DISCLAIMER: The following blog entry contains words like "cervix" and "surgery." If these items make you a bit uneasy, skip to the next entry.
I went to the labor and delivery section of the hospital around 10:00 am after laboring at home for a few hours with contractions approximately 5 minutes apart. My cervix was 2 cm dialated. The hospital will not admit you as being in labor until your cervix is atleast 3 cm. I was told to walk around the floor for an hour and I would be checked again. Walking usually increases contractions and encourages cervix dialation. As I am walking around in a hospital gown, stopping every 5 minutes to breathe through the contraction, I come across a group of 20+ perspective residents who are on a tour of the floor. They are all dressed in their interviewing suits. As they pass, I am aware that they are doing their best to pay attention to the tour guide and not the sweat-laddened woman who is gripping the hallway armrail inhaling and exhailing in a yoga-like trance (that would be me). After the hour is up, I am no further along than I was before the walking. I am given a few options and decide to go home and wait it out until I am dialated enough to be admitted. At home, Matt, Courtney, and my Mom take turns sitting with me and helping me deal with the contractions. Almost all of my contractions, from the first Saturday morning 3:00 am waker-upper to the Sunday afternoon 2:30 pm big kahuna, are felt in my lower back. While experiencing a contraction, I would get some relief if strong counter-pressure was applied directly to my lower back. Matt, Courtney, and Mom took turns with this job, often going hours at a time to help relieve my pain. They were each invaluable and they deserve their own blog entry titled, "Shoulders of giants."
By 5:00 PM the group was in agreement, it was time to go in and be checked. I had to be more progressed after 5 additional hours of contractions. Turns out we were wrong. Not to be dismayed, the doctor recommended medicated rest. This where they knock you out for a few hours, so that your body can relax. The result should be an increased likelyhood of cervix dialation. They put me on a morphine drip and monitored me for 8 hours. I continued to feel contractions but was able to get two hours of rest. At 1:00 AM they checked me again: no further dialation. My contractions continued every 4 minutes on until the morning.
By 1:30 PM I was still at 2cm. The goal was 10cm, but I would have been happy with 5cm. The nurse and doctor agreed, what I needed was more frequent and more intense contrations. I thought I needed a break. I was put on pitocin and the intensity of the contractions increased. At 2:30 PM I was at 3cm and my water was broken. My contractions went from barely manageable to an out of body experience. I believe that I was speaking in tounges. It was at this point that I requested some pain relief. The order was put in place, and I was counting the minutes until the epidural arrived. When the nurse arrived she explained to me that my white blood cell count was high and that they needed to take a blood sample to the lab before I could be given the epidural. One hour later, an angel appeared bearing gifts of pain relief. Debbie, the nurse anesticist, administered the epidural and once it kicked in I considered naming my child after her.
At 6:30 PM I was at 5cm. Slow and steady as she goes. They increased my pitocin to the maximum dose and we hoped that would do the trick. My body was experiencing labor, but I couldn't feel it. It was wonderful relief. Around 7:00 PM my fever had elevated to 105 and Baikal's heart rate was near 200 bpm. The decision was made for an emergency cesearian: we had been through enough and were starting to be in physical distress.
I was allowed one person in the ER and asked my mom to accompany me. They administered more drugs so that I was numb from the neck down. A side effect of the drugs was that I was shaking uncontrollably. They strapped me down and quickly ran me into surgery. Baikal was born at 7:19 PM. After they checked her out, my mom brought her over to me. She was sticking her tounge in and out and occasionally smacking her lips. She was so cute. They took me to the recovery room and mom went with Baikal to the nursery. It was over. I was so relieved. Baikal and I were OK. After approx. 39 hours of labor for both of us, it was time for us to rest.
Me in the recovery room. I was numb from the chest down at this point, and although it may not look like it, I am giving my best Paris Hilton over-the-shoulder pose right now.
Me and B after a bit of rest. I lost a lot of blood and fluids during the surgery. Believe it or not, I am wearing a good bit of makeup in this picture to make my skin look a bit less vampire-ish. Maybe I should have gone a little heavier on the blush and under eye concealer.
