The award for the worst documented pregnancy goes to me. This poor baby is going to think we didn't care about her time in the womb, but it's very not true. We wanted this baby and are so glad to have her here even though it's still overwhelming at this point. We only got a few tummy shots, and they're all on my phone, and I'm kind of a phone tard, so I doubt they make their way onto the blog. This pregnancy involved a bit of morning sickness in the first bit, an easy ride during the second trimester, and a very miserable last trimester. I've never been so swollen in a pregnancy - it reached a point where I about cried every time I had to shove my boots on my feet to go out in the snow. This is also the first pregnancy where I've experienced Braxton Hicks contractions. Those suckers are irritating and made me a little nervous that I wouldn't recognize labor when it finally began. This pregnancy was also different in that I kept the gender a surprise. Mr. Mitchell was a pill and insisted that he know. This greatly amused our labor and delivery nurses.
I did not like my experience with the doctors this time around. The OB/GYN clinic that I had to go to for insurance purposes does not assign one doctor to you for the duration of your pregnancy unless you put up a big stink about it. It didn't seem like a big deal at the beginning, and so I went with their "strong" suggestion of seeing whatever doctor happens to be available when I'm supposed to have my next appointment. This became a problem by the end of my pregnancy since I was constantly being told different things. Due to my difficult deliveries with my first two I was scheduled an additional ultrasound to determine baby's size to see if a c-section would be advisable. It was decided that this baby was running smaller than the other two, and that a c-section would be completely unnecessary. At my next appointment, with a different doctor, he once again recommended a c-section based on my previous deliveries. I told him it had already been decided that we wouldn't go that route. The next appointment they recommended I wait for labor to take its course. The next appointment they recommended a c-section or induction. It was madness because there was no consistency between the different doctors, and it started to stress me out. By the very end I was requesting the same doctor for every appointment (the one that met with us after the ultrasound regarding the c-section) because I wanted someone that seemed in line with what I felt was best and that would be consistent about it. By the time I was 39 weeks however, he was really pushing for an induction since baby seemed to be growing fairly rapidly. I put it off due to a sinus infection, but it finally felt right to call and schedule the induction on Thursday, January 12. I planned to ask for Monday, January 16 since that was what I originally discussed with the doctor, but when I called his nurse to schedule they were really insistent that I come in at 8am the next morning. So, we did.
My body wasn't 'favorable' for an induction, so they were first going to have to use a medication to soften up my cervix, and then Pitocin would be administered to start labor after my cervix was deemed favorable. It took two hours for them to get me checked in and everything ready to go so they could administer the Cytotec. It's a tiny pill they insert directly into the cervix, and then you have to remain lying flat for awhile to make sure it stays in place and does its job. We were informed it could take up to four applications. Each application would have to be four hours apart. That's 16 hours sitting in a hospital room just waiting for your cervix to soften up so you can start labor. I was not looking forward to that possibility and was actually quite displeased that the process was not disclosed to me before I agreed to go in for an induction. I was already contracting very irregularly while I was in there, so one nurse suggested the Cytotec could actually start labor, but for the most part they were planning on multiple doses of Cytotec. After I was allowed to sit up I went for a little walk around the labor and delivery wing, but it got too weird. Every time I passed somebody they would make sure to look away - not a single person, except nurses, made eye contact or said anything. I felt like a leper and went back to my room where Mr. Mitchell was finishing his breakfast. We sat and talked for a bit and then I had to get back in the bed and reattached to the monitors. Contractions were coming more regularly and much stronger, and the baby wasn't liking it. The nurses spent a couple of hours adjusting the monitor and adjusting my position and offering the oxygen mask. Eventually they got baby sorted and decided another dose of Cytotec was not needed as labor was obviously going.
They checked my cervix at about 2:30 and I was almost a three. The nurse went to tell the doctor he could come and break my water, but he never showed up. Labor kept ramping up, and baby kept showing signs of distress so they administered a shot to slow labor down. I can't remember what the medication was called. They told me the shot would make me feel weird, and it did. It felt like my heart was ten sizes too big and was beating as though I had just finished a run - it was a very bizarre sensation. It didn't last very long, only about 10-15 minutes, but the nurses were happy with the effect. At 4:00 I was definitely feeling the pain and asked for an epidural. I was given the bad news that I would have to wait at least an hour as the anesthesiologist had just started a c-section. I made it through the hour, and then I was given further bad news that another c-section was now waiting to happen immediately after this one finished, and we'd have to try and snag the anesthesiologist between the two if I was going to have an epidural for my delivery. I was almost a 7 at this point and tried not stress our as I began mentally preparing myself for another natural delivery. Our nurse diligently prowled the hallway and was able to snag the anesthesiologist for me - thank goodness!
With the epidural administered a little after 5 I was able to relax for about an hour before I started feeling pain from the pressure. At 6 the nurse checked and said I wasn't quite a 10 and to keep her posted. Only a couple of contractions later I called her back in and told her the pain was getting pretty intense again. She checked and said I was ready to go and went out to get the doctor. It took the doctor what felt like ages to finally appear. It was about 40 minutes. I know. I was watching the clock like a hawk. The nurses got everything prepped and then the doctor came in and broke my water. He told the nurse to go and get him when it was time. I pushed through two contractions and the nurse was already running back out to get the doctor. He got himself all covered up just as I was going through another contraction and then he told me to stop. The baby's head was out, and he wasn't quite ready for it. Very quickly, however, the baby was all the way out and on my chest. I was searching frantically to try and see if it was a boy or a girl, but things had been rumpled up just enough I couldn't see anything but the face. Finally I asked someone to help me see the gender and the nurse patted all the fabric out of the way so I could see my little girl! They let her hang out with me for a couple of minutes before taking her to check all her fingers and toes. She was born at 7:03pm weighing 6 lbs 12 oz. and measuring 21 in. long. She was very snoozy at the hospital and let me get in a good chunk of sleep over the night.
This was by far the easiest delivery I've experienced due to the baby's small size. I did get a second degree tear, but no vacuum or forceps were needed, no broken tailbone, and I hardly pushed at all. Baby and I both did great and were out within 24 hours. Mr. Mitchell always does a great job at my side even though I know he's internally frantic at the fact there's nothing he can do during the process. I always appreciate his encouragement and good humor during labor and delivery.
My parents were able to come to Twin Falls to spend the day with the older two and bring them to the hospital to see the baby after she was born. The kids had a great time playing with Grandma and Grandpa. Sprout wasn't terribly interested in the baby after he initially saw her, but Little Lady sat by the baby and gave her little pats and chatted with her.
We are delighted to have our girl here, even if she does make it a 'girl house' as Mr. Mitchell calls it. He's officially outnumbered.
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