[WhoaMomma!]

So here's our story, some of which you will see on our blog if you check it out. But my DH did not include the scary details. We checked into the hospital at 5:30pm on Monday for an induction because Claire was not coming on her own and my midwives will not let you go past 41 weeks and 4 days. So anyway, they started a cervadil on Monday night to try and induce labor. It brought on contractions, but no dilation. So at 7:30 Tuesday morning, they started pitocin. By noon, I had hit the maximum dosage of pitocin and still was not dilating. So the midwife authorized the nurses to go up an extra 10 mL per hour (20 was the original max), but to do it really slowly. I was having some really intense contractions 2 minutes apart for several hours, but still no dilation. They planned to turn the pitocin off at 7pm if there was still no progress and switch back to prostaglandin overnight. At 5pm, however, my water broke unexpectedly, which removed the option of turning off the pitocin because the baby had to be born within 24 hours due to a fear of infection (hospital policy). Everything was going OK (despite the persistent lack of cervical progress) until about 8pm. Then the pitocin took a nasty turn and started producing contractions in a pattern that consisted of 3 back-to-back contractions lasting 2 min each, following by 30-60 seconds of rest. Obviously contracting for 6 minutes straight is dangerous, so they turned the pitocin down. And down. And down. And down. But the contractions did not space out. We tried different positions, submersion in hot water, massage - but nothing would make them space out. They couldn't turn the pitocin off entirely or administer medication to stop the labor because my membranes had ruptured. So the midwife told us that I needed to get an epidural. She said that there was no way - given that I was only about 2cm dilated and 70% effaced by then - that I would have any energy left to deliver the baby by the time dilation completed without sleep. And sleep was only going to be achieved if I was numb. She was also hoping that the epidural would cause the contractions to space out, since it often has a stalling effect on labor if given too early. So we consented to the epidural - though I was really unhappy about it. I can honestly say that was the most horrendous experience of my life. It took an hour for the epidural to be placed (about 10 min) and then to take effect (easily 50 min). I have no idea why it took so long for it to work (nor did the anesthesiologist) but the entire time I had to lie flat on my back, which made the already intense and painful contractions completely unbearable. After the epidural finally numbed everything they told me to get some sleep. That lasted for about 15 minutes and then the nurses came in and started changing my position like every few minutes. I didn't know why, but I was so tired it didn't really dawn on me at first that something was wrong. Then an alarm on the fetal monitor went off and several nurses came in and put me on oxygen and paged my midwife (who had gone to lie down for a few hours). Billy had also gone home to take a nap at that point (as he had not slept in like 24 hours by then). My midwife watched the monitor for a few minutes and then called Billy and woke him up and told him to come to the hospital so we could "talk." When he got there, she told us that the contractions were continuing to intensify and the baby was not tolerating them anymore. Her heartrate was dropping with each contraction and because they were so close together, it wasn't getting a chance to rebound. She told us that they needed to do a c-section and get the baby out because there was no way she would be able to tolerate the contractions much longer. Once we agreed, people really started moving fast and we were in the OR within like 20 minutes. It turned out that Claire's umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck and her head was wedged in a bad position. It took them a couple attempts (and two very small scratches to her scalp) to get her out and then they still had to get the cord away from her neck. Once she was out, though, she immediately started doing better and did not have any trouble breathing or anything like that.

I - on the other hand - had a bad reaction to the epidural. I should have known my incredible capacity for an allergic reaction would rear its ugly head at some point. After the numbness started to wear off, I started itching all over. Not like "ooooh I have a bug bite" itching, but more like your skin is on fire in an ant-bed itching. Then I started shaking, and eventually having mild convulsions. They injected like 6 different things into my IV and the next thing I remember it was much later that afternoon and I was FINALLY being moved to regular room, though they kept me hooked up to what seemed like 50 machines for another 2 days.

So anyway, that's pretty much my birth story. It was pretty awful as far as L&D goes - as my midwife put it "as bad as you can get and still have a perfect outcome." Then on Thursday (24 hrs or so after she was born), she developed jaundice, which was not that big a deal at first. But then her bilirubin levels soared within the span of a few hours and she fell into a very deep sleep. No one could rouse her - not me, not the nurses, not the pediatrician. She didn't even stir when they did her heel stick. We were terrified. She had to be fed thru a small tube for 2 days and then (almost as if by magic) she woke up with a falling bilirubin level and was/is the happiest, sweetest baby you've ever seen. I was very lucky that our hospital (despite their crappy policies regarding inductions and deliveries) believes very strongly that infants should stay with their mothers. Since I couldn't go to the nursery, they brought the nursery to us. She had all her treatments, feedings, lights, etc. in our room and they assigned a nurse to stay with us all the time. I am happy to report that her bilirubin levels are back to normal already and the pediatrician is not worried about her anymore, though it was a very scary 48 hours or so.

If you would like to see more photos of our Princess, my DH has set up a blog for her at: The Life and Times of Charlotte Claire Dass - Windows Live

[kruff79]

Dear lord woman, it's no wonder you're feeling a bit down. You are probably still exausted from all the work and stress of that week. I'm so glad everything turned out alright in the end, in spite of the rocky start.

[ChicaChels]

wow what a scary story i am so sorry danielle! all that really matters is that you and miss charlotte are safe. i cant imagine how you must feel....if you ever need anything, i am here for you girly.

[megg0]

Oh my goodness. I'm so sorry you had such a horrible experience. I'm glad she is perfectly healthy despite everything.

[tiffany&co.]

Oh Danielle, I am so sorry you didn't have the birth experience you wanted. It is a miracle that your little one is doing so well. I hope the recovery process will improve for you. We are all here for you!

[kticesk8s]

We had very similar labor experiences (long induced labor, ruptured water, fetal distress, followed by an unwanted C), and I, too, was completely traumatized by it, so I definitely understand how you feel. Add to that, my near panic attack in the OR, with both the epidural and spinal not working, forcing me into a C under general....grrrr. It was all a bunch of drama. Afterwards I complained to anyone who would listen, because a lot of the drama & panic was exacerbated by the surgical team, and luckily, there were some pretty high up folks who were interested in learning about my experience. Even though it all really sucked, seeing my babies makes it all worth it!

I'm glad that everything turned out ok with Charlotte - I can't imagine how scary that must have been for you and DH. Feel better soon, and if things don't turn around soon for you emotionally, don't be afraid to give your doc a call.

[Cheet_oh]

I'm so glad things got better!! How absolutely scary and awful, I'm sorry you had to go through all of that! Congrats on your bundle

[nicosnano]

What a story! I am so glad that everything turned out for the best!

[carolinagirl05]

Well Danielle, you beat Ginny in ya'll's competition to give birth first...but you both win the "Traumatic Birth Story" Award. YIKES!!! But I am so glad that you and your little princess are doing well and improving. Congrats on your little Charlotte Claire- I peeked at your blog, she's absolutely ADORABLE!!

[*~Ginny~*]

Originally Posted by carolinagirl05

Well Danielle, you beat Ginny in ya'll's competition to give birth first...but you both win the "Traumatic Birth Story" Award. YIKES!!! But I am so glad that you and your little princess are doing well and improving. Congrats on your little Charlotte Claire- I peeked at your blog, she's absolutely ADORABLE!!

I agree Danielle. I am so sorry you had such an awful experience as well, but thank goodness we have 2 healthy LOs to show for it!!!

[WhoaMomma!]

I am grateful for some things...like that my experience wasn't as long and drawn out as yours. I couldnt imagine getting so far only to end in a cs. Hopefully both of us have earned easy births next time.

Originally Posted by carolinagirl05

Congrats on your little Charlotte Claire- I peeked at your blog, she's absolutely ADORABLE!!

Thank you. Her daddy and I are quite smitten!

[smilanatu]

Wowsers! Glad you and baby are doing well now! She's a cutie!

[HotTamale]

Wow, that sounds so terrible. I am so sorry that you had to endure all that. I am so glad to hear that you all ended up okay in the long run.

Did they ever figure out why your labor wasn't progressing at all on its own? If you have more children in the future, do they think you'll have the same problems again?