Cara's Birthday as told by our Mommy:
Well I'm sure all of you are DYING with curiosity to hear the labor story. (Why do we women assume that everyone wants to hear this? I think it's because we need the incredible pat on the back for the job we just did and also because we can't imagine someone not wanting to hear the story of the miracle of your child's life!)
I must confess first off that I am not a patient woman. And a little bit of a control freak (not 5 minutes ago I got in trouble with Pete for starting to straighten up the kitchen despite his many warnings that I was not supposed to be lifting a finger!) And I also tend to get certain ideas in my head and then I really want them. I got it in my head with this pregnancy that I DID NOT want to see August pregnant. I was going to have this baby in July. Just the last week of July which I didn't think was unreasonable because I would be 38 weeks. Well as this final week of July starting flying by I started becoming unhinged. I was dilated to a 3+ and was 80% effaced...why wasn't all the walking and other inducing methods working for me?! I began to just cling to my doctor's appointment on the 30th for the hope that Dr. Gravelle would strip my membranes or just admit me downstairs and get the baby out! Well much to my chagrin on the 30th Dr. Gravelle informed me that because I was Group B Strep positive (not an unusual thing, but could potentially mean a very sick baby if antibiotics aren't given in labor) she wouldn't strip my membranes. She wanted time to get the two doses of antibiotics on board which need to be 4 hours apart and she said I would go too fast on my own if she stripped my membranes. (I was extremely flattered and excited at the concept that she thought I would have a quick labor!) But I was also crushed. No baby today?! Apparently Dr. Gravelle could see the desperation in my eyes and said she could put me on the schedule to be induced for tomorrow the 31st. Hope glistened. The word yes was out of my mouth before she had finished! Of course the problem with this hope was that it could be dashed. I was considered an elective induction and so I could be booted off the schedule if they were too busy or if emergencies came up.
I got the call that night that I was 7th on the list and they would call me in the morning with a time to come in...if they had time. If I hadn't heard from them by 10:00am I was supposed to call them. As my mom said, I was in a holding pattern just like airplanes in line for take off. Well I knew that I wasn't going to be able to stand to stick around home Friday morning and just wait for the phone call so Pete took the day off as a precaution and we planned to go to the zoo. I got up, showered, straightened my hair, started a load of laundry and then off we went to the zoo. It was 9:30 am. I was beginning to see my hope go away. Pete didn't think we'd go in before early afternoon, but I figured if we didn't get a call by 10 it meant they were too busy. So as we were driving up 3900 South, I started to give up my dream of my baby being born today when the phone rang. It was the hospital. I could have my baby today! And then they wanted to know how soon I could get to the hospital. I almost claimed the ability to teleport. But instead I said 20 minutes. So they said come on in. We turned the car around and headed to Intermountain Medical Center to have our baby. (Luckily Siena is young enough she didn't realize that she missed out on a trip to the zoo with Mommy AND Daddy.)
It took forever to get me checked in. Apparently a bunch of us showed up at the same time. But finally at 11:00 am they started the first dose of antibiotics. Dr. Gravelle didn't want them doing anything to actually get labor going until 2 hours after that first dose. She really had faith I would go fast. That meant I had to wait until 1:00pm until they started hanging pitocin. Now I must mention at this point that I was hoping to do this labor without an epidural. The pitocin made me nervous since I had heard about it's nasty tendency to produce unbearable contractions. Well a whole hour and a half went by with hardly a contraction. I was beginning to think that I would be at this for HOURS. I was 4 cm dilated when they started the drip and so the nurse thought I was go quick Finally at 2:30 I started having contractions just about every 3 minutes. And they had a bite but not too bad. Pete and I were even waltzing around our little room trying to help the labor along. I was still in great spirits. At 3:00 they started the second dose of penicillin and then the resident broke my water. I knew I needed to be nervous because I remembered with Siena that those contractions hurt a LOT worse once that water was gone. But I was kind of okay with that because apparently I was still only a 4. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the first five contractions after that water was gone weren't too terrible. Only obnoxious because I leaked water with every one of them. I was standing on a towel.
And then that sixth contraction hit. And it had a bite. A familiar bite. I remembered this bite with Siena's labor. It was with that bite that I had chosen the epidural. I told myself I could do this. I was still in control between contractions. However, my nurse had suggested to me before they broke my water that I could turn off the pitocin drip and get in to the tub because I would probably maintain labor on my own at that point and then I wouldn't need constant fetal monitoring. I called in the nurse to talk to her about this option. It was 4:00 pm and since there had been a shift change I asked her what her opinion on it was. She offered to check me to see if I was making progress and maybe that would help me decide. I was at a 5 which was great but only a cm an hour I was hoping to be quicker! I said okay thanks I'll think about it. :) She left the room and the next contraction had me on all fours cringing on the bed. It hurt SO MUCH MORE than the ones before it. I started to cry and shake a little with the contraction. And then the next one felt like it was only 1 minute later and then the next again was only a minute rest. I looked at Pete and said "Am I getting any time in between!?!" So called the nurse back in at 4:35 and said let's turn off the drip and get in the tub. Truthfully, I was just hoping that turning off the dang drip would make the contractions hurt less. She checked me again as she started the tub. I was at a 7! I had done 2 cm in a half an hour! That was hopeful maybe I could do this labor quickly. At this point, I was starting to really lose composure during my contractions. I discovered that "sounding" (aka something similar to yelling) really helped. Just kind of guttural LOUD noises during the peak. It felt good to get in warm water and I asked for just a little narcotic to help me get on top of it again. She did only a half dose I think because I was already at a seven. I don't think I even noticed it's effect. The water helped me relax in between, but the pain was just as intense during the contractions. I got in the tub around 4:45 and my nurse started pulling out all the stuff for delivery. I told her that she would be my hero if that meant I was complete and could be done! At 5:10pm I asked to get out of the tub. I needed to know how far I had progressed because I was on the verge of needing that epidural. I was again so delightfully composed (NOT!!!) trying to get to the bed. She checked me at I was at a 9+!!! Just a little cervix left, I had done it!
She had just seen my doctor in the hall and went to go get her. I wouldn't have been so joyful and felt that I had done it if I knew what the next 20 minutes would bring. These contractions were very intense and I was starting to really feel out of control. I was crawling up the bed, I couldn't focus. And I was really trying to think about how it would all be over soon. But I had pushed for an HOUR with Siena and despite the fact that everyone was telling me that they would eat their shoes if I pushed for an hour again, I thought I was in for a long haul still. Well much to my surprise when it finally came time to really push, it took 2 contractions. And I just shot her into the world. It was fantastic. No epidural! I really HAD done it. It was so much more different than when I had an epidural. I wasn't prepared for just how different. It was great. And I really did have a fast labor. I didn't think that I would, but I went from being 5 cm dilated to a baby in just a little less than two hours. Cara was born at 5:55pm!
I can't say which way I will go with my next baby (whenever that will be!), but I'm glad that I've done both!
I left the hospital 24 hours later with my sweet little daughter and we're at home and happy and healthy! YEAH!!
