My Water Breaks
It was around 11 o'clock at night and I was sitting on the couch watching a show on Netflix when I felt a gush. I got up to go to the bathroom, not thinking anything of it — but as I walked back and forth I kept leaking, more and more. I called my mom and mother-in-law screaming with excitement, and off we all went to labor and delivery. I was excited, nervous, and just ready for all of it. We got checked into triage and sure enough — my water had broken and I was about 4 cm dilated.
They told me they had the best person on staff to put in the epidural, so I wanted to get it in before he left his shift. I waited until the last minute, because I wanted the best for my first time, right? That went off without a hitch. They also put me on Pitocin because my contractions were irregular and I wasn't progressing at all. Both caused reactions — my blood pressure changed, and Harvey's heart rate changed as well. I told them I didn't care whether I had an OB-GYN or a midwife, so they assigned me a midwife who was available. If only I had known.
Once that was sorted, it was time for the waiting game.
We all slept on and off through the night, and by the next day I had only made it to about 5 cm. I was moving slow, to say the least. Then my epidural ran out and they gave me a booster. A couple of hours later it ran out again. This time the anesthesiologist came in furious — and honestly, so were we. I was at 7 cm and could feel everything. My feet were tingling and I felt every single contraction. When he asked why it had been left to run out twice, the response was that the nurse had been at lunch, or something to that effect. She had basically just blatantly forgotten.
Every time this happened our heart rates would have problems. They had me rotate and change positions what felt like a thousand times. Our heart rates kept switching back and forth — one of us okay, then the other not. I ended up with a fever as time went on. It was not looking good, and there were multiple times several nurses rushed in at once.
At this point I was about 8 cm. My husband stepped out to the lounge to get a coffee and ran into a doctor who had delivered our siblings and who both our moms had known for years. We were done with the midwife — the way she had handled my labor was honestly disgusting. My husband asked the doctor to stop by and say hi. When he did and saw how long it had been taking and how neither Harvey nor I were doing well, he did not like what he saw. He asked to take over my care, and I said yes without hesitating.
From that point on, things only got worse. The heart rate issues continued and the pain started. From 8 cm to 9.5 cm I had an incredible pain in my shoulders — so severe I couldn't move without screaming. Trust me, I handle pain well. This was something I had never experienced before. The anesthesiologist said it was my body transferring the pain into my shoulders.
About two hours before everything went south, the doctor said he would give me a little longer but didn't feel comfortable pushing it much further. A C-section was likely.
Then they all rushed in — both Harvey and I not doing well. I was at 9.5 cm, basically moments from pushing. Then a contraction hit and Harvey pooped. That was the last straw. I signed the paperwork and off we went to the C-section. The scariest moment of my life.
Baby is Here
I had the C-section and the shoulder pain was finally gone. I heard "Happy Birthday Harvey!" — but wait. Why wasn't he crying? Why couldn't I hear him? Over the intercom I heard them calling over and over, rushing the pediatricians to our room. Harvey came out not breathing, and in that moment it became the scariest moment of my life. Then I heard it — the sweetest cry in the world. They brought him over and I could see him. I was basically flopping like a fish from the medication, but my husband held him down close and I was able to kiss him.
The doctor went out to speak with our moms and told them that Harvey would not have made it if any other doctors had been on staff that night. They saved his life. He had to go to the NICU to be watched for four hours, and I had to go to recovery for two hours. That was the longest two hours of my life. No one held him until I was out and able to. My mom and mother-in-law were honestly the only reason we made it through — they held us together. I will never be able to repay them for that day.
I labored for 21 hours and then had the C-section. To say we were wiped would be an understatement. But we will get into that in my next post.
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