Anna's Birth

Anna's Birth

On Tuesday, March 18, I went to Evanston Hospital for a routine non-stress test and ultrasound. The non-stress test went well (as usual) and showed our baby to be reactive, responsive and happy. During the ultrasound, the tech measured everything and went looking for amniotic fluid. It was hard to find some and she said that she consistently came up with the same amount. The amniotic fluid was half what it should be and she was calling my midwife. I was quite shocked and scared.

When I spoke with the midwife, she told me that the situation was critical and I needed to have the baby. Little fluid could cause cord compression and other complications. I was very upset and told her that I was afraid of a c-section. She was reassuring. However, I still needed time to cry and the tech gave me time and room for that.

Most of all, I wanted to go home and return. I had come for tests, not to check into labor and delivery! Mark would have to drive our crappy car all the way to Evanston. I didn't bring my bag, which was mostly packed. I needed time to think. But after wiping my tears, I went to labor and delivery anyway and it was surreal to be checking in.

I had a really nice nurse who let me cry and laughed with me when I told her that tears weren't a big deal. I cried at everything. My husband recently did several chores and swept the kitchen floor while I was away scrapbooking and it made me cry.

The whole process of checking in and becoming a "patient" took a long time and it took even longer to figure out what was going to happen. When my midwife was able to finish appointments and see me, we discussed inducing labor and VBAC and the risks of both. I was very willing to induce labor with its 1-5% risk of rupture versus a 100% risk with a c-section. So we started the pitocin and I called Mark with a list of things to bring to the hospital and we started the induction journey.

The pitocin started small at around 2 p.m. and slowly increased every hour. It took a long time for things to get interesting so we watched TV. It felt sacrilegious to watch TV while laboring, but what else was there to do? It took a long time for the contractions to be distracting. I don't remember when they became more difficult, but Mark and I went for walks--doing laps around the gift shop, I took a few hot showers and I tried to nap in the middle of the night. Overall, I was very restless from around 10 p.m. until the early morning hours. Unlike my son's labor, I felt like a laboring cat who just wants to be left alone in the closet. I didn't need Mark's constant support and I let him sleep and read.

At 4:30 a.m. when the midwife broke my water, I was only dilated 2 cm, which was only 1 cm greater than when we started. Then I had more intense contractions, it felt like I had knives along my c-section scar and the pain circled around to my lower back with radiation down my thighs. I needed Mark's help to get through those contractions and I was hopeful they were opening my cervix.

After about an hour and a half, the midwife checked me again and I was 3 cm. It was so discouraging to hear that. I was starting to feel whiny about the pain and hearing about the slow progress was so discouraging. I was having a harder time relaxing during the contractions and could feel my legs and abdomen tightening in response to contractions. The midwife mentioned Dilaudid, which would help take the edge off, but I would still need to breathe through contractions. She answered my questions about it and said that it was unlikely that I would be delivering for several hours. I went through a few more contractions and asked for the drug.

After the drug was administered, I was more able to relax and breathe during contractions. Very quickly, I felt pressure in my bowels. After a few contractions feeling that way, the nurse checked me and I was completely dilated. I said, "Shoot, I have drugs in my system!"

During either the nurse's or the midwife's exams, I had a contraction and it was amazing how painful it was while laying on my back. I felt compassion for my ancestors who endured labor on their backs.

Well, I was fully dilated and ready to push! I was so thrilled! Up until this point, I wondered how long they would give me until I'd need a c-section. I wondered when we would give up. I wondered if this induction was going to work out. I wondered how I'd feel about this failure.

Pushing wasn't the relief that I remember when pushing my son. But I was up for the work and ready to get my daughter out. I think I pushed for less than a half hour. My favorite part was how there were only women in the room (Mark was the only man). It felt like such a womanly event, everyone was encouraging. I pushed when I wanted. They celebrated progress and seeing her hair. They laughed when I kept asking, "Did I poop? I swear I have poop coming out." Finally, she slid out and the speed surprised me (and my mother). They quickly laid her on me and I couldn't stop saying how happy I was.

It turns out Anna did well despite the narcotic and didn't need the counteractive drug. She had good APGAR scores.

I think that taking the narcotic is the only thing that I wish I had done differently because she and I were so groggy that first day. I wish I could have regained focus and dealt with the contractions. I wish I had known the end was so near. But who knows if the narcotic was what I needed to dilate or if I was in the middle of transition and on my way to dilating anyway?

However, I am so proud of the successful VBAC and grateful that it went well. Anna was born Wednesday, March 18 at 9:53 a.m. She was 7 pounds, 8 ounces and 20 inches long. She is a natural nurser and so cute. She's easily comforted by my presence and quickly won my heart.