So here is my attempt at the abridged version of Desmond Carl's birth. 3 days after my due date, I ended up staying at the hospital for induction after another doctor's visit with high blood pressure. This is not how Michael and I had envisioned labor starting, and certainly not our choice. I had been feeling sporadic labor contractions for days, and even had a few false starts so it seemed like things would get started soon on their own. Frustrating. But as it all sunk in, we began to get excited. Our son would be here soon! The adventure started with the first of 3 rounds of misoprostol at 3 pm on a Thursday. And I was beginning at 1 cm dilation with very little effacement. The first round of miso seemed promising when it triggered regular but still mild contractions but then they petered out, and by 9:30 the next morning the doctor had decided that we'd move to a Foley catheter. I had never heard of this; basically a balloon they thread thru the cervix into the uterus and then inflate and weigh down so it gradually widens the cervix and then falls out. Sounded medieval to me, and being already 18 hrs into this with no sleep and no change in my measurement, I felt my first wave of discouragement. Just as the doctor was starting to place the device, I heard her say quietly "oh, she's ruptured." I perked up! My water had broken on its own--they didn't do it--and within minutes I started to feel regular, stronger contractions every three minutes. We texted you, and you arrived about 45 minutes later and we got moving. We must have been a silly sight--the three of us wondering around the gardens and lunch area outside the Ronald Reagan hospital, me wearing a gown and a sarong and stopping every few minutes to process the next surge. It was so beautiful. A warm, sunny day....and it felt so GREAT to be feeling my body doing its work and honoring each contraction. I would hug Michael, and Leah, you kept me moving and walking. We climbed stairs, did funny cowboy walking, and stretched on a bench. I'm convinced that is what made things progress.
We returned to our room and I got measured: I think it was 3 cm and 70% effaced in just a couple hours! That is when it started to get really intense. I labored in the shower for a while, Michael right there with me, working through each contraction. The water felt so great. Then they needed to monitor the baby again and I had to lay in bed, which was a horrible position for me. Counting breaths kept me hanging on, but just barely. I was having trouble keeping it together, and so Leah grabbed a midwife to check me again. I had progressed to 4 cm and fully effaced. And based on conversations we had had in advance, it seemed like good enough progress to take an epidural, which I did. It was about 4:30 pm Friday when I got the epidural, and the relief was nearly immediate. From there, the contractions kept going but once I got to 7 cm they started to space out. So they started a pitocin drip late in the evening. This lasted through the night, but by 5 am I was completely effaced and dilated and could start pushing. I was so excited and thought it wouldn't be long now. Well...three hours later we found that the baby was still -1 station and all my pushing, though effective, wasn't doing anything. Staffing had changed again, and the new attending came in, examined me, and said our boy's head was cocked and stuck behind the pubic bone. My pushing was good, but it wasn't getting the job done with this obstruction. He tried to turn him between contrations, but couldn't. The baby was too far back. He then said he could give me another 30-45 minutes but after that they'd have to c-section since my water had broken so long ago and I had developed a fever during the night--both signs of infection that could harm the baby. I felt so deflated. 35 hours into this and I was going to have a c-section. So frustrated. But I wasn't ready to give up. And here, after the water breaking, was the second time during this whole adventure that the game changed abruptly. Our nurse changed--Kyung, a 30-year veteran L & D nurse was now with us. In retelling the story, we've come to refer to her as "the closer." She observed for a while, and then Leah you asked if she had any suggestions. She perked up, said OK that she was respecting us doing our thing but was ready to direct. I remember her saying with absolute confidence, "If you do exactly as I say, we'll get this baby out." She did some position changing, redirected my breathing, told me to keep my eyes open, and 30 minutes of hard pushing later, our son was crowning. The doctor's barely got in the room and suited in time to catch him as he slipped out. And that sensation--I will never forget it. So amazing, feeling his arms and legs slide out and knowing I had done it! He was born 9:18 am on October 2, 8 lbs 13 oz and 23 inches long. We went home two days later, and just yesterday he had his second doctor's visit and had gained almost a pound. He's thriving, and we couldn't be happier. And I know, Leah, that we would not have gotten to labor productively or pull off the vaginal birth we wanted without your help. Thank you!
Katie (and Michael)
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