She brought up the topic of induction on the weekend to which I was caught off guard because one of the things I loved about the clinic was that they were slow to induce, slow to cut and slow to provide unnecessary medial interventions. One of my big goals for this pregnancy was to attempt to deliver Popeye without any medication. Pitocin, to me, was medication. Not pain medication, but medication none-the-less. In any case, when I told her I'd prefer to not be induced or to see if we could maybe wait until after the weekend, she said she'd be open to that option but wanted to schedule an ultrasound to check in on Popeye to see how she was doing. So we scheduled an ultrasound at the Edina office for the only time available - 8:15 am on Friday morning (3/21).
In the meantime, I went to the chiropractor to get an adjustment, acupuncture and an hour long massage. It was glorious and I should been smarter and did it earlier in pregnancy. My body felt like a million bucks after that trip so I scheduled another set of adjustments on Friday after the scheduled ultrasound.
Friday came way faster than I anticipated. Grant and I drove separately to the Edina office because my chiro appointment was immediately following the ultrasound. We went into the ultrasound and the technician told us what she would be looking for and describing what was on the screen. She told us that there was a total score of 8 points and for each of the 4 things she was looking at, she could earn up to 2 points. Who knew it was so much like a game?!?! In any case, she told us that she scored an 8/8. What a great little student we had in the womb already! Elated, we waited to see the LPN since our doctor had called in sick, certain she would tell us we could wait until next week to schedule an induction. Turns out - we were very wrong. When she walked in, she told us that Popeye was measuring in the 50th percentile for size and in the 5th percentile for torso diameter/circumference measurement. She then said, "so you are going to have a baby today!"
My response, "but she scored an 8/8!".
"Yes, that is true but the fluid level is so low we don't want to put her in distress. So, you need to go get your bags and go to the hospital. We will call them to let them know that you are on your way".
I was a flurry of emotions - excited, scared, and a bit disappointed that it wouldn't be a natural process. Plus, I had scheduled an adjustment and a massage right after Popeye's appointment so I was bummed I couldn't get one more massage before her arrival. We headed home, grabbed our bags, grabbed a sammich and headed to the hospital.
When we got to the Labor and Delivery floor we checked-in at the front desk, however, they didn't get a call indicating we were coming and were caught off guard. We sat in the waiting area until they realized that my clinic had called the Edina location and not Burnsville. They found us a nurse and a room. Apparently it had been a very busy morning on the floor with 4 babies born between 7 and 9 am. I had commented how surprisingly quiet it was on the floor. The nurse indicated that with so many people opting for epidurals nowadays, that it's often quiet on the floor.
Knowing that I had been horrible at taking side pics of my growing belly during pregnancy, I asked Grant to take one more pregnancy picture to capture me and Popeye at 40 weeks and 5 days.
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| Here's what 40+weeks and 35-40 pounds gets you. |
The doctor broke my water around 11 am and soon after they started the Pitocin. The nurse and doctor said that many people think that being induced "hurts more" but in reality, it doesn't - it just happens much quicker than a natural labor where contractions may come way slower. I didn't notice anything immediately. Slight discomfort but nothing to write home about. In fact, it was around 2 pm when I think I said to Grant, "Oh, this must be how people with menstrual cramps feel - ick". The nurse checked me internally at that point and I was dilated to 3.5 cm. Not a huge gain for hanging out for a few hours but gain nonetheless. From that point, it seemed like the contractions were getting stronger. I tried sitting on the birthing ball, laying on my side, leaning on Grant. Nothing seemed super comfortable and I felt like I just had to go to the bathroom all the time. So, I did and I realized that sitting on the toilet was by far the most comfortable place my body felt.
The nurse would come in and check me every 20-30 minutes. She'd look at the paper print out of my contractions and say "keep up the good work - looking great!". We had no indication of how far apart the contractions were or how far I had dilated.
Poor Grant was set up on a chair in the shower of the bathroom. He was an awesome birthing coach and after every contraction, had ice cold water available for me to drink. He says it looked like it really hurt but I guess I was laboring through my face. I tried really hard to relax, think of water rushing up onto the shore and breathing deeply. Obviously as the contractions got stronger, the breathing was heavier and stronger. I thought I looked like this:
I'm pretty sure Grant thought I looked like this:
In either case, I'm pretty sure it was somewhere in between those two pictures but clearly without a bloody face. I got to the point around 5:30 or 5:45 pm when I felt like my body wanted to push with each contraction. The nurse came in and I told her that I felt like it was almost ready to push. She checked me at that point and Voila! - I was at 9.5 cm. She said she'd go call the doctor who had went home to feed her baby. It was probably in the next 10 minutes or so that she asked if I wanted to try to move to the bed. I hadn't thought about delivering a child on the toilet before and wasn't quite sure how the angle would work out in trying to catch her once she made her appearance. She said that they have delivered on the toilet, in the middle of the room or the bed....whatever the momma wants. I opted to try for the bed.
Once there, the doctor had arrived in time to put down the puppy training pads and away we went with pushing. Grant and the nurse held each of my legs....must have been odd for them because I'm guessing I had pushed back with force. I remember looking at the clock around 6 pm and thinking to myself, she is going to be born by 6:33 pm. 33 is my favorite number and it's the year of Scottie Pippen this year so it would only be fitting to have her arrive then!
For every contraction I pushed at least 4 times. I'm sure it looked like it hurt but in all honesty, it felt like I was trying to pass the biggest stool of my life....which, in fact, I was. The nurses and doctors were so pleased with the progress and were awesome assistant coaches during the experience as well. Mentally, I was ready for this moment.
At 6:33 pm - Lucile Grace - was born. She was spot on 8 pounds and measured 20.5".
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| Lucy getting herself all checked out! |
She was a doll. Covered with goop and all adorable they placed her on my chest immediately so we could cuddle and warm each other up. She had a strong cry and calmed once she was on my chest. They placed super warm blanket over my head and upper body to keep us warm as my lower extremities were quivering.
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| Momma + Lucy all nuzzled in warm blankets |
Grant cut the umbilical cord. He says I swore a lot during this time period, though I can not recall. I do recall saying that I said at some point during labor that "it feels like the biggest Sh#t I've ever had to take in my life". I don't remember being foul-mouthed once she arrived....but I was excitedly delirious.
The doctor worked to stitch me up a little (I think this was more painful than the actual labor despite the local they give you)...I guess adrenaline is a magical thing that allows you to push your body farther than you might expect. As evidence, here is my post-labor attitude:
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| How I actually looked - Nailed it. |
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| How I felt - Rocky Balboa style. |
We spent a good 2 hours in the labor room. They cleaned both of us up a little (Lucy more than me), ran a couple of tests and let us cuddle her more. We watched her get her first bath. I was beyond excited for the two sandwiches, fruit and cookies I got....I think I even shared it with Grant.
We were then transferred to the postpartum room where we met even more nurses, Grant changed his first diaper and we were explained the all-holy Poop/Pee/Feed chart to which we now needed to live our life by. I breastfed Lucy for the first time and she seemed to catch on pretty quickly. We did several other things and it wasn't until nearly 1 or 1:30 am when we sent Lucy to the nursery so we could get a good night's rest.
The next two days were a blur with feedings, cat naps, trying to order everything on the room service menu, nurses and other random tests (like hearing and heart). A couple of friends visited us in the hospital and it was great to see familiar faces. We were discharged on Sunday afternoon after watching a couple of videos...I'm sure, that after watching these two videos, we were guaranteed to be great parents (ha!). And now we begin our new life at home, growing our little family with no rule book on how things are done. We learn something new everyday. I'll work hard to keep up on the blog to let you know how Lucy is doing and all the new things we learn about being parents.
We were fortunate. It was a great labor even though Grant will attest that it looked painful.
Don't even think of asking when the next one will come along because Venus will come out.
