I went in Tuesday night,13 days after my due date to be induced...
Hopefully this doesn't gross anyone out but they put a wireless monitor on called the "Monica" to let me be able to walk around and not be confined to a bed. It was pretty cool!
I felt like I was about to pop out a baby Ironman or something! See the light shining through my gown?!
Do I look tired or what?!! 3 days in the hospital with not very much sleep. Yes this is as good of a picture as you're going to get!
He looks more like Blake as a newborn in this picture
Drew is definitely a mini Tyler!
The boys first time meeting Drew!
So this is what happened...
Tuesday, May 10:
I left the boys in Kara's hands and off we went to the hospital on Tuesday, May 10. I was at a 2 and maybe 20% effaced. I had a LONG way to go! I started with a balloon induction. So they put the balloon in and I "slept" all night...which was a joke cuz I really didn't sleep well. It's not the most comfortable thing. They also started me on antibiotics since I had Group B strep (first time). They thought I may have the baby quick since it was my 4th...Big mistake because once they start the antibiotics they have to do them every 4 hours til the baby is born. I still had DAYS before he would be here.
Wednesday, May11:
Woke up in the morning and waited for the balloon to come out. It took FOREVER!!! We walked, we played games, we watched tv, we walked some more...We decided to get started on cytotec to see if that would put me into labor. They give a small pill to you every 4 hours and you can take up to 4 doses. Supposedly if you've had multiple children, which I have, cytotec is a really good option for you because it will put you into labor. No luck for me...The balloon did end up coming out around 2:00pm that day and I was at a 5! But still only 20% effaced. Every check they did was horribly painful and I would start shaking every time my midwife came into the room! Or even a nurse. I get HORRIBLE anxiety in the hospital. So we continued to wait, on the cytotec. Nothing happened when I took my last dose so they decided to stop everything and let me sleep through the night. Thank goodness!!! I'm pretty sure they kept up the antibiotics though although I don't remember at this point...
Thursday, May 12:
I started on Pitocin the next morning around 8am and the contractions began! I had contractions throughout the last two days but nothing regular. I was still able to get up and walk around so we made our rounds in the hall. They were upping the pitocin slowly since I was trying to go for the no epidural thing. One cool thing that happened was while we were walking in the hall-my old OBGYN, Dr. Hinkle, was there and he recognized me before I recognized him!! He was my doctor when I had Blake and he was an AMAZING doctor. He ended up changing hospitals and introduced me to the midwife group who I am with now, which is why he isn't my doctor anymore, and I was amazed he remembered my name.
So we continued playing games, watching tv...etc...My midwife came in and broke my water around 5:00pm and the contractions started becoming more powerful. By 10:30pm was really having to work through the contractions, however, I did not want to get checked because it still had been so painful. I think it was because I wasn't very effaced yet still. However around 11:00pm I started having my doubts and decided to get checked. I knew I still had a ways to go by how painful everything was, but I think I was at a point of exhaustion and started to not care about any of my goals :) When my midwife checked me I was 80-90% effaced and at a 7...I was incredibly let down knowing I had only gone from a 5 to a 7 that ENTIRE day. The effacement was very encouraging but not enough to make it through. So I called for the epidural. Her original poke did not work so she pulled out and poked again. Success! I started feeling the effects and remembered why I had loved my epidural with Austin! My upper body however continued to shake A LOT so I told Tyler to hold me down to see if I could relax. However after about 10 minutes I all of a sudden started getting a warm sensation like the epidural was rising above my waist and I started tasting a saline/metallic taste in my mouth and I started FREAKING OUT! (I had a BAD experience with an epidural with Cody that was only in for about one minute and it numbed me up to my chest and didn't wear off for 3 hours...I had trouble breathing and thought I was going to be paralyzed!! I had vowed never to get an epidural again....but as you can see my goals were overcome by pain) I asked my nurse what she put in my IV and she looked at me with terrified eyes! It may sound like I was being overdramatic at this point but I was seriously terrified! THANKFULLY the sensation wore off and I had no excessive numbing. The epidural worked just fine and I turned on my side and tried to go to sleep.
Friday, May 13:
Sleep never came because an hour later I was ready to push! I felt the pressure, but no pain(thank you epidural) I woke Tyler up from his short slumber(poor guy) and told him the baby was coming and to call the nurse IMMEDIATELY! I was so ready to get this baby out! He was so groggy and didn't realize what I had said but he called the nurse and asked her to come check me while I was yelling at him to tell her the baby was coming out! Nurse came in and said I was ready to go! Hallelujah. Best Words Ever! Midwife came in and I asked if I could stay on my side to deliver and she said I could. Baby was already crowning and I had a few short pushes and Drew was here! It really was the best pushing and delivery I had ever had. Probably because it was so quick and painless. He was whopping...8 lbs. 9 oz. and 21 inches. Perfect size!!! 16 days late and he was perfect! They put him on my chest immediately and my midwife sat on the bed next to me for the next 20 minutes while we delayed the cord clamping. It was such an amazing whirlwind for me to just be excited and so relieved and to be able to talk to my midwife and Tyler after just helping me bring this beautiful baby into this world. Tyler cut the cord and then I held and nursed Drew for the next hour and a half! Then they took him to weigh him and clean him up. They did not give him a bath for 24 hours after birth.
I really loved this experience and am convinced now that I am not a good candidate for natural birthing...Once I got my epidural it relaxed me and helped me get this baby here. Who knows how much longer it would have taken me if I pushed through the pain. I don't even want to think about it! I am truly grateful everything went well since he was so overdue! I am one lucky mama to 4 crazy boys!
