CARRIE was here...: June 2009

Dom and I had decided that we would go to our appointment on May 15th (I was exactly 39 weeks.) and tell Dr. A that we were ready to be induced. Dom was hoping he would send us upstairs to the Labor and Delivery floor after the appointment to get the show on the road that afternoon, but I was okay with waiting a few more days and doing it early the next week. The few extra days would put us closer to my due date and help me get over my worries of "forcing" him out too early. Dr. A agreed without any hesitation to the induction since I was past the 39 week mark and I had a "favorable" cervix. I was 2 cm and 60% effaced, but he was most pleased with how "squishy" my cervix was. During my exam he "stripped the be-jesus" (yes, that is a direct quote from Dr. A!) out of my membranes to help get things moving as well. He didn't want to do the induction that day because the induction wouldn't start until early afternoon and I would risk having a baby in the middle of the night, which was a point we hadn't thought about. If you are going to choose when your baby is going to be born, who would volunteer for a middle of the night birth! But also, Dr. A was going to the Royals game that night and wanted to be able to have a few beers and not be called into the hospital! He wanted to be the doctor that delivered our baby. So we scheduled my induction, what they call a "social induction" because it was not done for medical reasons, for Monday, May 18th at 6:00 am.

I went back to work that afternoon and told everyone that it was my last day. I was able to do all of my end-of-the-year duties that I was so worried about getting left behind if I went into labor on my own. It felt so good to leave that night knowing that everything that needed to be done before summer break, was done!

We spent that weekend relaxing and preparing. So many times we said, "This is the last time we will _______ before Ethan arrives." We made sure to sleep in and enjoyed laying on the couch in peace. We cleaned the house and did all of the laundry. Again, we were able to leave the house on Monday knowing that our house was organized and ready for a baby to come home in just a few days.

On Monday morning, we got to the hospital at 6:15 am (Yes, we were late!). The first few hours were spent checking-in and getting ready (changing clothes, getting unpacked, answering a million questions from my nurse, etc.). At 8:00 am, the Pitocin was started and Dr. A broke my water. I was still 2 cm and 60% effaced. When he broke my water, not much fluid came out. Ethan's head was already lodged in my pelvis and didn't allow for much of the fluid to come out. This meant that I was leaking fluid all day. When I stood up and with every contraction, and little more would trickle out. I felt like I was peeing my pants all day! The only bad news was that my fluid wasn't clear and had meconium in it. It was very "thin" and they had to examine the towels I was laying on to be sure that is what it really was. As the day went on, the fluid I was leaking became more and more clear, which was another good indication that there wasn't much meconium present. It was explained to us that Ethan would have to be examined by the NICU shortly after he was born to be sure that his lungs were clear. It gave us something to worry about, but we understood that in the majority of cases, meconium is really do big deal, especially with the small amount that I had. More than anything, it gave me the reassurance I needed about volunteering to be induced. Meconium is frequently a sign that a baby is in distress. Although Ethan was not showing any other signs of stress, we didn't want to give him any more time to GET stressed or have more bowel movements to make the "thin" meconium we had to deal with now, more severe.

I progressed fairly slowly. The nurse came in every 30 minutes to an hour and turned up the pitocin a little more. I was contracting regularly and as time went on, the contracts got closer together and lasted longer. Around noon, I received some IV pain medication. It didn't help much for the pain of the contractions but I was completely zonked between them. I felt so drunk! Once that started to wear off, around 2:00 pm, I got an epidural. The epidural was not what I expected. I could feel the pressure of every contraction, first in my belly, then in my vagina once Ethan started moving down and I was dilating more. The pressure became very painful! I was very glad I had the epidural because the pain of the pressure and the pain of the contractions together would have been very intense!

Around 5:00 pm, I was almost 10 cm. The nurse wanted to give Ethan more time to rotate so she said she would give more another 30 minutes before I started pushing. He began the day face up, and as you know, it is best for babies to be face down when they are being pushed out. He was still slightly rotated once I started pushing but not enough to cause any problems.

Dr. A and the nurse came in at 6:15 pm and I started pushing. Dr. A had me push three times during each contraction, first to the count of 10, then 7, then 5. Because I could feel the pressure of each contraction, I was able to tell Dr. A when a contraction was coming on before it registered on the monitors. Dom and I had a complete role reversal while I was pushing. I went the entire pregnancy excited to use a mirror and watch the miracle of my baby being born. Dom was insistent that he was not going to be able to watch and was going to stay by my head. Well, when it came down to it, Dom watched everything and I asked them not to put the mirror down. I was very nervous that I was going to get too overwhelmed and distracted by what I saw and slack on the pushing. One of my favorite memories was Dom's reactions while I was pushing. I could tell when I was making a lot of progress during a push by the intonation of Dom's voice when he was counting. He would start, 1 - 2 - 3 - 4, then his voice would rise for 5 - 6 - 7, and get even higher for 8 - 9 - 10. It was very motivating and I loved hearing his excitement! I pushed for 1 hour and 20 minutes and Ethan was born at 7:37 pm. They were able to put him on my tummy for a little cuddle time with mom before getting checked out by the NICU. I just remember staring at him in amazement. I was so relieved that he was here and healthy!

Next, the NICU examined him. They determined that the meconium had not caused any problems with his breathing or lungs and he did not require any additional suctioning. His APGAR scores were 8 at 1 minute and 9 at 5 minutes. They weighed and measured him (8 pounds 6 ounces and 20.5 inches long).

The next hour did not go as I had imagined. I wanted Ethan's first hour to be peaceful and quiet and just between Dom and I, but that didn't happen. It seemed as though every time he was put in my arms, another nurse or doctor was there to poke at one of us! I didn't realize everything that happened AFTER the birth! I had to be stitched up (I had an episiotomy and I tore in another place a little.); Dr. A and the nurses had to push on my uterus to be sure it was contracting down; my blood pressure was taken; they were taking out the epidural catheter; the nurse made me go to the bathroom where I nearly passed out, so that was followed by several minutes of me hanging off the toilet and Dom giving me juice with extra sugar added; etc. Even after Ethan's initial exam, they kept taking him to listen to his heart/lungs and take his temperature, and they gave him a bath. At one point, they were keeping him under to warming lights and he was screaming. It was heartbreaking for a new mom to listen to. Finally, Dom asked if we could have Ethan in the bed with me (skin to skin) and just pile tons of blankets on us and the nurse reluctantly agreed. Anyway, the point is that it took about two hours before everyone left us alone!

We were moved to a postpartum room and just as we were getting settled (around 3 am), a nurse came in and told us that Ethan's bilirubin levels were too high and that they needed to take him to the nursery so he could be put under the lamp. When Ethan was first born, they told Dom that they were going to draw blood from his umbilical cord and test for Jaundice because I have O+ blood. Dom and I were very confused and no one could explain to us the details of his condition and why my blood type had anything to do with his Jaundice. We understand it now (called ABO Incompatibility - My O+ blood produced antibodies that his A- blood could not break down.), but at the time, we just wanted someone to explain why our baby had to be taken from us!

Ethan had to spend 18 hours under the bilirubin lights. His biliribin levels were checked every 3 hours. The first night, he was under the lamp in the nursery. That morning, they put a portable lamp in my room and he was able to stay with us. He had to be under the lamp every minute, except when I was nursing him. He would get so mad and scream and scream, but we couldn't pick him up. It was heartbreaking! Eventually we would hold him and move the lamp so it was shining on both of us. I'm sure it wasn't the best exposure for him and we weren't able to protect our eyes, but we couldn't handle him being so upset and not doing anything about it. All we wanted to do was cuddle with my baby! We had a scare at one point when the Pediatrician said that Ethan may not be ready to leave the hospital when I was going to be discharged. Fortunately, that didn't happen!

We were discharged from the hospital on Wednesday, May 20th. We had to get his blood drawn every other day for the first week we were home to monitor his bilirubin levels. They didn't ever increase to a level that caused anyone to worry.

Six weeks later, it is hard to believe that we went through all of that. It is such a whirlwind of an experience that it seems more like a dream. Really, everything still feels like a dream...I'm a mom!!!

I spent most of my free time (i.e. time when Ethan is sleeping and I have two free arms) yesterday uploading and organizing the pictures we have taken since Ethan was born. In the 5 weeks of his life, we have taken 588 pictures!!! I guess we can say that his first month is well documented!

Here are some of my favorites:

The last belly pic...39 weeks, 3 days: