Where do I begin....
I had my regular 39 week appointment scheduled for Wednesday March 24th at 3:20pm. Well on Monday I started feeling like I was getting a cold so I still wasn't feeling well on Wednesday morning and decided to sleep in and stay in bed through the morning. So I did just that! I was also kind of mopey because my family (all 5 of my sisters and their families and my mom and step dad) all left and went on vacation for 4 days this morning and we couldn't go because I was so pregnant.
I finally got out of bed around 11am and got a pop tart and a glass of milk. Ate that and decided to get up and get in the shower and start getting ready instead of moping in my bed...hoping that by getting up and moving I wouldn't notice my cold as much! I took my time getting ready and decided I would run a few errands before my appointment. At 1:00 I was in the kitchen talking to dh and I realized I haven't felt the baby move since 4am!
Ben was always very active to the point where I could push anywhere and he always pushed back. Well I tried for half an hour and I couldn't get him to move no matter what I did.
I started to panic and started crying hysterically. I called the OB's office to see if we could get in any earlier and told them what was going on. They told me to come in right away. My dh runs a home daycare at our house so he wasn't able to go with me which made the whole thing even scarier. I was alone....and on my way to find out if my baby was still alive or not at 39 weeks gestation. I have never been so scared in all my life.......
I got to the OB's office and as soon as I walked in my sono tech Kathy walked up to me and grabbed my hand and took me to her room. On our way back I saw my doctor in the hallway and she noticed I was upset and crying. She came in to the sono room and sat beside me and held my hand and told me to try to calm down and we will see what is going on. As soon as she put the wand on my belly we got his hb right away. It was 152 bpm. They removed the wand and tried to get me to a calm state again. I told them I was still worried though because he wasn't moving like normal. Even though I saw him in there with his heart beating away I still felt like something was wrong. "Mothers instinct" I guess. They told me they wanted me to go on the monitors next and then I would be checked by the doctor after that. So I went back to the waiting room because someone else was already being monitored. The 15 minutes I was in the waiting room I was still trying to get Benjamin to move and he wasn't. Finally I go back to the room and get set up on the monitors at 2:10pm. After the first 5 minutes I knew something was wrong.
Normally his hb jumps all over the place like it is suppose to and today it was a very steady line. Ashley (my nurse) came in after 10 minutes on the monitor and I watched her face to see if she would "react" to seeing the hb and sure enough she did "react" with her eyebrows. Of course she can't say anything to me about the hb so she said "I'll be right back." Then she walked out, she came back in about 25 seconds later with the midwife Sonja. She looked at the hb and said it looks and sounds like "apnia." I asked what that was and she said his hb keeps skipping beats all over the place instead of staying nice and steady. She pulled the strip off and handed it to Ashley and said "interrupt Dr and show her the strip right away." So of course I am in panic mode now! 1 minute later Ashley comes back in and says "It's baby day! Call Tom and have him meet you at the hospital. We need you to go straight over there now." I agreed and said "Am I going to get to try vaginally or am I going to be having a c-section? How serious is this right now?" She said "It is serious but not to the point where we have to have a c-section yet. If your IV fluids don't change the way his heart is beating then we might have to do a cesarean but right now we are going to try inducing you and see how he reacts to it!" So....to the hospital I went.....alone......again.
I got to the hospital about 2:45 and of course called my hubby on the way there and told him to call our daycare assistant to come to the house so he could meet me at the hospital. I also tried to call my mom to tell her what was going on but couldn't get ahold of her.
Anyways, got into my hospital room around 3:00 and dh showed up around 3:10pm. Nurse came in and checked me I was at 2cm. Finally got the IV and pitocin started at about 5:15pm. Contractions started right away, 3 minutes apart. I was doing great! Handling them like a champ, even dh commented on how impressed he was with the way I was able to relax myself this time. Doctor came to the hospital at 6:30 to check me herself and I was 3 cm and she decided to break my water and really get things moving so we could get Ben out. As soon as she broke my water she checked me again and I was at 5cm that quickly! About 15 minutes later the nurse came in and asked if I wanted the epidural. I told her I wanted to wait as long as possible because I didn't want it to slow things down. I just wanted to get Benjamin out as fast as I could to make sure he was safe and I have heard the epidural can slow things down. She said oh no honey, if you get the epidural now we can boost your pitocin and get him out faster. So I said ok, lets do it then! Whatever we can do to get him out! So they came in and gave me the epidural.....wasn't working....5 more contractions.....wasn't working.....3 more contractions...starting to work on the left side but not the right.
Well, it never took on the right side! She checked me again after the epi and I was at 6cm. The nurse left the room and I remember her coming back in almost immediately after leaving and saying to my hubby "It sounds to me like she is ready to push by the way she sounds through those contractions?!" (I asked Tom how much time actually passed and he said it wasn't long at all, maybe 5 contractions if that!) She checked me again and sure enough, I was complete! Time to push! Luckily my doctor was already at the hospital so she came right in after they checked me.
When my doctor came in a sense of calm suddenly rushed over me. It was time....time to meet my son. 9 months of waiting has finally come to an end, my last pregnancy is almost over, time to complete my family and complete my heart. I was still feeling the contractions on my right side yet somehow I was able to gain complete control over my body and take full control over how my son would arrive into the world.....calm and collected and me in control. We started pushing and with each contraction I was able to push for three counts of ten. First contraction comes, my nurse is on my left side holding my "dead to the world leg" my husband is on the right side counting to ten for me all the while telling me how amazing I am and how thankful he is for me.
"Deep breath honey....push...1...2...3...4...etc.....10! Great job, one more time babe, push....1....2....3...there he is....4....5...etc...10! Oh honey he is right there. He will be here on the next set of pushes! He is stuck on his nose!" I looked at him puzzled and said "What do you mean stuck on his nose?" And he and my doctor looked at me and said his head is halfway out and she is helping to stretch you to get over his nose." So I reach down and feel my baby's head, right there! And as I lean up I look down and can see the top of his head! Next contraction comes....it is time for me to meet my son. I am now motivated because I can see him, I can feel him...it is time to hold him and tell him how much I love him even though I am meeting him for the first time, face to face. "Push baby push! 1....2....3....4...." and out came his head completely. I saw his head come out and watched as the doctor suctioned his nose and mouth. She told me not to push at all so I waited in anticipation knowing it would be a matter of seconds and I would be holding my son. My doctor looked at my husband and said "do you want to deliver your son Tom?" He immediately jumped at the opportunity to do so. "Ok Meighan, just let your contraction do the work for you. Try not to push and just let your son come into the world on his own. Let your body do what it is meant to do." said my doctor. So I did just that. I sat up a little bit so I could watch my husband deliver our son. My body did just that and brought him into this world into my husbands bare hands without pushing, episiotomy's or yelling involved.
I immediately started to cry watching such an amazing experience take place. When Benjamin came out we realized right away why his heart was skipping beats all over the place. He had the cord wrapped around his neck 2 times and then completely wrapped around his body. He was all tangled up and that was why he wasn't moving around that morning. After the doctor got Benjamin untangled from the cord, my husband placed our son on my chest and the first thing he did was open his eyes wide and looked directly into mine and that was the moment my heart became whole. Our eyes stayed connected for what felt like an eternity but really was only seconds. I kissed my husband, I kissed my son and I told them both how much I loved them. He wasn't crying, and for a moment I remembered the problem that sent us to be induced in the first place and I started to get worried. Then I noticed my husband was cutting his cord. As soon as he cut it my son started wailing instantly! As soon as I started talking to him again he calmed right down and looked at me some more.
The nurse came over and wanted to take him to get him suctioned out and to check his heartbeat get him cleaned up. So as she grabbed him he had a hold of my gown and was grasping it so tight and it seemed like he didn't want to be pulled away from me. It was so sweet, and as soon as we loosened his grip on my gown he started crying again. They checked him and brought him back to me after weighing him and such. He was 7 pounds even and 19 inches long. Born on Wednesday March 24th and 9:32pm. It was a fast labor and delivery but amazing nonetheless. It was everything I hoped for in the long run....my son arrived here safely and that was all that mattered. And now, for some pictures of that wonderfully, unforgettable night. Thank you for reading if you made it this far!
Before they started the pitocin - 2 cm dilated
After they broke my water - 5 cm dilated updating my facebook! Lol!
Tom (dh) and Benjamin - proud to announce dh shaved off the mustache the next day after seeing these pics! Lol!
Me after delivery
Our wonderful nurse Linda and Ben
Me and Ben
My dad and Ben
My husband, Me, our Doctor and Benjamin
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. So did your parents and sisters come home from their vacation early???
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