jessiehannan
11-18-2010, 04:52 PM
She is 8 years old now, but I think it is time that I told the story of her birth.
I wanted a medication free delivery. I wanted my labor to come about on its own and let her be born on her own time.
3 days before my 18th birthday, on August the 19thm I went to the high risk clinic to have her monitored for an hour, since I was already a week over due. I get there, they put me in the recliner, on a monitor and come back an hour later to tell me that my blood pressure was high and they wanted to induce me then.
My mom was with me and started to panic a little. We borrrowed the phone from the hospital to call the friend that my DH worked with to let him now. My mom walked me over the hospital and we get me admitted and into a room for more monitoring. I remember crying because the 15 year old girl in the bed next to me was in full blown labor at 26 weeks. They got a room open and moved me in there. I was fortunate to have a private room, when they were having to deliver babies in the hallway because it was that busy. We got into the room, and the nurse tried and tried and tried and tried and tried to get the iv set up and when another nurse came in, we were both in tears at that point. We got the iv in and an hour later, they came in and administered the pill to soften the cervix. I thought I was doing what was best for my baby so I let them. An hour later, they checked me and nothing had happened. Waited another hour and they started pitocin. A few hours later, nothing. They upped the pitocin some more. I lost track of time and how many times they upped the pitocin. Finally the pain got so unbearable that I asked for iv drugs. They adminstered them, and nothing. The dr decided that it would be ok to up the dosage for the pain medication a little, and still nothing.
I think it was the 20th by now, but I do not know for sure at this point. I just remember that it was night, because the lights were dim, my door mostly shut and no one coming in and out all the time. I started hallucinating from the medication they gave me. I was in pain, panicked, and desperate. My DH and mom didn't know any better, so they tried to keep me as calm as possible, and I couldn't tell them what was wrong I was so out of it. Those effects finally wore off, and my water broke. I remember calling the nurse,and her telling me it was supposed to do that. The pain got so bad that I asked for an epidural at this point. The contractions were so bad that I couldn't sit up, they had to lift me up and help me lay on my DH's shoulder in the right position for the epidural. It wasn't positioned the right way, so they had to do it again. I was only 4cm or so at that point. I had been in the bed constantly at that point since 5pm on the 19th. No getting up, no moving around, and just laying there cause sore spots and more pain. Then got me adjusted, and with one side slightly elevated. Dozed off for a little while, and then one side of my whole body was in extreme pain. They decided that it was because the blood flowed to the lower side of my body, and all the pain medication. So we rolled me over and I dozed some more. Woke up again in pain, so we rolled me over again. I don't remember how often we had to roll me over.
Finally, on August 21, around 4 pm, I was fully dilated. 30 minutes or so later, she was born. 8 lbs 1/2 an ounce. 19 inches long. Head full of black hair, the prettiest shade of new baby pink. Wide eyed and looking out at the world, she was alert, but didn't want to cry.
It isn't the start that I wanted for my baby, my firstborn. Makes me wonder if it set the stage for how her life is going to be.
I wanted a medication free delivery. I wanted my labor to come about on its own and let her be born on her own time.
3 days before my 18th birthday, on August the 19thm I went to the high risk clinic to have her monitored for an hour, since I was already a week over due. I get there, they put me in the recliner, on a monitor and come back an hour later to tell me that my blood pressure was high and they wanted to induce me then.
My mom was with me and started to panic a little. We borrrowed the phone from the hospital to call the friend that my DH worked with to let him now. My mom walked me over the hospital and we get me admitted and into a room for more monitoring. I remember crying because the 15 year old girl in the bed next to me was in full blown labor at 26 weeks. They got a room open and moved me in there. I was fortunate to have a private room, when they were having to deliver babies in the hallway because it was that busy. We got into the room, and the nurse tried and tried and tried and tried and tried to get the iv set up and when another nurse came in, we were both in tears at that point. We got the iv in and an hour later, they came in and administered the pill to soften the cervix. I thought I was doing what was best for my baby so I let them. An hour later, they checked me and nothing had happened. Waited another hour and they started pitocin. A few hours later, nothing. They upped the pitocin some more. I lost track of time and how many times they upped the pitocin. Finally the pain got so unbearable that I asked for iv drugs. They adminstered them, and nothing. The dr decided that it would be ok to up the dosage for the pain medication a little, and still nothing.
I think it was the 20th by now, but I do not know for sure at this point. I just remember that it was night, because the lights were dim, my door mostly shut and no one coming in and out all the time. I started hallucinating from the medication they gave me. I was in pain, panicked, and desperate. My DH and mom didn't know any better, so they tried to keep me as calm as possible, and I couldn't tell them what was wrong I was so out of it. Those effects finally wore off, and my water broke. I remember calling the nurse,and her telling me it was supposed to do that. The pain got so bad that I asked for an epidural at this point. The contractions were so bad that I couldn't sit up, they had to lift me up and help me lay on my DH's shoulder in the right position for the epidural. It wasn't positioned the right way, so they had to do it again. I was only 4cm or so at that point. I had been in the bed constantly at that point since 5pm on the 19th. No getting up, no moving around, and just laying there cause sore spots and more pain. Then got me adjusted, and with one side slightly elevated. Dozed off for a little while, and then one side of my whole body was in extreme pain. They decided that it was because the blood flowed to the lower side of my body, and all the pain medication. So we rolled me over and I dozed some more. Woke up again in pain, so we rolled me over again. I don't remember how often we had to roll me over.
Finally, on August 21, around 4 pm, I was fully dilated. 30 minutes or so later, she was born. 8 lbs 1/2 an ounce. 19 inches long. Head full of black hair, the prettiest shade of new baby pink. Wide eyed and looking out at the world, she was alert, but didn't want to cry.
It isn't the start that I wanted for my baby, my firstborn. Makes me wonder if it set the stage for how her life is going to be.