We were blessed with our gift from God- Kelsey Grace- on 09-09-09 at 9:33pm via c-section. She was 8 lbs 5 oz and 20 3/4 inches long. She was born on her actual due date.
My doctor agreed to induce me due to the extreme discomfort I was feeling that last week. So on Tuesday night I went in to the hospital to have cervidal administered to try to thin out my cervix. When I went in I was at 60% effacement and dilated 2 cm. After the 12 hours of cervidal they started the pitocin at 7:00am on the 9th. The doctor checked my progress at 10am and I was only at 70% effacement and dilated to 3cm. He decided at this point to break my water....not what I'd call one of the most enjoyable experiences without an epidural.
Now I had had an epidural once before and it was a breeze so I wasn't nervous at all for this one. That is until the anesthesiologist couldn't administer the first epidrual.....or the second....and the third was taking longer than I'd like. It's at this point that Chuck left the room....I swear I thought he was gonna sock the doctor in the face if he didn't get it in soon. After that the contractions kicked into high gear. I dealt with it for 3 1/2 hours before I asked for the epidural and then I felt virtually nothing. The monitor reflected major contractions and at a high frequency...but I felt nothing.....i LOVE epidurals. After all that I would have thought when the doctor came back to check me at 6pm I would have dilated to at least 6 or 7cm....but alas...NOT!!!! Only 3 1/2 cm and no change in dilation!!! WHAT?!??! How could this be????
The doctor said he would wait 2 more hours before checking me again and then depending on what progress I had made at that point we would discuss my options. However, he did mention that he was worried either my pelvis was too narrow or the babies head was too big and it wasn't descending. He mentioned the posibility of a c-section at that point. I was so upset, because I didn't want to deliver by c-section simply due to the recovery period from one. But I also knew I wanted to have a healthy baby...so however that had to happen I was willing.
At 8pm he checked again and NO CHANGE!!! I was exhausted at this point and said to schedule the c-section. That next half hour was a blur. The epidural I had at the time was wearing off....little scary when going into surgery. So we decided to have a spinal...thankfully this anesthesiologist didn't have any problems administering the spinal. However....since I already had the epidural you run a risk of having more numbness with the spinal higher up on your body. That was the scariest part of the entire experience for me....after a few minutes I literally couldn't feel my chest cavity move when I thought I was trying to breath. Then my hands and arms went numb and I could feel my heartbeat in my ears. At this point I just shut my eyes and prayed the Lord give me a sense of calmness and not allow me to go crazy at that point. I couldn't even feel the tugging or pressure you hear about during c-sections...which I guess is a good thing. But giving the tremendous meditation I was doing I really couldn't enjoy the experience of seeing my daughter when she was born. But the look on my husband's face of sheer joy and the sound of his voice talking to her of pure love was all I needed to experience.
When I finally got to hold her in the recovery room...it was like nothing I can put into words. Those Mom's out there reading this know what I mean and no words are needed. The love is just overwhelming....I have 16 nieces and nephews all of whom I love dearly...but it doesn't even hold a candle to the feelings when you have your own.
Everything we went through up until this point....the miscarriage, the still birth....it was all worth it just to get to this point. We are so thankful that God gave this gift to us and entrusted this life in our hands. May we be the best parents we can be to her.
My doctor agreed to induce me due to the extreme discomfort I was feeling that last week. So on Tuesday night I went in to the hospital to have cervidal administered to try to thin out my cervix. When I went in I was at 60% effacement and dilated 2 cm. After the 12 hours of cervidal they started the pitocin at 7:00am on the 9th. The doctor checked my progress at 10am and I was only at 70% effacement and dilated to 3cm. He decided at this point to break my water....not what I'd call one of the most enjoyable experiences without an epidural.
Now I had had an epidural once before and it was a breeze so I wasn't nervous at all for this one. That is until the anesthesiologist couldn't administer the first epidrual.....or the second....and the third was taking longer than I'd like. It's at this point that Chuck left the room....I swear I thought he was gonna sock the doctor in the face if he didn't get it in soon. After that the contractions kicked into high gear. I dealt with it for 3 1/2 hours before I asked for the epidural and then I felt virtually nothing. The monitor reflected major contractions and at a high frequency...but I felt nothing.....i LOVE epidurals. After all that I would have thought when the doctor came back to check me at 6pm I would have dilated to at least 6 or 7cm....but alas...NOT!!!! Only 3 1/2 cm and no change in dilation!!! WHAT?!??! How could this be????
The doctor said he would wait 2 more hours before checking me again and then depending on what progress I had made at that point we would discuss my options. However, he did mention that he was worried either my pelvis was too narrow or the babies head was too big and it wasn't descending. He mentioned the posibility of a c-section at that point. I was so upset, because I didn't want to deliver by c-section simply due to the recovery period from one. But I also knew I wanted to have a healthy baby...so however that had to happen I was willing.
At 8pm he checked again and NO CHANGE!!! I was exhausted at this point and said to schedule the c-section. That next half hour was a blur. The epidural I had at the time was wearing off....little scary when going into surgery. So we decided to have a spinal...thankfully this anesthesiologist didn't have any problems administering the spinal. However....since I already had the epidural you run a risk of having more numbness with the spinal higher up on your body. That was the scariest part of the entire experience for me....after a few minutes I literally couldn't feel my chest cavity move when I thought I was trying to breath. Then my hands and arms went numb and I could feel my heartbeat in my ears. At this point I just shut my eyes and prayed the Lord give me a sense of calmness and not allow me to go crazy at that point. I couldn't even feel the tugging or pressure you hear about during c-sections...which I guess is a good thing. But giving the tremendous meditation I was doing I really couldn't enjoy the experience of seeing my daughter when she was born. But the look on my husband's face of sheer joy and the sound of his voice talking to her of pure love was all I needed to experience.
When I finally got to hold her in the recovery room...it was like nothing I can put into words. Those Mom's out there reading this know what I mean and no words are needed. The love is just overwhelming....I have 16 nieces and nephews all of whom I love dearly...but it doesn't even hold a candle to the feelings when you have your own.
Everything we went through up until this point....the miscarriage, the still birth....it was all worth it just to get to this point. We are so thankful that God gave this gift to us and entrusted this life in our hands. May we be the best parents we can be to her.
Tara, I am practically in tears. Such a beautiful story! Your labor & delivery sound so similar to my own w/ my first. The cervidil, the awful water breaking (I always thought it would be like taking a pin to a full balloon, but instead it felt like a crochet hook stabbing a not quite full balloon ...), the lack of progress, etc. Brings back a lot of memories! The good news is that if you have another, there is NO LABOR!! :) I'm so happy for you guys. And Kelsey is a doll. Before you know it, she will be cooing and talking to you too! - Amy Smith
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