By this time, I totally wimped out on the natural childbirth. Most of my birth plan had gone out the window and I wasn't able to control the contractions by changing positions, walking, etc. I decided to go ahead and go for it. Also, at this point, they wanted to start me on pitocin and I knew the contractions would be getting MUCH worse. The anesthesiologist came in shortly thereafter to do the epi. I got up on the side of my bed and rounded my back. Chris held my hands. It was awful. I couldn't relax. It took forever and I was SO scared. The dr told me he was the hardest I'd had in a while! Everyone I'd heard who had one said that it was much better than they thought it would be, but it was MUCH worse that I thought it would be! They finally got it in and in about 15 minutes I was much better. I labored with the pit and epi for about 2 hours or so. When they checked again, I'd made good progress and was at about 6cm. However, the midwife said, I don't think that's the head I'm feeling. My heart sunk from there. She got and ultrasound machine in to check, but it was an old one and the picture wasn't good. She thought it confirmed it, but she sent for an ultrasound tech to do a good one with a better machine and she definitely confirmed it. She was trying to come out butt first.
So, it was to be a C-section for me. I was SO scared. I REALLY didn't want this at all. Well, they started prepping me for it and I kept getting more and more anxious and nervous. They wheeled me off to the OR and got me on the table. The got my hands out on the little boards and strapped my legs down. They put warm, heavy blankets over my feet and chest and then put up the screen. Chris came in, but the meds they'd given me made me really groggy and I was fighting sleep. He held my hand but he couldn't get very close to me. I felt some tugging, but no pain, but I was still really scared. I remember hearing Chris say, "There are her legs. And there's her body. She's almost out..just her head left!" And then "There she is!" I heard a few mini cries and felt a lot of relief that she appeared to be okay. But I was scared now for me! Chris brought her over, but couldn't get too close and I got brief glimpse of her before they whisked her away for cleaning, tests, and such. I found out later, she went with the nurses and Chris to the recover room and they got her cleaned up and did all the meds and tests on her. Meanwhile, I kept getting sleepier and sleepier, but I was fighting it. I think I must have drifted in and out for a while and I finally woke up when they were sewing me up. They took down all the stuff and wheeled me into the recovery room where Chris and Emily were. I watched them work on her for a while before they finally brought her to me. I started to relax more at this point, knowing that it was over. We tried, mostly unsuccessfully, to breastfeed. She was born at 1:51am on the 21st. We were wheeled into our new room by 5am! The grandparents were chomping at the bit, to get some news and get a look at her!
That's Emily's birth story. Emily Morgan Jones was 6 pounds, 5 � ounces, and 20 inches long. She's absolutely perfect and I can't believe how much I'm in love with her. I also can't believe how much more I love Chris! I never thought I could love him any more than I did, but I certainly do. He's been FABULOUS though this entire pregnancy, birth, and postpartum period. He's the best husband ever!
The next day, I woke up to a normal day. I was making some brownies and I felt a tiny little gush. I checked and it seemed like it might be amniotic fluid since it had no odor or color and I had no control over the flow. I walked around a bit and it kept happening in short little gushes, so I decided to go upstairs and finish packing the bag while I saw if it was going to continue. It did and I finished, so I called Chris to let him know what was going on and that I was going to call the OB. I called them and they told me to head on in to the hospital to get checked out. I called Chris back and he came home and got me and we headed in. It took him a while to get home since he works 30 miles from home and then we had to head immediately back in that direction to the hospital. Right when I had the first little gush, I felt what might have been a contraction, but other than that, I had no pain.
We got to the hospital around 1pm and they admitted me and checked me and it was amniotic fluid, so I was there to stay. They checked my blood pressure and it was 178/93!! Since I'd been having problems with BP for a few months, they decided to start me on magnesium sulfate. This stuff is basically a muscle relaxer. However, it's also the stuff they use to halt pre-term labor, so it was probably working against me where the contractions were concerned. Also, since I had to be on the mag, this meant I was confined to a bed for the whole thing. There goes my birth plan! I was still only 1cm when they checked. Also, they told me that I was Group B Strep positive. They told me at the OB that I was negative. Also, evidently I'm slightly anemic. They told me I had no problems with this. I don't know what the deal is, but this adds to my irritation of my Dr's office.
They got me up to a room and let me rest for a while while we checked to see if I was going to start contracting. They inserted a catheter (a strange experience didn't quite hurt, but was weird). I wasn't making any progress; they inserted cervadil at around 5pm. In an hour or so it started working! I was having contractions very fast! They started out being at least 5 minutes apart and got worse VERY fast. I contracted for 2 hours without medication. We used the breathing from Lamaze and focusing. I thought I'd HATE using it and that I wouldn't want Chris in my face, or touching anything but my hand. Turns out I was wrong!