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Sorry about the delay, long story short we transfered quickly and I didn't have any communication devices with me. Here's the story so far. I haven't finished processing yet, but here it is:
Jack's long story
I had an appointment Monday morning, and Went into labour on Monday evening. My midwife had made an appointment to induce Wednesday if there was no baby yet, and a meeting with the OB on Tuesday morning. I was up all night Monday with contractions coming every 6-10 minutes. I called my midwife in the morning to ask if I should still go see the OB and she said it would be a good idea, just in case. When I got there (9 a.m.) she (the OB) witnessed one of my contractions and said she would do an internal check before anything else. I was already 7 cm. And the labour had been pretty manageable. The OB said she'd call my midwife and tell her she was sending me home to have a baby.
My midwife arrived shortly after, maybe around 10:30, and started getting her stuff unpacked. We started filling the pool. I continued to labour for a while and around 1 decided to check my progress. I was 8.5/9 cm, so we discussed rupturing the membranes. She said it would help things along, and I was starting to get a little tired (having been up since 5:30 Monday morning), so she broke them and they were nice and clear (and plentiful! tmi, she lined some underwear with a bunch of pads afterwards, and when I got up I felt a second huge gush and sort of froze, the mw and student asked if I was okay as though I was stopped because of pain or something, but I just said I felt a lot of fluid. I don't think they believed me until I started overflowing all the pads they'd given me, and then continued to fill the chux pads they put on the floor underneath me. I don't think either of them had ever seen so much fluid! So at least the baby had been comfy!).
After that the contractions got stronger and so I got into the pool. I started falling asleep a couple of times between contractions (still only about 5 minutes apart), and after about an hour it was suggested that I get out of the pool for a while since I wasn't progressing (still 8.5/9). I got out and started walking around, and the contractions got a lot more painful. I was still feeling ok between them, but was getting really tired. Mike was great at holding me through them and being super supportive. Eventually though I got back in the pool for some relief. At around 3:30 my mw checked me, and I still had a lip. We discussed options at that point, because I was so tired and things weren't progressing, and decided that we would go to the hospital so I could get some pain relief and some rest. Obviously not the plan, but the best decision given the circumstances. Long story short, about 5 minutes afer I got the epi, the midwife checked and I was fully dialated. I pushed for a while, but not being able to feel anything really effected that, and after a while with not much progress the baby's heart rate started to drop everytime I started pushing, and there was now merconium present, so the midwives called for an OB consult and the OB said they could try the vacuum or forcepts but that they felt it was just really tight and would likely end in a section. So after talking to my midwife (who had been in a similar situation with her daughter 18 months ago) and Mike, I decided just to get the section without the other stuff.
Jack Maurice was born at 9:10 p.m. on February 9, 7lb 15oz, 20" long and 14.5" head.
He had turned posterior at some point and was likely not going to come out on his own. He's happy, healthy and perfect. He's feeding well and we got to come home yesterday afternoon, a day early. I haven't made it to a computer long enough to finish this until now.
Some pictures:
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_fpK5OIXj3Hs/S3...ckie%20boy.jpg
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_fpK5OIXj3Hs/S3...ugTFuc/mmj.jpg
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_fpK5OIXj3Hs/S3...0/IMG_9262.JPG
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_fpK5OIXj3Hs/S3...2/IMG_9275.JPG
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_fpK5OIXj3Hs/S3...2/IMG_9278.JPG
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Ahhhh, look at you 3:) You look awesome for all that work!! I'm glad he's here and healthy, and the exact same size as my first baby! How are you healing? (((HUGS))) and prayers for a smooth recovery.
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Congratulations on your baby boy! He is really adorable! Your birth story was quite a journey and it sounds like you made the best decisions under the circumstances. You did awesome.
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Aww thanks so much for checking in with us. Totally understandable that you couldn't! I'm glad you're home and everyone is healthy. I hope you heal quickly! I'm so sorry that it didn't go the way you had planned, but it does sound like you had a lot of people on your side and made your decisions wisely.
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You have a precious family. Congratulations! Hope you can heal quickly. How are you feeling?
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I'm feeling well. The past few days were a little sore, but today seems better. It's been easier to move from sitting to lying to standing and vice versa. Jack is still a champ. He's nursing on demand and has no jaundice at all.
At his first home visit, on Friday, he weighed in at 7lb5oz, a little less than when we left the hospital, but two days later he was back up to 7lb12oz! Nearly birth weight at 5 days.
I've had more time to think about his birth, and I'm pretty comfortable with how it went. I got to labour the way I wanted for the most part, and learned a lot about myself that I'm sure will help for future pregnancies. There are things I might change, but that's always easier in hindsight.
I wonder if I hadn't had the internal exam Tuesday morning, would things have gone differently. If I had just continued to labour on my own, would I have gotten to 9cm more easily? Would I have gotten more sleep? For the most part I learned I don't really like much assistance during labour. I don't want people talking to me during contractions, or really talking at all. I wonder if having the midwives show up threw me off a little. None of these questions are answerable, and in the end I have a beautiful baby, we're both healthy and as far as a pregnancy and birth goes, this one was pretty easy.
All in all, if the 5 hours at the hospital before Jack was born were the only disappointing part of 9 1/2 month, that's pretty good.
The OB also said that there's no reason I shouldn't be able to have a vaginal birth in the future, so I'll hopefully be back in a few years to try again :)
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WTG Jack for nursing and gaining weight well! The "what ifs" are normal. I know I went through some of that after DD's birth didn't go the way I hoped. It sounds like you are processing the experience and using it as a learning experience, which is really good. I hope we do see you in a few years for a VBAC lodge!
