my birth story

Ok...finally. Here is the story of my labor as told by my husband Johnny with help from our doula Shana. The ones in italics & bold are the text messages he sent to a small list of friends and family. It's a LONG story and was a LONG labor. Enjoy!

Friday - 1/23
13:30 - normal OB GYN appointment - Sonya is 2cm dilated and 40% effaced. They send us to St Luke’s for a sonogram and some fetal monitoring. We walk through Central Park from 93rd and CPW to 58th & Amsterdam....30+ blocks! The resident on duty sends us up to Labor & Delivery to get further monitoring (for no real stated reason). We stay there for 4 hours. Sonya sees some minor contractions on the monitor and feels them a bit when we get home.

Saturday - 1/24
07:00 - I get up for work, Sonya is definitely feeling some contractions. I go into the job expecting to be called away by mid afternoon. The call never comes. I get home around 3PM. We finish off the day pretty normally. Sonya gets some napping in, and we go to bed kind of early.

Sunday - 1/25
00:00 - Sonya wakes up to full-on contractions. They start about 7 min apart, and fluctuate between 5 and 8.
00:45 - Sonya goes to the bathroom and has a bit of bloody show and notices mucus discharge is increasing.
01:00 - Contractions start to weaken a bit.
02:00 - Contractions intensify.
04:00 - I make Sonya an omelet.
05:00 - Things slow down a bit, we go back to sleep.
10:00 - We wake up, contractions are about 10-15 min apart, they stay that way most of the day.
17:00 - We take a long walk around the neighborhood. When we got home, things kick back in heavy. Contractions are about 3-5 min apart. We ride them out at home, eat some donuts we had bought on the walk, and start trying some positions to help Sonya deal with the pain.
22:30 - We call our doula Shana to give her a heads up, and call our OB Dr. Langer to tell her things were happening, but we decide to stay home for a while.
22:30 - Sonya takes a bath for about an hour.

Monday - 1/26
01:00 - We ask Shana to come over. She helps Sonya with pain and soothe her. We slowly get gear up for the hospital.
03:00 - - Sonya’s water breaks.
05:30 - We head to the hospital.
06:00 - Sonya is admitted to St. Lukes/Roosevelt.
07:00 - Sonya is checked. She is 3cm dilated and fully effaced. We are sent to our room in Labor & Delivery - Room 26. When we get there, we ask for intermittent monitoring. This is not greeted kindly, but eventually we get our way, and Sonya is free, on her feet again, and contracting on the birthing ball.
09:00 - Sonya is checked and is 5cm dilated. She takes a bit of a rest and lies down “As long as we have her lying down we should get her on the monitor”, they say...we reluctantly allow it.
09:21 - At the hospital...got here around 6AM. She’s 5cm and totally effaced, with pretty much non-stop contractions. This girl is AMAZING.
11:00 - While I was calling my folks, Dr. Lurie (our on duty OB) had come in and explained that she felt like Sonya’s contractions were “not strong enough”. She wants to introduce a intra-utero compression monitor to more accurately measure the contractions. We don’t feel we’re being given much of a choice, and it happens quickly. Sonya lies down for a bit more, and her contractions remain frequent, but weak. Dr. Lurie wants to start Pitocin. I ask for a bit of time to work with her on her feet, which I do. We begin taking contractions standing and on the birthing ball, and her contractions intensify greatly, but Dr Lurie does not like being unable to monitor the fetal heart rate (our movement had rendered the external monitor unreliable). So, she shortly insists if we were going to move around, that we apply the internal heart rate monitor. We’re uncomfortable with that, and talk her out of it.
12:30 - Sonya’s mobility is severely limited with the internal compression monitor, and she is pretty much forced back into a supine position on the bed. Things stall again, and Dr. Lurie says we need to get Pitocin going. She also recommends a Foley to empty her bladder, since she can’t get up or really move around much at all. We allow the Pitocin to be introduced slowly, and it is ramped up over the next few hours.
15:30 - The baby’s heart rate is dipping with each contraction, and they insist on the internal fetal heart rate monitor. A resident inserts it and screws it in.
16:00 - The Pitocin is reintroduced. Sonya’s contractions are now spaced out more, and still fairly weak.
16:27 - Still in fucking labor. Things have not gone as we had hoped them to. One
thing is certain, though. It cannot be underestimated how overwhelmed I am by the strength, will, and selflessness of Sonya. We are all lucky to know such a
creature...seriously - holy shit.
17:15 - Sonya is checked by Dr. Lurie and has dilated to 7cm. There are also traces of light meconium in the water but not enough or dark enough to worry about. Dr. Lurie feels like a Cesarean is around the corner, but knows Sonya wants a vaginal, natural birth. Since she will have to get an epidural to have a Cesarean, she suggests getting that first and seeing if that will relax the cervix enough to open up that last bit.
18:45 - Sonya is administered an epidural.
19:15 - Sonya nods off a bit, the Pitocin is increased, and I step out to get some food.
19:19 - After 44 hours spent riding out steady contractions without a drop of medicine, fetal heart rate issues have forced SK under an epidural. If this relaxes her cervix enough to push our baby out in the next few hours, we can avoid a c-section.
22:00 - Sonya is checked again. She is still 7cm, though the baby has dropped a bit more and is engaged.
23:15 - Depending on Sonya’s position in the bed, the fetal heart rate continues to dip severely during contractions. Dr. Lurie has an amnio-infusion administered to help relieve any pressure on the cord. The Pitocin is stopped for a bit, then reintroduced once the fluid has drained into the uterus.

Tuesday - 1/27
01:00 - Sonya is checked. She is 8.5cm dilated.
03:00 - Sonya is checked. She is 9cm dilated.
05:00 - After HOURS of lying on her back with an epidural on Pitocin, Sonya is finally dilated enough to attempt a push. There is still a lip to the cervix, but Dr. Lurie feels like she can push it aside with her fingers, if Sonya can push the baby through. Sonya’s natural labor has died by this point and the contractions are being created by the Pitocin alone. This is not a sufficient force to work with her, and her attempts to push fail.
06:30 - Sonya is taken to prep and to the OR, and I scrub up.
07:00 - I joined her in the OR for the cesarian.
07:03 - Suited up, and heading into the OR for the C.
07:24 - Angus Anton North is surgically removed from his mother and introduced to the world.
08:26 - Angus Anton North came out into the world at 7:24AM. He weighs about 8
lbs, and has reddish hair.

Wednesday - 1/28
20:45 - SK is asleep and snoring for the first time since Saturday afternoon...YAY!!!

the most unrelaxing day ever...

Long story made somewhat short.....Here's the scoop on my "relaxing" Friday - aka the first day of my maternity leave. I wrote this out originally in an email to a few friends, and now I share if with you...

We had doctor and a 41 week sonogram at the hospital on Friday
I'm 2 cm dilated, 40% effaced.
We were at the hospital FOREVER....ok, 4 hours.
We went for the sonogram, which was fine - we have enough fluid and things look good. Before that I had a non-stress test, and the doctor wanted me on it for more time, so we did more time, then after the sonogram he came down and said he "wasn't happy" with it and sent me upstairs for more monitoring. It was the doctor at the hospital, not MY doctor, and he didn't give much of an explanation as to what he wasn't happy with.

We went upstairs, which is actually labor and delivery, and into big area with about 8 curtained off spaced full of women getting the same test. Some intern said things looked fine and tried to give me a vaginal exam, which i refused. I said "I just had one at 1:30" and she was fine with us skipping it. Phew! I've received some advise about interns and trying to avoid them giving you vaginal exams. I really don't need 2 in one day thank you very much. They let us go, saying things were good. Phew.

Earlier in the day, my normal doctor also wanted to strip my membranes, which I denied. Said we'd wait until next week for that! Our next visit to the doctor is on Monday, but hopefully I won't make it until then BECAUSE...on the monitor it looked like I was having somewhat regular contractions! I could barely feel them - like a mild cramp - but they continued last night, but now they are gone. Maybe Braxton-Hicks? Either way, things seem to be moving along.

We also walked from the doctor to the hospital, which was 30 blocks in Central Park! It was 44 degrees yesterday, so a lovely time....and I had hot thai food for dinner.
Fingers crossed for some action soon.

yay! maternity leave!

My maternity leave started today - yay! I am only missing one crucial thing - the baby! I am very thankful for my 3 months off though. It will be weird to adjust at first...not check work email, and not check in, but hopefully once the baby comes I won't care about any of that stuff! Today we go to the doctor AND the hospital. Doctor is a normal visit, hospital is for the 41 week sonogram so they can check the fluids, etc and make sure everything is still looking good.

overdue!

Argh! I was due on Friday and now it's Wednesday and as of yesterday, I was still only 1cm dilated! 'doh! I am keeping sane and calm though. Due dates are so vague. This is not up to me! No amount of me being impatient will help. I DO want to meet this little person though, and the anticipation of labour is making me a little nutty! It's this giant fear for the unknown...not fear though, more like nervous excitement! When will I go into labour? Will I be sure that's what it is? What will it feel like? When will we call the doctor? When will we call the doula? When will I scream in pain? When will we go to the hospital? How long will it take? So many unanswered questions remain!

Anyway - I'm trying to walk as much as possible, but it's freeeeezing here in NYC, so that makes it tricky, plus there is still ice on many of the sidewalks, which makes my husband nervous. We had indian food last week, and I have some red raspberry leaf tea. If I haven't given birth on Monday I'm going to get some acupuncture. We have another doctor's visit on Friday plus a visit to the hospital for a sonogram to check the amniotic fluid level. I hope it's all ok and I hope I'll be more dilated by then! I'd even be ok with just 2cm! Tomorrow will be my last day at work for 3 months, and that will be a fine thing!

what a week!

Phew!!! What a week. I went to Chicago for work - no problems there, fine time, great town, and then I came back and it was labor day weekend! That meant a quick 2 night trip to Long Island to see the in-laws and my sister and brother in law and my godson, and it was a busy weekend! Thank god I had Monday off, and yesterday was my 20 week anatomy scan! YAYAYAY! That took place at the hospital I will deliver at, St.Lukes-Roosevelt in Manhattan which provided us with a great opportunity to get our bearings, as thankfully I have never been to a hospital in NYC. It seemed like a nice clean place, and I really only saw the fetal maternity ward or whatever you call it, and not the actual maternity ward. For that I need to schedule a tour (note to self: schedule tour!

Anyway - we filled out a piece of paper, waited in the waiting room (bring a magazine or book if you're going, there were NONE there), and then went into a room with a nice gal who was the ultrasound technician. I pulled my pants and undies to just below my pubic bone and off they went! It was about 25-30 minutes and she looked at pretty much all aspects of the growing baby...the head, arms, legs, feet, hands, heart, spine, you name it! She spent a lot of time on the heart, which I guess because it's important to watch it work and make sure things are working well. We told her we didn't want to know the sex, and she said "ok, I'll let you know when I get to that area and you can look away", but she didn't - or didn't tell us to look away and we were none the wiser, which makes me think it's a girl - because maybe there's nothing to see - at least nothing resembling a penis! Ha! After she was done, she gave us 3 photos and then a doctor came in and reviewed everything super fast and said everything was fine and that they would send results to my doctor. And that was that! Painless and supposedly normal! I'll call the doc on Friday to check in about the results anyway.

PS> I'm 20 weeks!

doctor

We went to the doctor yesterday afternoon for an 18 week checkup. We met another doctor in the practice and she was very nice. There are 4 doctors and we're at the point where we start rotating in order to get to know them all, since you never know who will be on when it's time to deliver!

Again, no ultrasound, but we did hear the heartbeat - which is always nice....to know that it's still there and doing well! The rate was 130bpm, which is good. Thing were smooth at the doctor. Not much to report. They took blood for the spina bifida test, since that wasn't included in the CVS testing. Good news about that, is that I didn't pass out. The nurse that took my blood said "I remember you.." in a worried/snarky tone.

I am most looking forward to our 20 week anatomy scan, which is on 9/2. That will be the first time we've seen the baby in about 2 months!

I'm still feeling good, trying to drink a ton of water, since I do have constipation as always. I am showing a bit more, but I haven't "popped" yet. I don't exactly know what that means, but from what I hear I will wake up one morning and magically not be able to do up my pants. People that tell me this swear that they aren't exaggerating, but I don't believe them, so we'll see!

In other news, I THINK I am feeling some movement. It feels like occasional fluttering, and I think that's what it is, but it's so faint that it's hard to tell. The doc said in 2 weeks I will know it for sure...cool!!!

bigtime ups and downs

I'm 11 weeks! YAY!

Last Friday I had another doctor's appointment and it definitely had it's ups and downs. First of all, we drove there - and parking was a bitch. My husband dropped me off and continued to look for a spot, and because of that - he missed the sonogram. I apparently had the first appointment that day, and unlike our last appointment, where we waited for about 20 minutes, this time I was whisked right in. Anyway - I think I lost a pound, which I guess is ok - she didn't say anything. The sonogram was amazing. It was SO different than last time. Last time it was a blob, and this time I could definitely see a tiny baby inside of me, and it even moved! It was pretty monumental and I was sad my hubby couldn't be there. He made it in just as the doctor's appointment was ending, and just as it was my turn to give blood....A LOT of blood.

I'm pretty sure that there were about 10-12 test tubes lined up. This was the blood for all the tests like Tay-Sacks, Fragile-X, etc. This is where things went downhill. I sat down and they started taking the blood. About halfway through, I started getting woozy, so I asked if it was almost done and she said "yes, just let me know when you can't take it anymore". I did. I said I felt sick and then I said I was going to pass out, as if you've ever passed out before, you know when you're going down. SO....pass out I sure did, and they had gotten my husband who helped me walk, but I couldn't walk, so I kind of fell and he caught me and he and the 2 nurses worked together to somehow get my dead weight into an exam room to sit or lay down. I sat, and then came to. I felt fine, but they made me lay down for a while and gave me some apple juice in a juice box. My husband was telling me what happened and said he came in and I was catatonic - I guess I had mostly passed out, but my eyes remained open, which freaked him out a bit. So that was a big downer. I wasn't surprised, as when I was in 12th grade I tried to give blood and they told me to never try again as it resulted in me feeling woozy, but I don't think I passed out - I just had to lay down, drink ginger ale and eat cookies until I felt better. I guess some people just react differently when a lot of blood is taken. I don't have a fear of needles or blood, still I choose not to look, and I haven't had a problem in almost 20 years, but then again, no one since then has tried to take that much of my blood! SO........it was a BIG day!

This will be a big week, as I have a CVS test on Thursday with Dr.Wapner, who apparently is the "guru" of CVS tests, and was instrumental in the development of said test! Hopefully the removal of that fluid will go better than the removal of the blood! I hear that many people are so distracted by watching the ultrasound used to navigate the tools, that they barely notice the procedure. I'm hoping for that!

The First doctor's visit!

Here's a play by play. After I filled out multitudes of forms and then went in, my blood pressure was taken by a nurse and then she told me how to pee in a cup. Then I changed into a gown with the opening facing front of course. My lovely doctor came in and said congrats and we talked for a while and then she went to town. First a pap, then a breast exam - standard OBGYN checkup stuff since I was about due for that anyway. Then she felt the uterus with her fingers....yikes....awkward! Then she stuck what looked like a thin dildo in my snatch and that was a sonogram. It went in and somehow showed my uterus, where we saw a little blob that had a heartbeat that was beating fast! Everything's looked good....not much to see, not a distinguishable baby that is, but at least I know it's not a phantom pregnancy and the tests I took were right! Yay! I go back in 2 weeks for some blood tests, and in the meantime I need to choose between a CVS test and an amniocentesis, since my hubby and I have determined that since I am 36, we would like to do som testing to make sure nothing is wrong. OK! Any advice between those 2 tests would be welcomed.