Quinnlyn Amelia's birth story

Carmoma · #1 March 31st, 2010, 07:49 PM

On Thursday, March 25th at 6:00 am I awoke to some pretty crampy contractions. This wasn't concerning though, as I'd experienced "false" prodromal labor for two weeks prior. I readied myself for work and drove my school bus route. On the route the contractions kept increasing. They were quite consistent and hurt pretty bad. At around 10 am I told my husband that I was 99% sure it was finally "it". We meandered home and I went about getting ready to head to the hospital. The contractions were steady, about 7 minutes apart. When they got to 5 minutes apart and they became difficult to talk through we decided to head in. The hospital was an hour away and we didn't want to wait too long. By the time we got there they were coming every 3-4 minutes and were VERY strong. I had lots of bloody show. I was so excited that it was finally time.

The triage nurse hooks me up to the monitors and I laid in bed. The contractions kept coming but were barely showing up on the monitor! She checks me and says I'm only 2 cm dilated and 50% effaced. Same as two weeks ago!! So she has me lay on my left side for a bit and wouldn't you know it, my contraction faded. Then the nurse gives me this speech about "false labor" and "braxton hicks" and "you'll know true labor when you feel it". I was in tears because I was so confused. I have BEEN through labor before, I KNOW what it feels like! There was NO way all that was braxton hicks! So she gives me a sedative which is supposed to relax the uterus and tells me to go home and rest. And then of course she lectures me about true labor signs (which was exactly what I was experiencing!). I sat up and the contractions came back. I started to panic because they HURT and felt real. I kept saying, "If this isn't real labor, I won't know it when I feel it!" The nurse kept insisting that it was just braxton hicks and I'll know true labor when I feel it. I wanted to punch her lights out.

Dh and I hobbled out of the hospital at around 2 pm. I was in tears, frustrated and in waves of pain. Dh hadn't had anything to eat and so we stopped at a restaurant. All while he ate (I had no appetite) I had more contractions. They were getting so strong. I was crying and panicking and saying "I can't believe these are 'fake' contractions!" We were about to head the hour drive home but decided instead to hang out at dh's brother's house right there in town, just in case. At dh's brother's house dh and I laid on his bed. I had wave after wave of crazy-intense contractions. They started to kill my back and that freaked me out. I was so upset to be in such pain for no reason at all! We called the hospital and they told me to stand in the shower and that would calm them. That helped ease the pain, but the contractions kept coming faster and harder. Two and a half hours after we left the hospital I was yelling in pain for each contraction. They seemed to stack two at a time over and over. I was panicked and frantic and generally freaking out. Dh offered to take me back to the hospital but I kept saying it was pointless and we'd be sent away. Finally I agreed saying I'd just go there to beg them to give me something strong to knock me completely out. I mean, if these weren't "real" contractions then why go through the pain?

We got back to the hospital 3 hours after we left it, at 5 pm. A different nurse was there and took us back to triage. She said she was going to check me and I told her it was pointless as I was in fake labor. She checked me anyway and said, "honey you're not going home, lets have a baby, you are 8 cm!"

I was 8 cm dilated. I went from 2 cm to 8 in 3 hours. No wonder I was in so much pain, I was in transition! After that things moved VERY fast. I was rushed upstairs. I was freaked out because I wanted an epidural and they didn't think I'd have time to get one. I'd never been in that sort of pain before and I didn't know how to breathe. The nurse was amazing. She taught me how to breathe, held my hand, stared into my eyes for each contraction and got me through it. I was still begging for an epidural because I didn't want to experience pushing without one again (last pregnancy it didn't take). Amazingly I got my epidural when I was 9.5 cm dilated. The doctor was late coming so by the time I was 10 cm I was told not to push. That was no problem at all for me because my epidural actually worked. It worked so well I felt no contractions, no pressure, no nothing. Which was wonderful. While waiting on the doctor my sister and mother got to the hospital and hung out with me and dh. I was given the okay to push at 8 pm and Quinnlyn came into the world at 8:13. I felt not one twinge of pain after I got my epidural. I was SO relieved, especially after such a bad experience with ds.

Anyway, Quinnlyn Amelia was born at 8:13 pm on March 25th, 2010. She weighed a perfect 7 lbs, 1 oz and was 19" long. Her apgar was 9/9. Beautiful thick black hair, which explains my horrible heartburn. She has done very well except for newborn jaundice. She's slowly getting over that. She is such a good baby. So calm and sweet and a pro nurser. We are all just smitten with her.

I only have one stitch from a very minor strain. I feel so much better than I did when I had my son. I had a tear and an episiotomy with him.

So I'm so glad we didn't head all the way back home after being sent home the first time. We wouldn't have made it back on time! I'm glad dh talked me into going back! This baby almost was a car-side baby. Yikes!

So that's my sweet girl's story. And here are some pics!