Reagan's birthday was an eventful day. I didn't sleep at all Monday night because I was so excited to be induced & because I was so uncomfortable with my big belly & an active baby moving around inside me. Even though we had to wait 5 days after Reagan's original due date to meet her, I am so glad things worked out the way they did. I was able to schedule the induction with my favorite doctor at the practice, Dr. Tanya Beckford.
We arrived at the hospital at 7:30 am & were brought right to the labor & delivery room. By 8:30, I was hooked up to two IVs; one to keep me hydrated & the other was Pitosin to help make my contractions stronger & more regular (I was already contracting on my own without the Pitosin). The nurses came in to check on me frequently & it seemed like I didn't feel any discomfort for a long time. I was laughing & chatting with everyone & feeling great; all the while having regular contractions. I can't remember what time it was...maybe around lunch time...when I started to really feel the contractions & got very uncomfortable. Not pain so much as just extreme discomfort. One of the nurse told me there wasn't a prize for going the longest before getting the epidural (which I knew I wanted from the day the pregnancy test came back positive), so I decided to go ahead & get the epidural. Good thing I did because it takes 30 minutes for the nurse to pump you full of the necessary hydrating fluids & 30 minutes for the anesthesiologist to arrive, so once you ask for it, you're looking at an hour wait. The anesthesiologist administered the epidural but had to do it twice. The first time he did it the epidural had gone into a blood vessel & when he gave me a test shot of Epinephrine, my hearing went all funny & my heart rate shot up. The second time was a charm & within a short while I was again feeling no pain.
So the rest of the afternoon was pretty uneventful. This was good and bad. No pain, good. No progression in dilating, not good. By 5pm, I had only dilated from 4 to 6 cm. That's 8 1/2 hours on a high dose of Pitosin with only a 2 cm change. After Dr. Beckford examined me, she told us that there was the possibility that a c-section might have to be done. I was okay with this but Eric was not very comfortable with the idea at all. Not because he didn't think it was the right decision but because he is extremely uncomfortable with hospitals, surgery, blood, scalpels, etc. He really wanted to be present for the birth but knew he'd be wobbly if we had to go to surgery.
So, at 5 pm, the doctor decided to break my water & see if this would help the baby's head drop & in turn, dilate the cervix more. Everything was looking good...the water broke, fluid clear & her head dropped immediately from -3 to -1 station. Dr. Beckford was heading toward the door & looked back again at the monitors & then stopped in her tracks. Before I knew it, she was putting new gloves on & an additional two additional nurses rushed into the room. Apparently, Reagan's heartbeat had dropped into the 70s (from the 140-150s). After 5 minutes of tension & watching of the fetal monitors, they got Reagan's heartbeat to stabilize. I was silently freaking out inside...I think Eric was, too.
At that point, Dr. Beckford said they wanted to monitor me & Reagan for an hour without any Pitocin. Around 6 pm, she came back in & I was still 6 cm dilated. Dr. Beckford really wanted me to have the opportunity to deliver Reagan vaginally because she felt my body could do it, but I could tell she thought that the c-section was a very real possibility. The nurse started the Pitosin back at a very low level & slowly increased it over the next hour & a half. Around 7:30 pm, Dr. Beckford came back in to check me one last time. She had booked the O.R. for my c-section & done the paperwork, so I think she kind of anticipated that we'd be heading that way after my exam. So, she sits down in front of me, moves the blanket, takes a look & says, "Oh my gosh, the head is right here!" I was totally surprised. Dr. Beckford was so excited that things had gone in our favor (she was jumping up & down & clapping her hands) & she said to my mom, "Do you want to see the baby's head? Dr. Beckford asked me if this would be okay & I said that it would be just fine...I had lost all modesty about 8 hours earlier, anyway.
So my mom came over & they both saw Reagan's head which she was moving back & forth. At that point, it was decided that my mom would stay in the room for the delivery & I'm really glad she was able to be there. Dr. Beckford told me that I was going to push now & I was like, "Really, right now?" So I gave a "test" push & the doctor was like "Wow, okay, stop. The baby's coming!" She quickly got on her gloves & delivery dressings. Several other nurses on the delivery team quickly came in with all their gear. Dr. Beckford had me scoot to the end of the table & they told me they wanted me to push when the next contraction came along. So we waited for the contraction (which seemed to take longer than the actual delivery itself) & when it came, I grabbed my legs & pushed for 10 seconds. Then they told me Reagan would be coming with the next push, so I took a deep breath & pushed for a few more beats & out she came. Little Reagan Ashley Brown was born at 7:50 pm! Dr. Beckford immediately placed Reagan on my tummy & all I could say was, "Oh my god, there's our baby!" It was an incredible moment; one Eric & I will never forget.
As soon as Dr. Beckford was done with the rest of the delivery process, which was about an hour, my sister & dad were able to come back & meet Reagan. That must have been a long hour for them knowing that she was here but unable to see her. Eric's parents came back shortly after Ashley & Bertie...Rex, of course, had his camera in hand. They looked very proud to be the grandparents of a baby girl. All I can say is that Reagan is a lucky little girl; she is loved by so many people. Of course, we are lucky, too, to have her here with us. Truly a miracle!
Reagan's birthday is by far one of the most memorable days of our life.
1 comment:
She is a beautiful baby. Congratulations! Delivery is always an adventure!
Post a Comment