Sophia's Birth Story! (PsIP!)

[angiekay84]

Sophia was born on April 7, 2012 (her due date!!) at 8:18 PM via c-section.

My story starts when I was 38 weeks pregnant and I went in for my weekly appointment.  This was the first time my doctor did an internal exam.  As soon as she starts digging around down there, she says "oh wow, you're baby is still really high."  Right there (bam!) she tells me she thinks I have a 90% chance of a c-section.  I'm shocked, and kinda pissed, because I don't believe any OB or doctor can really know that at 38 weeks.  She is concerned about the size of the baby.  I get a u/s and the baby is roughly 8 1/2 pounds (but I'm always skeptical about size u/s, so I don't pay much attention, really.)  She offers to schedule the c-section and I decline.

I get checked again at 39 weeks, same thing.  Still not dropping and baby is sunny side up and tilted toward my hip.  The doctor is even more sure and says with the position the baby is in, she increases my chance to 95%.  I'm devastated because I had prepared myself entirely for a vaginal delivery and not thinking something like this would happen to me.  The doctor offers to schedule the c-section again for the next day, and I still decline.  I'm stubborn and I want to do things my way!  Because I had been having high BP the last trimester and biweekly NSTs, she wouldn't let me go much past my due date and scheduled my induction for Monday the 9th.  Well, Sophia had other plans.  12:45 AM on the 7th, I wake up to use the restroom and half way to the bath room, woooosh! My water breaks a la the movies and I remember sitting on the toilet and screaming for my DH because he was asleep with ear plugs (my pregnancy snoring was epic.)  

We go the hospital and I don't get an actual room and out of triage until almost 5 AM!  Ladies were coming in left and right, at 10 centimeters, screaming, ready to give birth.  Women were lining up in the hallways and they were running out of room, it was CRAZY! (Oh, and it was a full moon...interesting coincidence!)

Because of all the ladies in labor, I didn't get my pitocin until 9 AM!!!! I was so pissed.  I WASN'T having ANY contractions on my own. Nadda, nothing, zilch! For 9 hours!!  They said they couldn't hook me up because they didn't have enough staff to cover incase something went wrong with the pitocin.  Finally, around 3-4 PM in the afternoon, things started happening.  I was progressing!  At 6:00 I was at 5 cm and I finally got my epi.  Right after that, things went to hell.  I remember laying back to finally take a nap when all of a sudden three nurses and the on call doctor came rushing in, turning me on my side, and applying oxygen.  Apparently Sophia's heart rate was dropping and she was sunny side still.  (Side note:  I've notice that with the c-section moms, lots of sunny side up babies.)

The doctor turned off my pitocin and said it was time for a c-section.  I was pissed again!  I was like, her heart rate dropped once and she's fine now.  He said I wasn't progressing which I said I just got to 5 cm, I have never stalled, how have I not progressed?  We must have argued it out, back and forth, for 4-5 minutes and I remember looking over to the screen and seeing my contraction line back down to a flat line.  I felt so defeated, I still wasn't in active labor by myself after nearly 24 hours!  Then my husband asked if I'd consider it, please, because he was scared.  I remember bursting into tears and sobbing because I didn't want a c-section and I felt I could do it.  I told him I would since there had been concern about her positioning and she wasn't handling the long labor well.  

The actual c-section was not that bad, quite painless and the recovery wasn't that bad either.  Sophia was 8 pounds and 10 ounces, so very close to the prediction.  I don't regret having a c-section, especially after reading some of the scary births that resulted in c-sections, but I am going to consider VBAC for the second because I think a lot of my c-section had to do with Sophia's position and not my vag.  

OH, and I had a spinal headache.  They tried TWO blood patches (like Beener's) and they couldn't get enough blood withdrawn from me to inject back into the spinal space.  I just had to wait it out, and it finally went away three weeks after delivery.  That was the WORST pain I've ever been in in my life, thank God my DH was home because it was so hard to take care of Sophia, especially in the morning when the headache was the worse.  We are talking debilitating, can't stand up, kind of headache.  

Here are pictures of sweet Sophia for making it through.  I would do it all again for this precious one!!







Aaaaaaaand Sophia today!!

[thedahliharpa]

I'm glad the c/section was in eventful and you had a great recovery! Positioning is a major factor as is the right provider. If you consider a VBAC in the future it is a lot easier to make a switch and shop around before you get KU again.

[bean47]

She is beautiful!! Happy birthday Sophia!

[imimahoney]

Thank you for sharing. Our story is frustratingly similar. Happy birthday, Sophia!

[spaghetticat]

Wow, I'm sorry for all the c/s pushing. She's adorable!

[helicase]

Thank you for sharing your birth story. Sophia is gorgeous!

[melis74]

She is gorgeous!! Thanks for sharing your story!

[Deleted]

Such a sweet girl and a good story! I delivered an 8 pound 9 ounce, sunny side up baby. I had to have several episitomies, and had a 4th degree tear and the vacuum had to be used, so I wonder if a c-section would have been easier for me, I was adament that I wanted to deliver vaginally though. I had a terrible recoverey from all of that. You just never know what will be best though!

[kandrze1]

Sophia is a adorable!