WARNING:
This is a birth story with photos (nothing too graphic).
Our labor was long and so is the story to go along with it.
Monday, January 13, 2014
Day 1
Day 1
I woke up in the middle of the night on Monday, January 13 (1:15am) and felt kind of crampy. This was normal when my bladder was full so I got up to go to the bathroom. I made it through the doorway of the bathroom and a big gush came! My water had broken and it kept gushing. I yelled something similar to, “Shit! Tim, we’re having a baby on the 13th!” Tim calmly came to check out the situation. He checked the fluid to make sure it was clear, something he learned while reading The Birth Partner. All was clear. After we came to our senses, I called the on call midwife, Brenda. She made sure my fluid was clear, made sure I was Group B negative, and asked if I was having contractions. Fluid was clear, I was Group B negative, and I was not having contractions. She told us to try and go back to bed since contractions would likely start soon and we had a long day ahead of us.
Tim went right back to sleep. I texted my family and my friends (I had to tell them I wouldn’t be making it to Girls’ Night!) to let them know what was going on. I finally went back to sleep from 4:30am-7:30am which was actually the longest stretch of sleep in a long time.
When we woke up, we called the next midwife on duty, Leslie. I was still not having contractions but I was still leaking fluid. (I leaked fluid until I had her.) She told us to live life, go on a walk as we had already planned, and to eat 1 tablespoon of castor oil and 1 tablespoon of peanut butter on toast with a side (4oz) of champagne at 1:30pm if contractions had not started.
Tim went to Kroger to stock up on groceries and made a stop at Sugar Shack Donuts for a treat (Samoas, Nutella/M&Ms, Chocolate/M&Ms, Maple/Bacon, Cinnamon Sugar, and Salted Caramel…All were amazing!). After we ate a donut snack, we took Freddy (our dog) on a long walk around the neighborhood. Unfortunately it didn’t produce any contractions.
We came back and ate a protein filled lunch for energy and then I had the castor oil snack and champagne. I didn’t taste the castor oil, thankfully! The champagne went right to my head since it had been 9 months with no alcohol!
Leslie and I texted pretty much all day long. I love the age of technology! I let Leslie and Amber (my doula) know that I had taken the castor oil. Leslie said to repeat at 6:30 if there were still no contractions. Amber kept checking in and was super supportive throughout the day.
My mom came to visit around 5pm and while she was here I felt more crampy and had more lower back pain. After she left we went on a long walk and I was pretty uncomfortable the entire time. I was really crampy and Baby Girl Hendricks' (BGH) head was pushing very hard on my pelvis.
When we got back, I bounced some on the birth ball. Tim decided to take Freddy to Tamara's house. As soon as he left I started feeling my first contractions around 6:30pm. I started panicking because I had never experienced such pain and Tim was not at home to coach. I texted my friends who were also at Tamara’s house for Girls’ Night and told them to tell Tim to hurry home! He did, thankfully!
I labored on the birth ball, on all fours on the bed, on the toilet, slow dancing in Tim’s arms, and in the shower over the ball (my favorite). Tim called Amber at 9:20pm and she came on over at 9:55pm. He really wanted her here for support and I was happy she came.
Contractions got to 2 ½-3 ½ minutes apart, lasted for about a minute for an hour (10:00pm). My fear was that I would vomit throughout labor. Finally I threw up once (11:35pm) and a few strong contractions followed. I handled it well surprisingly! Things slowed down just a little bit so Amber had me walk and do a few contractions while doing inversions on the couch. Contractions picked back up to 2-3 minutes apart for 1+ minutes.
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Day 2
Day 2
We called Amber who was the midwife on call (1:35am). She listened to me and said I was not ready to come in. I told her I was really worried about the car ride to the hospital and walking through the halls at the hospital while having contractions. We were going to have to meet her at the hospital at 5:30am to start Pitocin if I wasn’t in hard core labor by then anyway. She agreed to meet us there at 2:30am.
So, I labored a bit at home while Tim packed the car and Amber straightened up the house. We left for VCU at 2:00am. I sat in the front seat backwards on my knees holding on to the headrest. I had quite a few contractions in the car and that was not fun but I made it. Thankfully it’s only a 10 minute drive. There were no Stork parking spots but it was the middle of the night so we found a good parking spot. Thankfully the halls were basically empty in the hospital.
I had a few contractions on the way up to Labor and Delivery. They were waiting on us so I was admitted quickly. We got settled in Room 9. The nurses took vitals, hooked me up to monitors for 20 minutes (fetal heart tones upper 140s), and inserted an IV lock because of the chance of Pitocin. Amber checked me and I was only 2 cm dilated, 100% effaced, and -1 station. I was a bit frustrated that I was only 2cm. She stressed how great it was that I was 100% effaced and that labor could progress quickly. She also did an ultrasound to check for baby’s position which was posterior.
Nurse Sharon
Team Amber and Amber!
Unfortunately, labor slowed down a bit so Amber started Pitocin before she left at 5am (4:45am). Kathryn was the next midwife. I was on Pitocin for 12 hours or so. It got up to the max dosage (20) and then 10 past that with special permission. Contractions slowed to 6-10 minutes apart and were irregular.
Kathryn knitted a baby hat and chatted with me while I labored.
Amber knitted a baby washcloth (our favorite washcloth!) for us while I labored.
We switched rooms (6:20am) because the shower only had lukewarm water. We moved to Room 7. I labored in the shower, on the birth ball (probably my favorite while at the hospital), walked, on all fours in the bed, on my side in bed (awful!), leaning on the upright part of the bed, etc. I was bummed I never got to use the nice jacuzzi! I tried to rest here and there but it was impossible with contractions.
Kathryn checked me at 12:40pm. I was only 3-4cm, 100% effaced, -1 station. Contractions were 8-10 minutes apart and had been for several hours. Once the Pitocin got up to 30, contractions picked up to 3-5 minutes apart.
Meghann was the next midwife. She had a 24 hour shift. She came in with a plan and wracked her brain to come up with things to do to help things pick up speed. She suggested we stop the Pitocin and try Misoprostol, another induction drug. We agreed to it. I took it orally (6:20pm) since my water had already broken. We gave the drug 4 hours. It slowed things down even more! She did a vaginal exam at 9:00pm and there were no cervical changes. Baby Girl was now LOAnterior position! Yay!!! She suggested doing nipple stimulation with the breast pump. It produced a few contractions but not much. At 10:00pm, Meghann started the Pitocin again. Things picked up a little bit.
January 15, 2014
Day 3
Day 3
I was totally exhausted at this point and the only word I heard (in my head) during every contraction was “epidural.” I began crying during every contraction and had no energy left to give. Around 1:00am, Meghann came in. I finally got up the courage (after her walking in the room and leaving 3 different times) to ask her what her opinion of an epidural was at this point. She said she thought it was the best option. It could help me get some rest to save up energy for pushing. It could help me relax and open up to finish dilating. So, Tim and I agreed that I would get the epidural (1:40am). Yes, it pinched and burned a little but it was nothing compared to the contractions! In 15 minutes I started feeling human again. It was a strange feeling not to be able to get up and move around but it gave me 3-4 hours of uninterrupted rest. Tim and Amber were also able to rest.
At 2:25am, Meghann came in to check me again and I was 4cm and -2 station. Not much improvement. An internal contraction monitor was inserted.
I woke up around 7:00am to pressure in my chest. The anesthesiologists checked my blood oxygen level and the epidural and all was fine. Most likely it was anxiety.
At 9:05am, Meghann checked me again. I was 5-6cm, 90% effaced, and -1 station. She also had a concerned look on her face. She couldn’t get BGH's head to move in my pelvis. She said that it could be stuck and obviously that was impeding things. It was at this point that she said that because my water had broken so long ago and we had tried pretty much everything and things were still not progressing, that we needed to have the baby today.
Dr. Goldberg, OB, came in with Meghann and said that we needed to start thinking about a c-section. I knew this was coming but I still burst into tears. Meghann said we could give the Pitocin a few more hours and then really start talking about it.
When she came back at 12:30pm, there was no more progression and no cervical changes. Though I continued to sob a lot after the initial mention of a c-section, I was ready to meet my Baby Girl and we wanted a healthy baby and mom. So, we agreed. As soon as the docs finished another c-section, the team of nurses and anesthesiologists started to prep me with more meds in my epidural catheter.
We headed to the OR around 2:00pm. Tim had his sexy scrub suit on. The OR was a zoo. I was transferred to the OR table. My arms and legs were strapped down. It felt like my head was lower than the rest of my body but it wasn’t. I shook uncontrollably throughout the prep and surgery and maybe some afterward. The OB checked me one last time and I was at 5-6cm.
Meghann, our wonderful midwife!
Our last photo before becoming parents!
They kept testing my abdomen with a pushpin-like device to see if it felt sharp or dull. It felt dull up higher and I couldn’t feel it at all lower down. They said the dull pain was ok but I was not about to be cut open while I could feel anything!!! So, surgery was postponed a bit because they kept having to give more meds to numb me. It finally worked and so they invited Tim in to be at my head. They gave me so much medicine that I felt it pretty high up in my throat and couldn’t swallow and I started panicking about that.
Camille Penelope Hendricks was born at 2:59pm on January 15, 2014 on the 3rd day of labor (62 hours total)! She was 7 pounds, 15 ounces and 21 inches long. The surgeons passed her through the blue “tent” to Meghann. Meghann immediately placed her on my chest. She was the most beautiful baby I had ever seen but I’m a little biased!
Meeting Camille for the first time!
She stayed on my chest for 10 minutes or so. I started to get very nauseated (I gagged a few times but never actually threw up. They gave me Zofran which really helped!) and I thought I was going to pass out. I was also very shaky so I asked them to take her off of me because I was scared she was going to fall. They were going to send her off to the nursery but Tim offered to do skin to skin time with her and they agreed.
Tim and Camille snuggling for the first time!
Camille was a rockstar during the entire 62 hours! Her heart rate never fluctuated! Though I am still grieving (just a little now) the natural birth that I wanted but didn’t get to experience, I’m thankful that Camille and I are healthy! If I had to do it over knowing that a c-section would be the end result, I would still want to experience the water breaking, contractions, and labor process. I’m thankful that I made it as far as I did before the c-section. I hope to never have to have another c-section! It was no fun and recovery was slow. Taking care of a baby after major abdominal surgery is not easy.
Dr. Bakker did an amazing job delivering Camille!
Tim was the most amazing coach! Amber was the most awesome doula! I’m thankful both were there for support! Every midwife (We utilized them all either on the phone or in person!), obstetrician (Dr. Bakker, Dr. Goldberg), anesthesiologist, nurse (especially Anneke), lactation consultant (Debbie), room service person, etc. was wonderful!!! Though our labor was long, we wouldn’t have wanted it to happen anywhere else except VCU!
Note from Daddy Tim…
- I am so proud of Sarah. She was a real trooper through this whole process!
- I am definitely an advocate for using a doula. I couldn’t imagine our experience without our doula. There is no way I would have had the stamina or energy to support Sarah through her labor if we didn’t have Amber there. She provided a backup for hip squeezes as well as keeping me full of Chic-fil-a and most importantly, coffee.
- The Midwives and VCU staff were fantastic. When one of the L&D nurses (Anneke) visited us in post-partum, she spoke with the staff and we were upgraded to a larger room so that I could sleep in a bed instead of a chair during the 3 days of recovery.
- We reviewed our birth wishes once we came home…and even with the c-section, we met our wishes…healthy mom and baby, time to labor, freedom of movement, privacy, immediate bonding after delivery, and medication/intervention only if medically necessary.
There you have it! A long birth story for a long labor!
