I am doing a post with some of the details of my labor and delivery with Logan. I am happy to have you read along, but I have come to realize that this blog is just as much for me as it is for friends and family. I love to be able to look back and read what has happened. I feel so blessed that Logan's delivery went the way that it did. I have no doubt that God was right there with us the whole time. So feel free to read on, or if you have no interest feel free to skip this post.
Friday 13th- We went in for the 39 week check up. I was measuring four weeks ahead and we were told to schedule an ultrasound to more closely determine the babies weight to decide if I needed to be induced because of size. We decided that since we had declined having this ultrasound done before (and they were now really pushing it) we would go ahead and do it, and scheduled it for the following Tuesday. The midwife was surprised to find that I was 4cm dilated and 80% effaced. She asked if we would like her to try to induce labor that day because of the measurements. We wanted to wait until my body decided it was ready to have a baby and declined. She was not at all pleased with us or our decision and made it pretty clear.
Saturday 14th & Sunday 15th- I was hopeful when I went home from my appointment that I would go into labor that weekend. The midwife had acted surprised that I was not already contracting (regularly). Still, nothing happened throughout the weekend. By Sunday night I was convinced that I wouldn't be having the baby for another week or two unless they decided it was necessary to induce me before then.
Monday 16th- I went all day and still no sign of the baby coming until...
10pm- My water broke
10:05pm- We had calmed down from the excitement and prayed together that we would have a fast and safe delivery. We thanked God that we were so close to meeting our little man.
10:45pm- We had finished packing for the hospital. Dan hadn't packed anything before my water broke, and I had a few more things that needed to be packed. The snow was starting to build up on the roads outside and the driveway.
11:30pm- As excited as we both were we knew we could have a long process ahead of us and got into bed hoping to get some sleep. Contractions started about 3-4 minutes apart almost immediately after getting into bed.
Tuesday 17th- Things start picking up
12:30am- Contractions were now 2-3 minutes apart and much stronger. As reluctant as I was to leave for the hospital because I wanted to be sure it was the real thing before heading in, Dan convinced me that it was time. He had been tracking every contraction and they were getting closer together and longer. I am so glad now that we left when we did.
1am- We left for the hospital. Dan headed out they way we normally went. I told him that there was no way we were taking back roads and taking the chance of going off the road. He turned around and headed for the highway. It was a longer trip (about 35-45 minutes) but we are so glad that we decided to take the highway instead. The trip became increasingly uncomfortable.
2am- We got checked into the hospital and hooked up to the heart monitor. I was so uncomfortable lying flat on my back and could not wait to be able to get up and walk around. The midwife came in and looked concerned with the babies heart rate. She said I needed to stay on the monitor longer which was so discouraging to hear. Dan told me afterwards that the babies heart rate had been down around 80bpm. They also checked my dilation and found that I was 7cm and 100% effaced.
3am- They moved us to the delivery room and hooked me up to the heart monitor once again. The heart rate began to rise and became more regular. The midwife checked again and I was 9cm dilated.
4am- I was still very uncomfortable lying in bed and Dan asked the nurse if I could be taken off the heart monitor since his heart rate had been normal for a while. She said she would check with the midwife and returned and few minutes later to tell me it was fine to get up and more around, but that we would have to check it every 20 minutes.
4:30-6:30am- Contractions were almost constant. The nurse had to get my blood pressure often because it was high. She would try to get it in between contractions to try to get an accurate reading, but said that it was difficult because there was not much of a break at all. I was a little more comfortable being able to walk around the room and just did lap after lap.
7am- Dan asked the nurse if I could try getting in the tub to see if it helped with the bad back pains I was having. She went to ask the midwife again and came back with the good news that it was fine. When I got in tears just came running down my face because the relief from pain was unbelievable.
7:45am- I felt the need to push and had a very hard time not pushing through one of the contractions. I called the nurse and they got me back into the delivery bed.
8:05am- I was trying to fight the urge to push when the midwife finally came in. She checked me once again and I was 10cm and ready to push!
10:00am- I had been pushing through almost every contraction for two hours. His head had only moved down slightly if at all. I was beginning to lose all energy and the midwife could tell. She asked me to continue pushing when I felt the need and went to get the doctor on call to discuss a c-section.
10:30am- The doctor on call came in to check me. She said to continue trying for a little while and that she would be back to check on me. She knew that I did not want a c-section and I became more determined to try even harder.
10:30am-12:30pm- I was still pushing and could tell by the reactions of the nurse and midwife that I had not made much progress. I remember at this point that I was so exhausted I began to doubt whether I could really do it or not. The doctor had been in a few more times to check for progress and I got worried each time that she came in the room. I began seeing blurry and all my muscles were tense and shaking. I just kept saying "I can do this" after each push trying to encourage myself but mostly trying to convince them that I could do something that I was pretty sure I could not.
12:30-2:24pm- Another midwife that had been seeing appointments came in to see if she could help. She came in with so much energy and the first thing she said was "Are you ready to have this baby"? I hadn't liked this midwife very much in the appointment I had had with her, but she was exactly what I needed at the time. I also was less than thrilled when she recommended putting my on pitocin. That was the last thing I wanted to hear with how wiped out I was, because I knew it would make the contractions more intense but I reluctantly agreed. I just needed someone else to believe that I could do it. I have never tried so hard for anything in my life and finally I met my baby boy.
I later found out that when the baby was born his cord was wrapped twice around his neck. That explained his low heart rate when we had first arrived at the hospital. The midwife also told me later that it was a miracle they let me push that long, as they almost always do a c-section after 2 hours of pushing. She also said it was a good thing that I had chosen not to have pain medication or I would have ended up with a c-section. I am so thankful for how things went even if it wasn't all according to our plans. Ultimately the baby and I were both healthy and we are falling more and more in love with him every day!
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