Encouraging Labor

After four weeks of complete bedrest, I was ready to just have the baby now that he would be considered full term. During my last week of bedrest, I weaned myself from the terbutaline and also started to try moving around a bit more after being horizontal all that time.

Since our ultrasound determined that the baby was about 7.5 lbs (give or take 0.75 lbs), I figured that would be a great size of baby to deliver. I was hoping to deliver VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean), and Dr. Baer was very supportive and encouraging. I was worried that the longer my pregnancy was, the bigger the baby would get, and I would end up with another C-section.

To prepare myself for labor, I started taking EPO (Evening Primrose Oil) capsules on Thursday. You can take them orally or insert them vaginally. They soften the cervix for effacement and dilation. Another way to prepare the cervix is to make love with your partner. Semen contains some prostaglandin, while having an orgasm may stimulate a few contractions.

Another method to induce labor is nipple stimulation, which encourages the body to release its own natural oxytocin. This certainly causes contractions, but it's not always recommended because it can cause prolonged contractions that can put stress on the baby.

The other two methods I tried were walking and acupressure. There are two acupressure points that make your uterus contract. I think that these methods for starting contractions were what got my labor started. I started the acupressure points on Friday night. And early Saturday afternoon, Zander and I went to the park for a birthday party, which meant lots of walking for me, even up and down a very steep hill. After we got home from the party, Doug and I had some alone time. About an hour later, the contractions started getting much stronger. By 5:30 PM, I was telling Doug it was time to get ready to go to the hospital. We started packing our bags and planning what to do if I was indeed in labor.

Checking Into the Hospital

We got to the hospital sometime around 6:30 - 7:00 PM. The contractions were about 3-5 minutes apart and pretty strong by this time. Zander and Doug walked the halls as the nurse hooked me up to the contraction and fetal monitors. My first internal check had me at 4 cm, and 90% effaced. They called Dr. Baer (who I knew was on call for the weekend). He told them to let me walk around the hospital for an hour and then admit me.

Doug asked me if we should call his parents. I told him to wait until we were actually admitted into the delivery room. Even then I thought they could send me home at the last minute. Since we hadn't eaten dinner yet, Doug took Zander out for food. At that point, I wasn't very hungry, but I did get a fruit smoothie and a Peak energy bar from the coffee cart at the hospital while I walked around for that hour. At the coffee cart, we ran into Tracy, the nurse who took care of me when I came in for preterm labor 5 weeks earlier. She offered to be my nurse for the delivery and I was glad to have someone that I felt would be supportive and knowledgeable.

After walking around for an hour, I got back to get another internal check. 5 cm. And then I was taken to my delivery room. This was really going to happen!

Active Labor

For my labor, I didn't want to be constantly hooked up to the monitors or to an IV. However, since this was a VBAC, IV access was required. So, Tracy put in a lock on the back of my hand so that they could plug me into an IV if needed. Also, I wanted to be able to walk around, use the shower, birthing ball. So, I was monitored for 20 minutes and, if the baby looked okay, I could go off the monitors for an hour.

Doug and Zander came back from dinner and came to the delivery room. We called Doug's parents, and they immediately left for the hospital. We called my sister and she started heading down from Denver.

The baby looked good on the monitors, so I was able to labor off the monitors for a while. I spent most of it on the birthing ball. Zander thought it was funny that his mama was sitting on a big ball -- we have one at home too, but I hardly ever sit on it.

Dr. Baer came in. We had just seen him on Thursday for an ultrasound and appointment. He asked if we wanted him to break my water, and we definitely wanted him to. So, he did. After that I had to stay on the monitors, but Tracy let me labor on the birthing ball next to the bed while wearing the monitor belts. While I labored, I used breathing and focusing techniques that we learned in our Lamaze class when I was pregnant with Zander. I was thinking that maybe we should have taken a refresher, but I don't know when we could have since I was on bedrest for so long.

At some point, Doug's parents came. They visited for a short while, and then offered to take Zander home with them for the night. Doug's brother Greg was in town with his son Joshua,. Zander loves being at Grandma's and Grandpa's anyway, but having someone else to play with was even better. And off they went.

The contractions were fairly regular and getting stronger all the time. Really strong. Strong enough for me to think, "Maybe I better re-think that epidural." So, I told Tracy that I changed my mind and that I may want to have pain medication or have an epidural. She said that she'd go get the consent forms so I could read them and decide. While she was gone, I talked to Doug about it -- he was supportive and said it was up to me. When she got back, I told her that I wanted an epidural. So I signed the forms and she went to find the anesthesiologist.

There was one other lady who was in labor at the same as me. Dr. Baer was running between my room and hers, checking on us both. She was in a high risk, pre-term situation, so if we happened to deliver at the same time, he would have to be at her delivery.

Transition

She came back and said that the anesthesiologist just started a C-section. But I could do pain medication in the meantime and see if that's all I needed. She hooked me up to the IV and administered the meds. And for about 15 minutes, it worked great and totally took the edge off. But then the contractions started getting much closer together. And much stronger. Doug and I were working through breathing together and trying to remember what worked for us in that Lamaze class 2 years ago.

Doug was great...supportive, encouraging, strong... His voice anchored me through contractions and holding his hand gave me something else to focus on. He rubbed the center of my forehead with this thumb between contractions, and I remembered that just having him hold my face in his hands was something that really worked for me in Lamaze. The contractions were coming really fast now, were very strong and lasting very long. Doug would let me know when the contractions were coming back down.

The Epidural

Finally the anesthesiologist arrived. Of course, I was fully in transition at this point. They had me turn and sit on the edge of the bed, and I had my arms wrapped around Doug and my face in his chest so that I could get my epidural started. All this while the contractions were frequent and stronger than ever. I think I nearly knocked Doug over during one contraction. Getting the epidural was taking a while, and Doug asked, "Does it usually take this long?" The anesthesiologist said something about finding my spine, and Doug informed him, "It's that long bony thing down the middle of her back." LOL!

One thing I remember about having the epidural administered was that at one point, a pain shot through my right leg. Kind of freaked me out. But then it was in. And I was able to lay down. And then it kicked in. Whew!

Dr. Baer did another internal check after the epidural. I was 9 cm! And then shortly afterwards, 10 cm. I started pushing with contractions to get the baby down.

Time to Push

And then...my contractions stalled. Often a side effect of an epidural. They were getting farther and farther apart. Tracy mentioned pitocin to get things going again. Since I had already had an epidural, I was more open to the idea than I would have been. I had been trying to avoid it. But at this point, I wanted to deliver my baby! She went to find Dr. Baer and discuss it with him. She came back and had gotten the okay from him.

It kicked in really quickly. The contractions were strong and more frequent. I was learning how to push that baby down and out with each set of contractions. And then finally, Doug said he saw the head. And I was able to reach down and touch the baby's head!

At some point during all this pushing, Dr. Baer said the would have to do an episiotomy. I protested, but he said that I was going to tear badly if he didn't. So I got one. After a few more contractions, the baby crowned and was mostly out. At this point, I was determined to get it over with. At some point, I just remember not wanting to stop pushing, and just bore down over and over again. Finally, the head was completely out, followed very shortly by the shoulders and the rest of the baby.

The first thing he did was give a big cry...so beautiful to hear. Doug cut the cord. And then they wrapped him up and put him on my chest. Wow! I did it!