8:50pm- What the hell is this black cloud my doctor speaks of?! Nurse Jenny says, "No, we are NOT going to talk about it". But of course, you guys brought it up, and now we all want to know. Dr. Khalek explains that my head nurse, Nurse Jenny, hasn't had a vaginal delivery since May. May?! It's the end of September! Every birth she has been present for has been in the O.R. because it has had to go to c-section. Not that she has done anything wrong....it's just been her luck that she hasn't had a vaginal delivery. My heart drops. Another sign pointing to what I know is coming, but don't want to happen: a c-section.
9:00pm- Pushing...counting to 10, take a breath, count to 10 again. It's getting harder and harder to push all the way to 10. Making it to 7 or 8 is tough. And all I keep hearing is "Look at all that hair!" My baby girl is so close to making her debut, but my body wasn't letting her out yet. Add another tally to the "bad mom" column...add even more guilt to my plate. Nurse Jenny calls 2 more nurses in for ideas on how to get this baby out. An older one suggest playing tug of war. Huh?! I have to hold on to one end of a towel while she pulls the other, and push as hard as I can against her for 10 seconds. My mom has one leg and Jake's mom has the other leg still, Jake is at my head, supporting my neck. I do this 4 or 5 times...no progress.
9:10pm- More rounds of pushing. My stomach is starting to get upset but I don't say anything. I just figure I'm getting stressed out from thinking about what will happen if I can't push Jennie out. "Look at all that hair!" I'm gonna punch the next person that says that. Tug of War hasn't helped. A young nurse (I swear she was only 16 years old) suggests laying on my side, one leg in the air and try pushing that way. So, exhausted as I was, I switch positions from my back to my left side. Right knee comes up to my chest, and I push. And push. And push. No progress. Jennie ain't moving.
9:20pm- Tug of War and laying on my side hasn't done a thing. At this point, I have a doctor, 3 nurses, Jake, my mom, and Jake's mom all in the room with me. And also by this time, I'm barely making it to 6 or 7 in my counts while pushing. The nurses and my doctor are all arguing over which positions and strategies are best for helping this baby out. Nurse Jenny calls another nurse in for more suggestions. Nurse Jenny doesn't like any of them- back to standard ol' pushing. But this time, she wants Daddy Jake to hold on to my leg. Ummmm, I don't think so. I don't want Jake to see my business down there. But she insists. Then says "I'm gonna use my hand to guide her head out"...so she slides her hand in me and I can feel her touching Jennie's head. Grossed out yet? Nurse Jenny counts to 10, and while I'm pushing I can feel her trying to coax Jennie out...relax, count to 10 again. Starting to feel nauseous. Still not saying anything about it.
9:25pm- Nurse Jenny asks for help from 2 other nurses. While Nurse Jenny has one hand on Jennie's head, the 2 other nurses get on either side of me, and "hold me open" with their hands while I push. Don't get what I'm trying to say? 3 nurses' hands inside me at one time. Think about it like trying to hold elevator doors open. Had no idea that was even possible. Barely making it to 5 in my counts before feeling like giving up. That chicken broth and strawberry jell-o I had for lunch isn't sounding like such a good idea anymore...
Showing posts with label labor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label labor. Show all posts
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Thursday, March 1, 2012
A scale of 1 to 10
1 pm- So I have just finished my lunch (chicken broth and Jell-O, and it was amazing by the way) and am pushing my tray away from the bed when I feel a little something. Like I said before, nothing bad, just more of an annoyance. The nurse comes in to take my tray and notices my look of discomfort. She asks if I'm ready for an epidural yet (hell no...I don't want one!)and how bad the pain is on a scale of 1-10 (10 being unbearable)- I say around a 4. She then asks where I would have to be on the scale to consider an epidural. Can someone please explain to me the value of trying to gauge your pain on a number scale? I had no idea what to answer, so I said an 8 or 9. She leaves with my lunch tray and I lay back in the bed.
1:15- ouch. That one hurt a little. Pain is around a 5 or 6.
1:30- Ok, ummmm OUCH. I'm turning into one of those moms in labor on tv who is squeezing her significant other's hand and wincing. And I hate that I'm doing it but can't help it. It f'-ing hurts! But no epidural. I have heard so many horror stories about them that I'm more scared of the pain of it than the pain of labor. Pain is a 6 or 7.
1:45- One word- F**K!! I'm shaking every time there's a contraction, I'm getting sleepier by the minute, and no matter how I lay I can't get comfortable. I give up on Jake's hand- I have both bedrails in a death grip. I couldn't figure out why I was so tired until later (duh...it's called labor for a reason. My body was working, and working HARD) and everyone kept saying "just close your eyes and rest". How the hell am I supposed to rest when I'm in so much pain? Around this time, I begin to think- "I won't have the energy to deliver if I keep trying to suck it up now" and I seriously begin to consider the epidural. At this point, the pain is at least a 7, if not 8.
2pm- I'm laying on my side, tears in my eyes, shaking, when the nurse comes in to check on me again. She takes one look at me and asks "how's that epidural sounding right now?" I can't even answer with a word. All I can do is nod while my knuckles go white on the bedrail beside me. The pain is so bad I want to throw up, but I also HATE vomiting, so I take as deep of breaths as I can to calm my nerves. The nurse calls the doctor in and says it's time to prepare for the epidural. More tears on my part, but everyone around me says "there's nothing wrong with it". Yes there is. I DIDN'T WANT ONE. I felt like I was wimp-ing out on something that is supposed to be natural. Women have done it for thousands of years without the choice, so why couldn't I?
**To this day, I have no idea what happened in that one short hour. I went from not feeling a thing to the worst pain of my life in 60 minutes. From talking with other moms, I think this was a pretty rare experience. Most moms I know say their pain progressed fairly even throughout the labor process. If I haven't scared you off yet, I hope you'll continue reading tomorrow, when I talk about the rest of my labor up until the point of delivery :)
1:15- ouch. That one hurt a little. Pain is around a 5 or 6.
1:30- Ok, ummmm OUCH. I'm turning into one of those moms in labor on tv who is squeezing her significant other's hand and wincing. And I hate that I'm doing it but can't help it. It f'-ing hurts! But no epidural. I have heard so many horror stories about them that I'm more scared of the pain of it than the pain of labor. Pain is a 6 or 7.
1:45- One word- F**K!! I'm shaking every time there's a contraction, I'm getting sleepier by the minute, and no matter how I lay I can't get comfortable. I give up on Jake's hand- I have both bedrails in a death grip. I couldn't figure out why I was so tired until later (duh...it's called labor for a reason. My body was working, and working HARD) and everyone kept saying "just close your eyes and rest". How the hell am I supposed to rest when I'm in so much pain? Around this time, I begin to think- "I won't have the energy to deliver if I keep trying to suck it up now" and I seriously begin to consider the epidural. At this point, the pain is at least a 7, if not 8.
2pm- I'm laying on my side, tears in my eyes, shaking, when the nurse comes in to check on me again. She takes one look at me and asks "how's that epidural sounding right now?" I can't even answer with a word. All I can do is nod while my knuckles go white on the bedrail beside me. The pain is so bad I want to throw up, but I also HATE vomiting, so I take as deep of breaths as I can to calm my nerves. The nurse calls the doctor in and says it's time to prepare for the epidural. More tears on my part, but everyone around me says "there's nothing wrong with it". Yes there is. I DIDN'T WANT ONE. I felt like I was wimp-ing out on something that is supposed to be natural. Women have done it for thousands of years without the choice, so why couldn't I?
**To this day, I have no idea what happened in that one short hour. I went from not feeling a thing to the worst pain of my life in 60 minutes. From talking with other moms, I think this was a pretty rare experience. Most moms I know say their pain progressed fairly even throughout the labor process. If I haven't scared you off yet, I hope you'll continue reading tomorrow, when I talk about the rest of my labor up until the point of delivery :)
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Admitted
After the horrible experience of my exam and the WEIRD feeling of my water breaking, Jake wheeled me down to the labor and delivery room. I wanted to walk there, but I don't think the nurses wanted me dripping all the way down the hall. As we are going down the hall, the nurse asks me if I have had any other symptoms like swollen feet or ankles or a feeling of the baby "dropping". As I'm about to say "of course my feet are swollen" I look down...and they are twice their normal size (which is about 4 times the size they are when I'm not pregnant). I had no idea that was even a labor symptom. As for Jennie "dropping", meaning a feeling of her descending even further into my pelvic area than she already was, I definitely didn't feel that. The strange part was, earlier that week I had gone to lunch with Jake and one of his co-workers (male by the way) told me it looked like my belly had dropped. I just laughed it off- there's no way I could be dropping already because my official due date wasn't until October 3rd. I climb into the bed and my nervousness starts to set in.
9:30am- I have an I.V. put in (not so bad after all)and get all settled in. The nurse goes over everything- I've been given pitocin to speed up the labor process because once your water breaks you have 24 hours to get the baby out otherwise the risk of infection goes up. I'm allowed to go to the bathroom, but have to do it into one of the "hats" so the nurses and doctors can monitor my bodily functions. Being hooked up to an I.V. machine doesn't make the whole going to the bathroom process any easier though because you have to get all the cords out of the way- and when you're 9 months pregnant, doing anything requiring sitting and standing in a short amount of time is tough enough.
10am- I'm starving. I haven't eaten anything since dinner the night before. I ask the nurse if I can eat and she says "of course not, you're in labor...you should have eaten before you came!" How the hell was I supposed to know that?! And apparently she could tell I wasn't happy with her answer. Around that time, my parents and Jake's parents both show up and begin the process of just sitting and waiting around. The nurse checks my vitals and asks how I'm doing with the pain. Still feeling nothing, I got this! I'm still on track for my birth plan- no drugs, no c-section is the goal! (By the way, birth plans are a waste of time)
11am- No pain still. Watching the CMT Top 20. My mom cracks a joke about Jennie showing up before Jason Aldean's video for Dirt Road Anthem comes on. Wouldn't be funny to me- it would make sense :) And I'm still hungry.
12pm- The nurse comes in and tells me the doctor approved for me a liquid diet. Never have I been more excited for Jell-O and chicken broth. The nurse then asks me how I'm feeling- still not feeling a thing. I'm going to have the easiest labor and delivery ever.
1pm- Finishing my lunch, and I start to feel a little something. Not quite a pain, more an annoyance. The nurse asks if I want an epidural yet. Ummmm no. I'm not in enough pain to even feel like I need an Advil. I got this...I can do it myself.
Ha...ha...ha...
One of my friends, Emily, is a fellow blogger and she is doing a giveaway for a $25 sneakpeeq gift card! Check it the link on my blog's Facebook page (search The Cupcake In My Belly) and tell her I sent you!
9:30am- I have an I.V. put in (not so bad after all)and get all settled in. The nurse goes over everything- I've been given pitocin to speed up the labor process because once your water breaks you have 24 hours to get the baby out otherwise the risk of infection goes up. I'm allowed to go to the bathroom, but have to do it into one of the "hats" so the nurses and doctors can monitor my bodily functions. Being hooked up to an I.V. machine doesn't make the whole going to the bathroom process any easier though because you have to get all the cords out of the way- and when you're 9 months pregnant, doing anything requiring sitting and standing in a short amount of time is tough enough.
10am- I'm starving. I haven't eaten anything since dinner the night before. I ask the nurse if I can eat and she says "of course not, you're in labor...you should have eaten before you came!" How the hell was I supposed to know that?! And apparently she could tell I wasn't happy with her answer. Around that time, my parents and Jake's parents both show up and begin the process of just sitting and waiting around. The nurse checks my vitals and asks how I'm doing with the pain. Still feeling nothing, I got this! I'm still on track for my birth plan- no drugs, no c-section is the goal! (By the way, birth plans are a waste of time)
11am- No pain still. Watching the CMT Top 20. My mom cracks a joke about Jennie showing up before Jason Aldean's video for Dirt Road Anthem comes on. Wouldn't be funny to me- it would make sense :) And I'm still hungry.
12pm- The nurse comes in and tells me the doctor approved for me a liquid diet. Never have I been more excited for Jell-O and chicken broth. The nurse then asks me how I'm feeling- still not feeling a thing. I'm going to have the easiest labor and delivery ever.
1pm- Finishing my lunch, and I start to feel a little something. Not quite a pain, more an annoyance. The nurse asks if I want an epidural yet. Ummmm no. I'm not in enough pain to even feel like I need an Advil. I got this...I can do it myself.
Ha...ha...ha...
One of my friends, Emily, is a fellow blogger and she is doing a giveaway for a $25 sneakpeeq gift card! Check it the link on my blog's Facebook page (search The Cupcake In My Belly) and tell her I sent you!
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Here we go...
I warned you guys in my last post that I would be writing about my labor and delivery experience this week, and guess what- I'm starting now! So, if you aren't ready to hear the details, stop reading. Although this post won't be that bad :)
I had Jennie on a Friday, but I have to start with a review of my last check-up, which was on the Tuesday before. Throughout my pregnancy, my doctor had been worried about the size of my baby girl because I wasn't showing. I very well could have been one of those girls on "I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant" if you hadn't known me before I was expecting. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE commented on my small size but what did they expect? I was 118lbs when I conceived. I had to do 2 more ultrasounds than what is considered "normal" just to check on Jennie's growth and both times they came back saying she was ahead of the growth charts (oh and fair warning, ultrasounds lie). Still my doctor was worried about her growth, and at my last checkup before I delivered, she told me that with her patients who are carrying smaller than average babies, she likes to deliver them earlier than 40 weeks so the baby can "thrive" outside of the womb. So at a regular checkup, she asks me if it's ok to scrape my membrane.
Here is the definition of membrane scraping or stripping from www.whattoexpect.com:
Membrane stripping. Your practitioner will use his or her finger to manually separate the amniotic sac from the lower part of the uterus to cause natural prostaglandins to be released (just as they would be released if labor began naturally).
Luckily, I read the What To Expect book religiously while pregnant and knew what she was talking about. And I freaked out- I was at 38 weeks, thought I had 2 more weeks to prepare for Jennie's arrival (and now I laugh at trying to "prepare"...ha ha ha) and my doctor wanted to start the labor process at 2pm on a Tuesday afternoon? Hell no! Seriously, my exact words to her were that...and after we both laughed, I asked if we could do it at my next appointment so I can have time to prepare myself (again, preparing...I was so dumb then!). Plus Jake hadn't been able to make it to that appointment, and I didn't want to be making any serious decisions like that without him there. My doctor said that was fine so we scheduled my possible induction for the next Thursday. Before I left, she went over all of the labor signs and symptoms with me again in case anything happened before then.
Shaking, I get into my car and call Jake and tell him that we are going to have a baby sometime next weekend. Pretty sure all he said was "cool" because he didn't understand what membrane stripping was, and didn't want to know the details (I didn't even want to know either). After Jake, I called my mom and then texted a few of my friends to let them know the news- their newest "niece" would be here next weekend.
Little did we know...
I had Jennie on a Friday, but I have to start with a review of my last check-up, which was on the Tuesday before. Throughout my pregnancy, my doctor had been worried about the size of my baby girl because I wasn't showing. I very well could have been one of those girls on "I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant" if you hadn't known me before I was expecting. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE commented on my small size but what did they expect? I was 118lbs when I conceived. I had to do 2 more ultrasounds than what is considered "normal" just to check on Jennie's growth and both times they came back saying she was ahead of the growth charts (oh and fair warning, ultrasounds lie). Still my doctor was worried about her growth, and at my last checkup before I delivered, she told me that with her patients who are carrying smaller than average babies, she likes to deliver them earlier than 40 weeks so the baby can "thrive" outside of the womb. So at a regular checkup, she asks me if it's ok to scrape my membrane.
Here is the definition of membrane scraping or stripping from www.whattoexpect.com:
Membrane stripping. Your practitioner will use his or her finger to manually separate the amniotic sac from the lower part of the uterus to cause natural prostaglandins to be released (just as they would be released if labor began naturally).
Luckily, I read the What To Expect book religiously while pregnant and knew what she was talking about. And I freaked out- I was at 38 weeks, thought I had 2 more weeks to prepare for Jennie's arrival (and now I laugh at trying to "prepare"...ha ha ha) and my doctor wanted to start the labor process at 2pm on a Tuesday afternoon? Hell no! Seriously, my exact words to her were that...and after we both laughed, I asked if we could do it at my next appointment so I can have time to prepare myself (again, preparing...I was so dumb then!). Plus Jake hadn't been able to make it to that appointment, and I didn't want to be making any serious decisions like that without him there. My doctor said that was fine so we scheduled my possible induction for the next Thursday. Before I left, she went over all of the labor signs and symptoms with me again in case anything happened before then.
Shaking, I get into my car and call Jake and tell him that we are going to have a baby sometime next weekend. Pretty sure all he said was "cool" because he didn't understand what membrane stripping was, and didn't want to know the details (I didn't even want to know either). After Jake, I called my mom and then texted a few of my friends to let them know the news- their newest "niece" would be here next weekend.
Little did we know...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)