As soon as I started feeling more "pressure" the nurse decided she needed to call the doctor & check my cervix. It took a few nurses to get an accurate check but they determined I was 3 cm dilated, 100 % effaced & they could see our little man's head. This was a relief to know he was head down because they said there would be a higher chance that I would need a C-section at this point in my pregnancy for a variety of reasons (they are still small enough to be flipping around a lot, the cord can sometimes get wedged between the head and cervix, and sometimes the baby is just in distress). So far baby was looking great on the monitor. I also started getting really shaky which the nurse said could be a sign of later stages of labor. I didn't quite make it to that section of "What to Expect"...It got to the point that I was sweating, couldn't talk, couldn't stand, basically just layed on my side trying to breathe and stay calm...They soon wheeled my bed back over to Labor & Delivery and started preparing for the baby to come. Erich called our parents and they came and helped pack up our triage room, killing time in the middle of the night (it was probably 1 in the morning by this point). In attempts to calm my shaking body down they gave me some Fentanyl to get me through until the anesthesiologist was there to give me my epidural...If there was something to make me more comfortable, I was quick to accept it. Around 2:30 Dr. Bartlett placed my epidural which was so painless & easy, probably the easiest of all of the pokes I'd had in the last few days. As it turns out Dr. Bartlett knew my parents from college & I think his dad knew my grandfather. Small world. The epidural and Fentanyl definitely helped ease my pain & I was able to get through my contractions for a couple more hours with just a little pressure. I could always feel them, though. 
I quickly progressed from 7 cm to 10 cm and was feeling like a wanted to start pushing, so they gave Erich some scrubs & moved me to the operating room for delivery. This was just because the resuscitation room is right off of the OR & they needed to take the baby over there right away where the Neonatologist would be waiting. Dr. Osborn was going to be delivering me, but actually it was our nurse, Jessica, (& Erich's great encouragement) that helped me through most of the pushing. Baby's head was just about out by the time the doctor came in. I pushed for 20 minutes & we became proud parents of our baby boy!
Daddy gets to cut the cord!
Let the resuscitation begin!
I quickly progressed from 7 cm to 10 cm and was feeling like a wanted to start pushing, so they gave Erich some scrubs & moved me to the operating room for delivery. This was just because the resuscitation room is right off of the OR & they needed to take the baby over there right away where the Neonatologist would be waiting. Dr. Osborn was going to be delivering me, but actually it was our nurse, Jessica, (& Erich's great encouragement) that helped me through most of the pushing. Baby's head was just about out by the time the doctor came in. I pushed for 20 minutes & we became proud parents of our baby boy!HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRAYSON MILES OTTERVANGER!
born December 21, 2010
at 4:59 am
2 lbs 11 oz 15 inches
Grayson's first photo!
Daddy gets to cut the cord!
Let the resuscitation begin!
1 comment:
Reading this just made me relive the feeling of being in late stages of labor...craziness. A little scary how fast you can go from 7 to 10 (or 4 to 10) and it's go time! Glad you had such a great coach in Erich and the nurse.
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