Bellemme Grace
Due: April 3, 2019
Born: April 8, 2019
At our 20 week anatomy ultrasound the technician told us baby GIRL was about a week ahead of schedule on the size charts. This was super surprising to us since I had been measuring a bit small up until this point. We were so excited we might get to meet our bundle earlier than expected!
We creeped closer and closer to my “new” due date…until we passed it. At my 39 week appointment baby girl was still sitting high and seemed very content in the womb. Of course I couldn’t wait to meet her, but I also loved being pregnant so I wasn’t in a super rush to evict her. Our doctors were comfortable with us going one week over our due date- knowing this we decided to go ahead and set an induction date. By setting one ahead of time (but still hoping baby would come on her own) they were able to reserve a private room for us so we didn’t spend any time in triage.
*Triage at our hospital was a small room with curtain dividers that women hang out in until they are in active labor*
After my 40 week appointment I started getting really nervous about the thought of induction. I had read MANY induction birth stories and pitocin was often described as “the devil drug.” So yeah, I’d like to pass on that if possible. Between my Wednesday appointment and our Scheduled Sunday induction I did all of the suggested things- drank specific tea, walked liked crazy, climbed up and down stairs, ate spicy food, etc. But alas, the little lady decided she wasn’t coming out without some assistance.
Sunday at 5pm we checked into the hospital. From the minute we walked in the door it was go time! We barely got our stuff set down before the first nurse was (trying) to put my IV in. After two tries in my hand a new nurse came and was able to get it in my forearm. If you have an option, I would definitely recommend asking for your IV to be in your arm instead of hand- this allows you to move your hand easier which helps with many things but especially holding your new baby!
7pm- Once my IV was in place, the next step was to have Cervidil inserted. Cervidil is used to ripen and soften the cervix which will hopefully trigger your body into beginning labor on its own. Within minutes of my Cervidil being inserted I began having contractions that I couldn’t feel. We ate dinner, watched tv, and decided to try and get a good nights sleep knowing that the plan was to check me early the next morning for progress.
Jeff fell asleep on the couch in our room and I was just about to dose off when things got interesting.
12am- I’m starting to feel contractions. As weird as this may seem, I was so excited! There was a small chance that the Cervidil could progress me enough that pitocin wouldn’t have to be used- I was hoping this was a sign towards that! I can still drift in and out of sleep at this point.
2am-6am. Ok. This hurts. I really wanted to wake Jeff up so he could be with me but I knew I would need him 100% during active labor so I thought it was best to let him rest now. For these four hours I clung to the bedrail with my arms wrapped around both sides.
6am- My nurse came in and took out the Cervidil and I was told to get in the shower and clean off before we got things “started.” “STARTED”?! I thought we WERE “started.”
I have a pretty high pain tolerance and I’m pretty sure my husband has seen me cry 3 times in the 10 years we’ve been together (it’s just who I am) but at this point I cried to Jeff that I “just wanted to be sitting on the sectional together at home watching tv.” After about 30 seconds of that I pulled myself together and waited for the nurse to come back.
7am- pitocin begins. I’m not going to sugar coat this for you so if you’ve got a baby on the horizon and don’t want the truth, now is the time to turn back. Exit out of this page.
If you’re still with me- here we go!
7:15am- Within minutes of the pitocin starting in my IV the contractions were INTENSE. I was mostly still holding onto the bedrails and working through things on my own. I could talk and answer questions.
10am- When they checked my dilation and I was only at a 5 I told the nurse to go ahead and call for an epidural since I had been told it could take quite a while for or an anesthesiologist to make their way up to me.
10am-11:15am- My head is pushed into the side of the bed, I’m holding Jeff’s hands (probably breaking them) and trying to calmly ask the nurse if she’s heard from the anesthesiologist. She can tell I’m in excruciating pain and decides to stop the pitocin until we can get an epidural. Even though she cut the pitocin off from my IV the contractions aren’t slowing down any.
11:15am- The anesthesiologist arrives. I am TERRIFIED of needles but (as I had heard from other people) at this point you DO NOT CARE. I’ve never been so happy to see a doctor in my entire life. Curling up like a cat on the edge of the bed is not easy during contractions and I was SO glad that I had watched videos ahead of time on the correct form because in that moment I wouldn’t have been able to concentrate enough to figure out what the doctor was wanting from me. It took three tries before he could get the needle in place. They rub something on your back that is suppose to numb the area before it’s inserted but it wasn’t working. I was wenching but when he would ask me what hurt all I could get out was the word “pain.” After a few minutes the medicine started to kick in and while I was still feeling the contractions, the intensity had gone down tremendously so my nurse began the pitocin again.
10 minutes after my epidural was inserted I developed what they called a “hot spot.” This basically means that one spot on my body had not been numbed and was feeling ALL of the pain.
It. Was. Horrible.
They called the anesthesiologist back and he upped my medicine but nothing was working. By this point the entire epidural had worn off (30 minutes after it was inserted.)
Pitocin + No Epidural = I’m dying. I’m sure of it.
11:45am- I’ve pretty much blacked out at this point. Jeff says I was praying out loud but I don’t remember. All of a sudden my body is shaking like I’m in The North Pole. When I ask the nurse about this she tells me it’s a sign that it’s almost time. Within minutes the feeling to push that I had heard others talk about was very clear! Everything happened so fast that I could tell my nurse was a little panicked. About 30 seconds later there was a team of hospital staff in my room. I was using all of the breathing techniques they taught us in class and Jeff was a ROCKSTAR husband!
12:25pm- Pushing begins. After 20 minutes we can see the doctors looking at each other strangely. The nurse watching the heart rate monitors is giving them signals and while she’s trying to stay calm we can see the panic on her face as she catches the eyes of the doctors. Our hospital door opens and in come three more people while my doctor tells me that baby’s heart rate is dropping and we have to get her out fast. There’s a nurse at my head putting an oxygen mask over my face between pushes to try and get some help to baby. There are roughly 18 people in the room now. My doctor tells me we are going to use a vacuum on the next set of pushes.
12:47pm- Bellemme Grace is here. The feeling of complete exhaustion and new love consume me. I can’t get over Jeff’s face as we see our daughter for the first time. I look over and one of the nurses has my phone in her hand and is taking pictures of these first moments with our girl. After a few minutes of skin to skin Jeff takes her for all of her measurements and checks while I’m taken care of.
I had a 3rd degree tear requiring 37 stitches. If you have time for one thing before your baby is born I strongly encourage you to make some DIY padsickles (instructions on Pinterest.) They saved my life!
After an hour of stitches I got Belle back and we contacted our families to let them know she had been born!
Some nurses are quick to take out your IV since it can be uncomfortable for the patient- I asked to have mine left in. My doctors were concerned I might need to receive blood since I had lost so much during delivery (thankfully I didn’t end up needing any.) I did however have to get my last dose of RhoGAM and I was able to ask for it to be given through my IV instead of having to be poked again. RhoGAM is a special shot that negative blood types receive during pregnancy and after delivery.
P.S. If you have negative blood and you ever experience a miscarriage it is VERY important that you receive one of these shots no matter how far along you were so make sure your doctor knows you are negative.
The rest of our hospital stay had its ups and downs that I might write about another time. I know I read TONS of birth stories before my delivery and learned a lot of helpful things so I hope this has been a good preparer for someone reading it!
If you want to know more about the products I used for recovery after tearing just send me a message and I would be happy to give you a list of life savers!
