I will say right after having Sammy, I wanted to share my personal delivery story with anyone who would listen. It makes me feel strong especially since I survived the full event (I wasn't sure if I would after that birth and delivery class!) Nothing went as planned though. I am pretty sure everything I planned was thrown out of the window so my birth plan was a waste. I did whatever I needed to do though to keep both me and Baby Cunigan safe.
So here is my experience...
On Sunday, August 7th, I decided to give the on-call doctor a call. Mainly because I was super swollen and had an awful headache. The past Thursday, I was told to call if I had any type of symptoms since induction was most likely at this point. My parents and grandparents were planning to head back to Indiana (they were in town for my graduation) so I decided to call before they left just in case.
I did have an appointment the next day but the on-call doctor did not want to take any chances so she advised me to come in for labs and baby monitoring. Since I wasn't too worried, I decided not to put on make-up (bad decision-many pictures taken) but I did have Kris stay home to get sleep just in case it was "Go" time. My parents and grandparents decided to come to the hospital with me and then they would head home after the tests.
Heading to the Hospital
We arrived at the hospital around 11:30AM. I was so excited because I was able to have my favorite triage nurse, Agnes (She had seen me twice before). It was nice to have my mom and grandma hang out with me as they took labs and monitored my blood pressure. My blood pressure was the highest it had ever been. It was 155/105. Agnes was glad I came in and very glad I was past 36 weeks. Baby Cunigan was doing good and active just like normal. When my labs came back, Agnes told me that I was most likely going to stay until I had the baby. She said that two of my levels (can't remember what now) were elevated so if I went home I would continue to feel worse and become very ill. She was going to call the on-call doctor to check me out and then determine what we were going to do.
Had to wear sunglasses because of my headache
Nurse Agnes
The on-call doctor was super nice (I was glad since my doctor was still out of town). She checked my levels, checked to see if I was dilated, and then made a game plan. I was to be admitted right away and I would not leave without having Baby Cunigan. I had a rush of adrenaline and was so excited that I cried. I couldn't believe that I was finally going to meet my baby boy!
Agnes sadly had to say goodbye as she moved me to my delivery room. My new nurse was Shana and she was nice as well. She explained the induction process. My first step was to be induced. She checked me and I was dilated already to a 1 and having regular contractions every 3 minutes (not too painful though). It took a little bit to start the induction process because they wanted to decide which process since I was starting to show signs of labor. They decided to start me on a Cervidil at 2:51 PM. The Cervidil would take 10-12 hours so it would be a long day. Also, due to my blood pressure, I was bed bound. I only could get up to go to the bathroom. Since I didn't get to eat before coming in, they allowed me to have one last meal. I wanted something greasy that I normally can't eat so I had my family pick me up Five Guys. My last meal was at 5 PM. It was so good and so greasy!
The day was spent watching tv, calling family members to update them, and relaxing. Kris packed up the hospital bags and arrived around 5 PM. I wasn't able to sleep and become more anxious and nervous as it become nighttime. Kris and I watched the Olympics and Stranger Things to help relax us. I realized we never read all the baby books or watched the newborn video clips. At this point, we were just going to have to take it one thing at a time.
Shana and Tatum
The family hanging out
Luckily, I was able to eat popsicles.
Monday, August 8th would be the longest day ever! At 1 AM, they started me on Pitocin and Magnesium. They explained that it may take awhile because the two would work against each other as I was going through the labor process. The magnesium would make me drowsy and super hot and the pitocin would start active labor. The worst part was that I could only drink water and it was limited to a very small amount each hour.
At the time they started the medicine, my nurse had to check me. She checked dilation and effacement. This was one of the most painful things I had ever experienced. I was dilated to a 1 1/2 and 70% effaced so it was super painful for her to go all the way up (if you know what I mean). After she checked me, I looked at Kris and said I wasn't going to make it through this process. It was only the beginning and I was already crying from the pain. My poor nurse felt so bad. She ended up being my favorite nurse and would be the one who helped in the full delivery process. Her name was Tatem.
I also had to get a catheter because I would be stuck in bed the whole time I was on magnesium. I knew really quickly that my whole idea of a natural birth where I could walk around and take baths to help with the pain was completely out of the picture. The catheter didn't hurt to get put in but was really awkward and I couldn't get comfortable with it in. I felt like I was peeing on myself. The nurse wanted me to go ahead and get the epidural but I said I could wait a little longer.
At 3 AM, I could no longer deal with the discomfort and really wanted sleep so I decided to get the epidural. My blood pressure started increasing as well which was a concern. The epidural would help keep it down. Kris was wonderful and held my hand through the whole process. Luckily, they give the epidural in between contractions so I was more relaxed then I thought I would be. The epidural didn't hurt at all either. It ended up being my life saver as well! At this point, I was still only dilated to a 2 1/2.
The epidural was completely different than I thought. They put something like an epidural IV in my back and then I had a button I could push every 10 minutes to release more medicine. This made it easy so then they wouldn't have to stick me in the back if I needed more pain meds.
I finally slept from 3:30-6 AM. It was the best sleep I had had in awhile. The epidural took the "edge" off of the pain and I was still able to fully move around and feel my legs.
At 6 AM, it was time to check my progress. I was dilated to a 3 and 80% effaced. I would be saying goodbye to another nurse and to the doctor who I hoped would deliver me. I was so sad that the process was taking so long. I was hoping to have Baby Cunigan by 7 AM but he was comfortable and didn't want to come out. The nurse said I was still okay since I continued to progress.
One of my nurses (can't remember her name)
At 8:30 AM, the new doctor, Dr. Martinez, came in and broke my water. When I had the last ultrasound, the sonogram tech said I had a lot of fluid but we didn't really know how much until the doctor broke my water. She ran out of towels to clean it up so she had to call to bring several more towels in. She was surprised by how much fluid I had. Breaking the water wasn't too painful so I was grateful. I had to start rotating from side to side to help move the labor process along. I could feel my contractions so the moving from side to side helped as well.
At 10:30 AM, the contractions got worse and I couldn't deal with the pain. The anesthesiologist had to come back to give me a higher pain medication. At this point, I hadn't eaten since the night before and I had very minimal water intake. I instantly became faint from the medication. I couldn't see straight, I had to hold onto a barf bag, Kris had to keep me cool with wet wash cloths, and I had the chills really bad. It was an awful feeling. The nurse had to keep an eye on me and help so I didn't pass out. I ended up drinking apple juice to help my blood sugar. Eventually, the feeling wore off.
At 11 AM, I was still dilated to a 3 so they put an internal contraction monitor in. The monitor would track my level of contractions and keep an eye on baby. My family and I just had to keep resting. Thank goodness for the Olympics. It was nice to have something to distract us.
Kris trying to get sleep
Me and my mom
Monday nurses
At 1 PM, they checked me again and I was dilated to a 4. Very slow progress but it was still progress. The nurse told me that they would let me keep going as normal if I kept progressing. She also told me that I could go as long as 8 AM the next morning. I was so sad when she told me that because I was so exhausted and I just wanted to meet Baby Cunigan. Luckily, I did not feel hungry despite not eating at all.
At 4:30 PM, I was finally dilated to a 5. I was so excited because most people say once you are at a 5, the process goes quickly. I was in a lot of pain at this point and could feel everything. I didn't want to get strong medicine because of what happened before but I gave in and had them give me a little more (just not as much as before). I was glad because I felt much better.
At 6 PM, I was dilated to a 6 1/2 and 90% effaced. I was finally progressing more. Many people were texting me around this time to see if Baby Cunigan had arrived. I was sad that I kept having to tell people that he hadn't arrived yet. My family and I were all exhausted.
At 7:20 PM, the exhaustion and pain were so bad that I had to get more epidural medicine. I was so tired and hot. The magnesium was starting to take effect because I felt very loopy.
At 8:30 PM, I was finally dilated to a 10. I was so exhausted that I had no idea. I told the nurse that I would physically not be able to push until I took a nap so I fell asleep for 30 minutes.
At 9 PM, Tatem, my nurse. woke me up and told me how I would have to push. My mom, grandma, and Kris all stayed in the room for the actual delivery. We practiced the pushing. My mom helped with one leg, Kris helped with the other, and my grandma held the fan on me. As we started to practice, I became super nervous especially since I was so tired that I could barely hold up my head.We started the real pushing around 9:20ish. The pushing was way harder than I realized. With the epidural, I could still feel everything which ended up helping. Instead of the nurse telling me when to push, I started pushing with each contraction. She coached me through each one. I didn't think I would ever make it through the pushing. She told me if I followed her lead and pushed as hard as I could, I could deliver him within 30 minutes. If I gave in to the tiredness, it could take up to 3 hours. I was so ready to be done so I told her we were going for the 30 minute route. I was able to push him out in 40 minutes. Everyone was so supportive. I didn't think I needed the coaching or the "you are doing a good job" but I did with every push. And for anyone who wondered, Kris was awesome! He didn't faint or look queasy at all. He stayed by my side and helped through the whole process. He was so calm through everything.
As soon as Baby Cunigan came out, I wanted to hold him. I didn't have him cleaned off or anything (which I am very surprised by). I had worked so hard to get him out that I didn't want to wait a second longer to hold him. Due to the magnesium, I was so drugged and tired that I could barely hold him by myself. He was perfect! I looked at Kris and we knew right away that his name would be Samuel Brock.
Samuel was bigger than expected. He ended up being 9 lbs, 12 oz, and 21 1/4 inches. The doctor asked if I knew how big he was. I told her I knew he was big just not THAT big. I did end up getting stitches because I had third degree tears from him being so big. I didn't even care once it was all over.
The whole birth and delivery process wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I think they make you take the labor and delivery class just to terrify you so when you actually go through it, it isn't as bad as you think it will be. I would highly recommend an epidural though! Best decision I made.
Shawnee Mission Birth Center
My delivery Room
Kris preparing
Waiting
