Paige's Birth Story

Most of my pregnancy went really well.  I got a cold a couple weeks prior to Paige's due date, but managed to fight it off (mostly) by the time the 4th came around.  Although I had been having Braxton Hicks since I was approximately 20 weeks pregnant, I was only ever dilated to a 1 when checked.  Then, the last month of my pregnancy, everything seemed to stop altogether.  July 3rd, I had a doctor's appointment.  That day, my swelling was so bad, I was almost positive they would induce me that day.  Went to the appointment, and my blood pressure was pushing the limits as well.  Most of the pregnancy, my blood pressure had been very good.  The week prior, it was approximately 100/70, but that day it was 130/86. I was very close to them sending me to the hospital.  Apparently the magic number is 140/90.  But, they did not.  I did get an ultrasound that day to make sure Paige was head down.  Although the doctor was pretty certain she was, because I wasn't dilating, she just wanted to make sure.  Paige was head-down, but still no dilation.

So, they scheduled an appointment for one week out (July 10th), with my induction scheduled for the 11th.  Because my swelling was so bad and my blood pressure high, my doctor recommended I keep myself to semi-bed rest.  So I called my boss and let her know I would probably be starting my leave, which I did.  Over the weekend, my swelling decreased, but no other changes really.  Things were starting to get a little harder and more uncomfortable when I stood, and Saturday was when I started to feel a lot of pressure on my lower extremities.  But, still nothing.

Went in for my appointment on the 10th and I was still only dilated to a 1!  So, Dr. Chasan proceeded with her plan which was to insert a foley catheter between my bag of waters and my cervix, then fill it up to create a balloon.  This helps to dilate me prior to going in for induction in the morning.  After that procedure, they hooked me up for a Non-Stress Test to make sure Paige was fine with the changes.  Almost immediately after I sat down in the chair, my contractions started.  The monitor was picking up contractions every 1 to 4 minutes, however not regularly and not for very long.  After ensuring Paige was handling the environmental changes, we were told we could leave, but Dr. Chasan asked that we not head home for a couple of hours, cause she felt I would go into labor shortly.

We headed to Target and walked through the store.  During that trip, I was having contractions consistently at 1.5-2 minutes, but they were only 15-20 seconds long.  Then they slowly started spacing out to 2.5 min, then 3 min.  So we decided we would go get something to eat and if the trend continued, we would head home.  By 7:30 (when we finished dinner), the contractions were an average of 5 minutes apart.  Once we were home, I relaxed in the recliner and the contractions had stopped altogether by 8:30.  Around 9:15, I got up to use the bathroom and the foley catheter came out.  This meant that I was dilated to at least a 3, more likely a 4, but this was also most likely why the contractions had stopped.

Decided to shower and call it a night.  We had to report to the hospital by 5am, which meant getting up at 4am.

We got to the hospital at our allotted 5am time.  Dr. Chasan had a scheduled procedure to perform at 7:30 that morning, so she didn't want to break my water until after she was done as she was sure she would be in the middle of the procedure if that was the case.  So, until she was done, it was a matter of getting me prepped and seeing if Pitocin would start my labor.  The nurses started attempting to put my IV in around 5:45.  After 5 attempts and 3 different nurses, they finally succeeded around 6:30.  Oh what fun that was! 

Because I had been positive for Strep B, that meant that they needed to get 2 doses of penicillin in me prior to delivery.  The process takes about 4 hours.  So they started the first dose at 6:30 and that meant they preferred I didn't deliver before 10:30.  Around 7am is when they started the Pitocin.  Nothing was really happening and about every 15 min they would come in and kick it up a notch.  Dr Chasan's procedure got bumped back to 8am and she came in and checked on me prior.  She let me know she would come break my water after she was done.

This time around, Andy was with me, Candace came and then my sister, Michelle was going to stop in prior to heading to her class for the day to check on us.  Well, she ended up skipping the whole morning and sticking around the room instead (silly sisters).  So, she popped in around the time Dr. Chasan did her first check on me.  When Dr. Chasan left for her procedure, contractions were coming, but they were very sporadic, with no rhythym and no pain.  We were all joking around, nurses included.

Dr. Chasan came back in and broke my water around 8:45am.  Once she did, things started to roll.  I had to start focusing during my contractions and taking deep breaths.  Once I started to get pissed at the three of them for talking during a contraction, they knew it was about time.  I like to labor on my right side and hold someone's hand.  I also like them to breathe with me while I look at their eyes.  This is how I handle my labors.  So, after about 30 minutes, Candace needed a break and Michelle stepped in.  WELL, after only a couple of contractions, her eyes start to water and she looks away in the middle of a contraction!  So, I switch my attention to the button of her suit jacket, cause I can't have her crying on me when I'm the one dealing with the pain.

I hit transition pretty quickly this time and let me tell you, the second time around, transition is harder to deal with cause you know how much relief it is to be able to start pushing and you just want to get to that point.  My nurses (yes, plural, we had a veteran showing the ropes to a new department nurse) had set up the delivery table early and had come to find out after all was said and done that the veteran had turned to the other nurse early on and said, 'Watch this!  It's going to be a quick delivery!'.  I liked both of them a lot!  During a contraction, I apparently started to waiver in my breathing because Michelle decided to dance around trying to get my attention back to her eyes, at which point, I yelled at her to 'stop moving your BUTTON!'  I also find out after the fact that the veteran nurse had to step out of the room at this point to prevent me hearing her from laughing.

During the last few contractions, I had a really hard time not pushing.  My body seemed to be doing so involuntarily.  When I was dialated to a 9, the nurse called Dr. Chasan and said, 'You better run over here or I may be delivering this baby'.  Dr. Chasan really did seem to make it to the delivery room SUPER quick. 

The room was really full this time around.  I had Andy, Candace & Michelle.  The two nurses, Dr. Chasan and then a resident Dr. and then a couple other nurses were popping in and out.  Once they told me I could start pushing, I pushed through only 2 contractions and Miss Paige Elizabeth Lasley was born at 11:12am on July 11th, 2013.

I had a hard time delivering the placenta this time around as my body just didn't want to cooperate.  I was shaking uncontrollably almost immediately after delivery.  I also had to have 1 stitch again, in the same place as with Owen.  They kept me on the Pitocin for most of the afternoon to help contract my uterus back down and man did I hate that.  The contractions with the Pitocin made me ill.  I kept throwing up, but as soon as I was off it, I felt TONS better and scarfed down the burger and fries Michelle had brought back for us.  Little Miss has been an eater from the beginning and constantly wanted to nurse those first few days which helped me bounce back quickly.

If I think of other things, I will edit this post as I do.