Carter James was born at exactly 37 weeks gestation; on February 9th at 11:19 am, weighing 7 lbs even and was 19 inches long.
So we get the kids in bed and I notice I’m still having the contractions, but they’re still pretty far apart. So I start cleaning up after dinner, I even mopped the floors and took care of some laundry.
So after about 3 hours of my contractions being between 1-3 minutes apart, I finally broke down and went to L&D even though they weren’t hurting. I took one last belly picture, woke up my husband and drove myself to the hospital; it’s hard making arrangements for 3 kids for just a false alarm (which is what I thought it was at the time). I got to the hospital at about 4am. They hooked me up to the monitor and no one was acting like it was anything. One nurse even told me to remember my insurance card next time I came up there, insinuating I was there for nothing and would be back. I guess if you don’t walk in screaming in pain they don’t think its labor.
So my wonderful doctor is on call and he tells them to monitor me for an hour and recheck me. I was 2cms and 50% effaced when they stopped my labor at 35 weeks and when I got to L&D this time I was 3cms and 70% effaced. Which was progress from last time I was there, but they needed to see progress WHILE I was there. So after an hour the nurse checks me again and I’m still 3cms and 70%, so I’m starting to think this is “practice labor” where the contractions aren’t progressing me and I get sent home and they fizzle out. So she goes to call my doctor and I’m sitting there almost positive I’m going home. She comes back and my doctor ordered me to be watched another hour since my contractions are still coming regular.
Well within that hour they start getting stronger and I start getting a tad uncomfortable b/c I’m being forced to lay there on my side. She comes back to check me and I’m 5cms, 80% effaced and Carter went from “floating” to engaging and my waters bulging. So at 6:00 a.m. on Feb. 9th, I’m admitted to have Carter, there was no turning back!! I get into my room (which the walking instantly made the contractions not uncomfortable anymore) and get settled in. They start my IV, I decline the epi for the time being, and my hubby gets up there and we just wait.
At this time my contractions start to fizzle out, they’re still there but have moved to 5ish minutes apart and I wasn’t really noticing them as much anymore. So the Dr. decided to break my water and start me on the lowest dose of Pitocin to give me a little jump start. At that time I decide to go ahead with the epidural since I knew I was getting Pitocin. It wasn’t originally what I wanted, but I was totally okay with it. Between 8:30 to 8:50 I get my epidural, get my water broken, and get rechecked and I’m at 7cms, 80% effaced and Carter is at +1 station! I was shocked since I wasn’t in any pain with the contractions! He held off on the Pitocin to see if breaking my water would do it on its own. Well by 10:00 am I hadn’t made any progress so they decided to go ahead and start the Pitocin. It was started on the lowest setting at 10:29 a.m.
The nurse came in to check on me frequently since we knew it wouldn’t take long, she bumped up the Pitocin just a tad after about 30 minutes. After that I felt Carter with each contraction and exactly where he was. It was all pressure in my butt, so the nurse checks me again and I’m at about an 8 and 90% effaced, so she stays there and waits and rechecks again about 5 minutes later and I’m at a 9 and 100% effaced and she can feel his head coming down. (So can I, I might add; the epidural didn’t do its job). So she checks me during my next contraction (OUCH!!) and I’m complete and Carter is coming fast! So she calls for my doctor and I’m scared to death he won’t get there in time. My body automatically starts pushing and I tell the nurse he needs to hurry because Carter is coming, she assures me that she’s delivered babies before, which was actually not that reassuring; I wanted MY doctor! So my body starts automatically pushing for a second time and I feel exactly where Carter’s head is, I know he’s about to be out.
My doctor finally gets in there! To me it felt like an eternity, but there was really only about a 5 minute interval from the time I was complete to when my doctor came in. So now I’m comfortable and ready to push, my doctor goes to check and Carter’s head is right there, he tells me one big push and his head will be out. So I push one time, and out came his head, and then I push a second time, and it was over, he was here!! It happened so fast! I only pushed with my body and the contractions two times and he was out. Carter James came into the world on February 9th at 11:19 am, just shy of 7lbs and 19 inches long! I was exactly 37 weeks but his APGARS were 9 & 9 and there was no doubt how healthy he was with those lungs and how he was screaming.
I got cleaned up, no tears, rips, cuts or anything. I delivered him only 5 hours after being admitted and just 40 minutes before shift change and my doctor would have gone off call. I didn’t get the 100% natural childbirth that I wanted, but I still feel accomplishment in getting to 7cms without feeling pain. I was totally okay with my choice to get the epidural after I knew I would be getting Pitocin and I feel like I had an easy and laidback (and fast) birth experience. Carter is the most amazing little guy and no matter how he came into the world, I’m just so thankful he’s here.
Here is our birth story. :)
Tuesday, February 8th was a pretty uneventful day. I cleaned the house and laid around most of the day. Robert got home and I noticed I was having a few sporadic contractions, nothing I really thought twice about. So I started cooking dinner, we were having breakfast for dinner, sooo yummy!! We even had chocolate chip and blueberry pancakes.
So we get the kids in bed and I notice I’m still having the contractions, but they’re still pretty far apart. So I start cleaning up after dinner, I even mopped the floors and took care of some laundry.
So after about 3 hours of my contractions being between 1-3 minutes apart, I finally broke down and went to L&D even though they weren’t hurting. I took one last belly picture, woke up my husband and drove myself to the hospital; it’s hard making arrangements for 3 kids for just a false alarm (which is what I thought it was at the time). I got to the hospital at about 4am. They hooked me up to the monitor and no one was acting like it was anything. One nurse even told me to remember my insurance card next time I came up there, insinuating I was there for nothing and would be back. I guess if you don’t walk in screaming in pain they don’t think its labor.
So my wonderful doctor is on call and he tells them to monitor me for an hour and recheck me. I was 2cms and 50% effaced when they stopped my labor at 35 weeks and when I got to L&D this time I was 3cms and 70% effaced. Which was progress from last time I was there, but they needed to see progress WHILE I was there. So after an hour the nurse checks me again and I’m still 3cms and 70%, so I’m starting to think this is “practice labor” where the contractions aren’t progressing me and I get sent home and they fizzle out. So she goes to call my doctor and I’m sitting there almost positive I’m going home. She comes back and my doctor ordered me to be watched another hour since my contractions are still coming regular.
Well within that hour they start getting stronger and I start getting a tad uncomfortable b/c I’m being forced to lay there on my side. She comes back to check me and I’m 5cms, 80% effaced and Carter went from “floating” to engaging and my waters bulging. So at 6:00 a.m. on Feb. 9th, I’m admitted to have Carter, there was no turning back!! I get into my room (which the walking instantly made the contractions not uncomfortable anymore) and get settled in. They start my IV, I decline the epi for the time being, and my hubby gets up there and we just wait.
At this time my contractions start to fizzle out, they’re still there but have moved to 5ish minutes apart and I wasn’t really noticing them as much anymore. So the Dr. decided to break my water and start me on the lowest dose of Pitocin to give me a little jump start. At that time I decide to go ahead with the epidural since I knew I was getting Pitocin. It wasn’t originally what I wanted, but I was totally okay with it. Between 8:30 to 8:50 I get my epidural, get my water broken, and get rechecked and I’m at 7cms, 80% effaced and Carter is at +1 station! I was shocked since I wasn’t in any pain with the contractions! He held off on the Pitocin to see if breaking my water would do it on its own. Well by 10:00 am I hadn’t made any progress so they decided to go ahead and start the Pitocin. It was started on the lowest setting at 10:29 a.m.
The nurse came in to check on me frequently since we knew it wouldn’t take long, she bumped up the Pitocin just a tad after about 30 minutes. After that I felt Carter with each contraction and exactly where he was. It was all pressure in my butt, so the nurse checks me again and I’m at about an 8 and 90% effaced, so she stays there and waits and rechecks again about 5 minutes later and I’m at a 9 and 100% effaced and she can feel his head coming down. (So can I, I might add; the epidural didn’t do its job). So she checks me during my next contraction (OUCH!!) and I’m complete and Carter is coming fast! So she calls for my doctor and I’m scared to death he won’t get there in time. My body automatically starts pushing and I tell the nurse he needs to hurry because Carter is coming, she assures me that she’s delivered babies before, which was actually not that reassuring; I wanted MY doctor! So my body starts automatically pushing for a second time and I feel exactly where Carter’s head is, I know he’s about to be out.
My doctor finally gets in there! To me it felt like an eternity, but there was really only about a 5 minute interval from the time I was complete to when my doctor came in. So now I’m comfortable and ready to push, my doctor goes to check and Carter’s head is right there, he tells me one big push and his head will be out. So I push one time, and out came his head, and then I push a second time, and it was over, he was here!! It happened so fast! I only pushed with my body and the contractions two times and he was out. Carter James came into the world on February 9th at 11:19 am, just shy of 7lbs and 19 inches long! I was exactly 37 weeks but his APGARS were 9 & 9 and there was no doubt how healthy he was with those lungs and how he was screaming.
I got cleaned up, no tears, rips, cuts or anything. I delivered him only 5 hours after being admitted and just 40 minutes before shift change and my doctor would have gone off call. I didn’t get the 100% natural childbirth that I wanted, but I still feel accomplishment in getting to 7cms without feeling pain. I was totally okay with my choice to get the epidural after I knew I would be getting Pitocin and I feel like I had an easy and laidback (and fast) birth experience. Carter is the most amazing little guy and no matter how he came into the world, I’m just so thankful he’s here.
