I’ve been afraid of birth my entire life. Can you relate?
But this is a positive birth story. The most unexpected and interesting 52 hours of my life, but overall…a positive birth story.
First, I’ll share the timeline of Graham’s birth, and then I’ll talk mastitis and post-partum healing things. If you’ve been following along on my Instagram and TikTok, you know we have been going through it.
Mike and I decided on an elective 39-week induction. There’ve been a few studies suggesting a 39-week elective induction among first-time moms may decrease a woman’s likelihood of having a C section. Also, we live an hour from the hospital, and we like to plan. Or at least plan as much as possible, even though the baby definitely proved he was in charge, lol.
One of the biggest factors was how much time Mike would have off work. I’m so thankful that my job provides me with 18-20 weeks of paid parental leave. However, Mike doesn’t have any benefits. No PTO, no bonding leave. Nothing. 😢 So, every day that we didn’t have a baby was a day that he wouldn’t have to bond with him….and help me recover, ya know?
At my 39-week appointment, I was still only 30% effaced and not dilated. My OB urged me not to go in for the induction, and at least see if things progressed over the next week. I rarely go against a physician’s advice, but we decided to go for it.
Wednesday 5/24
4:30 PM Scheduled to be admitted for induction. No beds were available, so we went to sleep and waited for the call.
11:30 PM Got the call that a bed was available! And so begins the sleepless nights.
Thursday 5/25
12:30 Admitted to L & D
2 AM 1st dose of oral cytotec (cervical ripening)
6 AM No progress. Received 2nd dose of oral cytotec
11 AM No progress. Received 3rd dose of oral cytotec
3 PM No progress. Received 4th dose of cytotec (this time…not orally)
7 PM Still, no progress. At this point, I had taken the max dosage of cytotec. The hospital didn’t use cervidil. Dr. Randolph was in a C section, so we waited for her to hear the next steps
8 PM Dr. Randolph suggested we try the foley bulb for manual dilation. Don’t even think about googling it. This was the worst part of the whole labor and delivery experience.
I was on a clear liquid diet since admission, so they gave me a break to eat and shower before trying the foley bulb. At this point, I was frustrated. I ate the dates, drank 100 cups of raspberry leaf tea, took evening primrose oil, curb walked, all the things that supposedly help you have a quick labor.
My doctor warned us that induction could take a long time. At this point, I was starting to feel like I made the wrong decision. Should I have just waited for my body to go into labor on its own?
So, I cried in the shower and ate a dinner of Chic-fil-a waffle fries. It made me feel better.
11 PM Foley bulb inserted and Pitocin started. For pain relief, I had the option to get the epidural, IV Nubain, nitrous oxide, or Tylenol. My amazing nurse, Ashley, said if it was her, she would get the epidural. And I thought….Oh sh*t. Is it that bad?
One of my biggest fears was mistiming the epidural too early, and it would stall my progress (ending in a c section). So, I opted for the IV Nubain. You are only allowed 3 doses of Nubain because it transfers to the baby from the placenta, and it can slow baby’s heart rate. It made me feel drunk. I could feel the pain, but I didn’t care so much.
The foley bulb placement is a real procedure. A medieval torture device, if you will. They use sterile technique and turn those bright flood lights on. For a minute, Dr. Randolph didn’t think she had room to advance the catheter to the other side of my cervix. It felt like her whole arm was up there. I genuinely hoped that I would pass out. I think Mike almost did.
Friday 5/26
12 AM Contractions started, felt like a strong period cramp. Started dry heaving. Note to self: if you ever need a foley bulb dilation, get the Zofran with the pain meds. And bring an electric heat pad. It made the BIGGEST difference for me in terms of comfort. I have this one. There are multiple temp settings and a sleep timer. Trust me, it helps.
1 AM – 8 AM Contractions every 2 minutes. Very painful. We were awake and miserable all night.
8 AM Foley bulb d/c’d. Thank God. I was dilated to a 4. I stayed on the pitocin and continued contracting. It didn’t hurt as bad as when the foley bulb was in place.
12 PM-6 PM More IV Nubain and nap, continued on pitocin.
6 PM Woke up from nap, went for a walk around the unit with Mike and my parents. At first, I was fine, but then I wasn’t. I could barely finish the second lap. I was in the unbearable pain territory. An angel in the form of a volunteer doula, Jacqueline, was outside of my door with my nurse. I saw her in the lavender scrubs, and she immediately hugged me. It was a God moment. I was exhausted from not eating for 2 days and fighting the pain. I still felt like we still had a long road ahead.
8 PM Epidural. At shift change, of course (sorry nurses!).
8:30 PM Dr. Butts broke my water with a crotchet hook I think
9 PM – 12 AM Sleep 🙌 with a few interruptions to reposition and cervical checks
Saturday 5/27
1 AM Baby’s heart rate dipped, so they put an oxygen mask on my face. Nurse checked me, and I was a 6. Ruthie was pacing in and out of the delivery room, lol. My nurse predicted then that he would be born at 3!
2 AM The pressure was so intense that I couldn’t sit still. I was hitting the bolus button on my epidural as much as I was allowed. Mike told me to stop hitting it. I thought he wanted me to be tough, but he told me later it’s because my blood pressure was 80/60ish.
2:30 AM I called the nurse (Amanda, who I will be thankful for my entire life!) because the epidural was beeping that it was low.
She checked me, and I was a 10. She said he had light hair! Which made me want to pass out that she was looking at me but also looking at his head… The ceiling had a reflective tile where you could see the happenings down there. I made the mistake of looking.
The nurse said that she could call anesthesia to top off the epidural, but she thought I could push the baby out before anesthesia even got there.
I think that’s when my soul left my body. I decided to push even though I could be out of anesthetic within the hour. I felt like I was above my body watching myself give birth.
We started “practice pushing”, and I was not prepared for how hard pushing would be. I felt like all of the blood vessels in my face were bursting. They weren’t lol.
2:45 AM Dr. Butts arrived for the final pushes
3 AM Graham was born! 7 lb 2 oz, 19.5″ of baby boy.
He didn’t cry the minute he was born. It felt like time stood still, but then it was the best sound. We all had tears in our eyes. Having him on my chest was the best feeling in the entire world.
We did skin-to-skin for an hour, then Mike held him. A baby nurse came in to assess him, and we were transferred to the Mother Baby Unit a little after 5 AM.
Postpartum
I got a second degree tear and about 15 stitches down there. It was painful, but not worth the years of anxiety I felt over birth. I was walking 2 miles a day starting at 4 days postpartum.
It took about 5 days for my milk to start coming in. In the meantime, we were waking up every 2 hours, squeezing the life out of my boobs to get a tiny amount of colostrum. Then, spoon feed those drops to him. He would only latch for a few sucks. The shield helped, but he was burning a lot of calories trying to eat.
At his first pediatrician’s appointment (3 days old), he lost 13% of his body weight. He was 7 lbs 2 oz at birth, and he weighed 6 lb 2 oz. We felt so guilty. Because he wasn’t eliminating the bilirubin, we had to drive to the CHKD lab for a stat check. He was jaundiced, but just below the threshold for admission to CHKD for phototherapy.
I wish we had started supplementing with formula earlier. We had plenty on hand just in case. The lactation consultant told us we didn’t need to supplement because he was having the appropriate amount of diapers. I know it’s normal for babies to lose weight after birth, but I just wish we had offered him the dang formula.
When he was 1 week old, I spiked a fever and was diagnosed with mastitis on my left side. My OB called in an antibiotic for me. I took it religiously while pumping for 15-20 mins every 2-3 hours. We had newborn photos with Claudia Fimian Photography on Wednesday, and I felt better than ever. By 8 PM, I had another fever, and the mastitis spread to my right side.
It is the sickest I have ever been. The cold chills and sweats for days were enough to do me in. Add in the newborn exhaustion, healing from a second degree tear, and the hormones. I almost wanted to be admitted back to the hospital.
My OB and Mike wanted me to go to the ER. But I would have had to leave Graham, and I just couldn’t do it. I pushed through the night, and started a different antibiotic the next day. One nice thing about delivering at SPAH is that if you have complications, you can be admitted right back to Mother Baby Unit, and you can bring your baby. But that can only happen if your doctor is there to admit you. Otherwise, you go through the ER.
Because of the infections, my supply dropped to about 0.5 oz per pump session. I’ve ordered all of the supplements, but I’m still questioning my commitment to this whole pumping journey. It is the hardest thing I’ve ever done.
I think that about covers it for now. Thank you so much for your texts, well wishes, and prayers. I have felt every single one!
xo,
Chelsea
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