The later weeks of the third trimester of pregnancies can be so torturous on the soon-to-be-mommy and it can sometimes make her feel like she doesn't want to go through it again. It can also bring someone to desperate measures.
At my 37th week of pregnancy and trying to mimic the same activities I had with my first born who was born at 37 weeks, I was quite disappointed when I had no signs of progression from my stubborn fetus at my doctor's appointment. After emotional week 37 had come and gone, I started to look at the brighter side of things... I still have freedom to go do errands and hang out with my friends. It was nice not having to be stressed with, "Is he finally going to come out today?" "Will I finally be able to feel comfortable sleeping again?" "Will I be able to not struggle doing daily tasks like showering and putting on my clothes?" It was tough. Then came week 39.
Of course, like other appointments, I told the doctor I hadn't had any real contractions, just practice ones at night. And just like previous weeks, the doctor told me I had no change- fingertip, 50%, -3. That day I wanted to try some other things. My friend told me she took 1/2 tsp castor oil before going to bed and woke in the middle of the night with contractions. I put that on my list for that evening. Exercise was nothing that was foreign to me since I'd been doing that pre-pregnancy, but I wanted to put that "extra" effort today. I walked 2.13 miles pushing a stroller in the rain and did a little circuit exercise routine made up for our missed Stroller Strides class that evening. It included the following (3 sets):
25 tricep dips
25 squats
25 calf raises
25 crunches
25 mountain climbers
Of course I modified the crunches but gave my all on every exercise. I even made sure I had a little pressure point massaging that day- couldn't hurt! Sometime after midnight (after taking the castor oil around 10PM before heading to bed) I woke up having to go to the bathroom really bad and felt my bed wet already. Embarassed not being able to make it to the bathroom in time, I wrung out my undies (TMI but hey, there's no modesty in pregnancy/delivering a baby) and sat on the toilet. I wiped to find bloody show. I also started to have bowel pains (as I expected with taking castor oil) so I was so happy that maybe I'm finally progressing. After cleaning up and then deciding to time my "bowel pains" for an hour, I came to the realization that it was not bowel pains but contractions that were lasting only about 1 minute and 3-5 minutes apart. I also decided to take my amniotest (I've got the hook up at the hospital).to find out if my water had actually broken (it didn't feel quite the same as it did with my previous pregnancy). After seeing the dark blue swab, I was relieved to finally be in active labor!
I didn't go into the hospital until about 6 hours after the whole ordeal started. Since I was contracting, I didn't require any additional meds. I started out at 3cm, 80%, -3 at admission, 5cm, 80-90%, -2 around at 8AM, 5cm, 80%, and engaged at 915AM. Although I wasn't ready for the epidural (painful but somewhat tolerable), the doctor suggested I get my epidural. After getting the epidural at around 1030AM, I was dilated at 8cm at around 1130AM. I was getting so excited thinking my boy was going to be here in a few hours. Unfortunately, the epidural seemed to slow down my contractions because they started to get further apart and I was getting extra sleepy. They finally gave me pictocin after no progression at around 430PM and nausea set in. The epidural seemed to be wearing off in certain spots even after the boosts and the pictocin seemed to make my contractions SUPER intense. Finally at around 600PM the nurse checked me and I was 9cm, 100%. The nurse tested my pushing and said it was pretty strong so it was go time. I froze. My emotions were high. I started tearing up. I wasn't sure I could do it. After 5-8 minutes, 2 contractions, 6 hard pushes later, I found my lovely 8lb. 7oz., 21in. baby boy on my chest. What a wonderful feeling. Joy overwhelmed me once again. Its crazy how the world just fades away and all I could think of was how in love I was with my new baby son, Jorran.
Life is good.
No comments:
Post a Comment