We head up there, they have me change into a gown and Angie, our nurse, takes a sample of the fluid leaking, sure enough when she does, I start leaking "A LOT" of fluid onto the table. They took the sample to lab and put a monitor on me, I was having contractions, regular about 7 minutes apart, and very strong.
Dr. Mazdai enters the room exhausted (she had 2 other women in my same situation and was the MD on call), she states "Well Jennifer, this is the worst case scenario for your birth plan" (in my birth plan I wanted to avoid Pitocin and do everything natural). In my head I'm thinking... yeah... here we go! She states she will give me to 2am to see if I will go into more intense labor, if not we will start Pitocin (oh no!! the evil drug!!). On top of it I was only 50% effaced and 1 cm dilated (if that). So... I walk around, eat food because once I start Pitocin I was not allowed any food at all. Angie checks me again at 2am and states still not dilated, no changes. We got started on fluids to see if that would assist with contractions, and it really did. However, Dr. Mazdai wanted me to rest with the monitors on until 4am. Well let me tell you that was a LONG 2 hours. I tried to sleep, but I really couldn't get comfortable, I was having light contractions, nothing serious.
4AM: Angie states, "well your contractions have stopped and we need to go ahead and start the Pitocin". I for sure thought I was still having contractions, after Angie returned with the Pitocin, we figured out that the monitor wasn't even in the correct position. (Now after 4am, things started to blend together). I asked to be checked again, I still was not dilated and not effaced any more than at 2am. Once we started the Pitocin I did not want to sleep, I knew I needed to move.
4am-6am: Contractions started to come every 2 minutes, lasting 60 seconds, but really were not intense. I was trying to focus and listen to music, walking, squatting, theraball... anything so that it would speed up my contractions. They were turning up the Pitocin every 30 minutes.
630am: I felt my first intense contraction, and told Eric he needed to wake up now (I was letting him get rest before we started this process, one of us needed rest and it wasn't going to be me). Kathy, my day shift nurse arrives, and states "we need to turn this up!", referring to the Pitocin. She was wonderful and my prior patient who was the Care Coordinator for the Childbirth center came and gave me a motivational speech on how I was going to do this Natural@! (so here we go!)
630am-10am: Wow! This is starting to hurt, quite a bit.... wholly moley! Eric was doing good job distracting me... but around 930AM is really the last time I remember laughing at all. Because these contractions were hitting the 8/10 pain scale!
10am: My mother-in-law arrives and Kathy checked my cervix... well I was 90% effaced, but not dilated at all. I broke down in tears, I felt I was working so hard and it didn't make a difference. Well since I broke down in tears, my nurse recommended an epidural.... NOT what I wanted. I stated nope... I'm going to do this without drugs! I requested the massage therapist to assist with labor. She was supposed to come in at 8am, never saw her. So she got me in different positions, the best position I found was seated on the theraball, one person holding down each leg because I would shiver between contractions.
11am: Well I was really hitting 10/10 pain at this point, on the theraball, breathing, relaxation, massage... checked again at 11am. NOTHING changed except I was 100% effaced, and Kathy thought she felt a "pocket of fluid" pushing through my cervix at 1cm. I really wasn't sure what to do... do I see if we get the "pocket of fluid" burst, it had to be by the MD or a midwife and I didn't want to wait, OR we do the epidural. Eric was so supportive, but he made the decision for me since I was crushed. Luckily, a midwife was on the floor and she came in ruptured the "pocket of fluid" broke the rest of my water essentially so that Fayola's head could push more efficiently on my cervix. I went from 1 cm to 4 cm in 1 second! I looked and Eric and he at me, we both had tears in our eyes, we knew we could do this without an epidural and I was so motivated after that. But shortly after the nurse looked at my husband and said, "Go get some food, it's going to get intense". I was like "What!?!"... how could it get worse.
11am-12pm: AHHHHHH!!!! This hurts!! Fayola was in the posterior position, we needed her to turn, so they had me on hands/knees and sidelying, both sucked!!! After 12pm, I was 5-6cm dilated, but I didn't think I could do it... looked at Eric and said, "I need an epidural, I can't do this". Kathy looked at me and said, you could do that OR Nubane. "oh yeah... Nubane" (I had been recommended to take this to ease my anxiety by 2 previous patients, but completely forgot). We started the Nubane and instantly I was feeling "high" and no more anxiety. (The whole time I was beating myself up, I thought I pushed myself too hard before going into labor and made my water break early.... even though no one agreed with me).
12pm-2pm: OUCH!!! whew! The contractions were still 10/10, but I was "out of it" in between due the Nubane, it helped me relax A LOT. I slept between contractions, but it was hurting worse and worse with each contraction. I knew I was getting close. At 2pm: I was 7-8cm dilated.
230pm: "I'm done". I tried to get off the table and leave, like I could escape the pain. However, they start rolling in all the delivery equipment, Dr. Mazdai enters the room stating you go girl!! I was 9cm dilated, she had to go next door to deliver a baby, I could hear the woman screaming bloody murder, it was crazy! I couldn't handle the pressure or pain... Kathy said, let me know when you feel you need to push. Well let me tell you 3pm hit and I was yelling "I'm pushing!!!"
3pm: GRUNT!! Dr. Mazdai states, I bet you can get this baby out with 5 contractions... I look at her, "what!?! I thought it was one push then out...". They offered a mirror, I didn't want to look as I was pushing. I was trying to figure out how to take deep breaths between pushes... it was impossible.I felt like I was pushing a watermelon through... I will spare this details. I was grunting so loudly it was hurting my throat, Eric supporting my right leg and head, and the nurse my other leg.
3:39pm: In 6 contractions and about 20-30 minutes of pushing.... we met our daughter for the very first time outside my womb. Dr. Mazdai laid her on my belly/chest and I looked right into her eyes for the first time... it was as though I was glimpsing at her soul. She had tons of hair, like her mommy did when she was born.
Fayola Agnes McGowan
6 lbs. 10 oz.
19.7 inches long
Fayola- "Good Fortune Walks with Honor"
Laura (Fayola's grandmother)- derived from the word laurel, used for a crown of honor
Agnes- her great-grandmother Agnes Condruk
Welcome my dear... I am so happy to be blessed with your presence.
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