Sorry to break a part Ilah’s birth experience in several separate posts – there’s a lot of details to recount - which means, there’s a lot to write about and I’ve been doing it in pieces as I get the time. I wanted to give many details of Ilah’s birth experience for those who may be curious, but also to document the day {while it was still fresh in my mind} to put it in Ilah’s baby book.
On another note: I should have prefaced my birth story by saying that the experience was not in the least scary. I should also say that the experience leading up to pushing was much more serene than I had anticipated and I wasn’t nervous in the least. It’s absolutely true that no two women have the exact same labor and delivery experience – so all the googling that I did, and stories that I read from other woman {about their outcomes of being induced} were pretty pointless. I had read many stories online from women who spent 24 + hours waiting to get dilated to a 10 after being induced {if any of you watched the show “Kendra” of her birth episode, than you saw that she was in labor for 24 + hours before the Dr. finally decided that she needed to go the route of a c-section}. I had assumed that I would be among the women who would have the same slow progression. Things transpired for me far better than any story that I had come across so in essence, I allowed myself to be anxious for nothing really.
Back to delivery day…
My mom arrived back at the hospital around 12 noon on Tuesday, January 12. I spent the hours leading up to 3 o’clock sleeping, while my husband and mom watched television. As I relayed in my previous post, I was astonished with the Dr. came in at 3 p.m. and told me that I was fully dilated and it was time to push. Pushing wasn’t agonizing in the least bit. I remember being really surprised by that. I assumed that it was because I had gotten an epidural. My nurse was monitoring my contractions and when they hit she told me how to prepare to push {bring my head and chin down towards my throat and push through my bottom as if I was using the restroom}. She informed me that because of the epidural I wouldn’t really feel the result of my pushing. I was wondering if I was even making progress because she was right – I wasn’t feeling the result of my pushing. About twenty minutes into pushing she checked me and told me that she could see hair!!!
If you’ve been following my pregnancy from the beginning than perhaps you recall that we didn’t take birthing classes. I think if I wanted to go the way of a natural birth then I probably would have taken the courses since they teach you many calming techniques {and so much more}. However, even knowing in advance that I wanted an epidural, I didn’t want to go into labor and delivery blindly so we watched some online courses {but honestly, we weren’t that consistent}. The benefit of watching them, however, was becoming familiar with the terminology that would be used by the Dr. and my various nurses throughout my labor and delivery process. Understanding their lingo on the day-of was good to know.
I was taken off of my IV drip so that I could begin to feel my contractions and know when to push on my own – and actually feel myself pushing. The contractions that I were begin to feel were very, very, very mild in comparison to full blown contractions and I remember thinking that it was neat that I could be taken off of the IV drip to feel what I was doing! After a few more pushes on my back, the nurse told me to turn over on my side and push in that position. Then she told me to flip all the way over, with my elbows and knees facing into the bed, and give some good pushes in that position. I remember thinking, “Uhhh…I didn’t know about women pushing in these positions but ok”. Then she said, “Let’s get back into the side position; the baby seems to like that position better”. I remember pausing and being still for a moment. What did she mean by that – that the baby liked that position better?? So I asked. She said that the baby’s heart rate was going up but it seemed to stabilize when I was pushing on my side. She asked if I would be opposed to having assistance with bringing the baby out {by using either forceps or a vacuum}. I told her I didn’t oppose. She called the Dr. in and encouraged me to push really well in his presence. When he looked at the monitor, and checked to see how far down the baby was, he verbalized two things to me:
1.) That I had developed a fever of 100.4 and that as a result, the baby’s heart rate was going up - combining all the pushing that I was doing, this was causing stress on the baby.
2.) That my pelvic bone was more arched than the average woman’s and that the baby seems to have a hard time getting under it.
For the reasons above, the Dr. looked at me and recommended that I delivery Ilah by a c-section. And I’m not gonna lie – I looked at him and cried. Through my tears I sadly said aloud, “I really didn’t want a c-section”. Because of how great things were going up to that point I thought for sure that I was going to have a vaginal delivery {like I wanted}. And I was thisclose to having one. I couldn’t believe how fast things changed. The Dr. said that he couldn’t force me to have a c-section but that it was his professional recommendation. He went on to say that it would likely take another 3 hours for the baby to drop to where she needed to be for a successful vaginal delivery to happen but that even with that prediction, nothing was certain. Take also into consideration that I now had several risk factors to consider: I had a fever, Ilah’s heart rate was going up, she was already under stress, and my pelvic pone was out of whack.
Naturally, I did what was best for our baby and we got ready to deliver Ilah by caesarean.
Which brings me to talk about my birth plan. For those curious if I ended up comprising a Birth Plan – yes. It was short and sweet and my husband and I went over it a few times before the big day arrived so that both of us were on the same page with my/our wishes. We printed it off and placed it in my hospital bag but never had to refer to it because, as expected, if I wanted/needed/had a question about something, I just verbalized it. And my husband did wonderfully on the day-of with remembering everything on the list {even getting a separate set of inked footprints to put in Ilah’s baby book}. With the end result being what it was {a c-section}, I think it’s important for women to let their labor and delivery experience go as it may. There are just some things that you can’t control, and ultimately you will do whatever is in the best interest of your child and you, and the birth plan goes to the wayside.
While I was being prepped to be wheeled into the operating room, I was still vomiting. Can you believe that? The vomiting was the worst part of the entire days events – and even then, I was so used to it that I was like, “Whatever. It’s nothing that I haven’t had to cope with for hours on end before” {Ha!}. The nurse was so attentive and she placed a cold cloth on my forehead and had me drink two liquid solutions of anti-nausea medication that she thought would instantaneously help me - which I immediately threw up. The anesthesiologist then administered Zofran into me intravenously and then the nurse gave me an oxygen mask to breathe into. I remember Dele being handed his blue scrubs and laying in the bed getting wheeled down the halls into the operating room…with a throw up bin next to my mouth. Dele, with his camera around his neck, waited for a few short minutes in the hall until everything was set up and the team was good to go. When he came in, he sat down by my side and seeing that I was a bit nervous, told me that everything would be just fine. Our mothers were out in the visitor lounge anxiously awaiting the announcement that Ilah had been born and that mommy and baby were doing great. I remember the blue curtain going up in front of me and the Dr. saying that in about five minutes, we would meet our little girl. Ilah wasn’t even out yet and I was already crying out of happiness….
On another note: I should have prefaced my birth story by saying that the experience was not in the least scary. I should also say that the experience leading up to pushing was much more serene than I had anticipated and I wasn’t nervous in the least. It’s absolutely true that no two women have the exact same labor and delivery experience – so all the googling that I did, and stories that I read from other woman {about their outcomes of being induced} were pretty pointless. I had read many stories online from women who spent 24 + hours waiting to get dilated to a 10 after being induced {if any of you watched the show “Kendra” of her birth episode, than you saw that she was in labor for 24 + hours before the Dr. finally decided that she needed to go the route of a c-section}. I had assumed that I would be among the women who would have the same slow progression. Things transpired for me far better than any story that I had come across so in essence, I allowed myself to be anxious for nothing really.
Back to delivery day…
My mom arrived back at the hospital around 12 noon on Tuesday, January 12. I spent the hours leading up to 3 o’clock sleeping, while my husband and mom watched television. As I relayed in my previous post, I was astonished with the Dr. came in at 3 p.m. and told me that I was fully dilated and it was time to push. Pushing wasn’t agonizing in the least bit. I remember being really surprised by that. I assumed that it was because I had gotten an epidural. My nurse was monitoring my contractions and when they hit she told me how to prepare to push {bring my head and chin down towards my throat and push through my bottom as if I was using the restroom}. She informed me that because of the epidural I wouldn’t really feel the result of my pushing. I was wondering if I was even making progress because she was right – I wasn’t feeling the result of my pushing. About twenty minutes into pushing she checked me and told me that she could see hair!!!
If you’ve been following my pregnancy from the beginning than perhaps you recall that we didn’t take birthing classes. I think if I wanted to go the way of a natural birth then I probably would have taken the courses since they teach you many calming techniques {and so much more}. However, even knowing in advance that I wanted an epidural, I didn’t want to go into labor and delivery blindly so we watched some online courses {but honestly, we weren’t that consistent}. The benefit of watching them, however, was becoming familiar with the terminology that would be used by the Dr. and my various nurses throughout my labor and delivery process. Understanding their lingo on the day-of was good to know.
I was taken off of my IV drip so that I could begin to feel my contractions and know when to push on my own – and actually feel myself pushing. The contractions that I were begin to feel were very, very, very mild in comparison to full blown contractions and I remember thinking that it was neat that I could be taken off of the IV drip to feel what I was doing! After a few more pushes on my back, the nurse told me to turn over on my side and push in that position. Then she told me to flip all the way over, with my elbows and knees facing into the bed, and give some good pushes in that position. I remember thinking, “Uhhh…I didn’t know about women pushing in these positions but ok”. Then she said, “Let’s get back into the side position; the baby seems to like that position better”. I remember pausing and being still for a moment. What did she mean by that – that the baby liked that position better?? So I asked. She said that the baby’s heart rate was going up but it seemed to stabilize when I was pushing on my side. She asked if I would be opposed to having assistance with bringing the baby out {by using either forceps or a vacuum}. I told her I didn’t oppose. She called the Dr. in and encouraged me to push really well in his presence. When he looked at the monitor, and checked to see how far down the baby was, he verbalized two things to me:
1.) That I had developed a fever of 100.4 and that as a result, the baby’s heart rate was going up - combining all the pushing that I was doing, this was causing stress on the baby.
2.) That my pelvic bone was more arched than the average woman’s and that the baby seems to have a hard time getting under it.
For the reasons above, the Dr. looked at me and recommended that I delivery Ilah by a c-section. And I’m not gonna lie – I looked at him and cried. Through my tears I sadly said aloud, “I really didn’t want a c-section”. Because of how great things were going up to that point I thought for sure that I was going to have a vaginal delivery {like I wanted}. And I was thisclose to having one. I couldn’t believe how fast things changed. The Dr. said that he couldn’t force me to have a c-section but that it was his professional recommendation. He went on to say that it would likely take another 3 hours for the baby to drop to where she needed to be for a successful vaginal delivery to happen but that even with that prediction, nothing was certain. Take also into consideration that I now had several risk factors to consider: I had a fever, Ilah’s heart rate was going up, she was already under stress, and my pelvic pone was out of whack.
Naturally, I did what was best for our baby and we got ready to deliver Ilah by caesarean.
Which brings me to talk about my birth plan. For those curious if I ended up comprising a Birth Plan – yes. It was short and sweet and my husband and I went over it a few times before the big day arrived so that both of us were on the same page with my/our wishes. We printed it off and placed it in my hospital bag but never had to refer to it because, as expected, if I wanted/needed/had a question about something, I just verbalized it. And my husband did wonderfully on the day-of with remembering everything on the list {even getting a separate set of inked footprints to put in Ilah’s baby book}. With the end result being what it was {a c-section}, I think it’s important for women to let their labor and delivery experience go as it may. There are just some things that you can’t control, and ultimately you will do whatever is in the best interest of your child and you, and the birth plan goes to the wayside.
While I was being prepped to be wheeled into the operating room, I was still vomiting. Can you believe that? The vomiting was the worst part of the entire days events – and even then, I was so used to it that I was like, “Whatever. It’s nothing that I haven’t had to cope with for hours on end before” {Ha!}. The nurse was so attentive and she placed a cold cloth on my forehead and had me drink two liquid solutions of anti-nausea medication that she thought would instantaneously help me - which I immediately threw up. The anesthesiologist then administered Zofran into me intravenously and then the nurse gave me an oxygen mask to breathe into. I remember Dele being handed his blue scrubs and laying in the bed getting wheeled down the halls into the operating room…with a throw up bin next to my mouth. Dele, with his camera around his neck, waited for a few short minutes in the hall until everything was set up and the team was good to go. When he came in, he sat down by my side and seeing that I was a bit nervous, told me that everything would be just fine. Our mothers were out in the visitor lounge anxiously awaiting the announcement that Ilah had been born and that mommy and baby were doing great. I remember the blue curtain going up in front of me and the Dr. saying that in about five minutes, we would meet our little girl. Ilah wasn’t even out yet and I was already crying out of happiness….
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