the hospital story

So here is what happened last week-

Your dad and I went to what we knew to be our last doctor's appointment before being induced into labor or going into labor. We looked at you on ultrasound, listened to your heartbeat and went in to be checked for dilation. What we found out was that your amniotic fluid had dropped some- which is very common- and that your heartbeat was very strong and that I was not dilated or effaced at all. Dr. Hashad felt that we needed to not wait any longer and head to the hospital. Honestly, even though you were already a week late, we looked at eachother like-- really? so soon? So, they put in what is called a foley bulb which is like a balloon to help my cervix go into labor. Then, we walked out of that office with an excitement we had never felt before and a lot of calls to make. We called people the whole way home, got home, packed up the car, got some sandwiches from my favorite shop- we did not know that I would not eat solid food again for two whole days.

We went to the hospital and walked in the doors. A minute later, I was in a wheel chair and so it began. Hours and hours of new territory for both of us, from an IV, a catheter, an epidural, external and internal fetal monitors, pitocin, etc etc. They started giving me the drug that would induce contractions to make me go into labor called Pitocin, we settled into my room and watched Indiana Jones on the laptop thinking that we were on our way. I spent the entire night having painful cramping that got worse and worse and about 3:30 am, the nurse told me that she was going to ask the doctor on call but that the pitocin should be stopped until the morning because your heart rate was dropping every time I had a contraction leaving you less oxygen than you might need to be in good shape for the long haul. They turned it off and we tried to get some rest- to no avail.

Dr. Hashad came in at 7am and broke my water, pulled out the bulb and told me it had worked for now- I was dilated to a 3. The next plan was to turn the pitocin back on and hope that labor would progress and that you would tolerate it. As my parents drove from Arizona and Matt's parents made flight arrangements, and people prayed for us- we sat in that room all day long as I went through contractions every 2-4 minutes. At 3pm, Dr. Hashad came over again and checked me-- I was still only dilated to a 3 and you were not doing well during contractions with the pitocin. Instead of put you at risk, we decided in an easy instant, that it was time to turn off the pitocin and prepare for surgery. I was not sad for a moment that I was giving up a vaginal birth because all I knew was that I was definitely going to see your face within an hour or so.

I have to go now because you need to eat-- I will finish the story later....