So I have taken forever to finally sit down and recount the day we were blessed with Huxley's safe arrival into this world. I've sat down numerous times to tell his story but was called away by Preston or by the screams of our newest family member. So finally I have some time.
Our story begins on Wednesday 7/6/11. Robert worked til 5 so my mom decided to go with me to check into the hospital to start the induction process. I was sooo excited but deep down so worried that something would go wrong. Since I had such an easy pregnancy I was worried that delivery would be bad or something would go wrong. I was admitted to Labor and Delivery room 2 (which is super nice for all my preggers friends)
I put on my gown and meet my first nurse of the day (I don't remember her name but she was super sweet) She asks if it is OK for a student nurse to shadow her and I say sure. She also wants to let the student nurse put in my IV for practice...I really didn't want to let her but since I am so nice I agreed and said that would be fine. (she did really good and only had to stick me twice which is pretty good since I have such small veins). I get the IV in and it burns like I have never felt before...nurse assures me that its normal and will wear off. 20 minutes later it felt somewhat better but still sore. Dr comes in to check me and give me my first dose of Cytotec. He announces that I am not even 2 cm dilated but that I am close to a two. Robert gets there along with Preston and my dad. We watch some TV and just hang out. I start having small contractions sometime around 7ish but nothing painful. I get my second dose of cytotec at 9 pm. Contractions are starting to feel slightly uncomfortable but nothing I cannot handle and NOTHING like the back pain I felt with Preston. Robert falls asleep and I try really hard. Long about 12 i finally fall asleep...Nurse comes in to give me 3rd dose of Cytotec but checks me first. She announces that I am 3 cm and 50% effaced and that I cannot have another dose of meds. She asks if I need any pain meds and I told her no that I felt OK and my pain was probably only a 2. Robert calls my mom to tell her then goes back to sleep...I am too excited to sleep and I think I stay up all night. Nurse Kara comes back in at 5 to check me and start my pitocin and tells me that I am still at a 3 and asks if I want to go ahead and get an epidural. The pain isn't bad and honestly I wanted to wait for the epidural but was encouraged to go ahead and get one since there were 5-6 C Sections lined up and she didn't want me to have to wait should the pain get too intense for the nurse anethesist to come in. I agreed and by 530 was sitting over the side of the bed waiting for the needle. Dana said that I had lots of swelling and had to stick me a couple times eventually the epi went in and all went numb. However I found it strange that I could still move my legs. My mom showed up by 6 and we waited. I put on make up and waited. Family started trickling in and my sweet friend Emily showed up to take pictures about 830.
Family started to arrive and I was the happiest person in labor ever. I kept marveling over how easy it had been and how less painful it was than when I was in labor with Preston. Dr.Desautels came in to check on me and said that he though we would definitely have a baby by 2 o clock that afternoon and that everything looked good.
Long about 12 another nurse named Jennifer (she was filling in for Melissa who would be my LD nurse when Huxley was born) came in to check me. I was beginning to suspect something was wrong since the nurses kept coming in and moving me around from right to left. They never did that with Preston and when doing so apparently caused my cath from the Epidural to shift resulting in feeling coming back in my right side. Melissa had come in a teeny bit earlier and had told me that she was going to sit me straight up so that gravity would do its part and help me along in labor. After checking me I was sat upright. I was at a 5.
Not long after Melissa checked me and sat me up Jennifer came in probably about 1 and rechecked me and told me she thought I was a 7...she kept staring at the monitor and after checking me I noticed that the look on her face was one of concern and that there was a good bit of blood...this was my second red flag that something was wrong. She quickly left the room and mumbled something about getting Dr
Desautels to come check me out. He came right in, they pulled him out of delivery next door to check me...another red flag. He checked me out and told me that he was a little concerned about the blood I was losing. He told me it could be two things. Either I was in rapid labor which causes
a lot of blood or my placenta was detaching causing the blood loss and heart rate to drop. He told me that he would give me 5 minutes and then he would be back in to check me out if I had not progressed to 10 then we would have to have a C section. I asked him how sure he was of me having a C Section and he told me honestly that it was pretty likely I was going to have to have a C.
I started to cry and decided to not share that info with my family. I didn't want anyone to worry before they had to. By this point the contractions were pretty intense and I felt them on my right side since my
epi failed. I was having to breathe through contractions and was more worried about my possible impending C Section. All I could do was hold Robert's hand and the railing of the bed to get by each minute and half of each contraction.
(this is right after I talked to the
dr).
Dr. Desautels came back in about 8 minutes and checked me again. By this time we had booked an OR and when the nurse came in to wheel me back Dr D announced that I was complete and going to push. There were probably 30 plus people in the room all hospital staff. I think I began to push before everyone left the room. Poor Robert got caught at my feet when I started to push and I thought he was going to pass out...
He hung in there though and did great! I pushed as hard as I could 3 sets of 3. A monitor was placed on Huxley's head and vacuum was used on my last set of pushes
When the vacuum didn't work. Suddenly the Doctor screamed get me an OR STAT. The nurses started throwing cords and stuff on my bed and everyone became worrisome and frantic. I was told we were having an Emergency C Section and that we had to hurry. I was rushed out without my bed even attached at the bottom and the Dr screamed to get dad some scrubs. By this point I was more worried about something being wrong with my baby. However I was eerily calm.
Once in the OR I was moved to the operating table and was relieved to see Ken Duke had scrubbed in to be in my surgery. Having him there was such a blessing. Especially when Robert wouldn't be allowed in. In a rush to fix my failed epi I was administered with stronger drugs that didn't work either. After being pinched and telling them I could feel everything I was told I would be put under and that they have to get Huxley out ASAP. I remember the Anesthesiologist telling me who he was and Ken looking down at me and saying how shocked he was that I was so calm. My last thought was if I die I hope Preston and Robert know how much I love them and I hope that they can save Huxley. The next thing I know everything is going fuzzy...I remember the clock reading around 115 when we got into the OR. Suddenly I am awake in recovery, which I thought I was in a hallway lol. My mom was there telling me everything went great. I kept asking all these questions like where was my baby and how much did he weigh and his length to the nurse.
It was 2:30 and Huxley had entered the world at 1:47! Robert came in shortly after and then a nurse brought Huxley in to see me. Oh my word he was the most amazing thing I had ever seen. I immediately cried when I held him. I nursed him and couldn't believe he was here after all the chaos. He weighed 8 lbs 10 oz and was 21 inches of sheer perfection! After talking to my doctor he told me that my placenta had in fact started to detach and that we had to get Huxley out ASAP or he wouldn't have survived. He said that I had lost A LOT of blood but that he was shocked to see how well my blood count was the following morning.
Overall it wasn't anything like my birth plan but I wouldn't change the way it happened for anything. It really taught me to be humble and that I have to put my trust in God for everything even in the scary times when things look uncertain.
