[GiftsfromGod]

Things have been busy and I've been super tired. I've been on to lurk a few times but figured I should come and post a little more about the delivery. The whole birth story will take awhile to write up but here is the condensed version.

When they went to induce me they found that she was still very high and even after several hours after breaking my water she still was not coming down and I was not getting regular contractions or dilating further. They started me on pitocin to get the contractions more regular and about 1:30pm is when there was finally a pattern to the contractions and they considered me in active labor. It got to the point where it looked like I would be in labor a few more hours at least based on how things went with the boys so I caved and got an epidural put in about 2:45 and was at 4cm then. The epidural was still getting set up but the pain from the contractions was getting quite strong. The nurse checked me at about 3:00pm and I was 6-7cm. About 2-3 contractions later I was having a lot of pain/pressure and the nurse checked me and the baby was ready to come out. So I went from 4cm to the baby crowing in just a little over 1/2 hr. She was born in just 3 contractions. The nurse said she felt like I was cheated with the epidural because it never even got set up fully and I didn't get much relief (just about 5-6 contractions were slightly dulled) so I guess I know for next time I can probably make it without it. So I got my semi natural birth unfortunately with very little relief from the epidural but still the occasional throbbing back pain afterward. Because she was born so quickly I had a cervical tear but fortunately not much tearing on the outside. The doctor stitched up the cervical tear.

Things seemed pretty normal at first but after a couple hours after the delivery I was still bleeding a lot and when they tried to get me up for the first time I almost passed out. They were not sure if I was bleeding because of something left in the uterus or if there was another tear causing the bleeding. They took me into surgery and had to put me under general anesthetic because they had already removed the epidural shortly after the birth. During the surgery they discovered another cervical tear that needed repaired and was causing some bleeding but they also discovered that I have a division in my uterus and some of the placenta was still attached causing the bleeding. This is something I was born with and the doctor was not sure why it hadn't been discovered or noted with ultrasounds that I've had with previous pregnancies.

When they had first admitted me for the induction they discovered that my hemoglobin was a little low (10.5 and they want it 12 or higher). I had not had any problems with it being low throughout the pregnancy so I was surprised it was low. At the time they weren't too concerned but then with loosing so much blood after the delivery there was a very good possibility of needing a transfusion for awhile. 12 hours after the surgery my hemoglobin was 7.9 which was still very borderline for a transfusion but since my blood pressure was good and I was not super shaky or light headed they did not end up giving me one. I was able to get up and walk around around noon the next day and other than just feeling quite weak it went well. The doctor has me taking iron supplements and said that overall I'll just be a lot more tired than previous deliveries but that I seemed to be doing really well considering how low the hemoglobin had dropped. He also explained that the divider in the uterus is likely why I have had so many problems with my babies not being able to get into a good head down position in pregnancy (I've had problems with this with James and Ellen). There is also a chance in future pregnancies that bleeding could be an issue but since they now know about the division they would be watching for any complications and would be able to keep it from getting to the point it did after this delivery. Based on my other pregnancies the biggest concern that he had was that I have a higher risk of having a breech baby which would need a csection just because of the problems with getting a good head down position. The division can also cause fast deliveries The doctor said that there was no reason that because of this that we can't or shouldn't have more kids especially since I have had two deliveries without any complications.

Anyway I just thought you'd all like to know a little more about what happened and why. I am doing much better and am slowly getting my strength back. Ellie is doing well and is already starting to gain back a little of the weight she lost after birth. She was 8lbs oz at birth and 8lbs 2oz when we left the hospital and was 8lbs 3oz today. She hardly had any jaundice so that wasn't a concern since it usually peaks around 4-5 days and she is 5 days today. She is nursing well and overall seems to be a pretty laid back baby so far.

I hope to be around more but I am still tired out so easily. Because of the surgery I have had very little bleeding/cramping since they did a lot of the work for my body. The cervical tear does not hurt and very little if any vaginal tearing and have not been sore down there. It is such a strange mix because pain wise I feel way better than with either of my pregnancies and do not feel like I just had a baby but then when I do hardly anything I am just completely exhausted which is frustrating to feel so good on one hand but so completely exhausted on the other hand. DH has been wonderful through all of this. He goes back to work on Thursday so we'll see how things go for me with 3 kiddos under 3 on top of recovering.

[benandali]

I was just thinking of you today! I'm glad you updated us. sounds like a rough time. I hope you start to get some energy back and that thurs goes well!

[WifeMotherGoddess]

Thank you for filling us on on some of the details. I'm sorry you had to experience a more difficult post-partum this go round. It's good to know it won't seem to effect your ability to expand your family. I hope your first day home alone goes as smooth as possible!

When you're feeling up to it, I can't wait to see pictures of Ellen.