Carlee's birth story

Uptowngirl2009 · July 2014

Carlee's birth story (I'm really long-winded...sorry!)

At my weekly appointment on 6/24, one day before due date, I was checked and still only dilated to 1 CM. I had been having light headaches the previous two days and when I mentioned that to the OB he said I was considered to have gestational hypertension because my BP had been slightly elevated throughout pregnancy. He wanted to schedule an induction for Wednesday 6/25. I was really nervous and scared and even cried when I came home. I couldn't believe I was going to meet my daughter soon!

We went in to the hospital at 3 PM on 6/25 to start the induction. The OB placed the Foley bulb to try to help my cervix dilate. I had to stay on the monitors for 2 hours in order to make sure that the baby was reacting okay with what was going on. I was having mild, irregular contractions at this point. Once I was off the monitor, Corey and I were able to eat dinner and play some card games while we waited for bedtime. Resting that night was terrible because the nurses had to come in and check my vitals and check the baby every two hours.

Morning rolled around and the OB came and removed the Foley. I was only dilated to 3 CM by this time. They started the Pitocin and I started having more regular but still mild contractions. It was rough going for a while and I got really upset and frustrated because they said I had to stay on the monitors almost constantly (except when I went to the bathroom) to make sure baby was okay. I was so uncomfortable laying in the bed and I pretty much had to stay in one position for the monitor to be able to pick up baby's heart rate.

At some point in the afternoon I lost my mucus plug but the nurse stressed that may not necessarily mean anything. She started prepping me that it was possible that they may turn off the Pit and start over again the next morning because things weren't progressing as they hoped. I was at least relieved that if they stopped I would be able to take a shower and eat dinner.

Then at 3:15 I felt a strong kick and all of the sudden a gush of fluid. Everyone in the room at the time laughed because I nonchalantly said, "Oh I think my water just broke." The nurse checked and it was my water. The contractions started coming a lot stronger and more regularly so I asked for the epidural. I was super nervous about this because I have a moderate case of scoliosis but the doctor was amazing and got it in no problems. I was able to rest then for a while when our parents and Corey went out for dinner.

I was checked at 5 PM and only dilated to 5 CM. The midwife was on call now and she checked me again at 7 PM and I was only to 6 CM. The nurse that was with me throughout the day even started saying that I may need a C section. Literally no one was betting on me having the baby that night because of how slow the progress was. After the 7 PM check, I started feeling what I thought was pain and I thought the epi had worn off or stopped working. It was really just the pressure of the baby pushing down. Finally I said, "I feel like I have to push" and so the nurse came and checked me at 7:30 and said that the baby's head was right there and I was ready to deliver. I was in so much shock that I had progressed that much over less than an hour.

The midwife was busy delivering in the next room so the nurse coached me through some practice pushes and then when the midwife came in I really started to push. Corey loved watching the birth. He watched every little part of it and was crying as he was coaching me and even said, "This is awesome!" Carlee was born at 7:55 PM. She weighed 7 lbs. 2 oz and was 19 1/2 inches long. She is so perfect and everyone's first comment is, "Look at that hair!" I can't believe she has such a full head of hair! I was able to hold her and get her to latch before our families came back to meet her.

Unfortunately the recovery after birth was way worse than delivery. I had some minor tearing on the outside that had to be repaired but then the midwife and nurses could not get my uterus to firm up and they couldn’t figure out why I was still bleeding. They ran another bag of Pitocin to try to help my uterus contract. Then they did an internal exam and found that I had some tears on my cervix that had to be repaired. The midwife said she had never seen a tear like the one I had internally so she had to call the OB that was backing her up to come help stitch it up. It was so painful. Finally by about 12:30 they were done repairing things. We had to stay in the labor and delivery room for another night because I was unable to get out of bed. The nurses took Carlee to the nursery so we could try to get some rest and by the next day we were able to get into a regular room and have our bonding time with her.

Overall I'm still in shock with how quickly the labor progressed. The nurses and doctors/midwives were all amazing. Things were a little rough the first few nights/days home but are improving so far and hopefully will continue to get better.