Tag: childbirth

Jack’s Birth Story: What To Do When Your Birth Plan Doesn’t Work Out

I was going to do update last week about how my maternity leave is going but…I had my baby!

At 39 weeks and 4 days along, bright and early in the morning, Jack made his entrance into this world. My labor and delivery did not go as I had planned, but it ended up all working out. All that matters is Jack and I are both safe and healthy. AND that my wishes were respected all along. Birth trauma is a real, serious issue. If you feel you were disrespected or even harmed during your birth, speak out and get help! Some links are listed below. I am referring to when thinks don’t go according to plan due to natural circumstances.

I had made a birth plan on babycenter.com and was pretty intent on sticking to it. I wanted to labor at home as long as possible. I wanted to try for an unmedicated, natural birth. I wanted to be free to move about and labor in any position I wanted if possible. I wanted to be able to push in any position possible too. I only wanted an episiotomy if I was not tearing cleanly. I wanted only Michael present in the delivery room and for him to cut the cord. I also wanted to breastfeed as soon as possible.
Out of that list, only the last two sentence came true.
That Monday I had been a little extra crampy. My mom said that was a good thing and her labors started that way. Random braxton-hicks would start up, then die out. Overall I knew my body was getting ready for labor but I didn’t think too much of it. I was looking for the timable contractions.
That night I was up administering Spring recruitment for my sorority online until about 11 PM. I had to sit up on the couch because my cramps bothered me more laying down. I thought about walking around the house to get them to turn into contractions, but was too exhausted. I went to bed. Oddly enough, Michael was exhausted that day too. He came home from work and took a 3 hour nap randomly. My mom joked he subconsciously knew he would be up soon to take me to the hospital.
I woke up around 1:30 AM because my cramps were suddenly horrible. Then I felt something wet, I assumed I peed a little. So I went to the bathroom and the minute I sat on the toilet a small gush of clear liquid came out. I put on a new pad and decided if I soaked the pad again quickly, it was for sure my water. I woke up Michael and as I was telling him I noticed I had already soaked the pad. So he jumped out of bed and I woke my mom to tell her we were off to the hospital. I went to the car and I started having contractions as soon as I sat down. Four minutes apart and lasting 1 minutes instantly. I slowly leaked amniotic fluid with each one too. I am so glad I grabbed a towel to sit on so I didn’t ruin my car.

We got the hospital in only 15 minutes. There is no traffic in the Bay Area at 2 AM luckily. If it had been rush hour, it could have taken an hour. Also luckily, there was no one else going into labor when I got there so I was taken back to be checked quickly.

The triage nurse had me do the standard pee in a cup, take your vitals, and get hooked up to the monitor. All while my pain is getting more and more intense, and I am leaking more and more fluid. The nurse did a swab to confirm water broke and then got the doctor. The doctor checked my cervix, I was at 2 cm. Then they told me I would be admitted shortly.

Here is where my birth plan went totally out the window. I was already in a lot of pain and knew there was no way this was going to take long. And I was still exhausted as I only had 2 hours of sleep. I also started to throw up a bit too. So when the nurse asked if I wanted to go ahead with the epidural paperwork, I instantly said yes. It took an hour get my admitting paperwork, the epidural paperwork (both of which Michael signed because I was already kind of out of it from the pain), and draw my blood. In the mean time, they gave me shot of pain medicine and Zofran for the nausea in my IV. I was very grateful to say the least.

The only labor picture I let Michael take.

The doctor came back to check me and I was now 4 cm. She quickly got me to a room since I progressed so fast. My bloodwork was still not processed yet so I still couldn’t have my epidural. I was crying for it at this point, and I mean seriously crying. I asked for another pain medicine shot since the first was wearing off, but they were having a hard time picking up Jack on the monitor. I couldn’t have another until they could track him better. They wanted me to lay on my back to pick him up better, but that was SO uncomfortable I couldn’t do it. I wanted to sit up or stand, but they said I couldn’t because of the medicine. Finally they got a good read on him and gave me another shot.

The doctors checked on me again about an hour later and I was at 6 cm already. The nurse kept refreshing her screen for my lab results so I could have my epidural. I was seriously pleading for it at this point. I am not a wimp when it comes to pain at all, but this was something different. It was happening so fast and was so intense.

Another hour went by and I suddenly felt the urge to push. The doctor came in to check me, I was at 9 cm with just a slight lip left. She let me try pushing, but it was not working. I wanted to push on my side, but the doctor said that I needed to be on my back because of the way he was positioned. But it did not help. I was too tired. I did not have the energy. I asked if I could still have the epidural and the doctor said yes. I was elated, I needed to relax and calm down before I could push effectively.

I laid back down and dealt with the contractions for like an 30 minutes. Then suddenly the nurses sat me up and said the anesthesiologist was coming right then. He was squeezing me in quickly. He did everything quickly and efficiently. He gave me only a half dose so I would still feel the pressure to push. The doctor then gave me 10 minutes for everything to kick in and for me to relax. It was a huge relief. I calmed down and actually wanted to push.

I did not get pushing right away. I was pushing into my legs. The nurses kept telling me I need to push into my butt, “Like you need to take the biggest poop of your life!” one kept saying. His head was 1/3 of the way out for the longest time. Then finally—over an hour later— I got the pushing thing right and he started coming out faster.

At this point is when I looked over at Michael. I noticed he was getting a little pale. He doesn’t do that well with blood. He had been holding my leg and encouraging me the whole time though. He was exhausted too and I think it all got to him. The nurses told him to sit down for a minute to recover.

And suddenly, they said Jack was coming out. The doctor told me to keep pushing continuously and Michael to come back over quickly. Then Jack popped out! Just like that. They cleaned his nose and mouth, then put him on my chest. I started crying, I couldn’t believe it.

I can’t even explain the joy I felt.

He was prefect. He looked just like Michael, just in like the ultrasounds. I loved him instantly.

They started a line of Pitocin (which was not on my birth plan either actually) and delivered my placenta. I tore cleanly and naturally, but the doctor did a small episiotomy to give Jack some more room. So she had to stitched me up down there, but I didn’t even notice. I was just mesmerized by Jack.

Then they sat me up a little so I could breastfeed. Jack was rooting and sucking his fist as soon they had put him on my chest so he had very little trouble latching on. Not gonna lie though, it hurt like hell and he did bruise my nipple. But I didn’t mind, I was happy to have that bonding experience.

So, am I upset that Jack came into this world totally not like I planned? No. Not at all.

It would have been nice to have followed my plan, but all I cared about was having a healthy baby. It happened so fast, I was so tired, and I was in so much pain that my plan was not practical. I am glad I made a plan though. I educated myself on giving birth and knew the options open to me. I also knew the possible procedures that could be done so I was not freaked out when they did something new (like the Pitocin).

My advice for any expecting mom is to have a birth plan so you can be your own advocate, but in the end do what your body tells you. My body said it was too tired to handle such an intense and rapid experience on its own. Don’t be upset if your birth reality doesn’t match your birth plan. Just focus on what needs to be done to have a healthy baby.

I will do a post about my postpartum recovery soon. But right now I want to go snuggle my son 🙂

Informed Birth and Birth Trauma Information:

Childbirth Class and Labor & Delivery Again

On Friday I went in for my second third trimester doctors appointment. Once again, I had lower blood pressure and a higher pulse. So my doctor decided I should go to Labor and Delivery–again–to get it checked out. Michael and I tried to say I was fine, but she insisted. She misunderstood what I was saying about feeling dizzy/faint almost everyday and thought I was having heart palpitations.

Four hours later (car crash victim came in shortly after me and I had no problem letting her go first), I was told everything was fine. Jack was prefect and I had no signs of preterm labor. My pulse was a little high, but nothing bad. And my blood pressure was lower, but not bad either. They did an EKG on me and said my heart was perfect. They gave me some juice to drink before I left, and told me to just keep my blood sugar up and relax. Dizziness is normal and as long as I am not blacking out daily, I am okay.

Even my meat-eating husband loves Veggie Grill.
Seriously go try it! source

Michael bought me a nice lunch at Veggie Grill (I am SO in love with that place, the buffalo wings and  “fish” tacos are amazing!) and then took me home to rest. We are both kind of annoyed we had to go again since we both knew Jack and I were fine, but happy to know nothing major is wrong. Just exaggerated pregnancy symptoms. At least I got yummy food 🙂

Anyways, Saturday we had an all day childbirth class. My clinic offers free classes through the counselor so I didn’t want to sign up for another class, but Michael said he wanted it. Then he was not amused when I told him the class was 9 AM to 4 PM, and the same day as Giant’s Fanfest.

The class was offered for free through my hospital and taught by an OB nurse. Not all hospital offer free classes, but most offer something so I suggest checking it out.

If you know nothing about labor and delivery, I really suggest you take any class possible. They go over stuff that is vital knowledge to ensure you deliver safely and your baby is healthy. Having a baby is scary and hard work, it’s nice to have a heads up on could/will happen. I’ll spare you from going over every boring detail, but here is some stuff I thought was really important.

  • Unless you feel something is wrong, only go to the hospital when you are in active labor. This is usually when your contractions follow the regular pattern of 4-5 minutes a part. Until then, stay at home or go about your normal day if you can.
  • If you water breaks at anytime, go immediately to the hospital. Even if your contractions are irregular and far apart.
  • When your water breaks, remember TACO: T– time it happened, A-amount that came out, C–color of the fluid, O–odor of the fluid. Remember or document this information, and tell your doctor or nurse right away.
  • Remember that as painful as contractions can be, that are only temporary and will pass. Each one increases in intensity until it reaches a peak, then tapers off.
  • Rest as much as you can in between contractions. Focus on relaxing rather than waiting for the next one.
  • During active labor, try to change positions every 30-60 minutes (unless you can’t move because you had an epidural). This will keep encouraging your body and your baby to progress.
  • Urinate as often as you can, this not only alleviates pressure but will provide your baby with more room as it drops down further.
  • Try to stay as relaxed and comfortable as possible at all times.
  • If you decide you want an epidural or a shot of narcotics for pain management, it may take awhile to actually receive it. The doctor will usually check your cervix first, then call in the order or call the anesthesiologist. Then papers need to be signed and you will need to be prepped. Keep this in mind if you are considering pain medicine.
She also had this chart of positions to try during labor. I tried to get a better picture, but the lights in the room keep causing a glare. This is the best pic I could get:

I really like the squatting and sitting positions, especially with the ball. She recommend we try these positions now, that way we can get used to them and see what we like. Some of these are yoga poses that I happen to do almost every night anyways. I really suggest everyone do Cat/Cow pose, it feels so good to stretch out your back and alleviate the pressure from your baby while your belly hangs.

We have the hospital tour, a newborn care class, and an infant CPR class in the next weeks. I am looking forward to the hospital tour the most. Even though I have been to Labor and Delivery twice now, I only went to the Triage area. I have questions about what happens when you are actually admitted. Then I will be able to finalize my birth plan too.

Anyways, here is a bump shot I took a week and half ago. Another H&M top that I am so in love with.

29 weeks.

Here are some links for more info on labor: 
Signs of Labor, American Pregnancy Association
10 Ways to Relieve Labor Pain, Fit Pregnancy
Water Breaking During Pregnancy, What to Expect
Labor Positions, Mayo Clinic