Nearly one month into surviving life at home as a family of 5, and...
...*drumroll*...........
...IT'S BIRTH STORY TIMEEEE!
If you've milled around this page for longer than 30 seconds, you've probably easily concluded that there's an extra [extra extraaaa!] soft spot in my heart for fertility and pregnancy and labor and birth and alllll thangs women's health. I cherish my career[s] which have become vocations; I love love LOVE helping couples who are trying to achieve pregnancy ...and then celebrating them when they DO achieve pregnancy ...and then sprinting ahead to the finish line to take care of women again as they birth/bring a brand new soul into the world! The delicacy of femininity is so beautiful, and having these two jobs combined really is THE BEST.
...But you know what's even better than the best?!? What's even better is: going through the whole journey myself and then jumping on the other side of the bed to be the patient! After 10+ years as a labor and delivery nurse, my three favorite days on the maternity floor [and also probably definitely my three favorite days of my entire life] are the days we welcomed our own three beautiful babies into our family alongside some of my very best friends and co-workers! TALK. ABOUT. SPECIAL. Even the third time around, my labor process and delivery day brought about the most surreal and magical feelings... I would do it over and over and OVER again [if we had a house big enough for 20 offspring and also a money tree growing in the back yard lolzzz].
Anyway, where was I going with that ^^?! Oh yes...nowhere... But back on track with the birth story! So, this time around, I started my maternity leave from labor and delivery at 36w [after feeling the complete physical and emotional MISERY that was working 12-hour night shifts up until my delivery day with Harper]. The leave start date was planned way ahead but turned out to be a complete blessing with my elevated blood pressures and all else that transpired in the last couple weeks of pregnancy. After being diagnosed with gestational hypertension at my OB appointment on August 30 and being scheduled for a medical induction the next morning, I left the doctor's office with a very pointed to-do list.
Bags packed - check!
Shower - check!
Finalize plans for the kids for the rest of the week - not check...
To add to the equation, I knew that the inductions had been running hours -- sometimes days! -- behind schedule because the floor was already so busy with spontaneous labor patients. How does one plan for this when trying to arrange school drop-offs and pick-ups and overnight care for 2 other kids?! Rawr...my type A mind was spinning. After lots of him-hawing and mind-changing, Brian and I ultimately decided it would be best to send the girls to his parents' house that evening to spend the night; his mom could get them ready and drop them off at school in the morning and everything would be covered if we were lucky enough to actually get called in Tuesday at 4am and would need to head in to the hospital super early. And so! We packed their bags, gave them big hugs and said goodbye [and I may or may not've cried a little inside!], and they were off to Grammy and Papa's for the night!
Meanwhile, my night shift pals kept me updated on the status of the floor throughout the evening [a huge rain storm blew in which brought a bus full of spontaneous labor patients! The floor was full, no beds at the inn! Evening inductions were running behind!] and it wasn't looking promising to be called in by 4am...
...but Tuesday, August 31 @ 6:30am -- WE GOT THE CALL from my friend Ann, and she said there was a room available and the charge nurse was ready for us to head in!
Glooooory, glory, hallelujah!
7:40am -- We arrived at hospital and were greeted at the front door by my friend Lori who had happily [or maybe unhappily, we'll never ever know] agreed to be my nurse! This was a pre-arranged situation, and I'm so glad she bent over backwards to make it all work out. PS - did I mention she was also Harper's delivery nurse?! :)
7:53am -- I was officially registered into the system, consents were signed, and we were headed up the elevators to to Labor and Delivery. We walked into room 6220 ready to be admitted, excited to welcome Baby F. #3, and surprised by some adorable room decor made with love by Katie. Thank you so much, girl! You are so crafty and have a way of always making us feel so special! <3
8:39am -- The admission was complete, the orders were entered, and the IV was started [on first stick at that, and we only had to send Brian out of the room for 10 minutes -- because who wants to have the fans spinning full blast to aide a blacked out husband this early in the morning?! #notus]. May or may not've been there for almost an hour at this point, but we were still hanging out and making chalkboards and taking photos, because why get an induction going when we could be partying it up instead?! Am I right or am I right? RIGHT.
9am-ish -- Next! My cervix was 2/60/-2, and Dr. Phillips came to visit. We beg/conned her into ordering high-dose Pitocin. Getting this labor going right away annnnnd having 1:1 nursing care at my bedside?! #dontmindifwedo So just.like.that, meds were flowing and contractions were coming regularly/frequently ...and out of nowhere, at that! This. Is. Happening...
...and Lori had no remorse for cranking up the Pit as fast as she could! ;) :)
9:47am -- HALLO REALLY GOOD CONTRACTIONS. But we know that pain is gain and we really want to meet this baby before night shift takes the reins, so long story short is: we like really good contractions!
10:22am -- Dr. Phillips came back to break my water. And while she probably thought she was just coming back to break an amniotic sac, she actually broke loose a whole ocean that flooded 20 towels and 4 chuck pads and pretty much the whole damn bed [and I think maybe her scrub pants too?!]! SO MUCH FLUID, holy cow... In an instant, my baby bump deflated to approx. half of the size that it was and Baby F. #3 lost all his/her cushion -- you know, the cushion that permitted all the rolls/flips/somersaults for the last several months! And since he bee-lines out the door every time he sees a doctor or nurse or anesthesia personnel walking in [because #queasyMcQueaserson], Brian sadly missed this entire event! After AROM, my cervix was 3/70/-2 [I think, but my memory is getting a little foggy with details since we're so far removed lolz].
10:38am -- Lori convinced me I could get up without dropping the baby's cord [...but are we SURE about that? Like positively certain? Because holy fluid still gushing out and where exactly is the baby's head?...NO ONE KNOWS!] so I hesitantly log-rolled out of bed and donned a diaper. Time to ambulate the room and shake this baby down! The high-dose Pitocin + AROM combo was bringing on some decent contractions, but I was still enjoying labor enough to be able to take "HOT MOM SUMMER" photos with my frans [including a sexy session on the couch in said diaper, but 'dem fotoz are probs not PG enough for the World Wide Web!].
11:30am -- Things were getting significantly more uncomfortable, so I encouraged Lori to go get lunch before I needed my epidural and things actually spun out of control! As a seasoned L&D nurse, I know that multiparous mommas are alwayssss unpredictable; if you have a rare chance to pee or eat while things are semi-stable with your patient, YOU DO IT. She set up my delivery table and then agreed to go downstairs and get food.
11:38am -- I called text-summoned her back in the room just a few minutes after she left: Call. For. An. Epidural. Right. Now. Because. Holy. Sh*t. I. Changed. My. Mind. And. Can't. Wait. For. You. To. Eat. Lunch. Anymore. Owwwwwwwwww.
11:50am -- Brian departed as the anesthesia resident [!!!] arrived with her magical epidural cart and tray in hand. And while I would never wish a resident on my worst enemy AND also originally wanted to wait for a dear CRNA friend to finish up a C-section so she could come place my epidural, things were getting more intense by the second and I easily agreed to the first available person who could potentially help! Lori assured me that this resident was actually really good...annnnd she was! Dr. Morgan came for extra support!
12:08pm -- The epidural was functioning in full fullest force, and JOYFUL BLISS BE MINE. Lori rechecked my cervix which was now 4-5cm. I was so comfy and could now thankfully resume chalkboard photos and visits from friends! When Andrea popped in moments after the epidural and saw me shaking uncontrollably, she knew what that meant... ;) :) Then! Brian left the room again [to do...not sure what? Mebbe poop his pants that
he's about to be a dad of 3?!] and I took a selfie titled: "THE CALM
BEFORE THE STORM..."
12:22pm -- As I was finally settled in and comfy [and numb AF], Lori decided this was her "now or neva" chance to leave the floor to get lunch. She left me in Nancy's hands juuuust for a few minutes. :)
12:39pm -- The baby started having some variable decelerations that Nancy noticed on the monitor [this can sometimes be a sign of fast labor progress and/or complete dilation]. She came in to help me reposition [which sometimes resolves the decelerations]; and even though my epidural was heavier than heavy, I told her I thought I felt "some pressure." We decided she should check my cervix just to be sure it was nothing, and she quickly said, "Welllll, you're 8 centimeters annnnnd the cervix is melting away as I speak..." We text Lori with the update at which point she decided to leave the Taco Tuesday burrito line that was 13 people deep and grab some fried food from the grill [which always sounds like a good idea at the time but is ALWAYS a regretted decision several hour later when you're peeing out your booty. So sorry pal!]... We also text Jamie that should head on in from home since she so graciously agreed to take our delivery photos again! But pushhhh that pedal to the metal, girl, because...
1:00pm -- OFFICIALLY COMPLETE AND REALLY REALLY READY TO HAVE A BABY!...
...but we weren't actually ready yet, because Jamie was still flying down 270 like the superwoman that she is! I squeezed my buttcheeks together really hard to hold 'dat baby in, because what would this delivery even be if it wasn't a THREE-PEAT for Jamie??! I beg/demanded Lori to turn the Pitocin off since those hard contractions were squeezing the baby down whether I liked it or not, and we agreed to half it instead. Meanwhile, Dr. Phillips arrived to the bedside and started getting the stirrups up and bed ready to break down. In a totally unlike-me fashion, I did not notice/review the fetal heart rate tracings one time during all of this chaos; I however, found out later, that the baby looked pretttttty terrible and was probably ready to slide on out about 20 minutes prior to actual delivery time, but! #priorities... and everyone in the room was so calm and acted like not a thang was going on, so why would I panic?!
1:13pm -- Jamie sprinted inside from the parking lot, up 7 flights of stairs, and into our labor room, and the gang's alllll here! I love you guys! <3
1:14pm -- Dr. Phillips was gowning and gloving, my nurse friends had the baby warmer turned on and room all ready, and we juuuuuust had to wait for a contraction to come...
...but I can't spill alllll the delivery deets here!
SUSPENSE BE YOURS!
Part II coming soon! :)
__________
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