08 June 2009 | By: Unknown

Birth Story, Part 2

Little Miss' Birth Story:


We arrived at the hospital at 5:15pm. I was between five and six centimeters dilated. The hospital considers transition to start at seven centimeters, so you can receive meds if you wish, if they confirm you are just at 7cm, but not after (unless you want an epidural, then its up to your doctor, mostly up to 9cm). At six pm I was six centimeters, I had decided to receive a half dose of Nubain. At seven thirty pm I was seven centimeters and I received my second half dose. By nine pm I was eight centimeters. I was checked again at ten pm, I was still at 8cm. After the second hour, I still hadn't changed even with all my contractions. At this point we agreed to have my membrane ruptured, mainly because my progress stopped even though I was having good, strong, and regular contractions. My membranes were ruptured with the check at eleven pm. I instantly went to ten centimeters and the baby began its descent. I only pushed a few times, I was told later that I pushed for maybe two minutes. Our baby was born at 11:11pm.

Due to the fact that I was nearly six centimeters when I arrived, the nurse immediately began setting up for delivery. It was a good thing, because when my water was broken, the doctor barely made it in for the birth. The doctor had enough time to quickly wash his hands/arms and get his robe/jacket thing on, just barely. The nurse quickly broke down the bed and attached the foot petals. Hubby told me later that you could see the baby’s head beginning to emerge when they told me I could actively push.



Our baby was born with a small amount of meconium. The nurse noticed a tint to the fluid when she broke my water. When the baby was emerging, the doctor could see some on the scalp. Our baby was also born with the umbilical cord wrapped twice around the neck. I was told they would have never known this prior because they had such good readings of the heart rate. As the baby was born the doctor began to unwrap the cord. Once the baby was out Hubby could see what the baby’s gender was, and announced, “It’s a girl.”
Due to the meconium, they needed to suction the baby ASAP. Thankfully the cord had already stopped pulsing, so it was clamped and I was able to cut it. A NICU nurse and two respiratory therapists had entered the room as I pushed; I’m guessing they were notified about the possible need to suction the baby when my water was broken. After I cut the cord, the baby was immediately handed over to them and they began to work on her. The baby had started to cry before they could start. After a few minutes baby was all taken care of and good to go. 


While all of this was happening, we were waiting for my placenta to detach. It took a good twenty minutes. Afterward, they gave a dose of Pitocin through my IV to promote my uterus to contract down, to minimize the risk of hemorrhage and lessen the bleeding as the blood vessels closed off. The doctor and nurse repeatedly pushed on my belly and large clots came out. I stayed in the LDR room for about two and a half hours because of all the clots coming out. I had to have two good checks before I could be taken to a postpartum room.

While waiting I was able to nurse the baby. She took to it right away, though we had to work on getting her to latch correctly. She nursed for a good forty-five minutes. Afterward, she was given the eye medication and vitamin K shot. After I had the first good check on my bleeding and uterus size, Hubby  went to the nursery with the nurse and baby for her checkup and bath.

Hubby and the baby were gone for over an hour. During this time I had my second good check and was taken over to my postpartum room. After getting settled, Hubby and the baby finally came to my room. Apparently there were quite a few babies in the nursery and a few others that were there first that also needed their checkups and baths.



Now that our baby was a few hours old, we both had the opportunity to think about which name we felt best fit our new baby. Right after her birth we both agreed that the name [choice C] didn’t fit. However, we weren’t sure if [choice A] or [choice B] fit better. Hubby had mentioned in recovery that he could see some of his (late) sister, in our baby. While Hubby and the baby were gone in the nursery, I pondered the names and our new baby. Though Hubby and I both like [choice A], this name just didn’t seem to fit. I thought about what Hubby had said earlier, and thought about our baby and the name [choice B]. It just seemed right. When Hubby and the baby arrived in my room, I asked him if he had thought about what we would name our daughter. He had, and said that although he liked [choice A] a little more, [choice B] seemed to be the name we should use. I told him what I felt and asked if we could pray about it to make the final decision. Upon praying about our daughter and what to name her, we both felt that [choice B] was to be her name.


Little Miss


2 April 2005
11:11pm EST
7 lbs
19 in long
14 1/2 in head
14 in shoulders
9 & 9 APGAR

0 comments: