursue adoption
Met our 2 year old son in Russia July 2012!
Court trip October 2012
Home November 24 2012!
adoption blog: addingaburden.com
Ok, now that I have a minute...
Pregnancy, the things I loved were the kicking feeling and seeing the movement. My first pregnancy was great. I had some morning sicknessand evening sickness, but other than that felt great. I was carrying really small, so that help. I was even able to paint my toenails a few days before I went into labor. The only issue I faced was low fluid, so I had to have several ultrasounds to make sure everything was OK.
With the 2nd pregnancy, I felt it more in terms of aches and pains, but it probably didnt help that I was lugging around a 6-14 month old during that pregnancy.
Delivery One - Allsion
Went to bed at 11:30 am, woke up an hour later to my water breaking. Went in around 2:30 am to Tirage. I didn't pass any of the tests to indicate whether my water really broke (it didn't gush, my PH balance was interferred with errr umm,what got my labor started in the first place
, and I didn't have a pool of fluids left). It didn't help that I was 0 dilated, 0% effaced and the baby was still high. After a 5 hour debate, they finally decided to admit me. By then contractions had started but weren't regular, any where from 2-5 minutes apart. Things finally picked up and by 6 pm, I was ready to push. I pushed from 6 pm- 8:45 when they brought me in for a c-section. Allison was face up and her chin got caught on my pelvis because her head was titlted. They couldn't manual move her even though several people tried. By the time I had my c-section, I barely could keep my eyes open I was so exhausted. I felt like I had laughing gas because I was so zoned out.
With Amelia, I was supposed to have a scheduled c-section at 39 weeks on October 23. I knew there was no way I was going to make it until then. I had a feeling something might happen soon as I lost my mucus plug over the weekend. I woke up around 1:30 am on Oct 13 and felt some leaking. I got up and realized I was having some contractions. I didn't think they were all that strong or close so I didn't do a good job timing them (can we say denial). I started timing them around 3:30 and realized they were coming on quick and fast. I woke up Brian and we called his mom over. We arrived at the hospital around 5 am and I was already at 4.5 cm. Whoops! I guess I should have gone in a little sooner. Contractions were getting strong at that point in time so I got to experience the joys of labor pains agian, which totally sucked
Due to a communication issue with the doctor on call, she didn't get to St. Mary's until after 6 am. By then I was ready for an epidural but held off until I got to the OR. The surgery went well but it was kind of strange because I went into the OR at 7 am, right at shift change. Literally the entire crew changed as they were prepping me. The Dr was supposed to go off shift too and had a dentist appt. She was so concerned about that damn appointment. Another doctor was supposed to take over for her and they didnt know where she was and the on-call doctor was getting snotty because she wanted to make her appt. It was very surreal. It was a good thing that they had gvien me some Staydol (sp) to deal with the contraction pain before I went into OR. I was very laid back because of that.
After I had my c-section with Allison I told myself that it wsan't a big deal and what was important was that I had a healthy baby. I wasn't going to let it bother me. Then I was home on Maternity leave and started watching Baby Story on TLC and seeing all the births I was kind of bummed about having a c-section. I was all for a VBAC, but when it came down it it with Amelia. I just didn't want to risk going through all that labor again and ending up with a c-section. My OB (who I switched to 1/2 way through the pregnancy) was relieved I went for a scheduled c-secton. With the pregnancies being so close together, the risks were higher. In the end Amelia was in the face up postiion and they had a hard time getting her out too. I remember someone telling me "good call" in the OR.
Here's the thing about pregnancies - every single one of them is different.
I've only been pregnant once and I was surprised that I loved it! I was very lucky to have an easy pregnancy. I was immediately labeled gestational diabetes (GD) due to my insulin resistance. At first I was VERY upset about that. In the long run though it ended up being great! I was able to see Brielle every 5 weeks thanks to the growth ultrasounds I had to have. I learned how to eat properly as well. You can read about most of my pregnancy journey on my pregnancy blog www.omgwerepregnant.blogspot.com.
I used Dr. Klyn for my OB and Dr. Balaskas was my high risk OB (basically he tracked my GD and Brielle's growth). For labor in addition to having my regular OB I used Kristi Weber who is a doula (and my cousin). I had my husband, my mom and my best friend for support people as well.
Labor was...interesting for me. Here is a my birth story that I've shared with others. It goes through the last few days of my pregnancy.
On Monday, February 2, 2009 I went to Dr. Balaskas for my final ?high risk? ultra sound. We were running late and I was a bit stressed out from trying to get to the appointment on time. My blood pressure was a little high. The nurse asked if I have my induction scheduled (they asked me at a previous appointment as well). I answered ?nope. Dr. Klyn hasn't mentioned anything. Everything has been going well so I don't think it's needed.? The nurse just looked at me like I was nuts! We had our final measurement ultrasound. Dana told us she thought Brielle was between 7 pounds 8 ounces & 8 pounds. Dana said if she had to give an exact weight and Brielle was born in the next week or so she would say 7 pounds 12 ounces. Dr. B said he felt Brielle was 8 + pounds. He then asked if I had an induction scheduled. I told him no. He pursed his lips and said ?alright?. We thanked him for putting up with us (Ben always pestered them about wanting to play with the gadgets) and that we appreciated the care he had given us.
) By
late morning my best friend (and a support person) Lori showed up. Ben
was back then too. I was having major contractions but nothing else
seemed to be happening. Dr. Klyn sent a midwife in to check my progress
and break my water. I was still dilated to 1.5. The midwife tried to
break my water but couldn't get a hold of the sack. She ended up pulling
on cervical tissue which is not a pleasant experience! She said she
would report back to Dr. Klyn that she wasn't able to break my water.
(
)
) She popped in my room and said she was
going to scrub up and to hold off pushing until she got back. She was
back in no time!
The following day I went to Dr. Klyn's for my weekly appointment Since Ben had taken time off for the ultrasound the day before, he didn't make it to this appointment. Once again my blood pressure was a little high. The nurse didn't seem too concerned. Dr. Klyn had them get me ready for my weekly non-stress test (NST). She came in at the end of the test to chat with me. She asked how I was feeling, ect. I told her I was feeling great. I mentioned that it was fun to see Brielle one last time on the ultrasound the day before. Dr. Klyn then looked at my chart. She said that the report was in my chart but she didn't have a chance to look it over before seeing me. She took a few minutes to read the report. She then looked at me and said ?Dr. Balaskas wants you induced as soon as possible?. WHAT? WHY? She explained with the gestational diabetes there was a chance Brielle would get too big. I pleaded with her that I was only 9 days from my due date to please just let me go! She said due to my BP being high-ish the day before and again at this appointment she thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to induce. I again pleaded with her to let me go as long as possible. We struck an agreement that I would do a 24 hour urine collection. She would have my induction schedule for as soon as possible after the 24 hours. If my collection came back alright she would push back the induction. She did want to check me for any dilation though. I was at 1.5. I left with instructions to come back to the office after my collection for a blood pressure check on Friday if I wasn't already in the hospital.
Off I went to the lab to get my collection kit. It took everything I had to not bawl on the walk to the lab. An induction went completely against what I wanted. I had planned to labor at home as long as possible. I didn't want to be hooked up to monitors. I felt very overwhelmed with the whole thought of an induction. When I got to my car I spent a good 10 to 15 minutes crying. Hard. I then managed to gather myself and call Ben. He took the news in stride and promised me everything would be alright.
I did the 24 hour urine collection. I waited to hear from Dr. Klyn's office about an induction date. I didn't hear from them and I wasn't going to call to remind them. On Friday I went for my blood pressure check. Of course it was high (I'm sure due to worrying about being induced). Dr. Klyn was out of the office so the nurse talked with one of the other doctors (I'm not sure which one anymore). They said to go ahead with the induction. So the nurse came to tell me the news. I told her I didn't have an induction date and I didn't want one. I then spilled my guts to the poor nurse. She was so kind and understanding. She promised that she would try to get me a later date if possible (instead of going in that night). She was able to convince them to put off my induction until Monday morning (meaning I went to the hospital on Sunday night). The nurse then spent another 10 minutes talking to me about anything and everything other then the induction. As I was leaving I thanked her for being so kind. She said it was no problem and to not worry. I just may have a baby before my induction. I looked at her kind of puzzled and she asked how long I've been having contractions (she could see them). I laughed and said a day or so but that day they were more often. She wished me luck and I was on my way.
I tried everything under the sun to make Brielle come out on her own. I called my doula and we discussed some options to try. I exercised with my trainer. I bounced on my exercise ball. I cleaned my house from top to bottom. I did everything short of taking castor oil. By Sunday I was completely and utterly exhausted. I was an emotional wreck. My last hope was that labor & delivery was too full to take me. I called at the time I was instructed to call. They had plenty of room for me. The charge nurse must have heard the disappointment in my voice because she said if I wasn't comfortable coming in then I should stay home. Ben and I once again had a discussion on what we should do.
After much talking and crying (on my part) we decide to follow the doctor's orders. I kissed my animals, put my bags in the car and took one final belly picture. I had to stop by my parents house and cried to my mom. My dad was beside himself seeing me so upset. We left there and headed to the hospital. I walked up to my room deciding the wheelchair would be better used to bring up my bags.
The nurses were very kind. They understood that I was having mixed feelings and were more then happy to give me some space. Since I was having contractions on my own the called the on call doctor to find out what he wanted to do. They decided to change the type of cervical ripener that was originally ordered by Dr. Klyn. I was given 2 Ambien and told to call if I needed anything. Ben insisted on staying with me even though I tried to get him to go home. He said he wanted to be there for me no matter what.
That night I managed to sleep just over an hour. Yes, I took 2 Ambien and still only slept that much. Dr. Klyn came in to see me bright and early (6:30am). She and I talked about my feelings of being induced. She told me she understood that I didn't want this but she promised that everything would be alright. She stayed and chatted with me until I was feeling better about the whole situation. She told me and my nurse to make sure I had breakfast that morning. Dr.Klyn left saying ?see you in a few hours!? She was sure Brielle was arriving that day.
I had my breakfast and as soon as I was done the pitocin was started. My mom came up to the hospital to sit with me while Ben went home to take care of our dog & cats. I told him to take a nap while he was there too.
The contractions at this point were very, very intense and no more then 60 seconds apart. Just after lunch the midwife tried again to break my water. This time she missed the sack by so much that I ended up crying. I was still only dilated to 1.5. My pictocin was adjusted several times. The only thing that did was give me a slight break in the contractions. They went from 30 to 60 seconds apart to 60 to 90 seconds apart.
Lori & my mom went to walk around and get a snack. The midwife came back to once again try to break my water. The thought was if we could get my water to break things would start progressing better. This was the first time Ben was in the room when the midwife was there. As she tried to grab the sack and was once again not having luck, I ended up crawling up the bed to get away from her. I just couldn't take it anymore. Ben yelled at her to stop because I was crying so hard. I told her she was not coming near me with that hook again. I truly had had enough.
By 4:30pm I was begging for a break. I the contractions were exhausting me. I was tired, hungry and miserable. The nurse agreed that I needed a break. She had the on call doctor talk to Dr. Klyn. The on call doctor came in at 6pm and told them to shut off the pitocin. I was then ordered to sit in the whirlpool tub, have dinner and relax as much as possible the rest of the night. While I was in the tub Dr. Klyn called and left her cell phone number for me to call her after I had dinner. When I got out of the tub I sent my mom and Lori home. Ben's parents were there so he was visiting with them....in the waiting area. I enjoyed my dinner sitting in a chair that was more comfortable then the labor bed. It was nice to have the room to myself.
After my dinner I called Dr. Klyn. She apologized for the day. She felt horrible since I didn't want to be induced in the first place. She talked to me about my perspective on the day. We discussed some options for the next day. Again she apologized and told me to get some rest.
Ben stayed for a little while with me. I insisted he go home that night. Our dog was going to be beside herself if he wasn't there plus someone needed to sleep in a comfortable bed. He stayed until I was settled for the night. When the night nurse came in I informed her I wasn't going to be sleeping in the labor bed. That thing was so uncomfortable I wasn't going to be able to rest enough in there. The nurse said she wasn't sure it would work with the monitors, ect. I told her I did not care about monitors. I was sleeping on the fold out couch. She made the monitors work.
I was given the original cervical ripener I was supposed to have the night before. I was told it was going to need to be replaced every few hours. I was alright with that. I was offered 2 Ambien again. I was told they would take 30 minutes to kick in. I took them at 11pm. I never saw the 11:15 weather report.
I woke up needing to go to the bathroom. I unhooked my monitors and went about my business. I didn't get the monitor hooked up properly so the nurse came in to adjust them. While she was hooking me back up, I asked about when I would need to have the next cervical ripener inserted. She looked at me like I grew 3 heads. It was 6:15 am and the pill was inserted hours beforehand. I had no recollection of it. Apparently I was very cooperative and nice while they did that and a few other things. The drugs actually worked that night. ;o)
Ben showed up around 6:30am. Dr. Klyn was came in just before 7am to see me. She checked my dilation. I was just over 2. She got me to agree to try to break my water. She was able to do it with no problem. It's amazing how it doesn't hurt when done properly! I was told to once again have breakfast.
I had a lot of time to sit and think the night before. I had wanted to labor without an epidural. I once again debated on what I wanted to do. I finally settled on going ahead and having an epidural to help me through the day. My thought was that I wouldn't be as uncomfortable and perhaps things would smoothly with it.
My mom and Lori showed up again by mid morning. Around the same time my friend Erin (rin-rin) stopped in to visit me. She was amazed that I was having a casual conversation with her because my contractions were practically off the charts. Erin went on her way. An hour later the contractions were getting harder to handle. Knowing it was going to take a while I requested the epidural.
Before I received my epidural I spent a little time out of bed. I called for a nurse to come in for something (what slips my mind). My nurse was busy with her other patient so another nurse came in. She seemed to want to get out of there pretty quickly. My nurse came into inform me her other patient was ready to push so she would be unavailable for a while. She said the nurse that was helping me would take over. That nurse immediately said she couldn't do it. There was a conversation that was taken out of my room. My nurse came back and said that someone else would be on call for me until she was done. Come to find out the nurse that couldn't help me was one of Ben's ex-girlfriends. My nurse was back before I needed anything so it all worked out.
My epidural was administered just after noon. It took 2 tries to get it in but the relief was immediate and welcomed! My progress was checked around 1:30pm and I was at 6cm. I was told to not expect to be ready to push for another 4 hours or more. My nurse was back in my room just after 2:30pm to make some notes and help fix my epidural. The epidural had gone to one side (strangely enough the side I wasn't lying on). Once that was fixed I asked her if it was true that women automatically know when it time to push. She said that most of the time it is true. We joked about not pushing until everyone was in the room and ready. She left to get me a water. When she came back I told her I was ready to push. She thought I was joking. When I told her I was dead serious she checked me. Sure enough I was at 10 and 95% + effaced.
The nurse entered my information and the scrambling started. They called Dr. Klyn's office but she wasn't there. They tried her cell phone but she didn't answer. Come to find out Dr. Klyn was checking my progress when they entered my 10 dilation. She left the office to head to the hospital. She didn't answer her cell phone because she was parking her car.
I started pushing around 3:15pm. My contractions were strong but spurratic. I would push for 30 to 40 seconds and then rest for 2 to 3 minutes or more. It was kind of nice because I didn't get overly tired. Between pushes there was plenty of talking, joking and talk about how excited we were. I was offered a mirror to watch but refused. After some prodding I did reach down to feel Brielle's head crowning.
At 5:09pm on Tuesday, February 10, 2009 Brielle was finally born.
She was placed on my chest and Ben cut her cord. Bri & I were then given a blanket to keep warm. Dr. Klyn said that I was bleeding a lot and that she was having a hard time stopping the bleeding. Brielle was taken to be weighed, given her bath, ect. Dr. Klyn worked on trying to stop my bleeding for well over an hour. During that time I was told that Brielle weighed in at 7 pounds 12 ounces and was 20 inches long. She ate 2 ounces that her daddy gave her...his first time ever feeding a baby.
Once Dr. Klyn was satisfied that she slowed the bleeding down enough my epidural was shut off and the room was cleaned up. I lost so much blood that I was labeled a fainting risk. I was told to not get up unattended for a while. I ordered dinner and visitors were ready to come in. Brielle had many admirers her first night.
I was taken to my room about 4 hours after Bri was born. I was feeling great despite the loss of blood. At midnight I sent Ben home to get some rest. I gave my girl one last cuddle and sent her to the nursery. I slept HARD that night! I was able to get up on my own but only to walk to my bathroom and back to my bed.
The next morning I had my blood levels checked (12 hours after delivery). My results came back that I was anemic but did not need a blood transfusion. If my ?score? had been .1 lower I would have needed the transfusion.
All in all it was the most amazing experience in my life! There were so many ups and downs. While being induced was not what I wanted the end result was all that mattered...having my healthy baby girl.
I guess the worst part of my pregnancy was the labor but it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be.
I used my family practicioner as my OB (she had the street cred for that), and she now sees me, Willa, and Henry.
Willa: pregnancy was just fine with a few exceptions: I had morning sickness and threw up every day at least once for 5 months. Yuck, yes? I loved knowing that I was growing another human being, and seeing movements once she was big enough. At the end, I was doing an overnight in the hospital for pre-e. When the doctor came in to discharge me, my water broke and got the show on the road. Contractions didn't start, so I was put on pitocen. A few hours later, they started, I started pushing 9 hours after that, and Willa was born after 3 hours of pushing. I had a minor complication involving the placenta and clotting and losing blood. In all, it was awesome. Truly.
Henry: pregnancy was very different. It was still incredible, and I loved the experience, but there were some issues. I was sick all the time. The meds helped, but still pretty queasy. Then I had all kinds of weird going on where veins were bulging where they ought not bulge, and a feeling that my uterus may have fallen right out. Still, UP hiking a month before he arrived was worth it. In the last month, my blood pressure went nuts, and I was put on bedrest for about 2 weeks. I was sent in for induction when my BP kept going up. I have Henry's birth story documented pretty well here:
http://blancodesinki.blogspot.com/2008/11/henry-is-born-part-1.html
and here:
http://blancodesinki.blogspot.com/2008/11/henry-inside-out.html
Trying to get pregnant, pregnancy, labor, birth, and parenting has been an experience that words don't encompass well enough for my satisfaction.
TTC September 2010 thru October 2011
SA February 2011: Normal
RE App. October 2011 - Recc. Clomid and IUI
Taking a break from TTC to pursue adoption
Met our 2 year old son in Russia July 2012!
Court trip October 2012
Home November 24 2012!
adoption blog: addingaburden.com
My pregnancy went pretty well until 39 weeks when I developed carpal tunnel and decided to quit working (full time as an RN). I was induced at 41 weeks because I had ZERO signs of labor coming. After 13 hours of pitocin induced labor he still hadn't dropped into the birth canal and his heart rate was getting questionable. So, C Section for me. Turns out the cord was around his neck twice so it is a darn good thing he didn't drop or it could have ended very badly. C Section was awful for me, he was stuck pretty high up and very large for my frame. The doctor literally had to climb on the table and push from the top of my abdomen to get him down far enough to pull him out. After the anesthesia wore off I felt like I had been beaten up and could hardly move from the pain. It was a tough recovery, but SO worth it
I plan to at least try for a VBAC if/when we have more kids. I was bummed about the C section but am hoping to not have one the next time!
ETA link to my whole story in blog
http://benjaminsbeginnings.blogspot.com/2009/05/birth-story.html