we had OB appointment at 9:15 in the morning to check on the baby and the water level. on Monday, June 11, the doctor said that the water level in the womb is considerably low (6.1). if the water level goes down below 5, they have to do labor induction, because it’s an indication that the placenta has gotten old and doesn’t supply enough food for the baby.
well, then it happened.
the water level had gone down to 4.2. there was no significant contraction, as i only felt random ones lightly, starting two days ago. the dilation was only a little over 1cm, not much different than 11 days ago.
so, the doctor had to rip the cervix manually to around 3cm. she then sent me to the hospital to be admitted to the labor room to get induction. it was around 10:30AM.
on the first hour of the labor. still feeling spiffy!
in about an hour, after i was settled in the labor room and had cleaned my bowels, the anesthetic doctor came. he was sooo sweet. he patiently explained to me how the epidural works. he gave me a local anesthetic on a small of my back, he then inserted the epidural tube into my spine… right before he left the room, he showed me the epidural needle that he used to insert the tube. whoa, it’s huge! amazing that i didn’t feel a thing.
after that, ari showed up. after he took care of my paperwork, he quickly went home to get some of my stuff, including my DS Lite.
then, the nurse came in to put on the ivy for the induction. then, the pain started… even though i was on epidural, strangely, i could still feel my contraction. the first three hours were fine, because the pain wasn’t as intense and they were still quite apart from each other. the nurse kept coming, asking if i feel anything. i told them that i can still feel the contraction on the left side of my body.
yep, just the left side.
and they kept adding the dose of the epidural. it doesn’t seem to matter… the pain subsided for only about 10 minutes right after they increase the dosage, then it comes back on the left side of the body.
on the fifth hour. exhausted.
finally, around the fifth hour, a senior nurse came by and told me to lay facing my left. she hopes, that way, the epidural would “fall” onto the left side of my body. strangely, it works. i could finally feel no pain and fell asleep.
fast forward to the 7th hour, the dilation is on 9th cm. the nurse called the doctor, who showed up within 15 minutes of the call. she checked on me and said that everything looked good. she said she’ll be hanging around in the mall close by, so when i’m fully dilated, she can get to the labor room quickly.
in about half an hour, the midwife finally told us that the cervix is almost fully dilated… there is only a small lump on the back left. the epidural has stopped working since i’ve changed my sleeping position. i could fully feel the contraction, and i couldn’t wait to do the pushing.
i was soooo excited…. i’ve been waiting for this! i’ve even dreamed about this a few times!
the nurses start to install the leg holder and the stick thingy for me to hold during pushing. i, who never went to any pregnancy/birth classes, had no idea what to do… so the midwife quickly gave me quick info on how to breath, how to push, etc etc. it’s okay, though, because she coached me on when to push and breath throughout the labor process. she even coached ari on what to do to help me.
after a few push, the doctor arrived. all i remember was excitement and joy… i couldn’t wait to see the baby.
at the beginning, everyone cheered on me. i could feel that the bulge inside my belly was moving further down the canal… i was told to keep pushing. ari can start feeling tiny bit of the baby’s hair during each push. but then it stayed that way for a while.
after about an hour of pushing, things didn’t go anywhere. i was still told to keep pushing. meanwhile, the doctor’s and nurses’ faces changed from excited to worry… and i began to wonder.
then, the doctor told me that the baby is sorta stuck and that she will use vacuum to help pulling the baby out. and if it’s still doesn’t work, she will have to perform an emergency caesarean. ack!
apparently, it was a brow presentation… aw, crap. after months of preparation to have a natural birth (making sure that i stay thin and the baby stay small), it was disappointing that a complication that can only be detected during labor mess it all up. it was the rarest malpresentation (1/2000 chance to happen to anyone), and it happened to me. just my luck.
after four tries using the vacuum, which was a little uncomfortable when placed on the baby’s head, the doctor gave up and ordered the change of plan… i remember, on those four tries, i prayed on every push so that i didn’t have to go through caesarean. i kept telling the baby to come out so that doctor doesn’t have to cut mommy’s tummy. but that didn’t happen.
i remember thinking that i wanted to cry… i was both nervous and disappointed that i couldn’t give natural birth. i was afraid about the recovery pain from the incision. i was worried that i will be in too much pain that i wouldn’t be able to breastfed properly… i wanted to cry, but i decided not to, because i felt like i’ve been doing very well (no screaming and lots of smiling) so far, and i didn’t want to be upset.
after that, things went sorta blurred… (to be continued)
6 comments
How weird — I am about to post my own labor and birth story, which I’ve been working on finishing for the last two days. Thanks for sharing yours!
wow amazing you can still remember such details! the important thing is that you and aina are doing well now, kudos to you!
ha! is it to celebrate Otto’s half year birthday?
i’ve started writing this entry 6 months ago, when the details were still fresh. i’ve forgotten most of it now, though.
whoaaaaa…. hebat, masih inget detil2nya..
kalo gue, pas disuruh caesar sempet agak kecewa juga sih Thal. tapi lega juga krn waktu itu denyut jantungnya Naila melemah terus…
iya ya, elo pake c-section juga waktu ngelahirin naila. sekarang kalo dipikirin, ya memang mesti di ceasar. kalo engga, masa didiemin aja nyangkut…