By week 37 of my pregnancy I could not wait to not be pregnant anymore. I was so uncomfortable all the time, I couldn't sleep well, the heartburn, back pain, and nausea had taken over my life. All I wanted to eat was bread sticks with ranch from R&R Pizza and Dr. Pepper.
At our 37 week appointment, my doctor said our baby girl could come any day now. I had been dilated to 2 and my cervix was very thin and soft. At our 38 week appointment on August 11th, we decided with the nurse practitioner that we wanted to set an induction date. As much as I wanted to go into labor on my own, I was miserable and was SO ready to meet my baby. We set the date for the following Tuesday, 8/16/16. My blood pressure was a little high so they had me sit for a stress test, took some blood, and had me leave a urine sample. They then discovered I had a fever. We were asked to come back the next day to have another stress test and an ultrasound to make sure I had the right amount of amniotic fluid. During that appointment, all of the tests looked good. Dr. Decker stripped my membranes and sent us home. We were really hoping our little one would come before that Tuesday. So began the endless home tricks to induce labor. I paced around the house, danced in the living room, ate hot wings and frozen pineapple (in smoothie form) but of course all that did was make me very tired and exacerbate the back pain and pain in my lower abdomen. I lost a lot of mucus that weekend but those contractions were just not coming. Which was very surprising to me because up until that point I had very strong Braxton Hicks contractions.
The Day We Had Been Praying For
Early Monday morning, 8/15/16, I sat up in bed to get up to go the bathroom (for the zillionth time) and it felt like I had peed myself. I just sat there for a minute trying to figure out what just happened and what I should do. I woke Nathan up and told him my water might have broken but I was going to go to the bathroom to investigate further. I realized it wasn't my water but my mucus plug! I told Nathan and then we sat and tried to decide what we were going to do. I was having mild (very mild) contractions but they seemed like they were going to stick around. I called Dr. Decker's after hours number but was told that the on call doctor wouldn't speak to me and I would have to decide on my own whether to come in or not, or I could wait until 9:00am and call Dr. Decker. After curling my hair and doing my makeup, we decided to head to the hospital.
We got to the hospital around 6:00am and went straight to triage. They discovered my blood pressure was still pretty high. My nurse, Megan, called Dr. Decker and asked if they wanted to keep me and induce me since my bp was high and I was on the schedule for the next morning anyway. We overheard the news from behind the curtain that I was going to be admitted! Yay! It took what felt like forever for Megan to come share the news with us. She got us all ready to move to a delivery room and then we were sent off with Diane, the nurse who would spend the next 12 hours with us.
Once I was in my room, I got my IV and they started Pitocin right away. Dr. Decker came and broke my water by about 8:15am. The first Pitocin contraction that I had was brutal. I knew I wanted an epidural but I didn't realize I would want one that quickly. The anesthesiologist came in pretty quickly and got me all taken care of. Diane used a cold aerosol spray to check how far up the epidural had numbed me and she got all the way up to my collar bone before I could feel a thing!
Over the next several hours, I ate a few orange popsicles, threw up once, and took a few naps. Rachel (Nathan's oldest sister) came to take pictures and stay with us throughout my labor. We watched the Olympics and everything seemed to be going pretty smoothly. Diane had me laying with the peanut ball between my legs and we alternated which side I laid on.
By 7:00pm, I was not feeling so hot. I had started to feel a lot of pressure and pain between my legs (you know, where the baby is supposed to come out). They told us I was still only dilated to about an 8 and it seemed I wasn't really progressing. Dr. Decker suggested we insert a catheter in my uterus to measure how strong the contractions were and then to increase the Pitocin to try to help me continue to dilate. After that was taken care of, I had Nathan stay by my side and hold my hand through each contraction. I started to cry and I told Nathan I was scared and in pain and this was not how it was supposed to go. I asked him to give me a blessing so he texted Devon and asked him to come help give me a priesthood blessing. I knew the blessing would give me more strength and help me to feel some peace through the pain.
Here is where the times are fuzzy in my head. Dr. Decker came in and checked me again. He said I was dilated to a 9 but that he could stretch me over her head. He had me give a practice push and then they had the anesthesiologist come try a different medication combination to try to numb me between the legs. At some point in there there was a shift change and Megan, my nurse from that morning came to relieve Diane. I kept telling Megan that I was feeling a lot of pressure and that I wanted to push. She called Dr. Decker and got the go ahead to help me start pushing. Unfortunately, when we got ready to try, she realized I was still not fully dilated to a 10 and she was not allowed/trained to help stretch me the way Dr. Decker would. So we waited for what I thought was an eternity (though I know it was probably less than 20 minutes) for Dr. Decker to come get us started. Again, I must say this is all kind of fuzzy for me looking back. Dr. Decker helped me push for a little bit and then he stepped out. Megan was a great labor coach. She held one of my legs while Nathan held the other. She helped me breathe and calm down in between contractions and pushes. Megan told me that Dr. Decker could "help me" get the baby out if I felt like I needed it (via forceps or the vacuum). I told her I would prefer it not come to that. Eventually, after pushing with just Nathan and Megan I told her I wasn't sure how much longer I could do it and that I was ready for some help. She went to get Dr. Decker right away.
When Dr. Decker came into the room, he was followed by a team of people. I could tell he meant business and he looked at me and said "We're going to get this baby out now." The next pushes were the hardest for sure. I started to become hysterical and almost cried in between each push. Nathan and Megan were great at calming me down. At one point, Nathan, trying to cheer me up and encourage me said, "You're not going to believe this but she has dark hair." Finally, her head was low enough that Dr. Decker could apply the vacuum. Nathan said Dr. Decker had all his weight pulling on the vacuum to get our precious baby out. I could her the suction break and pop off of her head. I was very worried about her well being but I did hear Megan and Dr. Decker say that her heartbeat was great.
FINALLY, out she came at 9:26pm, weighing 9lbs 2.9oz and measuring 20.5 inches long. They laid her on my stomach while Nathan cut her cord. I felt so relieved that it was over and that she was safe and healthy. She was beautiful and I was so happy she actually had brown hair!
Then, the scary part started. Nathan watched as Dr. Decker delivered my placenta and then was sprayed (literally) with a shower of my blood. I could feel the blood gushing out of me and suddenly the room changed. Dr. Decker's demeanor changed. He started ordering nurses to get an ultrasound and to call the anesthesiologist and let him know we might need his assistance in surgery. Nathan and I kept looking back and forth at each other and at Dr. Decker. They started pushing on my stomach, giving me shots, putting medication into my IV. I told Nathan I felt ok. I didn't ever feel like I was going to pass out. I did, however, need to throw up but the nurse was a little too slow getting to me with a bucket. (I can't blame her with all of the chaos.) I turned my head and threw up. She got the bucket next to my face and I continued to throw up another 2 or 3 times. At one point, Dr. Decker looked at me and told me I would be fine. He got upset when the ultrasound was not brought in right away. Nathan and I both remember the moment he looked up and said, "Where is that ultrasound? I need it now. We should have had it in here twice already." Once they had the ultrasound he used it to be able to see to scrape out placenta fragments from my uterus. Eventually, after all of the shots and pushing on my abdomen, I stopped bleeding. He stitched me up and told me I did great.
Nathan was finally able to leave my side and go hold our precious Calliope Rae. I'm so thankful that Rachel was there to stand by her side through my ordeal. I know she would have been safe in just the nurse's hands but it was comforting to glance over and see that Aunt Rachel was watching over her.
The room had calmed down and I had to ask Megan to explain what happened. She briefly explained that I hemorrhaged and my uterus was not contracting. They had it under control and had me on some medications for the hemorrhage and antibiotics to prevent infection.
I was given an oxygen mask and then I was able to hold my precious little baby. She was perfect! Dark hair and chubby cheeks. So big (I mean 9lbs come on!) and so little at the same time.
I would describe my delivery experience as traumatic. I know I made it through and Calliope made it through because of the prayers Nathan and I had said together and because of the blessing I was given. I am extremely grateful for Dr. Decker and his ability to stay calm and keep me from needing surgery or a blood transfusion. I hope and pray that if we ever talk ourselves into having another baby that my labor is nothing like this labor!
