Birth story (LONG)

[nessness]

Sorry for the novel, but I found the detailed birth stories really helpful when I was pregnant so I'm hoping other people will too!

I woke up around 3:30 a.m. on Friday 10/10 with a lot of back pain. I got up and sat on the yoga ball. Around 4 a.m. my water broke, and was definitely brown. I freaked out about meconium and called the on-call doctor, who said it was probably dried blood and that so long as the baby was moving, I could wait a few hours to go in.

The back pain continued and I gradually realized that it was back labor, and started timing the contractions. They were 4-5 minutes apart but only lasted about 45 seconds and weren't super intense.

I went in to the hospital around 8, and learned that it was meconium in my water after all. Got a cervical check and was 2.5 cm. My contractions gradually got more intense as the day went on. I mostly labored in the tub or sitting on a birthing ball or on a gliding chair they had. It was really hard to be in bed so I only got in bed for monitoring, which they did about every hour. At some point I got really nauseous and threw up maybe 15 times. After that the baby's heart rate started dipping during contractions which the nurse attributed to dehydration, so I got some IV fluids and some Zofran, which helped with the nausea for maybe an hour but I threw up several more times.

By early evening the contractions were really hard to manage. I don't have any other type of labor to compare it to, but back labor is pretty miserable. I got another cervical check at 7:30 p.m. (I hadn't had any in between due to risk of infection from the meconium) and was still only 4 cm. I almost cried.

I had planned to go med-free but I ended up asking for an epidural about an hour later. I was exhausted and couldn't imagine being in labor for several more hours. I got some immediate relief and was able to sleep a little. However, my contractions slowed to every 5-8 minutes, so it was recommended I get some Pitocin (since my water had been broken for so long), and I agreed. My labor started progressing faster after that.

Some time later the epidural started wearing off, and by the time I was in transition my contractions were as painful as they had been before I got the epidural. The anesthesiologist re-dosed me but it didn't help. It didn't make sense to re-place the epidural at that point, so I just tried to breathe through it, which was extra hard when I couldn't change positions.

Eventually I reached 10 cm. The nurse determined that the baby was sideways (head down but facing my hip), which was why I was having the back labor. She wanted me to wait to let the baby move down on her own before I started pushing, but it was really hard to resist the urge. I started pushing shortly after 3 a.m. I found pushing to be by far the best part of labor. It was a lot of work, but I felt like I had plenty of rest between contractions, and I was relaxed and happy.

The doctor arrived after I'd been pushing for about 2 hours (I was surprised by how little she was involved in the whole process), along with some additional nurses due to the meconium. And at 5:50 a.m. (26 hours after labor started!) she was born! She was 9 lbs 2 oz and 21.5 inches long.

They set her on my chest for maybe a minute, but then took her to suction out her lungs. She had a strong cry but was gasping for breath, so they took her down to the NICU to get oxygen while the doctor stitched me up. I had a partial third-degree tear.

The NP told me she'd probably be in the NICU for just a few hours, but she ended up having a lot of fluid in her lungs and needed to be on oxygen for 3 days. I was discharged after 2 days so DH and I spent the last night in her room. It was really hard, both emotionally and physically, to have to go back and forth between my room and the NICU, and to see her hooked up to all the wires. But I was able to hold her and breastfeed, which I know isn't the case for many NICU babies. She had meconium in her stomach and fluid in her lungs, but fortunately no meconium in her lungs, which would have been more serious. We were able to take her home on Tuesday, once they weaned her off the oxygen, and she's been totally healthy since!

[Deleted]

Congratulations! Thank you for the detailed story, they really do help.

[pennylane]

Congratulations! Sorry to hear about the meconium and fluid issues with your little girl, but I'm glad her NICU stay wasn't long and that she's doing good now!

[gretchenindisguise]

Thank you for sharing your story! I'm glad you were able to bring her home!

[azurely]

Congratulations! Thanks for sharing!

[kballerina]

Thanks for sharing! Congrats!!

[kams]

I'm so glad you were able to bring her home. Congratulations!

[thatgirl2478]

Congrats! She's a big baby! I'm glad that she's OK now.

[shekels1222]

Congrats on your sweet baby! Thanks for sharing your story and so glad she's doing better!

[fayeelle]

Congratulations! Thank you so much for sharing!

[rachelgreen]

I also enjoy the long birth stories. I'm so happy that she is home and healthy now but sorry that you all had to go through all of that! Congrats again!

[jorja]

Congratulations and thanks for sharing! Sorry about the NICU stay, but I'm glad you're all healthy at home now!

[MrsAggie]

Congrats on your baby girl! I know how terrible it is to have to be separated from your baby ((hugs)) I'm so glad she was able to go home with you after a few days!

[nextbigthing]

I like the detailed stories! Thanks for sharing, congratulations, and I hope sweet baby girl is home soon!!

[busterpup]

Congrats!!

[nmosrob]

Congratulations!! Thank you for sharing your story!

[cheeseandcrackers]

Congrats! 9 pounds! wow

[sparkythelawyer]

Congrats!

[Bonita]

Congratulations! I'm glad she had a short NICU stay and that she's already home with you

[FoxInFiji]

Congrats! Glad everyone is doing OK now. Can I ask why you weren't able to change positions later? Due to the epidural or the IV or both?

[Deleted]

Congrats! And thanks for sharing!!