XP: Positive Induction story- big baby! (LONG, sorry)

turtlebug9

Hi ladies!  I tend to be more of a lurker on here than anything, but I always appreciated good birth stories, so I thought I would tell you about my experience.  I had been measuring ahead throughout the pregnancy, so I knew I wouldn't be allowed (or want to) go past my due date.  DS1 was born at 37 weeks and weighed 9 lbs. 3 oz., so I trusted the fact that I would probably have another big baby this time around.  On 4/22, it was estimated that baby weighed 9 lbs., so the doctor recommended we induce on Friday 4/27.  I was nervous, but ready to meet our baby boy, so we went ahead with it.

I arrived at the hospital Friday morning at 9:30, ready to go.  It took about an hour and a half to get everything hooked up, and start the pitocin.  I was at about 3-4 cm dilated when they started the pitocin.  They started with a low dose and increased the amount every half hour.  The contractions got pretty regular, but weren't overly painful.  I would have to breathe through the contraction, then I would go back to reading a book on my Nook.   

At about 4:30, the doctor said she was going to break my water and really start to increase the pitocin to see if we could get baby here.  She suggested if I wanted an epidural that it would probably be a good time to get it.  I felt like I might be able to get through without it, but decided to just go ahead and get it.  So, they put the epidural in, and the doctor broke my water.  She then put a foley catheter in to keep my bladder empty so that baby could move down easier.  I had TONS of fluid (which we knew from the ultrasounds).  

After my water was broken, the baby's heart rate started to drop with the contractions.  The doctor said it was because the cord was being compressed now that the fluid was out.  So, she ended up having to re-insert some water into the uterus, which helped the baby's heart rate.  

By 7:00, I had the urge to push.  With my first pregnancy, I never really felt the sensation, and it is intense, especially when you can't push right away.  They checked, and I was at 7 cm, but was paper thin.  She told me I would probably get to 10 within 5 minutes or so.  The urge to push was very intense, and I finally told them I wanted to be checked again.  The resident checked and I was complete.  Yay!  They told me to go ahead and push when I felt the need again, which I did.  At that point, they called the doctor and told her to get there asap.  

She came in, and I had 2 pushes.  At that point, the baby's head was coming out, and she had me stop pushing.  She wanted me to labor down and let him come down on his own to prevent too much tearing.  It was so hard not to push, but I managed to listen.  She had me push once for the shoulders, and once for the butt, then Blake Paul entered the world at 7:53 p.m.

He weighed 9 pounds, 11 ounces, and was 21 inches long.  I didn't even need one stitch.  It is amazing how easy my recovery has been.  I seriously can't even tell I just gave birth.  With DS1 I had a 2nd degree tear, and it was quite a painful recovery.  

I am so grateful to my doctor for helping me to have such a wonderful experience.  I honestly wouldn't change anything about the birth.

Now that we're home, BFing is going well.  We struggled with latch issues and overly sensitivity on my part in the beginning, but the LC finally let me try a nipple shield, and things are going much better.  

Probably the toughest part so far is that DS1 is struggling to understand what's going on, and he's definitely acting out and giving us a run for our money.  I'm hopeful that with time that will get better and easier.

If you made it this far, thanks for sticking with me!    Good luck to all of you mamas that still have inside babies!!!