Thursday, January 31, 2002 -- Dagny's Birth Story

Dagny's Story

Tuesday, January 22:

I ran around all day getting a bunch of last minute stuff including the materials for making a belly cast. That night we were debating between setting up the changing table or making the belly cast. Luckily, we chose the belly cast!!!!

Wednesday, January 23:

I woke up to my first contraction. Pete worked from home. I spent all day on the couch, eating, drinking, and sleeping through on and off contractions that felt like fairly bad menstrual cramps. But they don't last very long and are totally bearable. At the advice of my midwife, I did go get my hair done late in the afternoon.

At about 9pm I decided to take a bath in hopes of slowing down the contractions enough so I could sleep. But it did just the opposite. They started getting stronger and slightly more regular. We started timing them using a nifty contraction timer program for my palm pilot. :)

Thursday, January 24:

We finally called the doctor at about midnight - it was beginning to look like this was the real thing. My contractions were about 5 minutes apart and lasting about 45 seconds long. She wanted me to try to sleep for an hour an then call back if things were still the same. I tried, but I couldn't handle the contractions as well lying down.

We called back at about 1:30am as they were now lasting about a minute long. She said she was sending out the nurse on call.

Due to a phone number mix up and the nurse living 40 minutes away, she didn't get there until about 3am. In the mean time Pete filled the birth tub and I hung out on my birth ball timing the contractions.

When Barb got there I was 1cm dilated. She strongly suggested we get some sleep. She was going to hang out for a few hours to see if I would progress or if this was still just pre-labor. So she went and lied down in the office, while Pete and I lied down on the bed in our spare room which was now going to be our birth room.

Pete slept and I got some sleep over the next 3 hours. Barb checked me again and I was 2 cm and my contractions were regular, so she decided this was indeed it, even though I wasn't "officially" in labor until 3 or 4 cm's.

At 7am, I called Stacy, my doula. She was soooooo excited that it happened now since she was going out of town the next day. She was going to go food shopping and then she was coming over.

I think about 9am another nurse showed up, but I'm not sure. At about 10am, I started having contractions that were 1 minute long and only 1 minute, 30 seconds apart! Stacy and Pete were somehow getting me through these. I think I was standing through most of them. There were also some double and triple contractions in there. This was not fun! This lasted about an hour. When they slowed back down, I was only at 3cm!!!!!!!!! But, I was 95% effaced - which, apparently, is pretty impressive. This was my "preview" of transition.

During the next few hours I was having a pretty good time. A new nurse showed up, Barb went home. My friend Suzanne called and I told her to come on over. We called the grandmas and told them to get on planes. The sun was bright, so the room was splendid and was really keeping me cheerful. The nurses pretty much left us alone, so me and Pete and Stacy and Suzanne hung out. We started joking about remembering the day as a series of 4 minute conversations, as my contractions were back to being 5 minutes apart and about 1 minute long. I spent most of this time in my rocking chair. We would chat, and then my eyes would close and I would start deep breathing and they would stop talking, Pete would press in my lower abdomen, Stacy pressed in my hips and thighs and Suzanne would time the contraction and stroke my hair. Then when it was over, we'd go back to chatting.

I was eating protein shakes and grits and apple slices. I was downing tons of water and it seemed like I was peeing constantly.

By late in the afternoon I was at 4-5cm and my contrations were starting to get really long. There was more time between them, but they were lasting 2-3 minutes long. I was all over the place, standing, walking, in the tub, in my rocker, etc.... I was still handling things rather well and everyone was making comments as to how calm I was.

At around 8:30 or so I was having to concentrate a lot more on the contractions. The midwife showed up and I think there was a total of 3 nurses there. Pete and I got into the tub. By this time both grandmas had gotten here and were running errands and making food for this army at my house. At about 10pm I was having to make some deep sounds through the contractions. We had stopped timing at this point, so I have no idea how close they were or how long they were lasting. The room was dark, except for the christmas lights. Everyone was very quiet. Stacy was breathing and sounding with me. The midwife checked me and I was 7-8cm, with a big, bulging bag of water.

Then my water broke! That was soooooo cool!!! It felt really neat! I was so excited! The doctor showed up around this time. The nurses changed into their scrubs. They put on really long gloves to try to keep themselves from getting soaked as they caught the baby. Everyone expected we'd have a baby by midnight at the latest. Up until this point everything had gone almost EXACTLY as I had pictured it. But, Dagny had other plans.

Friday, January 25:

Throughout the previous day we had watched my belly drop lower and lower - as the baby moved down and down into my pelvis and birth canal. Well, once my water broke, she changed her mind. I started having contractions from hell! I wanted to try pushing, but didn't feel the urge. But pushing made the contraction not hurt! I dealt with these absolutely horrendous contractions for 3 hours!!!! I was cursing. I was screaming. I was confused, because this part was only supposed to last 20 minutes to an hour. They checked me and kept saying there was still some cervix left. (It turns out I was slowly shrinking - back down to 6cm and finally back to 4cm - but they didn't want to tell me that!)

At some point the contractions slowed down and I could handle them in my rocker. Stacy, Suzanne, and Pete got some sleep and the nurses were getting me through them. The grandmas were asleep too. At about 6am, Suzanne had to leave, Stacy at about 7am. At 8:30 they check me again, and there was no progress, and I was running a fever and I was exhausted. The baby had undropped and was now at -2 station. In fact, she was higher at this point than she had been right before I went into labor. So we decided to go to the hospital.

Since Dagny was fine - her heartrate was like a metronome - always between 140 and 160, we went to Grant Hospital which was downtown, but where my doctor was on staff. A new nurse drove me and Pete to the hospital. The car ride was not fun, but the vibrations actually made the contractions a little easier to bear. When we got there, I still thought I was at 7 or 8cm, so we were rushed right up to Labor and Delivery.

I got into a gown and into bed. It was about 10:30am The nurse that drove us now admitted that I wasn't at 7 or 8cm's, but that when we left, I was actually at 4cm's. Then my doc explained that I was getting an epidural so I could sleep for a few hours and then some pitocin to get me the rest of the way. They checked me and I was back to 6cm's - so they felt a vaginal birth was still possible.

So everything I had wanted to avoid started at this point. I got an IV. I couldn't eat or drink anymore. They put in internal monitors for the contractions and the baby. Then the guy came to do the epidural...

It took him 3 tries! I had to sit perfectly still through 3 strong contractions and he kept hitting something that made me yelp like you wouldn't believe. I was crying and begging him to hurry. At this point i was thinking that the contractions weren't that bad - I'd handled worse and at least I could move! If Pete hadn't been holding onto me, he would have slugged the guy! But he finally got it and it worked, no more contractions for me.

So, in some ways I felt better, but in many ways I felt worse than when I was home. The room was dark and depressing. I was very dissapointed. My friends were no longer there. Pete and the grandmas were just sitting there watching me. It was boring. I slept for about 3 hours. When I woke up I was back at 8cm's, but the baby was still up under my boobs.

So they had the head of the department check me at about 4:15pm. He felt that there was something preventing the baby from coming down and since my water had broken 16 hours ago and I had a fever, that it was time to do a section. At this point I just agreed. I'd had enough. I didn't want to risk hurting myself or the baby - although she was still playing metrononme! But it seemed like this just wasn't going to happen any other way.

Things happened really fast at this point. Almost immediately the nurse was shaving my belly, Pete was getting into scrubs, they transferred me to a gurney, wheeled me into the OR, had me down some horrible tasting ant-acid stuff, beefed up the epidural, layed me out on the operating table, strapped my arms down, washed my belly, etc... By the time Pete got in there they had already started. And at 4:53pm Dagny Rose was pulled from my womb into the world.

I started bawling and screaming, "Oh my god, I have a baby, I have a girl...." She was screaming as well. They brought her to me to see and kiss. Then they took her to the nursery. I sent Pete to go with her. Then I endured the finishing up process and such - but that's another story. Let's just say I have NEVER felt THAT bad in my life!

But Dagny was perfect! She was 7lbs, 14oz, 19.5 inches long, and perfect! And that's all that matters!!!!!!

I need to add (on this our 4 year wedding anniversary) that I am the luckiest woman on earth to have married the most wonderful man on earth. Pete was my rock through this whole thing. He went way above and beyond what anyone would have expected of him. He held me and encouraged me and went without sleep with me and stayed strong throughout it all. I have never felt so loved!

And as far as daddying goes..... WOW!!!! He stayed with me in the hospital the whole time, changed almost every diaper, held Dagny's head and helped postition her whenever I tried to breastfeed her. He comforted her. He fell in love with her instantly. He's been absolutely amazing!

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Posted by Holly @ 09/07/2003 01:03 AM CST

I really enjoyed reading your experience, because it was so much like my own! My dh and I had our dd two years ago, and are expecting another baby in two weeks. You and I have the same body - that amazing 36 H size! Because I have (pre-existing, type 1) diabetes, my labor was induced at 39 weeks. I got to a 7 and then started closing back up again (???) requiring a c-section. The four hours following the c-section were the worst in my life - I felt like I was dying, alone w/o dh, anxiety, shakes, PAIN. They wouldn't give me any more pain medication... the shakes lasted four hours (from epidural?), and I was lost in blackness. Because I related so much to the rest of your story, I was wishing to know how your c-section recovery was! After those first four-five hours, I recovered amazingly quickly - no complications. But with this next baby, I would like to avoid those "four hours." I'm curious to know what actually caused all the shakes and near-death feeling. I hope it will not happen again. Well, anyway, your daughter is beautiful!!!! Thanks for sharing your journal with us. =o)

Posted by Holly @ 09/07/2003 01:02 AM CST

Hi. Enjoyed your story, but i am curious...have you ever gotten your records to find out why you were so close to birth at home, and then closed back up? Generally that only happens if something is not quite right.was the atmosphere at home too busy-3 nurses, granmas, friends, etc? just wondering...

Posted by cathiwim @ 04/16/2002 02:29 PM CST

Congradulations and best wishes to all. They certainly took good care of you and even if not born at home Dagny is beautiful and will have a wonderful loving family and a story to remember.

Posted by Steve and Julie O @ 02/10/2002 03:56 PM CST