Well, time has been flying for sure, how is Andy already two weeks old? So much has happened that I want to blog on that it is gonna take a while! Starting with his birth story!
Andrew's 38 week ultrasound estimated that he was 8lb 2oz. so our Dr. decided we would need to schedule his "eviction" if he didn't arrive by his due date. So at 40 weeks and 4 days he was evicted! (if you havent watched the will ferrell funny or die video with his daughter playing Pearl the land lord , do it. "Evic-evic," it really made Brett and me laugh when the dr. called it eviction rather and induction.)
SO We checked in Monday the 19th at 3 pm. and started a the first drug (not Cervadil but the other one I don't remember the name of) to prime my very closed and non effaced cervix. The worst part of the night was the external fetal monitors, I couldn't move. Even the littlest shift and the nurse would have to come back in to readjust and find a heartbeat again. For me at 10 months pregnant, staying in one position for more than 30 seconds was a major quest. Not to mention the bathroom runs every 30 minutes... let's just say sleep is not something that happened that night.
**Warning, this blog should probably be called TMI... keep reading at your own risk**
At 4:30 a.m. it was time to start the Pitocin. I had started having contractions through the night but I didn't feel them so I was expecting them to get worse really fast. I was so paranoid that I needed to have a bowel movement before they hit because what would happen if I was pushing and last night's dinner showed up? I attributed most of my contractions to having to use the bathroom most of the morning. Until the "whirlwind" hour happened. I call it that because sooo much happened so fast. It started about 7:45. I was in the bathroom again but wasn't getting any um... results. When I gave up and was about to return to bed I noticed what they call the bloody show. Did I also mention that you cant wear underwear all night and how uncomfortable that is. I had Brett call the nurse and she said that I am probably thinking I have to go to the bathroom because I am really starting to feel contraction pressure and things are starting to progress. She was right, She checked me was now about a cm dialated and 75% effaced -2 station (which means baby is still high above the pelvis). Let me add that my nurse was new... so checking was a process and usually ended up having her supervisor coming to confirm what she had said... doesn't make one feel confident at this point. Five minutes later, my OB shows up and decides to break my water and to put on a internal monitor. Again, let me stress that they don't clean up after themselves after this so now things are gushing and running and there and I just have to lay there in mess and spread em every 30 minutes so someone can check the progress, UNCOMFORTABLE. That was the worst part, the dirty feeling, throw a girl a towel please!
Well the contractions were really in full swing, so I wasted no time requesting the epidural. So I ended the hour with as they inserted my catheter and tube into my spine! It all seemed so fast but next thing I know the pain was gone. Hurray!
Except as I am very senesitive to drugs and I had a bad reaction. My left arm went numb, I felt like I couldn't breath and my whole body was shaking so bad my jaw hurt. I remember trying to throw up but my diaphragm was numb so I couldn't heave. Scary! but with all of that I could still feel my legs. They got the anetheologist to come back and though it took some time to convince him the dose was too high for me, He finally did turn it off for about 30 minutes before turning it back on at the new reduced dose! The pain of contractions never came back but feeling in my arm did! At this point, Tracy had arrived and she and Brett, decided to go to get some lunch around 10:30. I had progressed about 4 cm and completely was now effaced but Andy had not moved down at all so the nurses came in and told me i had to roll to one side for an hour to help the baby move. I was trying to sleep but kept feeling more and more pressure in my back with each contraction. I called the nurse for breakthrough pain meds and by the end of the first hour I was begging to change positions. When they did the nurse checked me and I hadn't made any progress in the last two hours. Luckily my Dr. was in surgery at the hospital all day and he was checking in frequently. When he came back about 12:30 he checked me again and decided that the pressure I was feeling was the babys head pushing on but not progressing through the pelvis. I wasn't making changes so he decided to prep for a c-section. I was actually relieved, the day had actually been go by fast but I found relief in knowing I was going to meet andy in an hour. Plus for some reason I was more nervous about pushing him out than I was going to the operating room. About 4 nurses started the whirlwind of being prepped, noted to be missing was my nurse, who when I asked her supervisor about her I was told she was in class now. Relief that this part was not a learning experience!
They were shaving, and removing monitors and buzzing around. They asked me if I had any metal on, nope, let's roll. Brett was in his scrubs, and Tracy takes her place in the waiting room. As they transfered me onto the table I realized that I still had my bra on, which has metal... OOOPS, but atleast I remembered before they started! Now I was obsessed with the fact that the anesthesiology understand that I can still feel my legs. AND " um are you sure we didn't turn this epidural down too much cause I will be scarred for life if I feel this." But he took his freezing cold hands and put it on my shoulder then on my belly and said you may feel it's there but you don't feel the cold anymore do you. I didn't. So they begin, Brett is there with me, I am trying not to freak out and I am impatient, I want to meet this baby! Dr. Griggs and Dr. Thomas are pushing and pulling but no baby yet... it seemed like forever. then they keep saying you are going to feel a like and elephant on your chest as they push the baby out, I never felt the elephant but I heard a baby crying! Brett didn't get to cut the cord, apparently it was wrapped around his neck. I missed that part. They held Andy up for Brett to see and to take pictures but they never dropped the curtain for me to see. So the first time I laid eyes on my child was when I made Brett show me the digital pictures before he rushed over to be with him while he got checked out. I had now reached a new level of impatient, no one had showed me my baby yet, I heard him crying but when do I get to see him. The lady training with the anesthesiology told me, whoa that boy has balls as big as a horse. I remember asking what color hair he had about 12 times before someone answered me. and what seemed like another eternity Brett finally brought him over to meet me! They only stayed a few seconds before heading to the nursery! I then started the loooongest wait of my life, being sown up... it was a looot of tugging and pulling and it took forever. I remember saying ouch a lot and then asking how much longer does this take. Then into recovery we go!! And that is how Andy entered the world!
Andrew's 38 week ultrasound estimated that he was 8lb 2oz. so our Dr. decided we would need to schedule his "eviction" if he didn't arrive by his due date. So at 40 weeks and 4 days he was evicted! (if you havent watched the will ferrell funny or die video with his daughter playing Pearl the land lord , do it. "Evic-evic," it really made Brett and me laugh when the dr. called it eviction rather and induction.)
**Warning, this blog should probably be called TMI... keep reading at your own risk**
At 4:30 a.m. it was time to start the Pitocin. I had started having contractions through the night but I didn't feel them so I was expecting them to get worse really fast. I was so paranoid that I needed to have a bowel movement before they hit because what would happen if I was pushing and last night's dinner showed up? I attributed most of my contractions to having to use the bathroom most of the morning. Until the "whirlwind" hour happened. I call it that because sooo much happened so fast. It started about 7:45. I was in the bathroom again but wasn't getting any um... results. When I gave up and was about to return to bed I noticed what they call the bloody show. Did I also mention that you cant wear underwear all night and how uncomfortable that is. I had Brett call the nurse and she said that I am probably thinking I have to go to the bathroom because I am really starting to feel contraction pressure and things are starting to progress. She was right, She checked me was now about a cm dialated and 75% effaced -2 station (which means baby is still high above the pelvis). Let me add that my nurse was new... so checking was a process and usually ended up having her supervisor coming to confirm what she had said... doesn't make one feel confident at this point. Five minutes later, my OB shows up and decides to break my water and to put on a internal monitor. Again, let me stress that they don't clean up after themselves after this so now things are gushing and running and there and I just have to lay there in mess and spread em every 30 minutes so someone can check the progress, UNCOMFORTABLE. That was the worst part, the dirty feeling, throw a girl a towel please!
Well the contractions were really in full swing, so I wasted no time requesting the epidural. So I ended the hour with as they inserted my catheter and tube into my spine! It all seemed so fast but next thing I know the pain was gone. Hurray!
Except as I am very senesitive to drugs and I had a bad reaction. My left arm went numb, I felt like I couldn't breath and my whole body was shaking so bad my jaw hurt. I remember trying to throw up but my diaphragm was numb so I couldn't heave. Scary! but with all of that I could still feel my legs. They got the anetheologist to come back and though it took some time to convince him the dose was too high for me, He finally did turn it off for about 30 minutes before turning it back on at the new reduced dose! The pain of contractions never came back but feeling in my arm did! At this point, Tracy had arrived and she and Brett, decided to go to get some lunch around 10:30. I had progressed about 4 cm and completely was now effaced but Andy had not moved down at all so the nurses came in and told me i had to roll to one side for an hour to help the baby move. I was trying to sleep but kept feeling more and more pressure in my back with each contraction. I called the nurse for breakthrough pain meds and by the end of the first hour I was begging to change positions. When they did the nurse checked me and I hadn't made any progress in the last two hours. Luckily my Dr. was in surgery at the hospital all day and he was checking in frequently. When he came back about 12:30 he checked me again and decided that the pressure I was feeling was the babys head pushing on but not progressing through the pelvis. I wasn't making changes so he decided to prep for a c-section. I was actually relieved, the day had actually been go by fast but I found relief in knowing I was going to meet andy in an hour. Plus for some reason I was more nervous about pushing him out than I was going to the operating room. About 4 nurses started the whirlwind of being prepped, noted to be missing was my nurse, who when I asked her supervisor about her I was told she was in class now. Relief that this part was not a learning experience!
They were shaving, and removing monitors and buzzing around. They asked me if I had any metal on, nope, let's roll. Brett was in his scrubs, and Tracy takes her place in the waiting room. As they transfered me onto the table I realized that I still had my bra on, which has metal... OOOPS, but atleast I remembered before they started! Now I was obsessed with the fact that the anesthesiology understand that I can still feel my legs. AND " um are you sure we didn't turn this epidural down too much cause I will be scarred for life if I feel this." But he took his freezing cold hands and put it on my shoulder then on my belly and said you may feel it's there but you don't feel the cold anymore do you. I didn't. So they begin, Brett is there with me, I am trying not to freak out and I am impatient, I want to meet this baby! Dr. Griggs and Dr. Thomas are pushing and pulling but no baby yet... it seemed like forever. then they keep saying you are going to feel a like and elephant on your chest as they push the baby out, I never felt the elephant but I heard a baby crying! Brett didn't get to cut the cord, apparently it was wrapped around his neck. I missed that part. They held Andy up for Brett to see and to take pictures but they never dropped the curtain for me to see. So the first time I laid eyes on my child was when I made Brett show me the digital pictures before he rushed over to be with him while he got checked out. I had now reached a new level of impatient, no one had showed me my baby yet, I heard him crying but when do I get to see him. The lady training with the anesthesiology told me, whoa that boy has balls as big as a horse. I remember asking what color hair he had about 12 times before someone answered me. and what seemed like another eternity Brett finally brought him over to meet me! They only stayed a few seconds before heading to the nursery! I then started the loooongest wait of my life, being sown up... it was a looot of tugging and pulling and it took forever. I remember saying ouch a lot and then asking how much longer does this take. Then into recovery we go!! And that is how Andy entered the world! 
