Good things always happen on snowy mornings.
It happened on my first date with Steve and again the day my daughter was born. I always knew I wouldn’t make it to my due date and a lot of people doubted me, being a first time mom.
But I knew in my heart I would deliver my baby early.
And I did. 1 week and 1 day early.
Something is Happening
It all started the previous Monday at my 38 week appointment. I was 1cm dilated and my OB was contemplating if we should move up my induction day. I couldn’t handle my pregnancy-induced carpal tunnel any longer, I was getting swollen all over the place, and pregnancy brain was in full effect. Instead, we thought it best to keep our original plan on the following Monday after my due date to be induced.
I was so happy to be 1cm. Eating pineapples, dates, spicy foods, and drinking red raspberry leaf tea must have helped. The next day I noticed a difference in color in my discharge. (Throughout pregnancy you have increased secretions due to an influx of hormones.) I thought I had lost my mucous plug after she checked me and maybe that’s what I was seeing. Then I started questioning myself, maybe my water broke? Maybe I had a high leak? I thought about calling my doctor but since I was at work I was so distracted that I kept putting it off. It wasn’t until I started feeling a cramp that I started to get concerned. My co-worker suggested to have one of our providers check me, but I was so scared that I didn’t jump at the opportunity.
Once I got home that night, I called my OB’s night service to talk to the MD on call. She said that it was probably old blood from being checked at my appointment and that it was nothing to be concerned about. It calmed me down and made me feel better. And she didn’t think my water broke either. With that, I ate more pineapple and went to bed.
Something is Wrong
Wednesday morning I stayed in bed later than usual. As being one of my days off, I usually take these mornings to be lazy and do nothing but enjoy the feeling of not having to be somewhere. Steve came up to kiss me goodbye and I finally decided to get up and be an adult. I remember looking at our bassinet thinking, “I need to put the fitted sheet on the mattress so it’s ready for the baby.” (Little did I know, it was a good decision.) Domer was crying downstairs, begging to go outside, but I had to put myself together and put the laundry away. I finally went downstairs, let Domer out and made my morning cup of tea. I was watching George H. W. Bush’s funeral service when I felt myself go. And when I mean go, I mean “I just peed myself again.” #pregnantwomanproblems
I waddled to the bathroom and saw it. There was bright, red blood.
Like any millennial, I texted my friend first, called my husband second, then called my OB. Should have been the reverse, but where’s the fun in that!? The emergency service asked me if I had felt the baby move and I started crying immediately, because I hadn’t. She told me to go to labor and delivery immediately and that she’d call my OB to let her know I’m on my way to triage.
I literally thought I lost my baby.
Domer knew something was wrong. He sat next to me on the couch and I held his face to mine. I let my tears fall all over his face, but he didn’t mind. By the time Steve turned around to come back home to pick me up and get to the hospital, it was only 30 minutes but felt like hours to me. I never felt so relieved to hear my baby’s heart beat when the nurse placed the monitors on my bump. My baby was ok, but now my blood pressures were acting up.
Something ELSE is Wrong
I never had any high pressures in clinic or protein in my urine, but all of a sudden I started having these insane pressures and it correlated with my protein-creatinine lab result. I knew I had the potential to develop preeclampsia because of the all the swelling I’ve been having and that my mom had pre-E with my brother. Preeclampsia is a condition that is developed during pregnancy with symptoms of high blood pressure, protein in urine, and water retention (edema/swelling.) I had mild preeclampsia, because I didn’t manifest vision problems, headaches, or abdominal pain. Preeclampsia can affect the baby because it can prevent the placenta from getting enough blood, therefore not providing the baby with enough oxygen. With that, they decided to induce me.
I cried. I knew I wasn’t going home that day but I cried because I was so scared.
I didn’t know if I was ready, but in truth, is any person ready to become a parent?
Early Labor
The drug of choice was cytotec (misoprostol): 200mcg every 4 hours. It is meant to soften the cervix not induce contractions, but it could. In triage, the monitors were catching contractions but I honestly wasn’t feeling most of them. I’d feel my abdomen harden but it wasn’t painful. At the end of the first 4 hours, I started feeling some cramping which were equivalent to period cramps. On my second dose of cytotec, the cramps started to get stronger and enough for me to stop and breath through them. Before placing the second cytotec, I was 1.5cm and 80% effaced (softened.) I thought contractions would make my abdomen harden and I would feel immense pain from it. Nope. It was really bad menstrual cramps.
Remember when I said I thought my water broke and it could be a high leak? I always had a fear that my water would break and I wouldn’t have known. Well…I knew when my water broke. It was during a contraction and I looked Steve and said, “I think my water broke, it won’t stop flowing.” This was close to the end of the fours and I knew my OB would want to switch to pitocin and get the party started. Even though I was 1.5cm, I wanted the epidural. I didn’t want to mess with Nubain. Knowing what I know from being a labor and delivery nurse, I’m going to want that epidural because with my water being broken and pitocin on board, my contractions are going to get more painful than ever before. Plus, as a nurse, I was relentless with titrating pitocin. I knew my nurse would be as well. I mean, I’m here to have a baby for crying out loud!
But if I’m going to cry, I’d prefer to have an epidural.
Active Labor
I was nervous. Since I’ve seen so many epidurals being placed, I knew what to expect and I knew what was going to happen and what it looked like. Honestly…it wasn’t that bad. The lidocaine shot was the worst. I actually thought I had a good epidural. I could move my legs and lift my hips enough, but I did feel the tingling and warmth. After the procedure, pitocin was started at 1 and penicillin was infusing (I was GBS positive.) In the end, I think getting the epidural when I did helped me because I was able to relax and let the pitocin do it job without me moaning and clenching. Word to the wise to all the pregnant mamas: pain is and what you say it is. You can have the epidural whenever you want. Don’t let haters momshame you because you got the epidural too early. 5 hours later, I was 8cm and had a s*** load of pressure.
Transition
One thing the epidural didn’t take away was pressure and I felt A LOT of it. Pressure in my bottom and pressure in my perineum. It was an awful feeling. I knew at my previous OB appointment that my baby was “sunny side up” meaning the baby is facing up instead of facing down, otherwise known as occiput posterior or “OP”. Occiput meaning the back of the head is posterior. It is easier to push out a baby facing down. Longer, for OP babies. 2 hours after being checked, I called my nurse and told her I couldn’t take it anymore. She checked me and I was 9.5cm, but the lip (0.5cm) could be reduced during a contraction. With the OB’s blessing, we started pushing because that was the only thing that made me feel better. It’s actually a good thing I felt the pressure because I knew when I was having a contraction and that I had something to push against.
Push!
I pushed for 2 hours. It didn’t seem like 2 hours to me, maybe because I was so motivated to make this pain go away. My nurse told me he/she had long hair. I thought that was peculiar because I didn’t have any heart burn. We joked around thinking it has to be a boy because they get all the good features: hair and long eyelashes. As my baby was about to crown, I didn’t have time to take a break because I felt the head and I had to keep pushing.
I knew something was wrong once the head was delivered.
I knew it was a nuchal (cord around the neck) judging by what the OB was saying to the nurses, the worried expression on my husband’s face, and the fact that I didn’t hear a cry. I was so exhausted I don’t know if I fully comprehended the situation. I was so happy the pressure was gone. Later, I found out it was a triple nuchal with a cord around the arm ( cord wrapped around the neck three times and around the arm.) I’m grateful I had a long umbilical cord, enough for baby to descend down the canal. (Dodged a C-Section!) They immediately took baby to the warmer and after a bit of stimulation, a big cry was ringing throughout the room. I remember thinking, thank goodness, and rested my head back in relief.
Then I realized, is it a boy or girl?
It’s a Girl!?
I was surprised. I always had strong feelings I was carrying a boy, but I also had inklings it was a girl. If you read my Old Wives Tale post (here), it all pointed towards girl. Even being in the hospital, I was thinking girl because her heart rate would accelerate to as high as 180.
I was in love. I found out I had a daughter and I couldn’t believe it. The first time I held her, I was in shock.
I MADE THIS. This is mine! God is truly amazing.
My baby is here, in my arms. I couldn’t believe I pushed her out.
She was literally a pain in my ass, but she was worth every minute of rectal splitting pain.
Little Light in Our Paradise
Overall, I was in labor for 17 hours. Pretty good for an induction, which can sometimes take days. But she is my daughter, so she is all about efficiency and getting out ASAP. She looks like her daddy, thankfully with my nose and his long eyelashes.
I was always set on the name we picked out for a girl : Isla Luz ( “eye-lah-loose“) I just love how simple “Isla” is and how beautiful is sounds. It means island and she is definitely our little piece of paradise. Luz is my mother’s middle name and means light in Spanish. Since being born, she has been the light in our life.
Words of Thanks
I just want to thank everyone who sent me and my husband their thoughts and prayers, especially those of congratulations. We are truly overjoyed and IN LOVE. We love because you loved us first.
Thank you to Emily Smith Photo for the beautiful Fresh 48 pictures of our little family!
We can’t wait for all of you to meet our Isla. Special thanks to the doctors, nurses, and staff at St. Vincent Carmel for providing exceptional care for Isla and myself. And to our parents for driving down for the arrival of their grandchild and helping us transition into parents!
