January 13, 2006
Linna birth story
Thursday, January 12th. After a fairly sleepless night, I woke up around 5 am and had a Luna bar for breakfast. The nurse came at 5:30 and put the IV lock in, which was lots of fun. Erika arrived around 6. Then I got wheeled over to Labor and Delivery. The bad news was that they said I would have to deliver in an operating room, since they were doing construction on the hallway that leads to the NICU, and they needed a clear path in case they had to get the baby there in a hurry. And that meant only 2 people with me. It turned out that Dad wanted to be with me for the labor and delivery, which I hadn't understood - it's a good thing Martha came up too, because Karla and Jay went out of town today and so we didn't have anyone to watch Ethan.
I freaked out anytime anyone said "Pitocin" or "induce."
They put the prostaglandin gel on at 7 am or so. (So WHY did I have to wake up at 5:30 again?) They said I was 50% effaced or so, but not dilated at all. Erika and I walked the halls repeatedly and boringly, which was easy enough at that point since I was at least free and unattached. Dad wanted to come to the hospital with Jeff in the morning, so they ended up coming a little later - around 10:30, because they had to wait for Brittain to get there. Jeff gave me a ring, which was totally unexpected.
Erika went to get Martha at around 11. I was having contractions by then, but the nurses described it as more "irritability" than labor. The nurses helping me were Jan and Elena. Elena was new to Legacy Emanuel, though she said she had lots of experience back in Georgia. Anyway, she was very nice, but had to ask Jan for help with things like adjusting the lights in the room.
They finally started the Pitocin at 3 pm - it was supposed to be at 1, but there were various emergencies that kept them very busy. Dr. Ribbink had stopped by in the morning, but there was not much to report. Jeff ate my lunch - I was afraid to because of how puky I was in labor with Ethan.
The worst part about starting the Pitocin is that they had to flush the IV lock, which had by then been in for many hours, and it hurt like hell. I wish I'd insisted on not getting the damn thing until I actually needed it. They started the Pitocin at the lowest dose, and explained how high up they could go if necessary. I kept walking around as much as possible, but of course I had the IV to cart around, and I also had to have the fetal monitor on at all times. Fortunately, they got me a telemetry unit so I could still walk. I got so sick of the hallways around L&D, and I'm sure the workers who were painting got sick of me too. I was having regular contractions, but not really painful ones, so Jan was dissatisfied. They wouldn't check the dilation because of the risk of infection, so they said they were waiting for painful contractions.
Frankly, that whole bit was extremely tedious. Erika was particularly wonderful, giving me massages and basically keeping me entertained.
They brought a birth ball at my request, which was much smaller than I remembered... turns out they only have two, and only one that's big. After a while I got the big one, and kept it until the end. I walked and walked, and otherwise sat on the ball. Finally, at around 9 pm, after a new nurse came on (Liz) and the Pitocin was bumped up many times, the contractions started getting really painful. But they were still manageable, especially with Becca's moaning trick from my labor with Ethan. I had been so afraid of Pitocin, because they say it comes on like gangbusters and hurts much worse than natural labor, but my experience was the opposite - it was very gradual (tediously so), and even when it got painful, it was nowhere near as painful as the contractions were from the beginning of my labor with Ethan. Those came on fast and hard and painful. Plus there was the hot/cold/nauseous/puking after every contraction, which was a whole lot of no fun.
This time around I was scared to eat much, but I have to say I was starving by the time I was officially in labor. Dr. Ribbink said I could go ahead and eat something if I wanted, but I might throw it up - I did have some chicken broth and some crackers every once in a while. And I had ice chips instead of a lot of water, also because of my fear of throwing up.
Anyway, they checked me at about 9:45, and I was 3 cm dilated. I was happy because it meant I was in labor, I'd made some progress, and the pain was still manageable. I figured I'd get there in a little while. No one expected it to be super long, though we'd already passed Jeff's prediction of 6 pm. I alternated between the birth ball and walking the halls. There was a very sad group of people outside the NICU that we kept passing - I don't know what had happened. Jeff confessed to me later that seeing them made him scared something was going to happen to me.
Dr. Ribbink stopped by somewhere in there, and we chatted for a bit about movies, plays, and books. Dad really enjoyed that part. I didn't need much help, so I told Erika to nap. Dad and Jeff played Scrabble, and I'm afraid Jeff was beaten rather badly. We all did some Sudoku, even me - I was sitting on the birth ball doing puzzles between contractions. Thank goodness Jeff gave me that Sudoku book for Christmas - I used it extensively during my bed rest, and Dad and Jeff both did many puzzles during my labor.
Then by 10:45, it was painful enough that I decided to get the epidural. With Ethan, the epidural was such a wonderful experience that I'd decided I didn't need to suffer so long this time around. In retrospect I should have suffered longer, but that's how it worked out.
Erika held me while they did it, since Jeff almost passed out last time. In fact, he left the room, and so did Dad. Guess that needle was just too big. Relief came fast, but numbness too... I think he gave me a much bigger dose than the other guy. Jeff went to the bathroom, thinking we were home free, and while he was gone my blood pressure dropped. I felt terrible, like I was going to pass out even though I was already lying down. I couldn't breathe. By the time Jeff came out, I was on oxygen, shaking, and miserable. The shaking was really terrible - it made my neck and back tense, and gave me an even worse headache than I already had. I kept thinking I was about to pass out. I wanted to lie on my side, which seemed like it would be better, but I was so numb I couldn't even get there without help. My left leg was especially floppy, which was disconcerting. Eventually (after about 10 minutes, maybe, though it seemed longer) my blood pressure improved. I was still shaking. Liz suggested apple juice in case blood sugar was an issue, which I promptly threw up. I was hungry all the same, since it had been 24 hours since I'd had a real meal, and you know I don't do too well with that.
With Ethan, the epidural was much lighter, I think - I could move everything, even squat, and I didn't have a drop in blood pressure. I don't know if this was a higher dose, or if it was because I was hungry or tired, or the placement was different... who knows. And perhaps it had partly worn off by the time I gave birth. This time, I had to have a catheter (TMI, sorry), which I didn't last time, because obviously I couldn't get up. Eventually I started to get a little sensation back on the right side, and my legs were less floppy... but then it started really, really hurting on that side. I was still only 4-5 cm dilated. Dr. Meckling (the anaesthesiologist) came back to up the dose - he said the smallest increase would take hours to take effect, though in retrospect (useless, I know), I should have chosen that anyway, because soon I was back in floppynumbland. This was around 3 am or so.
You know, what they say about fetal monitoring is so true. That darn thing was on for so long, we all became a little obsessed with it. I kind of forgot that the contraction monitor only shows that there are contractions, but that the height of the curve doesn't necessarily indicate the relative strength of them. I was getting so discouraged because it seemed like each increased dose of Pitocin would get things going for a little while, and then the contractions would start to subside or get weaker again. The little monitor thingy could so easily get out of whack, while I was walking, or even if I leaned over to rest while I was on the birth ball. Then it would start beeping insistently, making us all think the baby was dying. After a while, I got really good at adjusting it myself before the nurse even responded.
The hours dragged on, and I still wasn't fully dilated. At 4 am Liz said she hoped I'd have the baby before 6 when she went off, and I was so sure I would... but 6 came and went. She brought another nurse in to look at me during that time, I guess because I was bleeding a little more heavily than usual, but the other nurse thought it was OK. (That's when Jeff started getting C-Section vibes, but fortunately he was wrong.)
The toilet in our bathroom made just about the loudest flush I'd ever heard. It was really kind of scary. Of course I wasn't using it most of the night, but I got to go plenty of times earlier on, which was a pain, with the IV, and the pads, and all that. Anyway, sometime in the middle of the night, Erika was off taking a break, and my dad went in to the bathroom. Right after he flushed he screamed, "Aaaah!" like he'd been sucked into the toilet by the mighty whoosh. Jeff and I laughed. Then when he came out he said another funny thing, which I won't repeat lest it offend (for those of who aren't already terminally offended by all the other icky things in here). Jeff and I were punchy and tired enough that it struck as as REALLY funny, and we just couldn't stop laughing.
Jan came back on after Liz left. She upped the Pitocin dose again, which had been steady for a while, and perhaps that did the trick. Oh, it just dragged and dragged... she said I was almost there, but she could still feel just a little bit of cervix. I was so exhausted and so hungry. The baby was still way high up, not descended hardly at all.
I started to worry I wouldn't have enough energy to even push the baby out, because I was so, so tired and hungry. I decided to risk a single saltine, which gave me just a little pep.
Finally, Jan said I should try one good push, to see if I could get rid of that last bit of cervix. I asked if it should be just sort of a practice push, and she said no, a real one... so I did one. Suddenly, the baby descended and I felt lots of pressure - LOTS of pressure. Like it was time NOW.
I told Jan to hurry... the various doctors, who'd been in and out all morning, were nowhere to be seen. Jan left to go get people, and she was gone long enough that I was really worried - I sent Erika out to tell her to hurry. I had to just wait and not push. At least I got to try going "puh-puh-puh-puh" the way they'd said in our childbirth class for Ethan! I'd told them it might go quickly at the end, since I only pushed for 20 minutes with Ethan.
They all rushed in and got ready, Dr. Ribbink plus the neonatologist and NICU nurse. At least I was finally awake, just from the adrenaline. And thank goodness for that saltine! I didn't want stirrups, so Erika held one leg (a camera in her other hand), and Dad got the other. Jeff went to set up the video camera. Quickly! Dr. Ribbink started her stretching and massaging business, and then it was time to start.
I wasn't doing long pushes - with Ethan, we did the whole count-to-ten business, but this time I just pushed as long as felt comfortable. On the second push, her head came out. I rested a moment and then asked if I could go ahead. Dr. Ribbink said yes, so I pushed the rest of her out in one more push. Yep, that was it - three pushes!
As soon as she came out, Linna cried. It's hard to describe how happy Jeff and I were to hear that sound, since the neonatologists had said some preemies don't cry, because their lungs aren't mature enough. But she sounded and looked wonderful. Dr. Ribbink put her on my stomach while she cut the cord. I was so relieved I just started to sob. The release from tension - the prenatal testing, the bed rest, the preemie thing, the long labor - was incredible.
She was born at 7:57 am, the 13th of January. She was 5 lbs, 15 oz (big!), 18.5 inches long.
Posted by ktingey at 11:44 PM | Comments (0)
January 11, 2006
Change of plan
After 12 days in the hospital, I was resigned to another week at least. Dr. Ribbink had said we'd try to make it to 35 weeks if possible, and it looked good: Linna had plenty of fluid left to float in, I have no signs of infection, and I am clearly not going into labor despite the fact that my water has been broken for 2 weeks. But today I had my weekly ultrasound to check the fluid, and it's down from 14 (on the low end of normal) to 7. That's not good. I'm not totally surprised, as I could tell it was leaking more last night. When Dr. Ribbink came to see me today, she said she'd done some additional research, and discovered a study that indicates the tipping point between the risk of infection, and the benefit of staying inside, is perhaps 34 weeks rather than 35. And today is 34 weeks! She said we could try to get some fluid and test it to see if the baby's lungs are mature, but we failed - she couldn't get enough fluid, and indeed it turned out she'd need way more than she'd be able to get.
So she left it up to me, basically. I was all set to slog through another week of rest and bad food, but it appears I'll be having a baby tomorrow instead.
I called Jeff and he basically freaked out. He hung up rather quickly so he could run out and buy a car seat, although I tried to assure him that we wouldn't actually need the car seat right away, since the baby would be in the NICU for some period of time. But he was determined.
Dane and Chad happened to be visiting when Dr. Ribbink came back after finding out we couldn't test the fluid. So they were the first to find out the news. It was nice of them to visit - Dane brought food from Trader Joe's, and Chad asked to page through the scrapbook stuff Erika and I had been working on.
I called Martha, and Dad was out, so she made flight arrangements for him for tonight. A series of phone calls later, it was decided that Martha would come too, in the morning. I'm glad she's coming.
Anyway, now I'm basically freaking out because tomorrow is Pitocin day. Dr. Ribbink and I have a plan, which involves doing prostaglandin first, and Pitocin after that. The night nurse scared me by saying I'd be starting Pitocin at 6 am, which turned out to be wrong. She's a bit of a martinet - first of all, she wouldn't give on the 11 pm vitals check (some other nurses are willing to do it at 9 or 10 so I can go to sleep), and then she said we'd put in the IV lock at 9 pm. No way! I convinced her to do it in the morning, which means 5:30. Eek! More IV's I don't want.
I was going to let everyone sleep in, but Erika kept insisting she'd come at 6 if I wanted, and I finally took her up on it. That makes me feel better. I ask you, would there be any way to get through this without her? I don't think so.
Posted by ktingey at 11:30 PM | Comments (0)