A Birth Story: Thea Elise

So this post (and the next to be written) talks about bodily fluids, blood and a baby being born.  All the minute details are for my own record, since I have a horrible memory.  Consequently, it may be more than anyone else wanted to know.  Read, skim or just enjoy the pictures!

 (Picture taken 7 days before birthday)

That Wednesday morning, October 9th,  I mustered up the energy to take Sage to a friend's house for a playgroup. I slept through the previous playgroup and felt like a horrible mom so this was restitution.  We moms spent a pleasant morning in conversation while the little girls played so well together.

I might have missed a morning nap but it was worth it to get out of the house.  I was, however, looking forward to the afternoon nap that I was planning for Sage and myself.  We made it home and ate a small lunch, went to the bathroom and were making our way to Sage's room for a story, song and nap.  Sage went in search of a book and I went to her room to wait for her.

As I bent slightly to sit it happened.  My water broke!  I was completely taken by surprise because a) I had resigned myself to having the baby a few days after my due date like Sage and b) my water did not break when I went into labor with Sage.

But it gushed.  I started to finish sitting but realized better to make a mess on the hardwood that would wipe clean easy enough.  Then I realized that perhaps the bathroom was a better location.  I quickly shuffled there and called to Sage to get my phone, quickly. It was about 1:15. 

"Why?" she asked.
 "I need to call daddy." I replied.

I called Chris and told him my water had broken.

"Really?" he asked.  I assured him I was in all seriousness and that the puddle made it a sure thing.

Sage went into her room somewhere in there and screamed.  I asked what was wrong and she let it be known that she was upset that I had gotten her chair wet and left a puddle on the floor. I handed her a towel and asked her to clean up the puddle on the floor.  She complied most readily and came back to report that she had wiped up my pee off the floor.  I tried to explain about amniotic fluid but I think it mostly got lost in translation.  All this time I was waiting for Chris to come home so I could take care of the continuous leaking and get ready to go without my little audience.

I also called my doctor's office somewhere in there and reported that my water had broken.  They asked about contractions, which I wasn't really having, and was told that unless things changed I should come to the office so they could "verify" that my water had broken.  (I realize that it is not always straightforward but I always chuckle when they say things like that because this wasn't something I could mistake!)

 Chris made it home and I managed to clean myself up a bit and start the process of getting ready to go have a baby.  I know most people have everything in place and just need to jump in the car and go.  But I really felt no urgency since I wasn't having serious contractions (this was a bit of a change from my previous experiences and I wasn't sure what to make of it) so Chris and I discussed what would be the best arrangements for our kids and those who had volunteered to take care of them when the time came.  A few phone calls and texts later we had made arrangements for the kids and Chris had cleaned the kitchen.

 We dropped off Sage and I drove us to the doctor's office.  I had started to have some contractions but they were so few and far between and so slight that they were easily ignored.  I promise I wasn't a hazard on the road!

After waiting a bit in the waiting room-again, not really an issue since the contractions were so non-I saw a doctor (one I hadn't before met but later came to appreciate a lot)  with an unpronounceable name.  She verified that my water had broken, found I was about 4 cm dilated and about 70% effaced, and we discussed the potential need for pitocin since I wasn't really having strong, regular contractions by this point, about an hour and half to two hours after my water had broken. She sent me down to the L&D floor to check in.

We went down, checked in and waited and waited.  We were waiting to see if labor would pick up on it's own.  After about 3 hours the contractions were still about 10 minutes apart but strong enough that I was ready for the epidural.  It was a very effective epidural.  I have experienced a range in effectiveness and this one matched my first, which meant that once it kicked in I could not feel anything of my contractions.  I didn't know when I was having one at all.  They checked me again and found that I was still at  4-4.5 cm and 70%. That was a big disappointment to me so when the doctor came in and asked about the pitocin I was ready to get on that train.  (I had previously been pretty anti-pitocin since all reports were that it made things hurt more with harder and faster contractions.  The really strong epidural made me brave and I figured even if I could feel them through the epidural surely it wouldn't be that bad. Shortening the time of labor was also a strong motivator.)

They hooked up the pitocin and almost immediately I started to feel sick and nauseated.  Soon thereafter I could feel the contractions through the epidural.  And then it started to hurt bad.  The nurse told me I could push the button for a little extra medicine in the epidural but if I had to push it twice or three times they would need to call the anesthesiologist and have him come in to give more meds. After I pushed it twice we called him in.  He told me he would give me a little but not too much since it could arrest labor.  I told him I would take all I could get.

 About 40 minutes had passed since the pitocin had been started and the nurse came to check me again.  I was at 8 cm and almost completely effaced.  Later we found out that she called the doctor at this point.  She was on another floor with another patient when she got the call.  She told me that she ran all the way to the elevator and came down as quickly as she could "because I know how things can go with you ladies who have had several babies before...it just takes a whiff of pitocin..."

 After being checked I had 2-3 contractions before I had that "I have to push" feeling.  I called Chris and pushed the call button.  They politely inquired what I needed and I told them I had to push.  Within a minute they had rushed in and were setting up to deliver.  The doctor arrived and got her gown.  I resisted the urge to push through one contraction while they were getting ready and then on the next I pushed.  Out she came! I was given the signal to pause-and really I wanted to know if they had ever delivered a child because, seriously, when you have the urge to push, you have to push!!-because the cord was around her neck a couple of times.  That was quickly remedied and she slid the rest of the way out.  One push is my all time best:)

Thea was delivered at 8:03 pm, a little less than 7 hours after my water broke. (Thanks to the pitocin I we went from virtually no progress to a baby in 53 minutes!)

 She weighed 8 lbs 4.5 oz and had fair hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes. She was perfect! 

That was the end of her birth story but, unfortunately, my story continues.