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| Last bump pic...so large! |
So really, I'd like to say my biggest goal was to go into spontaneous, natural labor this time around. I was attempting a VBAC and so being induced, I was told, was off the table as it could potentially cause my C-section incision to rupture and, if that happened and was bad enough, could lead to an emergency hysterectomy. Larry and I definitely aren't done having kids so to have that choice made for us was very scary. Granted, it's rare that that would happen, but the more you force your body and push it into labor, the higher the chances of that happening. So I was absolutely determined to just let my body do it's thing.
I was told somewhere around 38 or 39 weeks that my body was progressing and dilating on it's own so I could choose to be induced at that point if I'd like, but I wanted to make it to my due date - or as close as possible - and I was going to be patient. Also, we had a TON I wanted to finish getting ready that I left for the last minute so I was okay waiting, even though I was very uncomfortable and in a bit of pain every day (not to mention I was so done working and was ready to have the time off haha).
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| Walking in the mall to get this girl out! |
My due date (the 5th) came and went. Nothing happened. I tell ya, after that point I was SO uncomfortable that any idea of discomfort before was such a laughing matter. My belly was tight, there was so much pressure in my lower half (lower belly, groin area, upper legs, etc.) that it was hard to move. Getting in and out of bed was so difficult (which is where I was working so that made it more difficult), putting clothes on was difficult, getting in and out of a car was difficult, doing anything with the girls other than cuddling on the couch was torture....it was HARD.
Monday after my due date I went in for an NST to make sure the baby was okay (not for any reason except that I was past my due date). I was telling Larry that even though I wasn't meeting with a midwife I was going to see if I could mention putting my name on the induction schedule. I was told they wouldn't let me go past 41 weeks, but if I could get on at any point that week I'd be happy. Well after my test showed she was more than comfortable in me and would not likely make an appearance on her own soon I was happy to hear that my NST (nurse?) handles the induction schedule and wanted to know if I would like to be put on it (I probably was way too enthusiastic in my YES response haha). She said she would put me on for that Friday, just in case I didn't actually go into labor on my own. I was SO relieved to have that, but still wanted to see if I could start something on my own.
Tuesday after my due date we went to Hobby Lobby (to get some tie dye kits for fun 4th of July shirts I want to try to do this year) and I swear I was about to induce labor on my own. I had to keep taking breaks because my body was doing all sorts of weird things. I was having some major cramping that night and thought for sure I was going to go into labor by the next morning. Of course, after we put the girls down and I relaxed everything calmed down and I was fine. This was getting frustrating.
Wednesday after my due date I had to go in for a covid test to make sure I didn't have the virus. THAT was fun...not! I'll say it wasn't necessarily painful, but a whole different level of discomfort and was something I'd never want to do again. Then they told me I had to stay home after this test because if I leave my house for any reason I'd have to be re-swabbed - that wasn't going to happen so now I was officially on house arrest/quarantine until at least Friday, but was so hopeful it wouldn't be that long.
Thursday after my due date, I had to go in for another NST, which still showed little girl was too comfortable. I then met with a midwife who checked my cervix and said I was only at a 3 (just up a half a cm from my last visit the week prior), but that it was very soft and that was ideal for inductions and was a good sign. She went over that the plan was to break my water first and see what that did for a couple hours and if they needed to they'd give me a low dose of Pitocin after that to get things started. I told her it sounded great and that I'd see them the next day to finally have this baby. I got a call that night saying to come in, bright and early, at 6:45 AM to get the process going. Earlier than I was wanting (especially since we'd have to leave before the girls woke up and that broke my heart a little bit), but I wasn't going to complain. Marie came over that night so that the girls would see her and it would be an easier (hopefully) transition in the morning for them. I decided to watch The Green Mile since I hadn't seen it and thought this was probably my last time being able to stay up to watch a long movie and still feel pretty well rested the next morning - at least for a while.
Friday morning - I woke up around 5:15 and decided that was early enough to eat some breakfast and start getting ready. Larry was up shortly after that and we headed out by 6:15 to the hospital. Labor always makes me so nervous, you never know what to expect and you can't plan for much. Plus my labors have felt SO long and I wonder how to make use of the time, which is hard when you're strapped to a bed. We checked in to the labor and delivery unit (with masks on - that was the weirdest part) and got changed and set up in the bed. At 7:15 the nurses went over what we were about to do and since she was training a nursing student she mentioned that, in her experience, breaking the water isn't fully effective and to expect we'll need Pitocin at some point. She also mentioned since my stomach muscles weren't very tight that this increased the odds of needing another C-section, but we were going to keep an open mind about this. At 8:15 my midwife (Stevie) came in to break my water. I asked if I needed to have the epidural before having that done and they asked if I wanted it before. I told them not if I don't need it, I'm okay letting things happen before I do that. She mentioned that was a good idea as an epidural can slow labor down quite a bit. Having my water broken felt very, very unusual. I told Larry that from the time you are potty trained you have it in your mind that being in a puddle of your own liquid isn't good and so it felt unnatural to just sit there and feel all that come out (gross - I know). Well about 30 minutes later (IF that), I start to feel my first contraction. On the TOCO scale (measuring contractions in units of 10) I got up to a 60. It hurt! 5 minutes later I had another contraction - another 60. These hurt, but I was able to breath through them well enough. 5 minutes later ANOTHER one! Larry made some joke about how quickly they were coming and wouldn't it be funny if by the time they checked on my I was already 9 cm and they told me I had to have the baby naturally. I told him that's not even a little funny! 5 minutes later another contraction - another 60. I decided that was enough and when the nurses came to check on me I mentioned that I was ready to have my epidural. They told me the person was in with a C-section and I'd be first on the list once they were done. I told them no rush, I didn't want to slow my labor and I could handle the contractions fine. Well after they left I had another one, only the numbers were climbing. I got to a 60 and then I hear Larry say "60...65....70...75" I screamed out "stop saying numbers!!" That pain was TOO much. 5 minutes later, another one, got up to 70 again. I was in so much pain and watching the clock knowing another one was coming soon would make me whimper (not to mention I couldn't just breath through the pain anymore...I was making ALL the loud sounds just because that's the only thing I could do). Larry made some comment about how cool it was to watch the numbers go up...I again, reminded him, that that isn't funny (haha - I can look back on it now and laugh at these moments). So the contractions keep coming, they hurt, and they are growing on the scale. I made NUMEROUS comments about how women who do this naturally are insane! At one point, one hit and it hurt SO much I thought I was going to break my bed. I looked over at Larry when it passed and he had this shocked look on his face and said "that one got to a 100 and stayed there for over a minute!" He seemed almost impressed. At this point I called the nurses to ask about my epidural and they said the person had to do one other person and would be with my in about 10 minutes. I figured that's 2 more contractions - I can do that. I then felt another one and it was SO intense and before it could go all the way down another one hit right after it. It was another 100 one and I just kept screaming out in pain. 2 minutes later another one hit, followed by a close second one again. Now I was getting scared I actually was progressing too quickly and they would find out I was further along than I was. I was also scared that now that they were coming every 2 minutes that meant I had to go through so many more before my epidural. After a few more contractions, Larry called the nurses to check on my epidural and when they answered I made sure to scream out "ow ow ow ow!" loudly so that they could hear my pain. They came rushing in (I guess they finally looked at my contraction chart), made comments about how they heard me screaming, but assumed it was another patient - not theirs - and how it was impressive how quickly I had progressed and so quickly off just my water breaking. They also mentioned that it was probably a good thing that didn't happen outside the hospital. They checked my cervix and found that I was at an 8, almost 9, and mentioned that I was so far along they'd actually need to do a spinal, not an epidural. That's when they told me the worst part - they said with the noises I was making and how quickly I had progressed, the spinal might not come in time and there was a good chance I was going to have to delivery naturally. I almost cried my eyes out at that point. I have NEVER wanted to have a natural delivery. I'm not a pain person. I always knew you couldn't fully plan a delivery, but assumed an epidural was something you could plan on. Right as I was saying "OH NO!" the spinal person came in (this was about 9:30). I was so relieved when they said that was faster than they thought and I could get it done. I answered all her questions (VERY rapidly), sat up, they put the spinal in and I immediately felt SO much better. I felt so relaxed and suddenly couldn't feel a single thing below my shoulders. It was absolute bliss! At one point Larry asked me if I could feel the contraction that was hitting me at that time and when I told him no he said it was another 100. I was so happy to hear that haha. These things were better than epidurals.
After about a couple more contractions they told me I was good and ready to push. They lifted up my legs and began counting. Funny thing was because I couldn't feel anything I couldn't really tell I was pushing. All I knew I was doing was holding my breath haha. They said I was doing good so I figured that it was working. At some points they mentioned I needed to push harder or think about pushing the baby towards the ceiling (yeah right - I couldn't even tell you when my legs were up if I had my eyes closed). So with spinals they say they have a 2 hour window before they wear off and if I was still in labor at that point I'd have to do it naturally because they can't put anything in at that point so I was officially on the clock. They started the spinal at 9:30 ish, they thought for sure I'd push this baby right out with how quickly I had progressed, but it took over an hour of pushing before I heard them say "we can see the head!" that was a little disheartening. It also got hard because my blood pressure had dropped pretty badly at one point and they had to give me oxygen to bring it back up. I only have my blood pressure drop when I'm in labor and it makes me SO sick and dizzy; It's probably my least favorite part. Luckily around 10:45 they said "two more contractions and she'll be out." Music to my ears! The two contractions came and I gave it my absolute all with my pushes (they were initially having me push 3 times each contraction, but with these last two I asked if I could keep pushing - I was SO ready to meet this baby!). At 10:54 am Lucy Amnell Bradsby made her gorgeous appearance and we were happy parents to another little (8 lbs. 5 oz. 20 in. long) girl.
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| Our first pic together |
She took a minute to cry (Larry says the cord was wrapped around her neck a little bit), but once she did it was amazing. It was the first time I didn't immediately fall asleep after having a baby. They put her on me and I was the most relieved of all deliveries to see her face! She did have a bit of a rapid pulse when she was born so they had to watch her a bit more than our other girls to get that to go down, but other than that she was perfect. She immediately pooped after delivery and once they cleaned her up and brought her back to me she quickly latched on to eat - I had a feeling breast feeding would be easier this time around. They did have to take my placenta out in chunks so it sounded like that might cause some issues - I'm not sure, but so far I've felt great. As soon as we could, we ordered some food for me - which I ate so quickly I almost didn't taste most of it (I was SO hungry my belly would grumble during contractions haha). The spinal definitely wore off at the 2 hour marker so that was also nice. It made it easier to get up and walk around really quickly. This is already one of the easiest recoveries I've had and I'm not sure if it's because I labored SO much without meds or if it's because I got a spinal or if it's just 3rd time is the charm and I just knew what needed to be done.
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| Going home |
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| They seem to like her |
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