The Baby Post Pt. 2

So... if you're still reading, I apparently haven't bored you too much or you don't know what you're getting yourself into...

To keep the memories preserved, let's keep the story rolling...

We officially got checked into our birthing room. Typical hospital room, with all the doodads, but baby equipment, too.

Jason and I got all settled in, got the spiel of when I had to be on the monitor, I got blood taken for labs, and I got a hep lock instead of an IV.  It is aport in your arm, that if they need to hook up an IV, they have already poked you. They just hook the IV into the hep lock. I wanted that mobility that an IV doesn't give you.

So we were left to our own devices to get this baby moving. I headed straight to the tub. People speak of these magical powers the laboring in a tub does... either I wasn't doing it right, or the magic died that night. I stayed in the tub for over an hour, but I guess that's why they call it labor... IT'S TOUGH STUFF!

So I had to be hooked up to the monitor every hour for 20 minutes. This was to check the baby's heart rate to make sure he was handling the labor process just fine... and he was! He was a trooper through the whole process.

While hooked up, I had to be close to the bed, which means it was just easier to sit or lay on the bed during this time. Let me tell you, once you get in one position during labor you get to a point where you don't want to move. ever. again. I hadn't reached that point yet, but was getting close.

I spent another couple hours in the bathroom, kneeling on the floor over the tub, leaning against the wall, or in a location I didn't expect... on the toilet. Its a pretty comfortable position, all things considered.

Jason would periodically check on me, we both weren't too sure what we should be doing to move things along.

I was periodically checked for progress. and I was sure each time I was closer to having this baby. If it hurt so much, I got to be getting close... 3 hours of laboring, only 5 cm dilated. WHAT!!!! A crumby centimeter. A couple more hours of groaning, grunting, trying not to strain, only 6 cm.

I had been in labor for 24 hours and I was still only 6 cm dilated. (Sure some of those hours were pretty simple. but labor nonetheless)

I got stuck at 6. This is when I got desperate. I really wanted to do this on my own. All natural, no drugs. Not meant to be apparently. I was physically exhausted and starting to get emotionally and mentally exhausted, too. How can all this effort be for nothing?

Since I have no photos to document this part of labor, you get cute photos of Ezra

Around 3 in the morning (Friday), Jason and I decide to try some fentanyl. It took the edge off of the contractions. So it basically felt like the pain level when I first woke up with contractions. Very manageable, but irritating enough that you know you are contracting. The nurses warned me the fentanyl might make me loopy... I don't know if it was because I was so sleep deprived, I immediately felt super sleepy and zonked out.

The fentanyl only lasted 2 hours, AND THE PAIN CAME BACK in full force. They checked me to see if anything happened... nope, nada! So another dose of fentanyl for me.

I ended up having 3 doses altogether, and in the before that 3rd shot, my midwife came to see how things were progressing. She had popped her head in a couple of times, but this time she wanted to see some progress. I was stuck at that blimey 6 cm. She suggested breaking my water might speed things up... I agreed to the procedure. I will never think of crochet hooks the same ever again. There was no big gush of water when they broke my amniotic sac. So they let me be again to see how that sped things along.

So 6 hours from first agreeing to some sort of drug to help, and about an hour since they broke my water AND... nothing. Didn't even make a difference. Whenever the fentanyl would wear off I could feel the pain. The only problem wasI was feeling soooo much pressure down below that the only way I found to cope was to push back. This seemed to create some sort of counter pressure, but it also put strain on muscles too soon and too much. It soon got to the point where I felt like I was holding back contractions. I don't know if that is possible to do that, but my contractions became further spaced apart and just weren't doing anything to help dilate me.

I was tired. I was in pain. I literally could't think. I was so focused on my exhaustion, the pain and the fact that I was making NO PROGRESS. I was in bad shape. Jason had no clue how to help. He tried to massage my lower back when a contraction would start, but nothing was helping. My midwife came to have "the talk" with me. She wanted me to start pitocin.

I had been warned by so many women to stay away from pitocin. Its a drug that jump starts contractions so they are at their max. I DID NOT WANT TO GO THERE.  So I was left with the dilemma: Suffer making no progress or suffer more pain making lots of progress. My midwife strongly suggested this because I had been there so long and something needed to happen.

In my mind, I knew I didn't want to experience pitocin without an epidural, but in no way did I want an epidural. I finally came to the conclusion that I needed the pitocin to get my contractions were they needed to be.  But I just did not want en epidural.

I don't know why I fought it so much. I really didn't want an epidural. I think I was scared of it causing me to not feel anything, not be able to push when needed, and cause me to have a c-section. I know its not the end of the world, but you try speaking ration to a laboring woman at her wits end.

They left us be to discuss what we wanted to do. Jason listened to my ramblings of epidurals. But I just knew at this rate I couldn't handle more pain. I was stuck on that bed because the thought of moving was horrible. I had been up for over 24 hours and I just couldn't think. I asked Jason what he thought. He has been so supportive through out the whole pregnancy with going natural, but he said I should get the epidural.

Love this little man!

So we decided it was for the best. Epidural then pitocin.

I will leave it here again because apparently I ramble, and I don't like terribly long posts. I promise the last part is a lot more positive and happy than this one.