Vivian's Birth Story

Vivian’s birth story is mellow compared to her brother’s. I was hoping to go into labor naturally, and since I was dilated to 4+ since 37 weeks or so it seemed like a realistic goal. I also knew that if anything was looking like it might go a little weird, I would go for an induction. At my 38 week appointment my BP’s were trending a bit higher and my doctor wanted to see me five days later rather than seven. I ended up in Labor and Delivery that Friday due to some sudden swelling and a BP of 156/87 on a grocery store BP machine. Although it was not that high in L&D, my numbers remained in the 135/80 range which is significantly higher than my baseline 110/60. I had a feeling my doctor would be talking induction at my Monday appointment. My BP’s remained at the higher level and he did recommend that we call it quits before things possibly got scary again. The last thing anyone wanted was for me or Vivian to get sick when we were already in such a great place. So we agreed on an induction Thursday October 28th. Bernie and I decided to try to get me into active labor before then with no success. Hot hot wings and a drive up in high elevation did not work for me.

We went into the hospital at a little after 8 am on the 28th after a short delay. I was group strep B positive so the first thing they did was run antibiotics for four hours in preparation for the induction. Bernie and I sat around, relaxed as much as possible, and waited. We actually had all of our bags packed this time so we had many things to do to keep ourselves entertained. I had my own music to listen to! I had the best nurse during that day. Her name was Char and she was probably 60 years old. She had many years of experience and had probably worked at that hospital longer than I have been alive. It was awesome to have someone who had so many hints and insights into the whole process. When I first came in and told her that I hoped to go through labor without the epidural, she was totally on board and tried to help me get through it. When I changed my mind later, she was just as understanding and supportive.

My doctor finally came in to break my water at 12:45pm. Within thirty minutes my contractions were coming quickly and feeling very intense. I had a pitocin induction with Bennett and did not need it with Vivian (so so so happy about that). The quality of the contractions were very different for me. With Bennett, they felt like knives stabbing over and over again. This time they felt like enormous and painful pressure in my pelvis. I think I basically went into transition almost right away. There was really no build-up since I was already so far dilated. The contractions felt like they never really stopped. By 2pm, I was 6 cm and asked for the epidural. I got that within 30 minutes and things of course eased up after that. In fact, I thought the epidural had slowed the labor because the contractions did not seem to register as very intense on the monitor. When the nurse checked me just after 3pm, I was prepared to hear that I hadn’t made any progress and would need pitocin. I was amazed to hear that I was already at 9cm. We were likely complete by 4pm. My nurse suggested that since we had the epidural, we just let the contractions naturally start the pushing process. So that’s what we did until 5:15 when I started pushing.

The epidural was just as good as the one I had with Bennett. I could feel pressure when I had a contraction and so knew when to push. I could lift and feel my legs still but had no very little to no pain. It did take what seemed like forever but was actually 1.5 hours. My doctor, predictably, did not come in until the very last moment. I think I only pushed twice and she as out. The strangest thing happened near the end. Vivian was actually moving around while I pushed. You could see her kick. It’s hard to describe, but she was definitely living up to the “lively” meaning of her name. She came out yelling and didn’t stop for about two hours after she was born. 7 lbs. 10 oz. and inches...born at 39 weeks 1 day. She weighted over twice as much as Bennett and was 4 inches longer.

This birth experience was obviously so different for everyone involved. It helped resolve some of the lingering feelings I have had since Bennett was born. I didn’t feel cheated, sick, and scared for my baby’s life. I felt educated and much more in control. I felt like my body wasn’t a total failure. And I got to hold my baby after birth, and nurse her, and keep her in the room with us. It was awesome. That’s really the only word that fits.

I never had any protein on my urine dipsticks, no upper right quadrant pain, and officially no preeclampsia. If some of BP readings were correct, I had gestational hypertension at the end. I don’t think there will be an official diagnosis in my medical records.

With all of that said, the answer to the ever-popular “will you have more” question is an unequivocal no. This pregnancy was nerve-racking in a way that I could never fully describe. I lived most of my days in a perpetual state of anxiety that I don’t think I could deal with again. Bernie was wonderful throughout, but I’m sure all of that fear and anxiety wasn’t easy on him (or Bennett for that matter). So we will be happy for what we have and move on to the next stage of our lives...watching our children grow up.

Things have been eventful since we brought Vivian home, but that's a post of another day. And I don't know when that day will be since things a little crazy around here with two kids. I will try to get another post up before Bernie goes back to work next Wednesday night.