This was, by far, the most interesting labor of all three children. I had an amnio yon Friday, which was like the earlier one (painless and very easy). The results confirmed that Chloe's lungs were developed. I was admitted around 10:30am. All paperwork and consultations were completed and I was on pitocin at 1:00pm. I walked into the hospital 3cm dilated. I honestly believed that I would have Chloe before dinner. In fact, I asked the nurse what would happen to my dinner, if I was transferred to the recovery floor. Well, that wasn't an issue. Because of my previous c-section (baby #1), I received a slow induction. They would increase the drip every 1/2 hour by 1 step. In other women, it might go up 2 or more steps each 1/2 hours.
I handled the increases in the drug without a problem. I used Hypbirth (hypnosis) to handle my contractions. I was in the zone and feeling pretty confident, but my body wouldn't create a nice pattern, so they kept increasing the drug. After about 12 hours, my body stopped responding. They increased the drugs and the intensity of the contractions decreased.
Around 4am, they decided to take me off the drug for an hour. I was at 6cm and tired. I went to sleep for an hour. At around 5am, they started the drug again. My body responded with very intense contractions, but still no real pattern, so they increased it at 6am. Around this time, I was beginning to struggle with my hypnosis. The contractions were so erratic that I couldn't sync them to the audio script. I stopped using my Ipod, which was a bad idea because I didn't have a back-up plan.
Sometime after 7am, I began to vocalize the idea of medication. The midwife and nurses kept telling me to take it one contraction at a time. I knew they were trying to get me to 10 cm, but the pain was so intense. I kept saying that I couldn't do it and they kept telling me I was doing it. Finally, they checked me and I was 10cm. No drugs were coming. I felt scared. What would the contractions feel like to push her out?
Once again, pushing was an ordeal. If birth is so natural, why don't I know how to push a baby out. After a little remedial coaching, I began to push. After each round of pushing, I would complain that I was too tired to do it. Yes, a real whiner. Finally, I decided that I was really tired and I just needed to push until the baby popped out. I did that twice until I felt the incredible pressure of her head. I took a deep breath and pushed until I felt her head come out. The rest of her was very easy and she slid out. The midwife told me to open my eyes and take my baby. She had vernix on her body, but very little other fluids. I was so excited to grab her.
I was very lucky, no tears or stitches and one completely healthy baby. Her head was normal. The ultrasound result was not accurate. She was small but not too small (5 pound 15.2 ounces). Happy Birthday Chloe!!!
