Last Monday at my weekly appointment I saw the nurse practitioner, Beth. My cervical check was the same as it had been on Friday so nothing happened over the weekend which is what I had surmised. She was going to strip my membranes again (3rd time) and said she was known as having the "magic fingers" at the office. She was the one who had done it while I was pregnant with Delia which later caused me to go into labor. The times that I had this done up until now it was uncomfortable but I wouldn't say that it actually hurt. Well, this time it hurt. I knew that only meant that things were progressing toward the birth of my son, but it was a very slow process. Beth said that I was welcome to come back on Tuesday for her to do it again and that they would continue to do it as many times as I wanted up until I had to be induced. They would schedule induction between 40-41 weeks for me if I didn't go into labor. I gladly scheduled an early appointment for Tuesday morning. Monday I had a good deal of cramping and contractions that night for about 5 hours. They eventually tapered off. Tuesday's check showed that I was 3 cm and 90%. She also stripped membranes again and when she was done, she said she could be wrong but she had a feeling she may have just set my body into labor for that day/evening. I could only hope she was right. Also, my induction was set for Friday the 30th if nothing happened before then. So I left and within a couple hours I was having consistent contractions about 5-7 minutes apart that were somewhat painful. Throughout the day they intensified and became closer together. Seth and I headed over to l&d that afternoon but when I got there things started to slow down. Unfortunately I hadn't changed at all from the morning and after an hour they sent me home. I was, again, distraught and completely lost it after leaving the hospital. The contractions that I did have were still intense and a good deal of them were felt in my back. I decided to walk that night with my mom and two sisters (who came down from Allentown because we thought this was it) and my labor just continued on. My contractions were inconsistent and that's what was throwing me off. They would go from 2-3 minutes to 4-6 minutes to 5-7. They never lost intensity though. I tried taking a bath that night and even thought I might get some sleep but I couldn't. I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to go back to the hospital only to be told that I was the same but I was in pain and couldn't do anything else but think about it. I talked with my sister and she encouraged me just to call my doctor and speak with whomever was on call (it was Charlotte, the midwife). I did that and she said it was my decision whether I waited it out or not. I decided not to. Instead of waking up Seth and having to go through all the work of getting Delia moved or having someone come stay with her, my sister offered to take me over to be checked. We arrived at the hospital shortly before midnight. I was 5 cm! Thank goodness because I would have bawled my eyes out (again) had I still been a 3. I called Seth and told him they were admitting me and then we went through the process of getting moved to a delivery room, etc.
This labor was very hard on my back and I knew I wanted an epidural. Unfortunately it can take some time to get that since they have to draw blood, send it to the lab, notify the anesthesiologist, etc. I probably waited another two hours before he showed up or at least it felt that way. By this time Seth had made it and my mom was on her way back from Allentown since she had gone home. We had no issues getting an epidural during my labor with Delia but for some reason, this guy couldn't place it. I must have been pricked 4-5 times before he got it in. That was probably one of the worst parts. Then he felt so badly that he actually pulled up a chair and sat in my room for the next half hour to 45 minutes to make sure that the epi took. After every contraction he would ask me what I felt. I thought this was really nice of him as most doctors wouldn't do it. The epi DID take and it took well because I was pretty numb from then on. After a little while Charlotte showed up and I was at a 7 almost 8. It had been some time since I slept so I tried to do that. His heart rate kept dropping a bit at the end of my contractions so they had me on oxygen as well. At some point they broke my water and at another point my nurse came in and said my contractions were still close but they seemed to be losing intensity (they put an internal monitor on me after his heart rate was dropping). Unfortunately I don't have much of a grasp on when all these things were happening. I just knew they were. They wanted to give me just a little bit of pitocin to push me the rest of the way so I could deliver. As soon as she turned it on the lowest setting, his heart rate went again so she immediately turned it off. Charlotte came back in to check and lo and behold I was complete and ready to have a baby!
Dr. Probst, the OB whom I go to, was the one who had delivered Delia. I had a great experience and really like her. I had seen Charlotte many times in the office with no complaints but I had no idea how different the delivery might be since she is a midwife. I am very happy with the outcome. It was much less of a production, less people in the room and very laid back. She was awesome and encouraging. I didn't have to push long (20-30 minutes). Ty was a little bigger than we expected him to be though and his shoulders ended up getting stuck. She must have worked some sort of magic because despite how bad it looked while it was happening, he was born and I had minimal damage. Instead of doing all big pushes there were times where she had me do just a little push here and there. I'm so grateful.
My "little" guy was 8 lbs 6.5 oz and 20 inches. He is the cutest baby I've ever seen. He is a healthy eater and while we are still getting into a groove here, which will take some time, I'm so happy to have him. It's amazing how things build up slowly and just like that it seems they are over. I sometimes I have trouble dealing with the finality of it, but at this point I'm enjoying every little cuddle and snuggle that I can. Big sister Delia is doing great so far. She loves her "Ty Ty" and while we are working on what it means to be gentle, she loves to give him hugs and kisses. I am such a lucky girl.
Shortly after delivery:
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