After the first hour or so on pitocin, I started asking for an epidural. I had always planned on using the epidural no matter what anyone said. I had heard horror stories about getting the needle in the spine as well, but at that point it didn't matter to me anymore. Contractions on pitocin are not fun and the epidural needle wasn't as bad as anyone said it would be. It took effect quickly and efficiently. I was numb from my waist down and I was finally able to get some rest. It was amazing to see on the monitor how strong the contractions were considering I wasn't feeling anything but the edges of them.
Of course, while on the epidural I wasn't allowed to get out of bed anymore so for the next few hours I drifted in and out of sleep. Sometime later my doctor came in and broke my water. I always wondered what it would feel like to say "my water just broke" and have to rush to the hospital like in the movies, but after experiencing what the 'water' actually feels like, I wouldn't want that to happen anywhere but the hospital. After that I guess my labor progressed rather quickly. I seem to remember them saying I went from 3cm to 9cm in about an hour. I started feeling the contractions a bit more, and within the next 2 hours (I think it was around 6 PM) I was told I was just about 10cm and it was time to try pushing.
I pushed a couple times but was told to stop because I wasn't quite 10cm yet. I had to try to change positions to get Kayla to drop further, which is not an easy thing to do with numb legs. This went on for about an hour; push, change position, push, get in another position...and so on. During that hour my epidural wore off a little so I was feeling every contraction. At around 7 I was no longer making the decision to push anymore because my body was doing it for me. Mike and my mom were both there to coach me along, and my mom kept feeding me ice chips. I rested between contractions, and might have even fallen asleep a few times. After about an hour and a half of pushing I was so exhausted I kept saying I couldn't do it anymore. But of course I didn't have a choice in the matter, my body was in total control. The contractions came closer and closer together to the point that it seemed I was having one constant contraction. And yet they kept urging me on, and I kept pushing.
I had been pushing for almost 2 hours but still I wasn't yet 10cm dilated. They put one of those birthing bars across my bed which I thought was funny, because even though I could feel the contractions, my legs were still numb. At that point though I was willing to try anything. I must have looked totally ridiculous trying to stand up on my bed, and even more so when I drapped my body over the bar to support my weight. After about 2 pushes I had to quit because I was so beyond exhausted. It was then that I started begging for a C-Section.
Since it was past 5 PM they had to call the on-call doctor. Between each push I cried that I couldn't do it anymore and kept asking where the doctor was. I'm not really sure how long it took him to get there, but it felt like hours. When the doctor finally arrived and examined me, he decided that a C-Section would probably be the best way to go. I was still having violent contractions all the way to the OR but they stopped almost in an instant when they upped my epidural. They kept poking my stomach to make sure I couldn't feel anything, but it turned out I was only numb partially on my left side. They tried giving me more drugs to make me more numb but I could still feel them poking me. They decided to go ahead with the C-Section anyway and I felt it on my left side the entire time.
The only way to describe the feeling of a C-Section is an intense pulling sensation. I'm not sure if it was because I was only partially numb or if that is what I was supposed to feel, but it was not pleasant. I was told later that when they pulled Kayla out they saw that she had a bowel movement inside the womb, and she wasn't breating right away. I was exhausted and on so many drugs that when they did get her to cry, I don't remember hearing it. They took her from the room and my mom went with her (she was there for the process) and I think I fell asleep before they started stitching me back up. |
