Stats:
December 5th, 1997
10:47 pm
7 pounds 12 ounces
22 1/2 inches long
13 1/2 inch head circumference
Apgars 9 & 10
My group OB practice had been mentioning C/Sections because of my "large" baby (I had been measuring slighty large), so at 8 months of pregnancy we switched to a birth center with midwives....
I had been 100% effaced and 3 centimeters dialated for two weeks prior to delivering. Later, at my next appointment I had still not gone into labor (just alot of prelabor contractions/braxton hicks) and I was now 5 centimeters dialated (and still 100% effaced). I had had a few minor cysts they had to pop that made me go straight to 5, apparently these cysts were caused by the "the pill". To avoid having tha baby in the supermarket (yikes!) my birth team, Midwife and the Doctor that works at the birth center, decided to induce -to ensure that I would have the baby safely there and not in the car! We got to the Birth Center around 3 pm on December 5th, our scheduled time. I was immediately disappointed cuz I went backwards, believe it or not. I was now 80% effaced and 4 centimeters dialated, and her head was higher. YUK! They *almost* sent me home, but said they would try cytotech. I was very upset, and then they said "ok, we won't send you home without a baby.." I was like THANK THE LORD!
So the cytotek (which is a prostaglandin pill that effaces you and causes labor often) would not stay past my cervix when they attempted to insert it. I was too dialated and "slippery" (lubrication for baby to come out, they think my body was already in labor at this point as I was having more contrxs, but I was not in any pain). So they let that go for a couple hours. My midwife also left at that point due to an emergency so my team included 3 other midwives and an MD (and the MD is more like a midwife in method and bedside manner, she is beyond wonderful).
Finally, at 7pm when NOTHING was happening, the doctor (that works with the midwives) said (although I was more like 6 centimeters now and back 100% effaced where I had started) let's get this show on the road and break your water. (Since I was in early labor already possibly and sodialated and effaced). It was so bizarre, she jokingly called me "Miss IronClad Bag of Waters"...it was tough to pop! Which I was loving because I was originally told that because I used to smoke it would be be fragile and I felt terrible about it-- even though I quit smoking the day I found out I was pregnant, and at barely 2 weeks prenant at that! It finally worked, and was so wild..very bizarre as this hot liquid came out. So much of it! I will never forget that moment. My belly deflated slightly as it happened, and my belly felt a little more managable in size. A small dose of pitocin was discussed, but I never even needed that pitocin, because within one HALF of an hour (like around 7:30pm) I was in the throws of the most painful contractions you could ever imagine every 2 minutes. That means one comes on, lasts a full minute, then one minute later you get another one. I was like this, every other minute until Maddy was born.
My husband Jeff's mom and sister helped too, they went out and bought me candles and a childbirth cd with nice music and sounds on it that was nice (between ctrxs of course, I had no conciousness during!), and the women/midwives really liked it. They kept talking about it during the birth lol...like "It feels like I am at the beach!" during ocean sounds etc. lol...
As far as the labor pains, I have to say it was the worst pain in my whole life, I almost passed out a couple times. I begged for drugs, death, everything. I don't know if I could do it again. I really thought I would die. They gave me some herbs for fear though, cuz I was absolutely out of my mind. I later found out they were placebos! Thank God for their creativity! I didn't know where I was at a few points, or who was even there. I took Bradley classes, and have to say that there is NO course that could have prepared me for what I went through. It was nice to take them, but in the end I could not use any "relaxation techniques". I would pass out between contractions practically, that was enough! I do recommend the Bradley classes however (http://www.bradleybirth.com), especially if you do not have the time, like I did, to research every aspect of childbirth thoroughly.
