Finally: Our Birth Story, Part 3

Hello, again. Before we start this segment, I must apologize that it's taking me so long to get all of this done. I mean, I knew that I wouldn't have the time that I used to once P arrived and I didn't think that I could bang all this info out in a heartbeat but this is getting ridiculous. :) It feels like Preslie will be in Kindergarten by the time I actually get finished! But P and I have had a tough week...more on that later (at the rate I'm going, it will probably be next year before I get to those kinds of posts)...and she, of course, has to come first. :)

I left us last time in the L&D room, trying to be calm and free from stimulation so that my BP didn't rise. The quiet did work marginally, I guess, as my BP didn't get any higher for the longest time, even though it didn't go down. I did get to visit with my mom and sister for a while...my grandparents, too...as long as we kept quiet and didn't tackle any subjects that put me in a tizzy. :) That was nice and made the time pass more quickly, which was appreciated since it seemed to be c-r-a-w-l-i-n-g at that point.

Medically, P was good and so was I, even though my BP was high. The nurses were working on getting the ratio of mag sulfate to pitocin correct so that my contractions were regular and productive while allowing the mag to still do it's job...and that took a while. Forever, it seemed to me at the time but looking back, it really wasn't that long...an hour or so, maybe? I hadn't dilated anymore and things were moving SO slowly that we told everyone to go home and come back in the morning since we were anticipating a long night. Once again, it was just Mike and me and P, hanging out and trying to be calm.

At this point, I was starting to feel the contractions but it wasn't too bad and they we're very regular, so I was making it pretty well. It was around 9pm or so and we were trying to get settled in for the evening. Some TV time was approved since my BP hadn't fluctuated too much, so we tuned in to the NASCAR race (redneck, we are ;p) and waited for something...anything...to start happening. And man, we didn't have to wait too long! It seemed like only minutes after turning on the TV that my contractions really got uncomfortable and more frequent. Yowzers. Since my water had already broken hours before, I could really feel each contraction since there was nothing to cushion things, you know? I was thinking at that point that I could handle it, though...no pain meds for me.

And that's what I get for thinking. :)

Pretty soon, the pain was quite sharp and I was struggling to stay on top of it...which I think I could have dealt with if there had been some progression with them. But it wasn't so...I had been at 3 cm FOR HOURS. No joke. Still, I was holding out on the epidural, though looking back now, I don't really remember why. ;p Too, each contraction was raising my BP...though not drastically, enough to be concerned. Soooo, to counter that and try and take the edge off the pain, I agreed to some meds through my IV...St.adol. Oh, man was that stuff good! Just ask Mike because his wife (aka: Me) was completely loopy on it!! For a little while...but when it wore off, it wore off quickly. It could only be administered every 2 hours and it lost potency after about an hour the first time. But it did work, so I got it again. Can I just tell you that that was pretty dumb of me? That second dose did NOTHING. Nada, zip, zilch...no relief at all.

Now, it's after midnight, my BP is still high, I am HURTING, my contractions are 2-4 minutes apart but aren't causing dilation...and I was fully convinced that a c-section was in our future. Really...the possibility of a vaginal birth was going far, far away in my mind. So, I called for an epidural. I have to tell you, at that moment, I felt like a failure. I know, I know...every one is different and all of us have unique tolerances for pain, individual expectations, whatever...but I still felt like I had failed some important test on the path to motherhood.

Of course, once I had the drugs in me, I was wondering why I had held out so long! :)

Seriously, it was hard decision for me but one that I'm glad that I made. Looking back, I don't think that I would have been mentally able or in control of myself enough to deliver P vaginally without some sort of pain intervention. If the epidural isn't for you, I completely understand...and you are absolutely my hero! I know for me, personally, I would have had to be Super Woman to get through the birth without it...and super I am not.

The process of the epidural wasn't as scary as I thought...or maybe I was just in too much pain to really be scared. The only thing that 'hurt' was the shot of local anesthetic that they numbed my back with prior to the actual placement...just a sting, you know? I did know when they actually punctured my spinal area but there was no pain, just some pressure and the weird feeling that you get when you know that something strange and new is happening to you. They asked me lots of questions about what I could feel and what I couldn't, where I could feel different sensations, etc. The absolute hardest part was being completely still while they found and pierced the epidural space WHILE having contractions. Double yowzer. But I made it through just fine...and was a million times better for it.

After my pain began to subside, I relaxed enough to nap, which was GREAT as the process had taken more out of me than I realized. :) I slept for a while and woke up feeling much better than I ever thought I would while in labor. Of course during all of this, my vitals and P's heart rate were constantly monitored and get this: as soon as I rested and my pain was reduced, my BP went down to near normal levels! Awesome! That made me feel better, too, since my body didn't seem to be fighting against itself anymore. Does that make sense? I did have to be repositioned several times to make sure that my epidural medication was distributed evenly as it is effected by gravity...that means this: If I laid totally on my left side, the meds would flow mostly to the left and it would be numb while my right side started to regain feeling. And vice versa...thus the repositioning. But it worked.

Anyway, I should interject a very important point that I learned during my labor: An general epidural DOES NOT make your pain go away (a spinal block, like used for a c-section does, of course). I was foolish enough to think, I guess, that it would make things hunky-dory and I would be blissfully unaware of what was going on down in the nether regions. Not so much. While it does dull the pain a lot...and like I said, it was AWESOME for me...you can still ABSOLUTELY feel the pressure of the contractions and are totally aware of what is happening. At least that was the case for me. I knew when I was contracting and could feel it but it wasn't painful like it had been before the epidural took affect. So, the moral of the story is this: don't ever let anyone tell you that an epidural will take all your pain away and make your labor and delivery effortless. They are a big, fat liar. :)

Now, here we are...feeling better, chilling out and waiting for the c-section that I just knew was coming. The nurse came in to check my vitals and my cervix and BAM! I had dilated from 3 cm to 7 cm in the hour after my epidural was placed. See if you can guess what came next...