I had an appointment on Friday the 19th where we discussed my options, my doctor wanted to avoid me having a c-section as much as I did. So we set up an appointment for the next week with the intention of scheduling an induction for the next day if I made it that long. We both fully anticipated me going into labor on my own sometime over the weekend. Before I left she said that anytime between now and then if I was still pregnant I could call up and she would schedule me to be induced whenever I wanted. The weekend came and went and Monday I was vacillating between waiting to go into labor on my own and calling and scheduling an induction. By Monday afternoon I still hadn't had any real contractions, so I called up my doctor and we scheduled the induction for Tuesday morning, September 23rd.
Tuesday morning we put Peter on the bus and got ready to head out to the hospital. My mom was here for a week to help so she stayed with the other kids and Andrew and I left to go the the hospital. I do have to say it's nice to have an appointment to have a baby, we got to skip triage and go straight to a room. My labor and delivery nurse, Tracie, was awesome! I got there and explained that I was GBS positive and would need the antibiotic, which has a 4 hour active period before I would be given another dose, and I told her that I didn't want an epidural and she didn't bat an eye and I never saw an anesthesiologist. We got the pitocin going on a low dose that would guarantee I would get the full potency of the antibiotic and so we decided that after that point a doctor would come in and check me and break my water. Andrew and I had a fun morning playing on our kindles and reading and eating ice chips (they have the awesome chewable ice) and popcicles and watching my contractions on the monitor. After the first four hours, I'd been having moderate contractions, the doctor came in and checked me and I was a 4 which was 2 more than I had been that morning, and she broke my water. I continued having contractions and my pitocin was turned up and I honestly was expecting to have a baby within half an hour since that's how it went with Josie and Elias, but I went on contracting and they were gradually getting more intense. So two more hours went by and I was getting uncomfortable and was moving around in my bed and at one point I leaned forward and started gushing fluid almost like my water had broken a second time, so I called in a nurse and got that taken care of, but still no baby. The more I moved to get comfortable the more fluid came out and the more intense my contractions became. I don't really know the time frame after that, it was close to the end and I couldn't do anything during my contractions except close my eyes and breathe through them and I wouldn't let Andrew read to me or talk to me during the contractions. Then I was having contractions that made my hands and feet have that tingling feeling like they were going to sleep and it was becoming much harder to relax during these contractions. Andrew was holding my hand and trying to help me relax and breathe. My nurse went ahead and checked to see what my progress was and I was then a 6, so we figured I still had time until it was time to push, but we were wrong. Shortly after she checked me I started to have pushing contractions and then they got more intense and there was nothing anyone could do to stop me from pushing. So she called for a doctor and the other people usually there during a delivery and then a minute or so later she called and told therm we had a baby. My awesome nurse with only Andrew and a nursing student in the room delivered Lizzy. It was about 15 minutes from the time she determined I was a 6 until the time Lizzy came out. I heard her say something about having to move the rest of my cervix out of the way while I was pushing. I tore just a little and had to get a couple stitches. And the other nurses and doctors were amazed that I did it all without an epidural. One of the nurses told me that less than 10% of the babies born at that hospital happen without an epidural. I also have to say that Tracie put the IV in my wrist and that was the least offensive IV I've ever had. There was zero bruising when they took it out the next morning.
Lizzy was a little bruised and had a nice round head since she spent very little time in the birth canal. I believe she had APGAR scores of 8 and then 9. They got her cleaned up and made sure her airway was clear and she nursed right away. She was 8 lbs 14 oz and 21".
Having had a variety of birth experiences with and without various drugs and assistance I would say that Elias's delivery was my favorite. There's something to be said about having a baby exactly when my body was ready to have one. I've heard that the pitocin causes more intense contractions and I would have to say that the lead up contractions are the same but when it came to transition and pushing that was when the contractions became almost more than I could handle. I'm so glad that I had an understanding and non-pushy nurse who didn't pressure me into having an epidural. It definitely has made an amazing difference in my recovery. I brought my own new, comfy pajamas to wear in the hospital and I'm amazed at how much better/more human I felt right away while wearing them.
On my way to have a baby!
Enjoying my ice chips!
Labor is very tiring
She's a big girl!
Getting to know you
Just chillin' under the heat lamp
Being born is tough work
Meeting baby Lizzy
Josie's in LOVE!
Happy Family
