Rowan’s Birth Story, Pt. 2

The tampon-like medicine I mentioned in Pt. 1 was called Cervidil, and I had it in for 12 hours before it got me to the correct dilation. In the labor timeline, this puts us a little before mid-morning on Saturday, April 20. 

Once I reached 3 cm, it was time to insert the dilation balloon. 

I knew at some point during Rowan’s birth I was going to ask for an epidural. All along, my plan had been to experience some contractions before I asked for it. But I’d also hoped to be able to walk around and alleviate some of the discomfort by using the exercises Nick and I learned in our childbirth class.

I’d also known the dilation balloon was almost a certainty given that we were going to be induced, and I’d internally debated if I should do the epidural before the balloon. 

In the end, I decided I could handle it. And while I could (and did!) handle it… it was pretty uncomfortable. Once it was in place, though, it wasn’t all that bad. I had the balloon in for about five hours, and during that time, they started me on Pitocin. 

The Pitocin is what starts the contractions. 

It was around this time that my parents arrived. We were lucky they were able to come so quickly, and they were a huge help getting everything ready at home for Rowan’s arrival. More to come on that later.

It only took one or two relatively mild contractions for me to tell the nurse it was time for the epidural. While they were painful, it wasn’t the pain that made me go for the anesthetic so soon. It was the fact that it was painful, and all I could do was lie there. Had I had the ability to walk around, I think I could have endured for a little bit longer. 

When the anesthesiologist came up to give me my epidural, I learned he was the Head of Anesthesiology. And man did that seem to make a difference. The procedure wasn’t at all that bad, and it made the pain of the contractions disappear. And even though I was numb, I was still able to move my legs and lift my hips when the nurses needed me to. They even commented on how good of an epidural that was!

In the end, I’m grateful I chose to have the epidural when I did, because after about five hours of the balloon being up there, it was time for it to come out. I couldn’t feel any pain when it came out, but boy did I feel a TON of pressure. That was my best guess as to what was headed my way when I was fully dilated. 

After the balloon was removed, I was about 5 cm dilated. Only halfway to the necessary 10 cm to start pushing. They went ahead and broke my water (quite a unique feeling) and continued with the Pitocin. 

There for a while, every time I had a contraction, I felt more amniotic fluid come out. Again, a unique feeling. 

The doctors and nurses steadily increased my Pitocin dosage to the max allowed by the hospital in hopes that more intense contractions would help me dilate further. 

I was on Pitocin for 20 hours, at the max for about 16 hours, and I still hadn’t dilated any more than 5 cm. It was at this point when the doctor brought up the possibility of a C-section. 

I’ll pick up at that C-section discussion in my next blog (which I promise won’t be two months from now!). 

A couple other memories from the day that I honestly don’t remember where they fit into the whole narrative, but they definitely stuck out in my brain:

• At one point during the pre-epidural period, they inserted a new fetal monitor to better measure the intensity of my contractions and Rowan’s vitals. I think it went around his head. I don’t remember exactly where in the process this happened, but I do remember it was a bit ouchy (which is how I at least know it was before the epidural). Once it was in place, it still felt odd, and a nurse re-did the procedure a couple of hours later. After that, the discomfort eased up. 

• One other vivid memory from this day is that I had a horrible headache. The nurses started me with Tylenol and had to try increasing amounts of meds and combinations of meds until they finally gave me some Oxycontin. That was the only thing that made the headache ease up. I’m unsure if this was related to the pre-eclampsia or not, but either way, it made it very difficult to rest.

• In addition to the headache, I also developed an incredibly dry nose and mouth. It seemed to come out of nowhere, and it only eased up when the nurse was able to put a humidifier in my room. I will forever be grateful for that, as it made such a huge difference!
  
• The headache, dry nose, and revolving door of nurses coming in to check on me and take my blood sugar levels every couple of hours made getting any rest during Rowan’s birth near impossible. At one point, one of the nurses made a comment that they should really just let me sleep and get some rest. But thanks to the pre-eclampsia and gestational diabetes, that was a no-can-do the whole time. 

• I’ve mentioned before that both my mom and older sister had difficulties fully dilating during their labor experiences. They both progressed to about 4 cm. One of the funnier things that happened on this day was an observation from Nick. With his overly competitive nature, he was sure to point out that since I made it to 5 cm, we “won.” He even went so far as to write “We win!” on the white board chart where my dilation level was marked.
  
• I had a lot of great nurses throughout my labor, but there was one I really connected with. I believe her name was Casey or Cassie (forgive me, I was on a lot of drugs). We had a lot of good conversations, and she was the miracle worker who got me a humidifier (one that’s now in Rowan’s nursery). Having her to talk to during the labor helped take my mind off the discomfort. (Not to say Nick and I didn’t have conversations, but the nurse shared with me about her labors and experiences as a delivery room nurse.)