I was to the point in my pregnancy that I had weekly check ups. I went in for my 37 week appointment. The next day was supposed to be my last day of work, so I had a list of errands to run after my appointment to wrap up the year with my students. We started with my ultrasound. Weeks before, I had been told that I had a mature placenta, which basically means it looked farther along than it should, and could possibly stop working properly. Because of this I got weekly ultrasounds for the last few weeks. During the ultrasound my doctor said Kate looked great, but she wasn't measuring any bigger than the week before. He also mentioned that I did not have as much amniotic fluid as I did the week before. At this point he did not say anything to make me think we'd be having Kate earlier than planned (We were planning on inducing at 39 weeks). Once we were finished with the ultrasound he checked my cervix. I was 1 cm dilated and 65% effaced. Once the doctor was finished with the exam he jokingly said, "Well, are you sitting down?" At this point I realized we may be delivering Kate earlier than expected, like maybe in the next few days. That's when he said "I think we need to go to the hospital tonight." I was shocked! He explained that Kate was fine, but if we waited any longer she might not be. He told me to go home, pack my bag, get Brian, and then head to the hospital. So I went.
On the way home it hit me. I was going to have a baby in the next 24 hours! I had so much to do in my classroom before leaving for the year! I had so much to do at home to get ready for Kate! I made my calls to my parents and work, and then tried to process everything that was happening.
After packing our bags and stopping for one last childless meal at Dairy Queen- I had to get a blizzard :) - we were off to the hospital. The plan was to start cervidil that night to get my cervix ready, then start pitocin in the morning. I checked in around 7:30 that night. My nurse hooked up my IV, my heart rate monitor, Kate's heart rate monitor, and a contraction monitor. Because this delivery was so sudden we didn't have time to wait on my lab results for my Group B strep test, so I had to get an antibiotic through my IV. Around 9:30 my nurse started the cervidil and told Brian and I to get as much rest as we could. Easier said than done! Between already being uncomfortable just from being 37 weeks pregnant, all the monitors I was hooked up to, the burning/icy sensation from the antibiotic, and the nurse's frequent checks it was pretty hard to get any sleep. Around 2am (I think) the nurse came in and told me they were going to remove the cervidil. They had been watching the monitors and noticed that Kate's heart rate dropped during each contraction. I had been pretty calm about everything up until this point. Once she told me Kate's heart rate was dropping I really started to worry. My nurse reassured me that they were closely monitoring me and Kate, and they would be there if anything looked abnormal. We were still planning on starting pitocin in the morning, but without the cervidil working all night there was a good chance my cervix would not be ready and we'd end up needing a C section. We were also concerned that Kate may react the same way to the pitocin that she did to the cervidil. I hated the uncertainty. There was nothing I could do but wait and see though.
After a long night, I was really hoping to take a shower before they started my pitocin. I wasn't allowed to take off my belly monitors though, so I couldn't even get my shower! Before starting the pitocin my nurse checked my cervix. I had gotten to 2 centimeters. Not much progress, but I was still hopeful to have a normal delivery. We started the pitocin and waited for the real contractions to start. They started pretty quickly! After about an hour of my contractions getting progressively stronger, I decided I couldn't take it anymore. I admit I'm a pretty big wimp, but how anyone could ever go through labor drug free is something I could never even imagine. I needed my epidural! Trying to sit still through extremely painful contractions while getting my epidural was pretty difficult. It was worth the discomfort though. I felt immediate relief.
Shortly after getting the epidural, my doctor came in to check my cervix. I had progressed to 4 cm. I still had 6 cm to go, but I felt good about my progress. Kate was doing fine too. No heart rate problems at all. During all of this Brian was communicating my progress to both of our parents. We didn't want them sitting in the waiting room all day, so when we were told that I was at 4 cm he told them to wait a little while before heading to the hospital. That turned out to be a mistake. About 20 minutes later my doctor came back and I was 9 centimeters dilated! Brian quickly got on the phone and told our parents to get to the hospital now! The nurse also noticed that my blood pressure was getting very low, so they gave me a medicine to raise it. Kate was still doing ok, so I wasn't terribly worried. My doctor left the room to get a cup of coffee while we waited for that last centimeter, but he never got that coffee. All of a sudden I started feeling a lot of pressure pushing down. I told my nurse, she checked, and she could feel Kate's head. It was time! She paged my doctor, and then told me it was time to start pushing. A short 24 minutes later, at 12:49 pm, Kate was here! I couldn't believe I was holding my baby girl! She was a small, but healthy 4 pounds 15 ounces.
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| Sweet Kate |
Kate and Brian went to the nursery while the doctor finished with me and rolled me down to my room for the next 2 days. The next 48 hours were spent talking to nurses and doctors, learning to nurse, and getting to know Kate. Brian and I were both exhausted from round the clock feedings and diaper changes, but we were so in love it didn't matter. We were a little nervous when it was already time to take her home after only 2 days. We've survived so far!
