Birth Story:
Of course I was past my due date, as I do...so Sunday, August 1st, Jeff and I went to the hospital at 8am. By the time I got checked in and had my first dose of penicillin it was already 11am. At that time I took cytotec orally to induce my labor. I already had a few visitors: mother-in-law, mom, friend, and my father-in-law ;-). By 12 my labor was starting to pick up and by 1pm I was dilated to a 4. My goal was to labor with the help of the bradley method. At that point Jeff kicked everyone out of the room so we could relax and welcome the lovely contractions instead of resist them.
OH, I have to mention, we had the best nurse EVER!! If you have a baby in Montrose, you must request CAROL!!
So back to the story...Carol, so sweetly, yet confidently shared with us that she didn't like what baby girl's heart rate was doing. Every time I had a contraction her heart rate would drop (normal), but then after the contraction she would continue to drop and not stabilize. The midwife came in to monitor the situation and was not liking it either and requested that Dr. Gilham come in and evaluate/make a plan on what to do. He said we'll give you two more contractions, if she doesn't stabilize we're going to go for a c-section.
We felt so safe with this man around, knowing he would take the best care of us possible. There's no one else I would have wanted making this decision. He has a sweetness/serious confidence that not many doctors possess. So, there I was, with oxygen on, moving in any direction they could get me in to get our little girl to respond. At one point I was on my hands and knees, which she responded well to. So we got to stay!!
In order for them to get the most accurate heart rate, they attached an electrode to baby girl's head, which was how she broke my water. I have no idea what time it was or how many centimeters I had dilated, but I do know they told me two more times that we were going to a c-section in two contractions, but every time she stabilized just in time.
At 3:15 she checked me one more time and I was an 8! For the last hour, the nurse had been asking me if I wanted in medication for the pain and I kept saying no. Once I got to 8, I was ready for the fitenal (sp?) and they said I couldn't have it 'cause that would stabilize baby's heart even more. I looked at Jeff and said, I'm done...I don't have much more to give...
Three or 4 more contractions and it was time to push...
I delivered her head and they found the cord was around her neck. She asked me to stop pushing (WHAT???), she wasn't able to get it over her head so she had to clamp and cut it right there. Then she said okay just short little pushes, to top it off baby had her hand up on her shoulder which made that part even wider...finally OUT she came...blue as ever. Carol, once again, amazing...got her breathing after a VERY long (maybe 30 seconds or more) silence. I started crying asking Jeff what was wrong with her and he very calmly said, she's okay, she fine, she'll be fine, she'll be fine. My mother in law, praying out loud right next to me, claimed her life and asked the Lord to protect her. YES HE DID! Her apgar score was a 7/8, which is amazingly high considering all she had been through. From then on, we haven't heard a negative thing about her health.
