Revisiting birth stories... 1st edition: Avery Peter.
Today is November 6, 2012. My due date for baby boy #5. However, he has not decided to grace us with his presence yet, so I'm left sitting around waiting. I decided that while waiting I would post my other boys' birth stories.
Why? Honestly, over the last two weeks I've had a lot of questions about why we haven't pushed for an induction yet, why I haven't tried self induction methods, comments about how if baby doesn't come on his own and we induce- it will end with a c-section. Having been through four births already, I wanted to share my stories. Maybe it will help some of my friends with understanding what I've been through and help with their own experiences.
First up: Avery Peter.
I found out I was pregnant with my first son on July 15, 2003. I took a first response test and started rubbing my eyes repeatedly when there were two pink lines. I thought I was seeing things. Within a few days I had my pregnancy confirmed on base (I was active duty Air Force at the time) so that I could be pulled out of working in my shop with fuel vapors. At first I was placed in one of the offices upstairs from the hangar, but eventually I was pulled entirely from the building to be the flight training monitor at our squadron building.
Avery's pregnancy was relatively uneventful. I had some very mild queasiness in the first trimester, but nothing major. I had my first ultrasound at 12 weeks 2 days. My due date was questionable- by my dates it was calculated at March 8, 2004, but by the ultrasound they calculated it at March 20, 2004.
On November 4, 2003 I had my 20 week ultrasound. For an hour on the screen we watched measurements before the technician would tell us he was a boy. I immediately knew his name would be Avery Peter. After that ultrasound we were told we needed to have another ultrasound later to see if something called choroid plexus cysts would go away. I knew NOTHING about what they were, and this was before google and online birth boards for help and research, so I remained in the dark. On December 29th we had another ultrasound- which revealed that the choroid plexus cysts were gone and that he was already measuring 4 pounds by ultrasound.
In January I had one episode of preterm contractions that landed me in labor and delivery on the monitors. One shot of terbutaline later and I was on my way, on orders to try to rest when I wasn't working. I was told I probably wouldn't make it to my due date (proof that doctors don't know squat about when a baby will come!)
March rolled around, on March 2nd I did my final day of active duty before separating from the Air Force. I had made the decision to end my military career early because being Avery's mom was way more important to me and I didn't want to risk leaving him for deployments. I have piles of respect for all the women in the military who have children, but I just knew it wasn't for me.
March 8th came and went. I just KNEW that was my correct due date, but as a first time mom, the military doctors just didn't listen to me. My due date in my chart remained March 20. March 20th also came and went. That entire month of March was one big waiting game. I had been sitting around waiting for my Avery to show up, I wasn't working, I had no desire to do anything or go anywhere.
On March 29th I had a doctor's appointment at about 10:30 AM. I was cranky and beyond miserable. The doctor checked me and said I was "Fort Knox". I was not dilated, I was not effaced, baby's head was VERY high. This is not normal even for a first time mom for baby's head to not be engaged at all. I was told that I really needed to be ready for the possibility of a c-section because he was just too big for me to deliver. The doctor agreed to let me try and said if I hadn't gone into labor by March 31st at 7 am, to come in for an induction. I felt so very discouraged.
That night, at exactly 10:30 PM, the first contraction struck. Exactly ten minutes later the next one followed. I KNEW it was it. Every ten minutes like clockwork, the contractions were hitting me, across my lower back. By 2 am we were at labor and delivery to get checked. I was 2-3 centimeters and they confirmed that I was, in fact, in labor. HOWEVER, I needed to hit 4 cm before they would admit me. So they sent me home to labor.
For the next 24 hours I labored at home. My back labor was miserable, to say the least. I could not sit, I could not even lay down. I would lie in bed, but when a contraction would come on I had to roll out of bed and onto my knees. I rocked back and forth until the contraction would end. I spent time on the phone with the nurses from L&D- trying everything they suggested. I climbed stairs during contractions, I squatted holding onto chairs during contractions, yet the intensity of them and their timing did not change. Again in the middle of the night, the nurses advised I come in again for another check. I was STILL 2-3 cm. The on call doctor gave me a shot of demerol and sent me home, advising that I come back at 7 am for my scheduled "induction", that no matter what I would be admitted.
Through another night I suffered again. The demerol allowed me to sleep for about 25 minutes, the most sleep I'd had in several days. I got to the morning of the 31st and started to get ready for the hospital. I attempted to eat some oatmeal, but I couldn't stomach it. It took quite awhile to make the walk to labor and delivery from the ER entrance of the hospital. I finally got there and was admitted. The doctor checked me to find out I had FINALLY progressed to 5-6 cm. He immediately broke my water. I continued to labor with no change for another hour. At that one hour mark, the doctor made the decision to start pitocin. I had been laboring for over 30 hours at this point, so I didn't dare to argue, I was exhausted. An hour into the pitocin drip still brought no change. At that point, he doubled the dose of pitocin. Things started moving then finally, and the contractions became very intense. At over 37 hours of labor I was starting to feel like it was never going to end and I wanted rest so badly. I had stayed VERY calm through it all, I had not cried or screamed, I had focused through every contraction on WHY I was doing this. I had prepared myself completely for a med free birth. What I hadn't planned on was this long of a labor. So I asked for the epidural. I remained calm while they placed it, expecting the relief to be close, I just focused on keeping my cool. What I wasn't expecting though... the relief did not come. I focused so I wouldn't panic, but every contraction still had the same amount of pain and it was intensifying. I managed to whisper in between contractions that I still felt everything. They called back in the anesthesiologist and he could not figure out what was wrong, he tried to get it to work, but it never did.
I didn't have time to lose my focus and worry about the epidural, I just had to focus. Before I knew it, I was FINALLY 10 cm's. The nurses told me to start pushing, and the doctor came in. He said that if I did not get this baby delivered within the hour, we would go to vacuum suction him, if that didn't work we would use the forceps, and if I still couldn't get him- it would be time for a c-section. Hearing those words after such a long pregnancy and labor was all the motivation I needed to push with everything I had. Within 20 minutes Avery was crowning and with all the strength in me, I got him out with one final push at 1:47 pm on March 31, 2004. He was 9 pounds 10 ounces, 21 3/4 inches long. He had a head full of dark brown hair and grey-blue eyes. He was perfect.
Immediately following Avery's delivery and the delivery of the placenta, the doctor wanted to see my chart. It seems now that I was right all along that my first due date was the correct one. The doctor said my placenta was very deteriorated and his skin was peeling off, both indications that he was more than just 11 days overdue. He was over three weeks overdue. It's a miracle that Avery made it and was not stillborn.
Avery is the reason I will never again wait labor out. A lot of women wait for labor until they are 42+ weeks along, I will never again be one of them.
Also following Avery's delivery I was told by my doctor that I was tough as nails. I made it through 39+ hours of labor without pain relief, and the only time I made ANY noise was during the very last push. That was a very proud moment to hear from a doctor that I was tough as nails.
Avery was an AMAZING baby, I could not ask for more from my first son. What a beautiful blessing he was then, and now.
It's hard to believe it's seriously been 8.5 years since the day we first met!
Why? Honestly, over the last two weeks I've had a lot of questions about why we haven't pushed for an induction yet, why I haven't tried self induction methods, comments about how if baby doesn't come on his own and we induce- it will end with a c-section. Having been through four births already, I wanted to share my stories. Maybe it will help some of my friends with understanding what I've been through and help with their own experiences.
First up: Avery Peter.
I found out I was pregnant with my first son on July 15, 2003. I took a first response test and started rubbing my eyes repeatedly when there were two pink lines. I thought I was seeing things. Within a few days I had my pregnancy confirmed on base (I was active duty Air Force at the time) so that I could be pulled out of working in my shop with fuel vapors. At first I was placed in one of the offices upstairs from the hangar, but eventually I was pulled entirely from the building to be the flight training monitor at our squadron building.
Avery's pregnancy was relatively uneventful. I had some very mild queasiness in the first trimester, but nothing major. I had my first ultrasound at 12 weeks 2 days. My due date was questionable- by my dates it was calculated at March 8, 2004, but by the ultrasound they calculated it at March 20, 2004.
On November 4, 2003 I had my 20 week ultrasound. For an hour on the screen we watched measurements before the technician would tell us he was a boy. I immediately knew his name would be Avery Peter. After that ultrasound we were told we needed to have another ultrasound later to see if something called choroid plexus cysts would go away. I knew NOTHING about what they were, and this was before google and online birth boards for help and research, so I remained in the dark. On December 29th we had another ultrasound- which revealed that the choroid plexus cysts were gone and that he was already measuring 4 pounds by ultrasound.
In January I had one episode of preterm contractions that landed me in labor and delivery on the monitors. One shot of terbutaline later and I was on my way, on orders to try to rest when I wasn't working. I was told I probably wouldn't make it to my due date (proof that doctors don't know squat about when a baby will come!)
March rolled around, on March 2nd I did my final day of active duty before separating from the Air Force. I had made the decision to end my military career early because being Avery's mom was way more important to me and I didn't want to risk leaving him for deployments. I have piles of respect for all the women in the military who have children, but I just knew it wasn't for me.
March 8th came and went. I just KNEW that was my correct due date, but as a first time mom, the military doctors just didn't listen to me. My due date in my chart remained March 20. March 20th also came and went. That entire month of March was one big waiting game. I had been sitting around waiting for my Avery to show up, I wasn't working, I had no desire to do anything or go anywhere.
On March 29th I had a doctor's appointment at about 10:30 AM. I was cranky and beyond miserable. The doctor checked me and said I was "Fort Knox". I was not dilated, I was not effaced, baby's head was VERY high. This is not normal even for a first time mom for baby's head to not be engaged at all. I was told that I really needed to be ready for the possibility of a c-section because he was just too big for me to deliver. The doctor agreed to let me try and said if I hadn't gone into labor by March 31st at 7 am, to come in for an induction. I felt so very discouraged.
That night, at exactly 10:30 PM, the first contraction struck. Exactly ten minutes later the next one followed. I KNEW it was it. Every ten minutes like clockwork, the contractions were hitting me, across my lower back. By 2 am we were at labor and delivery to get checked. I was 2-3 centimeters and they confirmed that I was, in fact, in labor. HOWEVER, I needed to hit 4 cm before they would admit me. So they sent me home to labor.
For the next 24 hours I labored at home. My back labor was miserable, to say the least. I could not sit, I could not even lay down. I would lie in bed, but when a contraction would come on I had to roll out of bed and onto my knees. I rocked back and forth until the contraction would end. I spent time on the phone with the nurses from L&D- trying everything they suggested. I climbed stairs during contractions, I squatted holding onto chairs during contractions, yet the intensity of them and their timing did not change. Again in the middle of the night, the nurses advised I come in again for another check. I was STILL 2-3 cm. The on call doctor gave me a shot of demerol and sent me home, advising that I come back at 7 am for my scheduled "induction", that no matter what I would be admitted.
Through another night I suffered again. The demerol allowed me to sleep for about 25 minutes, the most sleep I'd had in several days. I got to the morning of the 31st and started to get ready for the hospital. I attempted to eat some oatmeal, but I couldn't stomach it. It took quite awhile to make the walk to labor and delivery from the ER entrance of the hospital. I finally got there and was admitted. The doctor checked me to find out I had FINALLY progressed to 5-6 cm. He immediately broke my water. I continued to labor with no change for another hour. At that one hour mark, the doctor made the decision to start pitocin. I had been laboring for over 30 hours at this point, so I didn't dare to argue, I was exhausted. An hour into the pitocin drip still brought no change. At that point, he doubled the dose of pitocin. Things started moving then finally, and the contractions became very intense. At over 37 hours of labor I was starting to feel like it was never going to end and I wanted rest so badly. I had stayed VERY calm through it all, I had not cried or screamed, I had focused through every contraction on WHY I was doing this. I had prepared myself completely for a med free birth. What I hadn't planned on was this long of a labor. So I asked for the epidural. I remained calm while they placed it, expecting the relief to be close, I just focused on keeping my cool. What I wasn't expecting though... the relief did not come. I focused so I wouldn't panic, but every contraction still had the same amount of pain and it was intensifying. I managed to whisper in between contractions that I still felt everything. They called back in the anesthesiologist and he could not figure out what was wrong, he tried to get it to work, but it never did.
I didn't have time to lose my focus and worry about the epidural, I just had to focus. Before I knew it, I was FINALLY 10 cm's. The nurses told me to start pushing, and the doctor came in. He said that if I did not get this baby delivered within the hour, we would go to vacuum suction him, if that didn't work we would use the forceps, and if I still couldn't get him- it would be time for a c-section. Hearing those words after such a long pregnancy and labor was all the motivation I needed to push with everything I had. Within 20 minutes Avery was crowning and with all the strength in me, I got him out with one final push at 1:47 pm on March 31, 2004. He was 9 pounds 10 ounces, 21 3/4 inches long. He had a head full of dark brown hair and grey-blue eyes. He was perfect.
Immediately following Avery's delivery and the delivery of the placenta, the doctor wanted to see my chart. It seems now that I was right all along that my first due date was the correct one. The doctor said my placenta was very deteriorated and his skin was peeling off, both indications that he was more than just 11 days overdue. He was over three weeks overdue. It's a miracle that Avery made it and was not stillborn.
Avery is the reason I will never again wait labor out. A lot of women wait for labor until they are 42+ weeks along, I will never again be one of them.
Also following Avery's delivery I was told by my doctor that I was tough as nails. I made it through 39+ hours of labor without pain relief, and the only time I made ANY noise was during the very last push. That was a very proud moment to hear from a doctor that I was tough as nails.
Avery was an AMAZING baby, I could not ask for more from my first son. What a beautiful blessing he was then, and now.
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