I went to my doctors appointment thursday afternoon (July 14th) for them to check my cervix. The medical assistant that helped me back took my weight and blood pressure, etc. Then she started going on and on about how because this was my first labor and I was being induced that I was going to be in labor for a very long time and that I probably wouldn't even have him until Saturday morning etc. etc. I was SO annoyed and I not so nicely told her she could please stop talking and leave the room. Matt thought I was so rude but I didn't care. Even though I was being induced I knew I wanted a quick and easy labor and that that is what I was going to get. Because let's face it, I get what I want. Haha. No really though, I had spent a lot of time preparing my mind and my body for a "smooth and easy" labor and I knew that I could have one despite the circumstances.
As the midwife was preparing to check my cervix she was also very negative and kept saying I was probably not having any changes because this was my first pregnancy and I was only 38 weeks etc. Well lo and behold I was dilated to a 2 and was 50% effaced and the baby had been in the right position for weeks now.
Matt and I went out to eat at the Cheesecake Factory for our "last meal" and I ate all of my food and his because I knew the hospital wouldn't let me eat once I checked in and I like my food (incidentally my bag was packed with lots of hidden goodies).
I went in to the hospital to be induced at 8:00 on Thursday July 14. We got all checked in and got all settled into my sweet hospital room. They started out with the IV of course and I just about freaked. I HATE needles and the nurse was trying to get some blood for my dray and couldn't and ended up giving me a huge bruise that ran half way down my forearm. So the IV was annoying in itself and then my arm was so tender because it was all bruised up. I thought right then and there this could be a very long, uncomfortable stay. They gave me my first dose of Citotec (sp?) which helps ripen your cervix for labor. So the plan was to take Citotec every 3 hours until about 6 am and then they can start the pitocin 4 hours after the last dose. Sometimes the Citotec in itself can put you into labor and the pitocin can be avoided. That's what I wanted, and like I said, I get what I want. So they gave me Citotec at 9pm and Matt and I got ready for bed and talked a little bit about baby names. He still wanted Troy and I still wanted Kyler. Sometime during the night we came to an agreement on Kyle.
I got another dose of Citotec at midnight and then tried to get some sleep but the bed was so uncomfortable and I kept having to use the bathroom etc. so I never ended up being able to fall asleep. My water broke on it's own at 3 am and they came in shortly after to give me some more Citotec. The nurse asked me if I had gotten any sleep and I told her I hadn't. She kept telling me I needed my rest and I knew I did because I had worked all day and been awake for almost 24 hours already. She offered me some ambien to help me sleep and I took that around 4 am. Right around then the contractions started getting more intense and more regular. I felt like I was ready to go but the monitor had slipped off my belly so the nurse had no idea. I dealt with those and still didn't get any sleep for about another hour and a half or so. Finally the nurse came back in to give me my last dose of Citotec and I told her about my contractions so she said let's get you an epidural so you can sleep. I thought that I still had several hours before they were even going to start my labor so I agreed. The anesthesiologist came in and I was like I really need to use the bathroom first (even though I had literally just been in there and hadn't been able to do anything). Then the nurse decided to check my cervix and realized I was ready to deliver. I went ahead and still did the epidural around 6 am I think. Then they waited for the midwife to come in. I think I started pushing around 7 am and Kyle was born on July 15th at 7:41 am weighing a whopping 5 lbs 10 oz and was 20.5 inches long.
Even though I had to be induced and ended up using the Ambien and the epidural I am very happy with the way Kyle's birth went. I was in the delivery room for less than 12 hours and ended up with a very healthy and alert baby boy. I am a bit nervous to have to give birth again because everything went so smoothly this time. I didn't get to do an all natural labor like I had been planning on but I was still really grateful for all of the techniques that I learned in my hypnobirthing class to prepare my mind and my body for a "smooth, easy labor".
