Born April 7, 2012
6 lbs 7 oz, 19" Long.
Woke up on April 6th at 2:30am with some idea that something was happening. We were 4 days past our due date, and I was really getting impatient. By 9:30 am my water had broke and we knew we were headed to the hospital sooner than later. We were at the hospital by noon, got checked in and were waiting for progress.
Contractions began and by 3pm our doula, Kym, was there to help us with our labor.
The first thing to not go as planned was that my blood pressure was high enough for the nurses to limit my mobility. Basically, I was allowed to only labor while laying on my side. We were not allowed to walk around, use the birthing ball, use the jetted tub, or anything else. The contractions were intense, and prolonged and eventually got to a point that I was not getting a break. I had about 3 in a row with no break that lasted about 10 minutes.
The second thing to go not as planned was that once the pain and contractions were no longer able to be controlled naturally, I had to get an epidural. This was a decision that was difficult and against everything I wanted. Not being able to manage the pain using the techniques we learned because of the high blood pressure was a major disappointment. We had been in labor for about 5 hours and had only progressed to 2-3cm so the epidural was not going to be avoided.
After the epidural we were finally progressing but very slowly.
The third thing to not go as planned was pictocin to try to get some progress.
We made it to 6cm, but at 2am after being stalled for some time, the doctor asked us to consider to plans: 1. c-section and 2. redose of epidural, sleep, and let them spend an hour adjusting the pictocin. In that hour we progressed to 8 cm, and by 6 am we were ready to push. 21 hours of labor, then the pushing began.
The fourth thing to go not as planned was that after 3 hours of pushing and excruciating pain we made no more progress. The doctor decided it was time for us to make the call on the c-section. This was a horrible emotional decision, that was the one thing I had wanted to avoid from the very beginning. The doctor was predicting that Elsa was face up and stuck. After the decision was made, there may have been some crying. Then off to surgery. She was in fact face up AND chin down and stuck on my pubic bone. But she was here and she is beautiful and healthy!
I have to be thankful for the most supportive doula ever. With every decision she supported us and talked us through it, and helped us come to terms with the changes that were made that upset us. She was not judgmental against the fact that although the plan was to go all natural we were heading down an unintended path of the exact opposite of a natural birth.
I have learned that plans are great, but never are foolproof. Life will get in the way and the best you can hope for is a safe outcome.
And this is the best outcome ever!!
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