41.5 Hours of Contractions & Very Little Sleep!

Sunday, March 27th we arrived at Sinai for our induction. Things got started about 9 am. first we did a foley catheter until it fell out late afternoon/early evening. That evening they inserted the Cervidil, about 8 pm I think. Around 5 am we insisted they take it out. I was having tons of regular, painful and very long contractions... but VERY little change in dilation or effacement. (Charlie saw one on the monitor that was over 8 minutes long... not fun). So, they removed the Cervidil and then we started on Pitocin. That helped things out, my contractions stayed regular, got a little shorter, and become productive.

About 10 pm Monday night, after still not progressing that far, Eileen decided to break my water. I think I was up to 4-5 cm by then. Overnight things got really, really tough. The contractions became much more difficult to manage. they did let me off the Pitocin for quite a while and my body continued contracting so they let me into the whirlpool (which I thought I had no chance of whatsoever... but thank goodness!). That helped, but even by early morning I was only as 6 cm. Around 5 am Tuesday morning, after having been in the whirlpool for maybe 3/4 hours I felt like I needed to push. I was exhausted and miserable, in pain and just at my end, but hey! I felt like I could push. So, they wheeled me back to the room... checked me... and I was STILL at 6 cm. that about broke my spirit. 3-4 hours of terrible misery and I still hadn't changed and still couldn't push. so... we went back to the whirlpool, but the sensations were just unbelievable. My body was still having contractions, and they were all in the 3-4 minute long range (or longer) and only perhaps a minute apart. Finally I begged Charlie to have them stop this. (Oh, and they wanted to start the Pitocin again too since my own contractions weren't productive.) Charlies knew when I really meant I couldn't do it any more, so he talked to the midwife and she had two recommendations. A narcotic or an Epidural. But, since they'd have to up the Pitocin again, and I really just needed the rest, we decided on the Epidural. Not what we had wanted to do, but we're both still positive it was the best and only choice at that point. Everything went smoothly with that an I was able to get a couple hours of sleep. (Between 6:30 am Sunday and whenever we went to bed Tuesday, I think I had maybe four hours of sleep and Charlie maybe six.)

They upped the Pitocin during that time and by maybe 10 am I was 7/8 cm. They were pleased... but it still wasn't as much as they had hoped. I asked Erin, our midwife at that point, when they would/if they had started thinking C-section. I didn't want them to do it, and they knew that... but I also knew we were getting to the end of our possibilities. She first suggested some sort of internal catheter that would monitor the actual strength of the contractions, but we couldn't get it in. (Oh, and I forgot to add his head was down the whole time but asynclitic from Sunday night to early Tuesday as well...) Erin said that they'd probably have to up the Pitocin again and then if nothing changed in 2-3 hours, they'd let me know, and we'd try for another hour and then... well... we'd have to consider it. not nice, but I wanted to know where things were at.

Thankfully around 11 I felt the contractions differently. (The Epidural worked great for me. I could rest, but I could still move and feel. I was scared of it before... and I still wouldn't choose it again... but in a situation like this, it was just the best choice and I'm so thankful for it.) It also felt like there was "something" down there, "something" that moved with each contraction. I'm not sure anyone quite believed me, but they checked and I was at 10! and had been 100% effaced for a while! and hid head was FINALLY going the right way! So, they let me "labor down" for the next hour and just have my body do some of the moving for me. Not long before noon, though, I couldn't help but push a bit with some of them. Around noon then i really started pushing.

By 2:30, Erin came to talk to me again and let me know that she had to talk to the on-call doctor and just let her know where things were at. She said everything was going well... but as thing take longer and longer, they have to tell the doctor. If it got to four hours, they'd be thinking at least about suction or forceps. I was not happy with that, but understood. (Honestly, we had the best people there ever. They knew what I wanted better than I did and did EVERYTHING to make things go the way we wanted. It was fantastic. This certainly wasn't a drug-free birth like I wanted, but they gave me the best shot at it possible, and kept it as low level as possible.) Finally, at 3:34 Baby Beck was born. Charlie got to help catch him and cut the cord. I tore in four places, none worse than 2nd degree (although to me, right, that's plenty). I didn't tear backwards or much forwards, mainly sideways. Charlie said it was great to watch him be born... except that he could see me tear right at the end and felt back for m.:)

So, we ended up with 54 hours of labor, 41.5 of contractions, very little sleep and 3.5 hours of pushing. It was a terribly exhausting experience. And that Tuesday contained some of my absolute worst and best feelings and experiences ever. And... I still to do it again someday. :) Charlie and I felt so confident after having taken your class. We knew what they were talking about with every stop; we knew what we wanted and didn't want, and we knew the benefits and risks of everything. You helped me learn to relax :) And, helped Charlie learn to remind me. And, we had excellent people. Our doula, JJ Schambow, was spectacular, and so were all the staff at Sinai in Labor and Delivery. Erin, our midwife, and Cindy, our nurse, were wonderful. Erin, Cindy and JJ were just so encouraging the whole time... and believably so. Even though it was taking so long, I still believed them when they said good job. :) Even Charlie said he didn't think he could have kept that up convincingly for as long as they did. :)

I don't know that I mentioned Charlie enough, but he was fantastic also. It was just him and I until Monday night around 10ish. We didn't want to call our doula until things were actually happening. I think the only time I snapped at him was when he was down, waiting to catch
Arthur. Suddenly he started laughing (quietly, but I still heard). Erin, the midwife, asked what was so funny, and all he could say was how weird it looks to have half a head sticking out. I told him it wasn't funny from where I was. :) (Granted, a tiny part of me that managed to separate itself did have to admit that would be pretty funny.) But really though, Charlie took great care of me and knew my every want and need. He read me like a book, and by Tuesday morning, when things were at their worst, when I was just in incredible pain, poor Charlie could hardly take it and our doula took over. JJ was wonderful as well. She was such a help to me in the tub and through the rest of labor, and she was a huge help to Charlie too. She enabled him to get his emotions out without disturbing me; she let him rest and helped him understand that was OK. And, when I got to my end and couldn't go any further, Charlie knew it. I had said it a few times before, the obligatory "I can't do this..." But when I told him the last time, "Charlie, I cannot do this anymore." he knew it was real, and he talked to the midwife and made the decision to do the Epidural. He told me about it and explained the options, but knew that, at that point, I didn't care. I just needed something. Neither of us would have felt that confident without your class. I'm so thankful.

Claudia and Charlie, Milwaukee