Our story begins on a Sunday, not too long ago (2 weeks to be exact) when I was to be induced. While at church a friend of mine who had been induced a month before told me that she called the hospital to make sure she was on the schedule, only to be told she had been taken off. (So frustrating for her.) So, she told me to call to make sure I was indeed scheduled for an induction that night.
I got home from church and took her advice. I called the hospital and they told me I wasn't scheduled. I told her I was supposed to be on that schedule! and asked who I needed to talk to or what I could do to get on it. She transferred me to a lady who was apparently having a bad night because she was so rude. She told me the only way I could get on the schedule was for my doctor to call. She said for me to call him and have him call in. FIRST OFF, he was just coming home from some seminars (in Kauai...Yah, he prolonged my misery so he could go to Kauai) and SECOND it was a Sunday night. Like I could call his office on a Sunday. Come on Lady.
Then she happened to scroll down and see that I was on the list for Monday night. I was okay with that. As long as I was on some list somewhere I was fine.
At 6:00 I got a call back from the hospital saying that Dr. Chalmers had called in and wondered why I wasn't on the schedule. (I love my doctor.) So, they asked if I could come in at 7:30. I was excited and kind of nervous. My emotions had gone up and down that day from knowing I was having a baby, to finding out it wouldn't be til the next night, then getting a call and changing it back to that night. Kind of crazy.
My mom drove down that day to stay for the week, so she was there for the kids. :)
And here we are all ready to go. :) :) :)
O man...that's a big belly
Here's where it gets fun.
I got to the hospital, got all hooked up to the monitors and whatnot. I had the Strep B so I had to have the antibiotic. They started my pitocin around 8:00. The nurse checked me to see where we were starting from...I was a 3+. WHAT! I was SO disappointed. I hadn't been checked in a week and a half and all I dilated was a centimeter! Boo. I thought it was going to be a long night.
I went natural using the HypnoBirthing method. It is a pain free natural birthing method using hypnosis to get your body into a relaxed state. I was doing great. I had my CDs on, I was relaxed. The nurse looked at my monitor and said, "OK, that was a totally narly contraction. How ya doin'?" Honestly, I hadn't even felt it. In my head I was thinking, 'If that was a hard one, I can TOTALLY do this!'
Until...
At 10:00 Dr. Chalmers came in and broke my water.
Almost immediately everything changed. I started feeling the surges and it was NOT good. So I changed positions to sitting up on the bed and Jace massaging my back. I sat like that for a bit and made it through, but they were getting stronger and harder and faster. I was trying to be calm, but I was kind of panicking because I was totally failing in the "relaxing" category.
I turned on my side and was breathing through. I told Jace, "I can't do this. What was I thinking!?" And he just kept telling me "Just breathe through it. You're ok." And believe me. I was trying. Jace started getting panicked, probably because he could see I was really hurting. He starts flipping through the HypnoBirthing book looking for anything that could help and reading whatever he came to.
He started reading about the "Birth Breathing" which is when you breathe the baby down into the birth canal. And I started doing that during the surges and it totally helped. It made me feel better for a moment. But then I had to go to the bathroom. (That's what sucks about going natural...no catheter. And especially with all the fluids they were giving me, I had to go 4 or 5 times. I felt like an old person pushing my medicine machine into the bathroom with me.) So I called my nurse in (SHE WAS SO AWESOME btw) and she got me unhooked and I went in. I had a HUGE surge while in there. So big I almost started crying.
I came back out and asked my nurse if she could help me get a new position because being in the bed was not working out. She suggested I sit on the birthing ball I had brought. I sat on it for a couple minutes. I went through about 5 strong surges rocking back and forth and I was doing it. I was trying to be positive, but I was feeling SO much in my lower abdomin and it was taking my breath away. I had Jace's pants in my left hand and I was squeezing my gown in my right. My nurse was crouched in front of me helping me through it. Seriously, my body was so tense that I couldn't even open my eyes. I had them squeezed shut.
All of a sudden, my body just started pushing. It wasn't even that I felt the need to push, it just happened. So I told the nurse "I think I need to push. I have to." She said she wanted to check me and asked if I could get in the bed. I told her NO! Just check me on the ball.
So Jace got behind me on the bed and I just rolled backwards onto him. I remember hearing the urgency in her voice as she told me where I was at. I asked her what that meant and she said, "It means you're having a baby!!!" She got up and called for any nurse that was available and, obviously, my dr. I remember Jace trying to pry my fingers off his pants, and I wasn't having it. But somehow I did get his hand.
At one point they had every single nurse in my room prepping and doing whatever they do because Dr. Chalmers was across the street at his office, so I guess they had 'all hands on deck.' While we were waiting for him my nurse kept telling me to bounce on the ball and breathe deep. My body was pushing so she was helping me stop by telling me bear down and then release. Just breathe. I remember telling the nurse that my hands were going numb. She told me it was because I was hyperventilating, but I was at least breathing through the contractions.
Somehow I got into the bed. I really don't remember doing it.
My dr. didn't even have time to put on anything but gloves because I was already on the bed and I guess her head was coming out. He was standing on the side of the bed next to my nurse. (I told you...fast.) Her head was out for what seemed like forever before he told me I could push out the rest of her. And it is so weird feeling shoulders and a body coming out of you. I was kind of apprehensive in the pushing. So my dr. said, "You're pushing great and then backing off because it hurts. I just need 1 big push and you'll have your baby." Well, if 1 push was all he needed, he was going to get it. I was DONE with this misery.
So, 1 more push and she was out.
They put her on my stomach. I finally opened my eyes. (Yes, they had been shut that whole time.) She was so cute!!!
About that time I realized Jace was on the couch next to the bed. Apparently he almost fainted. I guess I was more than he could handle.
She weighed 6 lbs 12 oz and was 19.5 inches long.
While she was on my stomach my nurse said, "So...to re-cap...the cord was around her neck, so Dr. Chalmers just went ahead and clamped and cut. I know you wanted Jace to..." Umm, of course that was totally ok. I wasn't going to flip out because Jace didn't get to cut the cord if it was around her neck. So, I don't know if you can tell, but her cheeks and forehead were bruised because of that.
And I have to say...as you can see, she was born at 11:13 pm. That would make it a little over an hour of going from 3+ cm to a 10. You can see why it was so intense. That transition was fast!
I feel really bad because this all happened so fast that we didn't even record it. And Jace was busy trying not to faint that we didn't even get a picture of us with baby Taya. The pictures we did get were from the nurse.
After delivery I lost quite a bit of blood, so they had to give me some medicine. I went and sat in the shower for about 15 minutes and almost passed out when I got up.
They took me up to the Mom/Baby recovery and I finally got all settled in about 2:30. And then I slept terrible. The nurses come in every 3 hours to check you, blah, blah, blah. So, I was happy to come home the next night.
We are all doing well. Still adjusting to 3 kids. It's crazy. I don't leave the house which is totally depressing, but I feel like all I do is nurse, so it's hard to get out. One day we'll get on a schedule and I'll venture out into the world again.
So, if you ask me if I'll go natural again...right now I say NO WAY! But I'm kind of torn, because while it was REALLY painful it was really fast too. 1 hour of intense-ness was about all I could take. So, we'll see. If I do go natural, I WILL NOT be induced. We'll say that.
