Just the 3 Of Us: Sabrina's birth story

The last time I stood up before we welcomed Sabrina into the world :)

We checked into the hospital at 6:30 pm on Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008 for an induction that was scheduled just a couple of hours prior when I called to express my concerns about the polyhydramnios diagnosis. The attending physician said we could induce... that NIGHT!

The other option presented to me was to wait until Friday 7/25 to induce but a) that seemed like a long ways off, and b) I remember advice from my friend Sandra who told me to avoid being there over the weekend because the weekend medical crews aren't as good/experienced as the weekday ones. Also, I asked about coming in for an induction on Wednesday 7/23 or Thursday 7/24 but the nurse who scheduled these things told me that this was not an option because they already had a lot of people scheduled for inductions on those days. Apparently that night (7/22) was supposed to be a slow night at the labor and delivery ward... so off we went!

7-22-08:

7:00 pm - 1 cm dilated and 80% effaced.

8:15 pm - Started pitocin to kick start the contractions and labor.

9:00 pm - I started feeling the contractions as bad menstrual cramps.

10:00 pm - Still at 1 cm dilated but 90% effaced. Sabrina's heart rate was in the 140's according to the external monitors they strapped on me. Gene and I decided we'd try to get some sleep (Gene on the pull-out sofa provided in the birthing suite we were in).

7-23-08:

12:15 am - Requested the epidural for pain

12:30 am - Dilated to 2 cm, 90% effaced

12:45 am - Received the epidural

12:50 am - I was offered a "Foley Catheter" to help with dilation by the attending resident OB doc. (A foley catheter is a thin, plastic catheter with a small balloon on one end) I declined, thinking it sounded like a little much at that stage).

1:00 am - Another doctor comes in to break my water. Because of the polyhydramnios, they didn't use the standard hook to break the bag of waters; instead they used a smaller needle-type device so that the amniotic fluid would exit in a more controlled manner and they could ensure that the umbilical cord didn't prolapse into the cervix. That was a weird sensation! And there was A LOT of fluid there. Simultaneously the doctor attached an internal fetal monitor probe to Sabrina's scalp so her stats could be more accurately monitored (the external monitors are somewhat limited).

1:10 am - All of a sudden, a swarm of docs and nurses come rushing into the room. I was told to roll over on my side ASAP, so I rolled onto my left side which apparently didn't help, so they had me roll onto my right side while the doctors quickly inserted an IUPC (intrauterine-pressure catheter) to infuse sterile fluid into the uterus. Apparently Sabrina didn't take too well to her "swimming pool" being drained so quickly and having to adjust suddenly to a dry environment, her heart rate had decelerated to a low level and this had set off some alerts in the nurses' station. The IUPC also allows docs to measure the actual pressure within the uterus and indicate the frequency and intensity of contractions. That was scary only because I wasn't sure what was going on at the time, I just knew to do whatever they said. Soon enough, the saline going back inside my uterus made things all better for Sabrina and her heart rate returned to normal. Phiew!

1:45 am - The IUPC has a kink in it and needs to be replaced. Because I had the epidural in, this wasn't painful. Dilated to 4 cm.

2:00 - 5:30 am - Gene and I slept.

5:30 am - My brother Basil arrives from Baltimore.

5:45 am - Still at 4 cm.

7:45 am - Horray - I'm measuring 5 cm!

10:45 am - 9.5 cm, 100% effaced, +1 station

1:05 pm - 10 cm (!!!), ready to push

1:30 pm - Nurse comes in and we start the pushing process. With each contraction, we did a series of 3 10-second pushing sessions. I had requested a mirror for this part and it really helped to be able to see that my pushes were producing results. I could see Sabrina's scalp "crowning" and getting closer to coming out with each push. It was a great motivator in the absence of really being able to "feel" anything due to the epidural.

1:40 pm - The nurse calls for a doctor to come in. A good sign that we are close to delivery! Once the doctor arrives, we go through one more set (my 4th contraction) of pushing and with the doctor's manual intervention...