carter is 6months old and i've decided that before i can publish this blog, i must have one more entry...the birth story!
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on tuesday, 4.13.10, i had a biophysical profile and non stress test at the hospital to check the baby and make sure it was okay for him to stay in there a little longer. while there, the midwife on call stripped my membranes (slightly unbeknownst to me). i was allowed to leave, which NO ONE thought would happen (we had the hospital bag in the car), but they did. they ordered me to return on thursday morning to repeat the same tests. that night i had some cramping and a little bit of sleep.
on wednesday night, 4.14.10, i had an induction acupuncture appointment (my first ever acupuncture visit). that night i had EVEN LESS sleep, but a belly full of (baby and) maggiano's spaghetti and marinara!
on thursday, 4.15.10, we went to the hospital at 8am to have another BPP and NST done. i was having contractions at that point--they registered on the equipment during the tests. surprisingly, they let me leave again, but this time, scheduled me for an induction on sunday night.
around noon, we left the hospital and went to ikea to meet with hallie, who was hanging out on that side of town because she knew i was close (and didn't think that they'd let me leave AGAIN). the three of us walked around ikea in hopes of coaxing carter out. the contractions continued throughout the day--increasing in intensity and frequency. i remember watching modern family with kenny to keep my mind off what was going on and making him pause the show with each contraction.
around 6pm i was really feeling it and was feeling scared and ready to give up, although i don't think that giving up was really an option at that point. ;) i talked to hallie on the phone and she calmed me down while kenny made us dinner (beer can chicken and salad with cucumbers in it is all i remember). i barely ate a thing (but it didn't stop me from vomitting during labor! yuck!).
kenny timed my contractions between 9:30 and 10:30 pm and they were four minutes apart, lasting a minute, for an hour--the sign that it was time to go to the hospital.
we took a quick shower and got to the hosptial around 11:15pm. we checked in--it was all so surreal--and got settled in. hallie met us soon after and got me up and walking around--i was "a good 1 cm" when we were admitted.
at 2:30am i was at 2 cm.
at 3:30am, the midwife (that i disliked the most in the group) came in the room and announced that she was starting me on pitocin--no discussion. we asked her to leave the room and hallie told me she thought i would be in the next stage of labor within an hour. hearing "another hour" shut me down; i didn't think i could do it another hour without medication. (looking back now, i could have. i didn't realize how quickly time was passing before i got the epidural. time slowed WAY DOWN after the anesthesia kicked in.) one of the nurses suggested that they first give me the epidural AND THEN start the pitocin--i'm glad someone was thinking!
i got the epidural and pitocin around 4am.
at 6:30am the midwife broke my water--i was 4 cm.
the notes we took days after the birth stop here, so i'll have to do the rest by memory...
all i remember now is sally, the only midwife i had yet to meet in the group, came in around 8am and introduced herself. she checked me and i was at either 6 or 8cm, i don't remember for sure now.
sally came back in around 10:30am and asked me if i felt any pressure--a sign that it's time to push. i said i didn't feel a thing as she looked under the sheet, preparing myself for another few hours. sally was kind of taken aback--apparently it was push time! next thing i knew, the room was bustling with about 10 people, prepping for carter's arrival.
at 11:23am, carter brian zoodsma was born. i pushed for 27 minutes--he was out that fast! they wheeled a mirror around so that i could see what was going on during the delivery. i remember:
...being complimented on my toe nails and bragging how i painted them myself days before in spite of my largeness
...carter's little mohawk sticking out before we saw any other part of him
...laughing and joking with the midwife and nurses in the room which would NOT have happened had i skipped the epidural
...posing for a "push" face picture
...kicking it into high gear when sally said there was meconium
...seeing him leave my body, without pushing, while i looked at my abdomen
...that i had a heart shaped placenta (that i wish now i would've gotten a print of)
i told kenny that i would gladly deliver another baby hours after carter was born. the pain of (a medicated) childbirth wears off that quickly. ;) and here we are today...
our most recent family photo...taken 10.16.10
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