My Birth Story

It all started with contractions, that came around 2am, on the 7th of Jan. They were sporadic & very mild. Then around 7am, a pattern was established; painful contractions, coming once every 6-7 minute.
It was certain by then that I was in true early labor, coz no matter what I did, they wouldn’t go. Slowly there was an increase in the intensity too.
I tried to focus on things like watching TV, listening to music, talking with Mom & DH, BUT nothing would help. I realized, these 'distractions' were actually irritating me. Every time, during a contraction, when my mom & DH tried to pacify me, I would scream on them to stop talking!
DH then clicked some 'final' pictures of me & mom on the staircase. Must I say, I look the worst in them! You can actually see the pain I am going thru, me being indifferent, almost in a trance, my poor mom making all the effort to ease me off my pain!

I then started to deep breath, a technique typically used during active labor; 6 deep breaths in a minute with a cleansing breathe @ the beginning &@ the end.
I ate lunch & took a shower. It was a blessing. I had a coupla contractions they were painless.
Later around 1pm, I called the OB. By now, my contractions had started appearing one in every 5 minutes. OB instructed me to go straight to the hospital. It was time!

The 7 minute car ride from my home to the hospital was hell...I had 3 contractions & hated being on the road, in the car, hated almost everything!

‘Sweet Pea’ was the name of the L&D room...I thought, what’s so ‘sweet’ about labor anyway! Heparin/IV lock on my left hand, maternal fetal monitor on, I changed into the labor gown. The Nurse checked me – I was 80% effaced, 0 dilation @ -1 station. She praised me for the way I was breathing through my contractions.

6 hours later, the Nurse checked me, I was good@ effacement (not completely effaced), but had not dilated. In the meantime, Tweetu was showing decels on the monitor. Her heart rate would drop down and stay there for a good minute after every contraction. The OB thought of inducing my labor. I was given the choice of either Cervidil or Pitocin. Pain medications were also mentioned. I decided on Cervidil after much deliberation. Here’s why.

I had done all the right things. I took my classes, practiced my breathing, had my Dh & Mom(my backup coach) trained in reminding me that everything would be fine. I will have a quick labor & within no time, Tweetu will be with us.
Somehow instinctively, call it ‘maternal’ instincts, since the begining of my contractions, I knew – C section was the only way out. Rather the previous day, I had expressed the same thoughts to both DH & Mom & what if I ask for pain medication?

I was not comfortable with the pain, didn’t know if I could bear the level 10 pains(till then I described my pain @ level 6, as I mentally thought I could bear it all) .Tweetu’s condition wasn’t improving either. I didn’t want to go thro all the pain that induction would bring, only to have a C section @the end. I thought of going ahead with the surgery, & getting done with it.

DH & Mom had a tough time understanding me. In a way I sounded disappointing, even to myself, as I had never dreamt that after all the time spent on knowing the benefits of a vaginal delivery & charting out a birth plan devoid of a C- section, it would be me who would insist on having one! I was so much in pain & was terribly scared of it. It took another OBs visit, Moms & DH’s convincing, that I finally OKed Cervidil.

Cervidil was administered & so was the Foley’s catheter. There after, things, read contractions & pain, started speeding up. I was in active phase. The pain was almost unbearable to me. In between all the drama, my water broke! It stained green confirming the presence of Meconium. But it was moderate. A big towel was pushed in between my legs to soak the amniotic fluid.

Tweetus heart beats were getting recorded intermittently & the graph was not very clear. This had been the case right from the beginning.
The OB came in to attach an internal fetal monitor to my poor baby’s head. I hated this the most. What more, the OB missed attaching it the right way on the first go. She was successful in 2nd attempt. It must have been such a torture for Tweetu…That’s the reason why later I didn’t get a picture clicked with the OB & my baby.

A couple of hours later, I decided to get Epidural. Aware of all the risks & disadvantages, I signed the papers coz I couldn’t take the pain anymore. I think I had reached my threshold & that was a surprise….

The Anesthetic did a very fine job. I had no pain during the procedure except the lightning bolt jolt that went thru my left leg once the medicine was in me. I dared not to look at the equipment & the epidural material that was brought in my room. Mom stayed with me while DH walked the hospital corridor. Later I was hooked on to Oxygen.

I felt my legs go numb & heavy instantaneously. Pain vanished in a matter of minutes. I was relaxed for the first time. A low dose of Pitocin was introduced. Cervidil was kept intact. Next, every two hours, the Nurse came to check my progress. I was going nowhere. Near the end, I had effaced completely but dilated to only 6. Pitocin dosage was increased. At one point, Epidural started wearing off. I could feel a constant rectal pressure which made me push, during every contraction. I knew, if I pushed anymore, my Cervix would give up & start swelling, complicating labor. But the urge to push wouldn’t go. & suddenly, I started shaking vigorsly. I was so cold, it felt like I was sleeping on a block of ice. DH covered me with a coupla blankets, but nothing helped.

Soon the Anesthetic was called. He administered another dose of an analgesic. The Nurse bought in a couple of warm blankets but warned not to cover myself for long. Slowly, I was normal again but was riding a temperature – 101.4; which refused to go down. Now it looked like this was a reaction to an infection. After all, my bag of waters had broken a while ago. Tweetu ran a high risk of contracting the infection. Tylenol was administered anally. At this point, Cervidil was removed with an increased dosage of Pitocin.

Finally, around 5 am, the OB came in and started explaining. I had been in labor for almost 24 hours & it had stalled. Tweetu had been in distress for a while. Per OB, my baby wasn’t in a position to take the level 10 birthing contractions & pushes. She also told us regarding the possibility of the umbilical cord being wrapped around my babie’s neck. I was running a fever & Tweetu had almost caught the infection.
We had no time.

Within minutes I signed the papers, I was prepped up for the surgery. DH was given a robe to wear as he was going to accompany me during the operation. I was shaved, rolled to the gurney & was taken to the OR. Saw my teary eyed Mom wish me the best of luck. I was dazed. I was so calm & relaxed…I was living a present that I had predicted.
I felt no pressure during the surgery. I asked a Nurse to record the time of birth for me.

5:22am & my sweet baby K was born! Weighing 6.15 lbs, @18” – she looked very much a beauty. She spent no time & started looking around , trying to grasp things in the OR with her large jet black eyes.
I saw the happiness & excitement in DH’s eyes. He was called to talk to her to initiate bonding. She was crying, she was happy to be born! Her APGAR@ 1 & 5 minutes were 8 & 9 respectively. She had some breathing problem but once under a heater, she was breathing normally only to conclude that some babies take their own sweet time to get adjusted to the changes in temperature. But lets not forget, it was indeed cold...remember, k-yaa is a january baby! She was kept in the Nursery for the next 4 hours. I met my baby after 2 long hours postpartum, when she was bought in for a couple of minutes to my room. when my bundle was handed to me, all I could think of was how I could take care of such a tiny human being!
My recovery was fast; I walked the hospital corridor the very first day & was discharged on the 3rd.

Today, we took K to her first pediatric appointment. Her doctor was in praises! K has grown! She now stands 19.5” tall and weighs 6.8lbs.
Me & my baby are the best breast feeding team! She recognizes my voice & touch.
My world revolves around her & both of us have become inseparable!