Thursday, April 17, 2014

On The Night You Were Born: Part Two

Justin and I settled down for the evening on Wednesday and our parents went home. The plan was for them to come up that morning unless I progressed really quickly, which we doubted.

More than ready!

I tried to get some rest before the induction started, but that was impossible. First, I was super anxious. The biggest issue though was how uncomfortable I was. I ended up standing most of the night until my epidural because my hips hurt SO bad.

My nurse started pitocin at midnight after starting an IV. She was such an angel that night. I was so scared and in a LOT of pain but I wanted to hold out before the epidural. Also, I knew that once it started "active labor" and got the epidural, she would break my water and I would have to start magnesium. Because I was severely pre-eclampsic I had to be on a magnesium sulfate drip until 24 hours post delivery. More on that to come.

The pitocin was slowly increased and I began to have some fairly steady and strong contractions. My back and hips hurt already from the pressure of two large babies, and I started having back labor. I was in a lot of pain but wanted to tough it out before getting the epidural so I could stay off the magnesium as long as possible. I labored for a couple of hours on a birthing ball and standing. Finally, my angel of a nurse strongly encouraged me to go ahead and get the epidural so I could rest and she could break my water. About 4:00 am on February 21st, I decided to get the epidural and get things moving. IT WAS THE BEST THING THAT HAD EVER HAPPENED to that point. Ha! I felt amazing after the epidural, was dialated to 4cm and completely effaced, and able to rest. However, the magnesium drip began at that point.

And that is where things get hairy.

From about 8:00 am forward, I barely remember anything at all. Magnesium sulfate is a horrible, scary drug. I felt like I was burning from the inside out even though I had the chills. I could not keep my eyes open and had no energy or strength. My memories of the day include waking up long enough to ask Justin if "the button was green" on my epidural because that meant I could push it for more medicine and having the anesthesiologist come in twice to push a bolus of medication because I was in labor for so long the epidural began to wear off.

Waiting it out.

I am told people were in and out of the room and if I even woke up, all I would do was stare through them. Justin stayed in the room with me the entire time. I know he was scared and nervous. By 10:00 pm on February 21st, I had not dilated past 7cm even with the pitocin turned up on the maximum drip. My contractions had all but stopped and my body was too tired from the pregnancy and labor to move forward. Because my uterus was already SO stretched out from carrying two babies, even with medication, it would not contract.

I vaguely remember my doctor coming in, sitting down on the side of my bed around 11:00pm, and saying, "Claire, it is time to get these babies out. Now." Almost 24 hours after beginning to labor, my plan of a vaginal delivery was going straight out the window.


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