Since we'd sent the family all home, it took a few minutes to notify them of the new development and so I arrived at the Osborn Birthing Center with Wendi and one of the student midwives, Donna.
En route Wendi had talked with me encouraging me to be open minded about an epidural and we discussed the hope that maybe a little pitocin would get the stalled labor to progress the final steps.
The birthing suite staff brought me directly to a birthing room bypassing the triage process thanks to a phone call from Wendi preparing them for our arrival. I was hooked up to the monitors and had an IV before I could blink twice. Unfortunately I had to pee 2 seconds later and had to be disconnected and then reconnected. And 2 seconds after that I had to pee again. Having to pee every 2 seconds was nothing new but in the freedom of my own home it didn't present to be a problem. I could quickly tell that it would be a problem now that we were at the hospital so in all seriousness I asked the nurses for a Foley catheter (a tube in my bladder to drain urine). The nurses apparently not used to that request smiled and nodded but took no action.
At some point Josh and other family began to arrive and were present when the on-call Dr came in and did a quick U.S. of Baby M. She told us that he was in a posterior presentation and informed us that there was only a 10% chance of delivering Baby M vaginally. This confirmed Josh's fears that the hospital was just going to "cut me open" and caused some outrage from him.
The news that he was posterior certainly explained the severe back pain (back labor) I'd started experiencing over the course of the last 90ish hours. At our last check Baby M had been LOA, left occiput anterior, the most desirable position for labor. He must have turned after my water broke...
The staff was working quickly completing the admission process and collecting data as well as drawing blood and monitoring the baby and I. At some point the question of an epidural came up and I answered "YES". With the potential of a c-section looming and/ or the introduction of pitocin, I couldn't see denying the comfort it would provide. The anesthesiologist that placed the epidural catheter was fast and the relief was almost immediate. For the first time in 4 days I suddenly had an appetite. I was starving! My husband and family had been trying to force feed me for over 3 days and I refused or vomited up almost everything offered. Suddenly I wanted one of everything! Crazy that once the pain diminished I was immediately hungry. Knowing the staff wasn't going to let me eat I went back to my other problem. I still desperately needed to pee. Alas the nurses finally gathered the equipment and placed a Foley. Ahh, for the first time in 4 days I no longer felt the urge to pee and the searing back pain that had started sometime during labor had finally ceased thanks to the epidural. Now that I was actually out of pain, I realized how much pain I had been in! Just remembering it brings tears to my eyes.
Not long after the epidural was placed the doctor came in and voiced concerns for Baby M. She was seeing something on the continuous fetal monitor that indicated he was finally getting tired of this epic labor as well. She told us that a c-section was inevitable and indicated the sooner the better. Our hopes for a home birth had already been crushed and now it looked like a vaginal delivery was out of the question as well. I asked the doctor if it was safe to take 10 minutes to talk with the family before going to the OR. She said it was and left us to talk.
I understood that a c-section was inevitable but Josh was tired and looking for a fight. He did not want to see my hopes of a vaginal delivery dashed and couldn't understand how things had gotten so messed up. Wendi took him aside and showed him the strips from the fetal heart monitor showing the decrease in Baby M's heart rate every time I had a contraction. She was patient and reassuring that at this point, a c-section was indeed the right action to take. It was so great to have the midwife team's continued support at the hospital.
After we'd all had time to adjust to the new plan, the staff got Josh and I prepared for the OR.
As they wheeled my bed out of the room towards the OR I said a tearful goodbye to the midwife team and reassured them that I'd be back with them for the next Baby M and had every intention of a delivering a VBAC (vaginal birth after c-section) for baby #2. I even promised Wendi I'd march with her to fight for the rights of midwives in Arizona to deliver VBACs. It seems overly dramatic but picture William Wallace's speech at the end of Braveheart, that's the passion I was channeling!
The next part is so surreal. Being wide awake for surgery is just bizarre. Especially having a strong medical background. Josh stood at my head next to the anesthesiologist and held my hand. I'd started shivering by then and was reassured that it was a normal reaction to the epidural drugs. I talked with Josh and translated the medical jargon. The c-section took a long time. Much longer than I'd anticipated. There was a resident in the room and the doctor had been talking to him throughout the procedure. The tone of the conversation changed and I began to wonder what was going on. Things were taking a while and Josh was getting bored so he began to look over the blue drape to see the action.
After what felt like ages they managed to free Baby M from my uterus at 12:51 am. They respected our birth plan and called Josh over to identify Baby M's gender to announce it to me. Josh said, "It's a Myles. We have a Myles!", choosing to disclose the gender by using our chosen boy name.
The perinatal specialist told us that Myles would need to go to the NICU due to a low APGAR score and requiring supplemental oxygen at delivery. Josh left with Myles while the surgeon finished closing me up. Other than what the specialist told me I knew very little about Myles but I did get to spend a few seconds with him and could tell he was a big strong boy. Seeing that, I had very few fears about him needing the NICU.
The c-section had already taken much longer than I'd thought it would and then I found myself lying on the OR table for ages while she closed the layers of incisions she'd made. By now I was shivering violently and even though the anesthesiologist had covered my upper body with warm blankets, I'd literally shivered them off and onto the floor! Then a huge wave of nausea hit and I found myself dry heaving and shivering miserably. I began to feel lonely in the OR but knew that Josh was with Myles. I'd thought to ask for my mom to come in but I kept thinking that they would be done any second.
After ages they finally finished and brought me to the recovery room. Once there the perinatal specialist came and talked to me about Myles. He told me that Myles wasn't properly breathing when they extracted him and since it took a bit of effort to get him going he would need to stay the night in the NICU. He also told me Myles was 8 lbs 5 oz and 22 inches long. Again, what I heard was that he was a big strong boy and despite needing a little help initially, I was confident he would be just fine. Not long after my surgeon came in and explained the lengthy duration of my c-section. She explained that my uterus had been inappropriately squeezing down on Myles and that in combination with a severe shoulder dystocia had made extracting him difficult. She told me that she had to perform a vertical uterine incision in addition to the typical transverse. She explained that because this vertical incision was extremely long, I would not be a candidate for VBAC, and she did not think my uterus would hold up for a large family. She reassured me that we would be fine having a second child, but recommended I schedule a c-section by 37 weeks to avoid natural contractions and carrying another large baby in my fragile uterus.
I have to admit, I'm not sure if this news has even set in to this date. I understand the words. I will never know the experience of a vaginal delivery. Since that night I've followed up with the doctor and discussed this. She reassured me that I'd experienced enough labor for 3 deliveries and had truly only missed the "pushing" stage. I'm really still wrapping my mind around this but I'm thankful that at least I'll be able to have another child when we're ready.
Josh continued to stay with Myles in the NICU while I was in recovery. I chatted with my nurse who was very supportive and kind. She relayed some crappy news. Item 7 on my birth plan, "I have big plans for my big placenta, please do not dispose of it" had been neglected. After several reminders from Josh, the surgeon, and I, while we were in the OR, the staff likely in autopilot mode added a toxic preservative to my placenta. It was no longer safe for my intended use, placenta encapsulation.
Meanwhile Josh was in the NICU watching other pieces of our birth plan regarding Myles get disregarded. We'd hoped to avoid or delay antibiotics, blood draws, or invasive procedures but all of that was now necessary since he was in the NICU. I understood this but Josh continued to take this hard. He was there to see poor Myles hooked to monitors and getting poked with needles to get IV's placed.
After several hours in recovery I was wheeled into the NICU with my mom and Josh and was able to see and hold Myles. He was so big and just perfect!
Josh and I got to our hospital room around 4 am Thursday morning. Four complete days after the start of this journey. We were beyond tired and had just enough left in us to hold each other and cry over all we'd gone through.
Final part to come...
