Jake's Birth Story

Jake Tyler
September 4, 1999
1030am
8 lbs. 1 oz. & 20 1/2"
40 weeks 3 days

I was due on Wed., Sept 1st. I had my OB appointment that day, and my doctor told me that I was no where near going into labor, and he thought the baby was big. So he went and scheduled me to do a non stress test the next morning at the hospital. I went in....did that and everything looked good. I had an u/s done, and it was determined that the fluid level for the baby looked good too. Also, he was estimated at 8lbs. 13oz.

Well, my doctor decided that the next morning, Fri. the 3rd, I needed to be at the hospital at the crack of dawn, and he would give me some prostaglandin gel. That was to help rippen my cervix. He thought if I waited to go into labor on my own...it would be a week at least, and then the baby would be much bigger. So anyway....my mil takes me to the hospital. Troy was at work. I was given the gel......then they were supposed to check me and see if it was starting to work. They were gonna send me home, until hopefully I would start having contractions. Well, after I was given the gel, my blood and urine tests came back that I had pre-eclampsia. I had been teetering on the edge for weeks.....but now it was official. So along with my high blood pressure, they told me I was going nowhere, and we were gonna have a baby either that night or the next day (Sat. the 4th). I was so nervous!!! My mil called Troy at work and told him he needed to come to the hospital.

So eventually, I get situated in my labor room, and start having contractions. Right away, I was having extreme back pain......that's what they told me was "back labor" ..... that sucked. My contractions although off the chart, weren't dilating me fast enough I guess, b/c I was given Pitocen. My doctor broke my water at about 430pm. Then the contractions really started to hurt. They still were no where near as painful as the back pain though. I was giving anitbiotics for the Group B Strep, and was given magnesium sulfate for my high blood pressure. I also had a catheter, and internal monitor on the baby's head. Sooooo, I was not allowed out of bed b/c I was attached to so much crap. So there I lie in bed on my back.

Oh, and before I was given the catheter, I had to go pee. Well, since I couldn't get out of bed, I was given a bed pan to put under me so I could go in that. That was awful. It was really hard to get situated over that thing....then, b/c it's not natural to pee while lying in bed, I could NOT go. Finally I did though.

Okay.....at about 1030pm, I could no longer stand the pain, so I finally asked for my epidural. Okay, normally, that would have scared me to DEATH....but I was in so much freaking pain, I didn't care. I just remember sitting there hunched over and moaning, and feeling a little pinch. I remember looking in the mirror and seeing the expression on everyones faces though. My mom almost passed out, so they made her leave the room. Finally the epi kicked in for the contractions...so that was nice. Unfortunately, it did nothing to ease my back pain. That was frustrating. Well......that is when i figure I quit progressing (damn epidural!!).

I was so doped up throughout the night, that I remember falling in and out of sleep. I would be woken up b/c I was being checked for progress. Troy still laughs about this......... I guess when they would check me, b/c I couldn't feel my legs due to the meds, they had a hard time keeping my legs up (I was asleep). So they would get one up and the other would fall over. THEN, I remember, during the night a nurse came in to change my sheets. I still give Troy crap about this ........ he was helping her on the other side of the bed. I remember looking up at them standing over me changing the bed, and they were talking and laughing. I don't know what they were talking about, but I always tell people that while I was in pain, laboring with his child, he was hitting on my nurse ...

Okay, back to the story. By 0930 in the morning, Sat. Sept. 4th, I was dilated to only 6 cm. My doctor was off duty and had to be elsewhere. Right before he left, he tells me to hang in there.....I will progress, it may take a while longer. Well, right after he leaves, the doctor taking over my care comes busting in the room saying how Jake is going to be over 10 lbs and I'll never have him vaginally. By that point, I didn't give a crap how he was born, I just wanted him OUT! So they took me in to the OR.

That was pretty scary for me. I had never up to that point had ANY type of surgery, and this was all happening so fast. I couldn't mentally prepare for what was happening. SO, I'm a very modest person, and my most embarrasing moment was when they layed me out on that cold table and lifted my gown to my boobs. There I lay completely exposed, under a bright light to a dozen people. That was nice (not really). Anyway, I was not given enough of a boost of the epi, so I felt the incision and the pushing and yanking and pulling. It was scary, and even though I was crying and telling them I could feel it, all the anesthesiologist would say was "You will be fine. Keep breathing." As soon as Jake was born I heard a small cry, and then the nurse brought him over to me for about 5 seconds, then took off with Jake out of the room.

Next thing I remember, I'm waking up in recovery.

After Jake was born, he was not breathing right, so they had to take him to the nursery. He was born with a little meconium......(that was not present when I had my water broken). He was also occiput posterior (or sunnyside up). That's apparently why he had such a hard time getting down the birth canal. He was NOT 10lbs either. Only 8lbs 1oz and 20 1/2 " long!!! He was PERFECT too.