So...MY BABY BOY IS HERE! He was born August 10, 2011 and let's just say I was thrown a lot of curve balls leading up to his birth. Here is a copy of my birth plan that I had written a month before he was born:
Brody’s Birth Plan
First and foremost, I would like to strive for a natural birth. This means that I do not want to be induced, unless naturally and only if necessary-or have any pain medication. Please do not offer any medication and I will let you know if I change my mind. ***I plan on staying at home as long as I feel comfortable. I do not want to hurry labor with drugs.
I understand that it’s hospital protocol to be hooked to an IV-that is fine. I understand that I also need antibiotics for Strep B. After these actions have taken place, I would like to be ‘capped off’ if possible so I can continue to move about.
I would like the ability to be as mobile as possible. As long as the baby is doing fine, then I would only like the vitals to be checked intermittently. This means I can go walking about as necessary, take a shower, etc. Besides my spouse, Brian, I would also like my mother in the room with me.
If things go smoothly, I am going to be as patient as possible and allow my body to push Brody out. If things progress quickly, I would like to tear instead of having an episiotomy.
After Brody is born, I would like to wait until the cord stops pumping before clamping and Brian would like to cut the cord, if he’s feeling up to it.
I would also like to hold the baby and have skin-to-skin contact as soon as possible. Anything that can be done while I am holding the baby would be nice.
I am also going to exclusively breastfeed so I would like the soonest opportunity to do that according to the baby. I do not want my baby to be given water, formula or a pacifier.
I want to room in with the baby, having him with me at all times.
Guess what, almost none of that happened.... I wanted a natural birth SOOOO badly! I was DETERMINED to have this child drug-free! *sigh* Well, Brody was due August 1st but he was making no progress at his doctor's appointments. I was getting sad and antsy. The longer he waited to come out, the more scared I was of induction. Luckily, my best friend from Indiana SURPRISED me and was able to stay with me the whole time I was waiting on him. I hadn't seen her in a few years but it was like we had seen each other every day. It's one of thosekinds of relationships. The best kind. Welllllll, I went in to my doctor's appointment Tuesday, August 9th, 1 week and 2 days past my due date. I was scheduled for an ultrasound to check on the babes and make sure everything was alright. She decided to check me first and barely any progress was made (50% effaced, less than 1 cm dilated). She stripped my membranes and holy crap did it hurt. I mean, it's called 'stripping membranes,' HELLO! Then came the u/s. Not good. My amniotic fluid was low. Borderline low. The OB threw out some jargon and said if it was an 8 then she would give me a couple more days, but since I was a 5 I shouldn't risk it and needed to go in to the hospital that night. 5 or 8 what, I don't know and when she threw out words like 'borderline' and 'risk' and 'go to the hospital tonight' it got me scared. She said I would have Cervadil inserted and then I would be induced in the morning. (Already veering way off from my birth plan). I cried, Brian showed up, I cried some more. Then, I went home, told Alicia, called my parents and went into a cleaning frenzy before I had to check in at 5:30. I have to admit that I was able to take a break and go get a pedicure-a brilliant shade of blue for 'boy'. :) My last meal was a peanut butter sandwich. I was feeling crampy all day but on the way to the hospital, I noticed that they would come in waves. I had no idea what contractions felt like and was starting to wonder if these were it. I had about 4 on the way to the hospital. I checked in and was hooked up with an IV right away and a heart rate/contraction monitor, got my Cervadil and was left with my hubby. Because the OB stripped my membranes, it had sort of started my labor. They came on pretty quickly and were only a few minutes apart. It was painful but not too bad. Then, bed time came. The contractions were starting to hurt. A LOT. Pretty close together too. By looking at the monitor I would have thought that having this baby was imminent. nope. I couldn't sleep. I would wake up every 5 minutes or so in pain, look at the clock and go back to sleep. I asked for drugs. I was weak. I was exhausted. I wanted the minimum so they gave me Demerol. I was able to sleep in 30 minute increments for a couple hours. Then it wore off. CRAP! My sweet, tired husband lay on the uncomfortable fold out couch and I was writhing in pain. I wish I would have been stronger. I should have been my own advocate for a no drug labor. It was hard to expect a support system at 3 AM. By 6 AM, I gave up and got an epidural. Something that I regret and feel guilty for to this day. It was my decision and I went against all I wanted for this pregnancy. I also feel like it was the reason things turned out the way they did. You'll see. Well, I have to admit the epidural was euphoric. I was able to sleep for a few hours. I couldn't feel my legs, but I could sleep. I spent the rest of the day (now August 10) in and out of sleep, being flipped to different sides because the baby's heart rate was doing funny things. Then, they had to constantly circulate saline into my uterus to act as a cushion for him. They did induce me eventually because my labor was slowing down (due to the epidural :( ). I was finally 100% effaced, and 9.5 cm dilated. It was 4 o'clock and the doc said it was time to push! At least I was going to have him naturally.....I pushed for an hour, it hurt, I thought my blood vessels were going to pop out of my temples and I was going to pass out from holding my breath. She said that I wasn't making enough progress and the baby was in distress. Then she said it: C-section. I NEVER would have thought it would have come to that. Within 20 minutes, my son was born-out of my stomach. Not the way a woman was meant to have a baby. I feel as though my body failed me. I got to kiss him while lying on the operating table and then he was whisked away to do all things they do. Brian was with him while I was in recovery. I didn't get to see my sweet boy for almost 2 hours! I am so happy that he was able to breastfeed properly. Finally something went right. Lemme tell you though. I have no idea what it's like to have a child naturally, sadly, but I can say that the pain from a C-section is excruciating. I was pretty much immobile. And those middle of the night feedings with the baby in the little roller cart, Brian had to wake up every time to pick him up and hand him to me and then to put him back. I couldn't really lay on my side because it hurt to move. I took a lot of pain meds. We went home and life has taken over from there. 2 months later and there's no more pain really but the scar is there as a reminder. Of the failure of my birth plan but the success of having a healthy, sweet-natured little guy who loves to smile at his mama
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