The bad news and the induction:
I went for scan at about 37 weeks as there was uncertainty about baby's presentation and since we were planning a homebirth, we wanted to be sure as breech meant a change in plans.
During the scan, the tech mentioned a rather low weight estimate but said nothing else. I talked about it with my MW who hadn't received the report at that point, and told myself it was nothing to be concerned about.
On Tuesday, my secondary MW called saying that the baby was measuring very small - in the 5th percentile. She was unhappy with the hospital because they're supposed to call immediately for anything under 10; they took a week to get the report to her. She told me not to worry too much (yeah right) as they'd had some wonky results from them lately but they would make an appointment for me at another imaging centre asap.
The following day, I still hadn't heard anything and couldn't get an answer at the office so I finally used their emergancy page. MW told me she would speak to the receptionist immediately and have her call me as she was sure an appointment had been made. Receptionist called me back about 5 minutes later - an appointment
had been made...a little over an hour from then at a clinic that was a 40 minute drive and in a town I'd never been to before. I called DH (whom I knew would not be able to make it at that point), cursed out our internet for choosing that time to act up, wished the gps wasn't on it's last legs, showered, mobilized DS and prayed there were no cops out and that I had the location right. We arrived right on time.
This tech was much better. She told me the baby looked just fine and was doing all the normal things babies do at this point. The placenta, cord and fluid level looked normal. Baby was measuring even smaller though at less than 1. I balled for the better part of the evening.
We had a regular appointment the next morning (Thursday) with my primary MW, who had just come back from holidays and was trying to catch up. Chad called me and said he'd meet us there. What a relief that was. She did her best to assure that baby still looked ok beyond the dropping measurements but she felt it best we consult with an OB and told us there was no question in her mind that it was best for baby to come out now. We agreed to go have lunch and then meet at the hospital for an NST and to talk to the OB on call. I was a friggin mess. Was the baby ok? Would they be able to weather an induction or was I about to whisked off to surgery? I balled more, called my mother for a brief update and told her come up, swallowed what DH put in front of me and we headed for the hospital.
The baby looked fine on the monitor. We talked a little about induction methods and she kept asking me if I had any questions but I was upset and shocked and didn't even know where to begin. The OB came in and talked to us. She was very nonchalant about everything and completely supportive of MW's induction plan (some of the MW/OB relationships around here are pretty strained). Her attitude put me at ease a bit. We talked to MW some more, went over the plan which was to keep things as low intervention as possible and by the time she checked my cervix and put in a cervidil, I was feeling much better. We would take things slow and do extra fetal monitering.
My cervix was posterior, 1cm and 50%. I was put back on the monitor for two hours to see how baby and I reacted. Rythmic cramping and the odd mild contraction started within 15 minutes. Baby reacted perfectly so we went home for the night with strict orders to rest. My parents arrived shortly after we got home. The cramps stayed regular but spaced right out once we went to bed. With exception of one that rocked my world at 4 am, the night was uneventful.
I woke up at 6 feeling the need for some solitude. The cramps became regular again and I took a nice, quiet, barefoot walk through my yard.
We met back at the hospital at 8. Baby was fine. Cervix was 80% but still 1cm. We discussed cervidil vs a balloon. I chose another cervidil though thinking that if cervical checks near send me through the ceiling, trying to stretch it might just kill me. Two more hours on the monitor, cramps spaced right out, baby looked fine, go home and rest.
Labour:
We all just kicked back for most of the day. The cramps remained very spaced out and I worried that I was going to need more than the gel. Then, around 5pm, the cramping suddenly picked right up and I knew we were finally seeing some results. I began to time them and they ranged from 1 to 5 minutes apart. At about 5:30 I felt a little bit of a leak and I jumped up to run to the bathroom as I only had a panty liner on. No more fluid. False alarm, I told everyone; I'd had to pee, so it must have been that. I put on a depends (whoever suggested that, I love you a little - those things have been AWESOME), sat back down, had another mild contraction and whoosh! No question that time. I practically danced around the house as I paged my MW and we arranged to meet at the hospital. We took our time because she had a bit of a drive so I updated a bunch of people.
We all arrived at the hospital at a little after 6pm. My contractions weren't too bad though I did have to stop and lean through them. MW checked baby with the doppler (baby was fine) and checked me. Almost 100% but 1-2cm. We quickly reviewed the plan to use intermittant monitoring every 15 minutes and continuous monitoring once I reached active labour. I changed into my baby nightie (I delivered DS in it too), got on the birthing ball and almost immediately went into that sleepy/loopy stage. I welcomed it! Even though we had to kickstart things early, my body was taking over.
Shortly after we were moved to another labour room but it didn't phase me at all. At around 7 I could feel another change coming on. I got cold, the contractions got stronger. Shortly after that, they changed again and became sharper. I was restless and my quiet, non vocal coping mechanisms just weren't cutting it. I became hot and couldn't figure out what position I wanted to be in and had to start vocalising through contractions. I managed to keep the volume down though. I also got really nauseated but not being prone to throwing up, I knew there would be no relief and I actually asked for something to calm my guts. MW told me no problem but she was concerned that it might slow things down at that point and asked me to wait another 15 minutes or so...no point, the feeling was gone in 10. It was about this time that I realised I was flying through the different stages. Gradual changes over the course of hours with DS were only taking minutes. That scared me a little but I was lucid enough to find it fascinating
Between 7:30 and 8pm my labour pains became increasingly sharper and I was feeling pressure. Then I started feeling a mild urge to push. I mentioned it several times, not believing I could be to that point already. I don't think MW believed it either but at 8pm she had me pee and checked me standing up. OMFG my cervix does not like to be touched. 6cm. Huh. Last time it took me about 5 hours to go from 6cm to pushing. Very well...
Still restless, I had been on my feet and leaning on DH but as the urge to push became stronger with each contraction, I felt I had to try to slow things down a bit - I was scared to cause the baby any more stress than absolutely necessary and didn't want to cause myself more discomfort by pushing too early. So I climbed up on the bed on my hands and knees and kept my head as low as I could. It helped a little...for a few minutes. This is where things got fun. Trying not to push became trying to only push a tiny bit. I held off a little longer but then I just couldn't anymore. I've come to the realisation that I will never have one of those lovely, peaceful births that bring tears to your eyes on YouTube. When my body decides to push out a baby, it means business. MW asked me to give little pushes (HA!)...I think it may have been more for her sake than mine. Chad told me she hit the nurse page (the second MW missed everything by 10 minutes), a nurse walked in, took one look and ran to the bed, scrambling with a pair of gloves. I pushed and I roared through three contractions and that child came out like a shot at 8:20pm. Chad said he's not sure if MW even really caught her and thinks she may have half landed on the bed. I gave a big 'whew!' as soon as she was out and immediately turned to ask if she was ok as she let out her first cry (it's a girl! I knew it!). She was and she was tiny and gooey and gorgeous! We left the cord alone until it was empty and Chad cut it. I remember saying that I didn't was to push for more than 15 minutes...I'm not even sure I took 5 lol
I had asked to be left alone for the third stage but once more, MW felt I was bleeding a little too much so oxytocin shot to the leg, uterin massage and cord traction again for me. Man, that sucks but I was pretty covered in blood and there was a sizeable pool beneath the bed as well and I had a healthy baby in my arms so what's a little discomfort?
She started to root right away - big difference from my sleepy son. I really wanted to nurse her but MW was still fiddling with me so I waited a few more minutes. When I did nurse her, she latched like she'd been doing it forever. I was so thrilled!!!
My MW checked me for tears - I had a small second degree on the opposite side from last time. She recommended a couple of stitches. I've had local anesthetic on a few occassions and I happen to know that it stings like a b***** so I asked her, how bad is this going to be? Apparently she's never had stitches for childbirth because she said oh it will sting a little when the needle goes in and then nothing. Uh huh. Barely felt the needle. The freezing felt like she was slicing me with a crappy knife. Thankfully it didn't last long but I might just skip the freezing in the future.
The placenta and cord were a bit on the small side but proportionate to her and they looked perfect. She nursed for a good hour before dozing off. So I handed her to MW, who was nearly as anxious to weigh her as I was, though for entirely different reasons (I wanted to go home, she wanted to know if her guess was right). She was 5lbs 8oz - right on the cut off for being released (yay!) but her blood sugar was low (boo!) so we were staying the night.
MW had me hand express to syringe feed her. I got almost an ounce. She took it all and then was on for a three hour nursing session an hour later. MW tested her once more before leaving and it was coming up, along with a slightly low temperature. It was an insanely busy night for babies and we had to move to the post partum wing at 4 am (we weren't sleeping anyway). Her blood was checked at 5:50 and I asked to be discharged immediately if it was high enough. It was and we were. We got home around 6am
So apparently, she was just really little (considering my first was over 8lbs). No one has any idea why or why her growth dropped off. She's been nursing like crazy since she was born. Her arrival wasn't the homebirth I had spent months daydreaming about and I never imagined labour going that fast but it was amazing and I'm content
Farah Jane, 5lbs 8oz, 19", born August 10 at 8:20pm at 38+1
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Farah's not-quite-as-planned Debut
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10/29/11
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