Sara's Story- 10 lbs., 1 oz.- Hospital

10 lbs., 1oz.

21 inches

Hospital

Mother's height: 5' 6"

How was your pregnancy?

great!  I was huge, but happy up until the last 2 weeks when I was overdue

How did you feel about your upcoming birth?

nervous and excited - We took hospital classes and Bradley classes, so we felt overprepared and yet incredulous that my body could really do this.

Description of Sara's birth experience:
On Tuesday the 17th Sara had a doctor's appointment and found out she was 85% effaced and 1cm dialated.  She started having some regular contractions that definitely felt more serious in the evening.  We went to bed to get a good night's sleep in case the time for the hard work was soon.  Unfortunately for Sara, sleep was going to be difficult.  Laying on her side made it difficult to deal with contractions.  She needed to be sitting up either on the couch or the birthing ball.  So the only sleep was grabbed in between longer gaps between contractions which by morning had spaced out and pretty much stopped altogether.  So by noon an hour nap was definitely in order!  Later in the afternoon on Wednesday the contractions came back becoming more intense and  closer together.  They were somewhat painful putting pressure low in the pelvis and in the lower back.  Then Darren massaged her back and the counter pressure from the birthing ball also provided relief.  Side lying was still not an option.  When walking Sara definitely had to stop and focus to get through the contractions.  By midnight they were between 2 and 4 minutes apart lasting at least a minute each for quite a while, so we decided it was time to go in.  Upon arriving at the hospital at 1:30 am, we had the 20 minute strip and it became apparent the baby's heart rate was depressed.

Sara immediately had to lay on her left side with an oxygen mask and recieved IV fluids to help the baby, making it difficult to deal with contractions. Fortunately the condition quickly improved and it was found that positioning made the most difference.  For Sara the best position was sitting up in the bed so she could lean back and relax but yet stayed upright and the baby thankfully didn't mind this position either.  So until 10:00 am we labored this way until finding out that we were 90% effaced and 2cm dialated.  Ugh!  They recommended breaking the bag of waters which we decided to do after much discussion.  This immediately brought an additional cm dialation and made the contractions ramp up and be more consistent and stronger.  They were very intense and by 5:00pm on Thursday Sara had had enough.  She said she was
interested in pain meds depending on how far along she had progressed.  Well, upon hearing that she was still at just 4cm and 90% effaced, epidural seemed the way to go.  And oh, what a great decision!  We were both able to get some good naps in and finally got a break from two days of hard work.  A few hours later the doctor suggested pitocin to ramp things up and we readily agreed.  We knew that epidurals typically go hand in hand with pitocin.  We also wanted to  get things moving and preserve the vaginal delivery option.  Sara could feel the pressure of the contractions, but no pain, so she was still able to rest.  Until about 10:00pm when she was measuring 6cm and swore her epi had working.  They turned it as high as they would go and Sara was taking all the bonus doses she could to no relief.  In fact the pain got worse!   Well, at 11:30 the reason for the additional pain was discovered.  It was finally time to push!  Oh, the sweet relief!  It was a bit hard to learn how to push but soon the head was down and Sara could feel the sensation of the head coming out and going back in.  The doctor was stretching the perinium to help pave the way for the baby.  Suddenly the room was in a flurry and everything was changed into a delivery room and on the push the head was out.  Then the shoulders were born and baby was placed on Mommy's tummy at 12:45am on Friday!  The birth of the placenta was more painful than childbirth as the nurse and doctor were massaging the uterus VERY  vigirously.  But there was no stitching necessary as there was only a minute tear.

How did you feel after the birth (first month)?

I was pleased with the birth experience.  Despite having many more interventions than I had desired, I was very happy with the decisions we made.  I was also happy that we were able to have a vaginal delivery.

How did you feel six months after the birth? One year? Now?

Six months after the birth I was in horrible pain from tendonitis in my wrists from carrying around my heavy baby!  But I've always been satisfied with my birth experience.  I don't think I would do anything differently.

What did you learn from this birth?

It is helpful to be informed of your choices and the possible outcomes of these choices.  The more knowledgeable you are, the better decisions you can make regarding your birth experience.

Any words of wisdom to impart?

Don't walk past the nursery when you are in labor!  Those babies look so big!  Little did I know.
 
Have faith in your body.  This is a great mantra!
 
You get to decide.  If you are in the hospital, make sure you ask for the time and information you need to make decisions.  Don't let the doctors and nurses decide for you.