Really, it all started on Tuesday, March 15. My weekly doctor appointment was that morning, and being 39 weeks, we had an ultrasound as well. Everything looked great, and they estimated his weight at 7 lbs. 6 oz. Dr. Phillips said I had still made NO progress, so there was no reason to think anything would be happening any time soon. We scheduled induction for two weeks away, Tuesday, March 29, as a last resort.
Tuesday night, I started feeling vaguely uncomfortable and decided I must be having contractions. However, they weren't really measurable in that I couldn't identify a distinct beginning and end. Using the contraction timer on the iPhone (WHAT a lifesaver, by the way) I tried to time them, but just really couldn't . We didn't think much of it and went on to bed.
Wednesday morning, I woke up to . . . well, let's just say, some normal indications of early labor. Ok, we were excited about that. Then a few minutes later, some not-so-normal indications of early labor. One of the symptoms I had been told to call the doctor about. So at 8 a.m., I was on the phone with the nurse line. She called me back a few minutes later, and after talking through things, she recommended I go on to OB Triage at the hospital to get on the monitors and let them make sure everything was ok. Since I had just had an ultrasound the day before, we felt like it would be fine, just better safe than sorry. I tossed the rest of my stuff in my suitcase, as well as a few things for Jason, figuring it would be downright foolish to head to the hospital less than fully prepared.
When we arrived at OB Triage, I was 1 cm, so we figured the mornings' symptoms were probably caused by the beginning of some progress. Monitors showed that everything was fine, and although I felt like I was having mild contractions, nothing was registering. We had another ultrasound, this one a special-something (BPP?? - I don't remember) that specifically monitors fetal movement. We passed that with an 8 out of 8 score, and got ready to be sent home. That ultrasound tech estimated his weight at 7 lbs 10 oz. By this point, some mild contractions were registering on the monitor, and while I won't call them painful, they were definitely uncomfortable. I told the nurse I was surprised to be in this much discomfort and going home. She checked me again, still at 1 cm, so that was that. She did say she thought I'd be back "within a few days - not tonight or anything, but probably by the weekend."
All afternoon Wednesday, the contractions never stopped. The frequency varied from 6 minutes apart to 10-12 minutes apart, but I never went more than about 15 minutes without having one. After dinner, I was really starting to get uncomfortable, and I suppose by that point, we were relatively certain this was "it". Just waiting around for the contractions to reach the magical 5-minute-apart-for-an-hour threshold. At about 9, the 60-minute average (see, I told you the contraction timer app was a lifesaver!) was still 6 minutes or so, but I was hurting so badly, I knew it was time to be ready. We left home at 9:30, and by then, they had passed 5 minutes apart and were more like 3-4.
My family was sitting on pins and needles waiting for us to go to the hospital so they could head this way, so they were glad to get the call before they went to bed.
By the time we got through the ER and into a L&D room, I was 4 cm and in some serious pain. Of course, I had to have an IV and a bag of fluids before I could get the epidural, so this was not a fun time. Bradford's heartbeat was trending down with each contraction as well, so they didn't want to give me anything that might make him sleepy - meaning, no other pain medication. That was a l-o-n-g hour. I had always known I wanted an epidural, so I had not anticipated being in as much pain as I was. Mercifully, it passed and the arrival of the anesthesiologist was a blessed sight. By the time the epidural was done, I was 7 cm. Most of my family had arrived at this point, and I was feeling good, so we got to visit a little. Before I knew it, the nurse was back to check me and I was 8.5 cm. This was probably around 1 a.m., so things were progressing quickly. I should say at this point that of course my doctor, whom we love, was not on call this night. The on-call doctor was someone I had never even heard of, so I wasn't thrilled about that. Not to mention that my wonderful L&D nurse friend, Rivers, was still on a mission trip to Malawi, so I didn't have her either.
At about 2 a.m., I was at 9.5 cm, and the nurse thought I'd for sure be pushing within a half hour or so. God and Bradford evidently had other plans. My contractions began to slow down, and his heart rate was still dropping a bit with each one. Normally, they would have started pitocin right away to get the contractions going again, but they didn't want to due to his heart rate issues. So we gave it a few minutes to see what would happen. And a few more. And a few more. At about 5 a.m., I made the joke "What time does Dr. Phillips get here, anyway?". The nurse said about 7 a.m., and at that point I still didn't think there was any way we'd still be waiting then. It sounds like this would have been a miserable time waiting, but the hours literally flew by. Finally, they decided it would be ok to start the pitocin. At about 6, Jason saw Dr. Phillips in the hallway, and we learned that he had a c-section at 6:30, but would come up after that. I was so excited that he would be there for the delivery.
He came in at about 7:45, and at 8:45 we had a healthy baby boy!! The cord was around his neck, which had been causing the heart rate issues. As any parent will attest, there are no words to describe the moment of your child's birth, so I'll not try.
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| Bradford Samuel Ramsey, 7 lbs., 8 oz, 19.5 inches, 8:45 a.m., March 17, 2011 |
We are overwhelmed and grateful for this precious blessing!
"I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well." Psalm 139:14
