9/11/09 Happy Birthday Carter!!

So, before I'll start I will apologize for taking so long to actually post it. lol I'd like to thank everyone for the emails, messages, texts and such asking about us.

I had an OB appt/NST on Sept 11th at 9:30. I was having contractions @ 8 minutes apart but w/ all my pre-term labor and strange contraction patterns that I'd had for the past month, I didn't think twice about them. The NST was fine & afterward my doctor checked me and said that I was 5cm. She was going to strip my membranes and go to L&D. I was reluctant because it was 13 days before my due date and I really didn't feel the need to be "induced". I wanted a natural delivery and was afraid that this would be the start of my loss of control over my sons birth. My doctor said that she understood and said that I could come back in at 12:30 and they would check me again to see if I was dilated any further because she already suspected I was in real labor.

At 11:00, the other OB in the office called me and told me to just go to L&D because after looking at my NST and knowing I was 5cm dilated, she felt that I was really in labor. By this point, I was pretty sure myself that I was in labor because the contractions (although not regular) were getting more painful and they had never been that way in the past. I arrived at the hospital @ 12:30 and got settled in. My OB broke my water at 2:30. The pace immediately changed!! My contractions became painful almost immediately and got closer together.



The nurses filled the birthing tub and I got in. All the books said to have a "labor project" to focus on. I played Tetris on my cell phone for awhile and when I could no longer focus on that, I resorted to just controlling my thoughts. Actually, my big focus went to not letting the towel I was resting my head against on the side of the tub fall into the water. The nurse checked me and said I was at 7cm. Within what felt like a few minutes, the pain became unbearable. After a few contractions, I called the nurse in and told her that I wanted some kind of drug in my IV. All I could think was that I was only 7cm and I couldn't bear the pain for another 3 hours. (Everything I've read says most women dilate 1cm per hour.) She knew that I wanted to do everything drug free but agreed to call my doctor after asking me 100 times if I was sure. SHE WAS GONE FOREVER!! She finally returned and told me that my doctor said that I had to get out of the tub and go to the bed if I wanted drugs. The nurse tried to help me stand up to get out of the tub and I couldn't get to my feet. She asked what was wrong and I told her that the pressure was unbearable. She checked me and what happened next was hilarious.



The nurse said "OHMIGOD, Shannon...don't push." She yelled for my husband to push the call nurse button. When they came over the speaker, she screamed "Get me help in here now and get the doctor in here immediately...she's crowning!" I thought to myself "Oh holy crap...there went my drugs." I heard "All nurses to room 10 stat!" come across the hospital intercom. All I could hear was jingle ling a linging down the hall as all these nurses come running in. My nurse is leaning halfway into this tub w/ her ENTIRE hand up there pressing on his head as she chanted "Hang in there honey!" over and over to me.

I somehow got laid down in the tub and my doctor arrived just in time to say "Okay, push!" I ended up pushing for about 20 minutes. I could feel myself tearing and it took a lot mentally to keep pushing through the burning of that. My husband, mom and best friend were in the room and they were very encouraging. Finally, I somehow managed to get him out and pull him up out of the water up to me. I was 5:05pm. It had only been 2 and a half hours since they broke my water!!


I was so proud of myself. I had this beautiful perfect baby boy in my arms and he was so bright eyed just staring at me. I couldn't believe that I had created, carried and finally delivered this amazing human being. I got to hold him in the tub for @ 10 minutes. After that, the nurses helped me to the bed and I was given Pitocin to help deliver the placenta. My doctor gave me some a anesthesia so she could stitch up the tears and those needle pricks were worse than the actual tearing!! I heard the nurse say "That's a second degree tear right?" and my doctor said "Well, she tore up so they don't assign degrees in that direction." Sure hurt enough to be assigned a degree!!

Anyway, at the end of it all I can say this: I am very proud for doing it drug free and I loved the water birth. However, if I have another baby.... I can't say that I would skip the drugs again. I've delivered a baby w/ a epidural and without. I feel that I've experienced it all now. lol

He never did latch onto the breast. I wasn't allowing the hospital give him a bottle but his blood sugar was 77 and they ended up having to give him formula. It took a nurse well over an hour to even get him to suck on the bottle. I have been pumping and bottle feeding him breast milk for the past 6 weeks. Before being released from the hospital, we were told that he failed his hearing test in both ears and we had to come back in a week to have it checked again. He passed just fine the second time he was tested and we were told that it's common for water birth babies to fail the hearing test due to water being trapped deep in the ear.

He weighed 6lbs, 7oz and was 19 inches long. He's perfect... He stares into the lights and up at the ceiling and laughs often. I know that Parker is there watching over him. He's a happy baby and very content. Jarod adores him. He's a miracle. I savor every moment, every breath, every smile and I melt when he looks into my eyes. I couldn't have asked for more.

October 11th was hard. We took balloons to the park and sent them to heaven for Parker's birthday. My baby girl would have been a year old but the pain still feels like it happened yesterday.

I am continuing my appointments w/ the psychologist but I'm not sure they are helping. I don't feel any different. He has offered medication but w/ breast feeding, I'm unwilling to take anything. I guess more time will tell. In the meantime, holding my new baby, my precious spirit baby warms my heart.