So, Saturday, the day I turned 37 weeks, March 17th, Eric, Jack, and I ran a lot of errands. For the last week or so, I felt the baby way low. He was so low, that I had to walk more slowly or it was a bit painful. Around 5pm or so, we all went to Lowes and then to Walmart. Around 6pm we were leaving Walmart in the rain. Eric went to get the car and Jack stayed with me. Eric pulled up and I carried my 32lb son to the car, strapped him in his car seat and then got in the front seat. Then I feel it and say, Uh oh. I think my water just broke. Eric looked at me like, I'm sorry, what did you say?! I can't really explain the excitement, chaos, uncertainty that was running through my head. It wasn't an obvious gush of fluid but something was happening that I had no control over.
I decided to wait a little while before calling the doctor just to be sure. My contractions weren't increasing and there was no more leak. I guess Luke's head was acting as a cork. I finally call the dr. around 7:30pm and he advises me to lay down for an hour or so and then stand up. If there is another gush, then my water broke, if not, call him back in the am to see where we stand. I did what he said and there was no gush, no increase in contractions, so I went to bed to get a good night sleep. Eric kept asking me if this was it and I couldn't be sure.
I slept fine but didn't want to get out of bed at all b/c I didn't want to have to go to the hospital in the middle of the night. That meant calling the in-laws to come over and stay with Jack. Looking back, how dumb was that?! So, 7am rolls around, Jack has crawled into our bed and I finally get up only to find a bigger gush. Yep, my water has broken. I tell Eric that this is it and he should probably call his parents. I take a shower and then we decide to tell Jack. The contractions aren't that bad so I figure we have time.
We ask Jack to come over and say, guess what we're getting today? He said, what? I say, a baby! He doesn't say anything but just looks at me. I say, baby brother is coming today. :) He gets a big smile on his face. We decide that he can come to the hospital with us where Eric's parents can pick him up. We gather our things and head off. I tell Eric that we need to stop for some breakfast because I won't be able to eat much once I get there. We stop at Bojangles for some biscuits and call the parents. I get to the hospital around 9am or so and get checked in. It feels like I have to wait 30 minutes or so but that's fine because the contractions still weren't very bad. I called the doctor and they were expecting me.
We walk to the room and get settled in. The nurses get the ivs going and ask me how I would like the labor to go. I tell them that I would love to go without drugs but I am not crazy. If it gets too bad, I will ask for an epidural. They told me that no one has ever died from pain. You might feel like you want to, but you won't. Uh, ok thanks. Dr. Taavon comes in a little concerned because he remembered in the morning that I was strep B positive, which means that I needed to be on antibiotics the moment my water broke, a.k.a. last night. He said we were over 12 hours since then and needed to be aggressive with the delivery. He wanted to put me on Pitocin to speed things along, which made me nervous because I knew that a drug-free delivery on Pitocin would not be easy. I asked him if I could wait it out to see if things would move along. Up to this point my contractions were not regular and they were slow to speed up. So, he told me I could sign something that said I was not going to go with his plan of care but he did not advise that I do that. The baby's health could be compromised if I did not get him out asap. So, I went with the Pitocin.
The nurse cranked up the drug every 45-60 minutes and the contractions started coming. Eric had to leave to get a few things that he left at home and Jack, Pam, and Alan stayed with me. I told Eric to hurry because I was a little nervous. Around 11am, I asked everyone to leave because the contractions were getting stronger and I needed to move around the room. I didn't want Jack to see me uncomfortable. So without Eric being back, they left.
By the way, when I arrived at the hospital, Dr. Taavon checked to make sure the baby was head-down, he broke the rest of my water, and checked to see how dialated I was. I was 3 cm. That is the last time they checked me.
I remember the NCAA tournament was on TV and we were watching that the entire day. I was also trying to take care of a few work items. Since I ended up going out 3 weeks early there were a lot of loose ends. I was sending emails and texting most of the time.
Eric returned as things were heating up. I tried sitting on the birthing ball, leaning over the bed, and Eric tried counter pressure on my back but nothing really helped. The only thing that I could do during the contractions was sit facing him and grab him around the waist and pull on his shirt with both hands. I pulled him toward me and groaned. It was getting a bit tough with each contraction. Still I felt like I could handle it. Eric got a towel and wrapped it around his waist. Apparently, I was pulling really hard on his shirt. :)
Around 3pm the doctor comes in to check on me, reminds me that I can get drugs and to not let it go too far and then he leaves. The nurse, while still cranking up the Pitocin, tells me that she probably won't have to crank it up much more. Oh, and the doctor told me he would be surprised if the baby was born before 7pm. Around 3:45pm I am still texting my friends who are asking me how it is going. The fact that I can still text should tell you something. I was groaning through the contractions but around 3:50 I realized that I needed something. I asked for Stadol even though I was warned about how it made you feel. I told the nurse I only wanted half of a dose. By the time she came back, I told her to give me a full dose and to get me an epidural.
A few minutes after that, the doctor called to check on me. The nurse heard me down the hall screaming so she said uh oh, and hung up on him! Around 3:55 or so (I'm guessing) I get the mother of all contractions because I start involuntarily pushing. I'm screaming I'm pushing and can't stop! I am sitting on the side of the bed and seriously feel like I'm out of my mind. With every contraction, I push. They bring in the team to break down the bed and in runs the doctor. I ask Eric for a bucket because I feel like I'm going to throw up. He grabs it and then I throw it down because I can't pay attention to that. He said, you're hurting me (apparently I was really squeezing his hand.) and I tell him to suck it up! LOL.
Fortunately Dr. Taavon was next door at the gym. He runs in ticked off because the nurse hung up on him. I come to find out later that he thought something was really wrong. At that moment, the anesthesiologist arrives and asks if I want an epidural. Well I'm in between pushes at this point and can feel Luke's head when I try to sit up. Dr. Taavon said, no it's too late. He asks me to hold up my legs and push. I say, I can't! He said, yes you can. And I push hard and -- out pops Luke at 4:07pm! I lay back and close my eyes (Stadol makes it hard to stay awake!) and Dr. T says, Jennifer, open your eyes and look at your baby! I do and say oh no, the Stadol! (You aren't supposed to get stadol if the baby is close to delivery because it can slow their breathing too much). The dr. said he was fine, and indeed he was.
I felt like I was having an out-of-body experience. I felt like I was out of my mind with pain but as soon as he was born, it was over. Well, until they pushed on my stomach to get everything out. That hurt pretty good. I asked if I could have some drugs and Dr. T said you can have anything you want. They end up giving me 2 more doses of Stadol! It made me so freakin tired. All I wanted to do was sleep. They brought Luke over to me after his apgars and he nursed like a champ. I got to hold him a lot longer than I did with Jack and it was wonderful. We stayed in the room maybe an hour and then were moved to another room.
Jack came to see the baby a little while later and was so interested in him. He came in the room looking around for him. It was so sweet. I've posted some of the first pictures of Jack and Luke. Eric stayed the first night after Luke was born and Jack had a sleepover at nanny's. Eric went home with jack the two nights after that to stay with Jack. Nursing was so much easier and so was most everything else. I knew what I was doing and it helped. I also had the same fantastic nurse that I did with Jack! It was great to see her again.
Dad, Victoria, Pat, Grace, Nan, Paps, Pam, Alan, Kim, Bug, Sharon, and Jerry came to visit. I'm sure I'm leaving someone out and I apologize! We left on a Wednesday and settled right in.
No comments:
Post a Comment