Disclaimer: This post is really long and probably way more information than most people reading this will care to know. I mostly am writing this for myself. So, feel free to skip ahead to the pictures at the bottom if you get bored.
Zander Adam Jensen. Born November 12th, 2009 at 9:40 pm.
We are so happy that this sweet little guy is finally here. It was definitely a hard labor and delivery, but so completely worth it. I should have guessed that it would be less than great, considering my pregnancy was so easy. I learned an important lesson though….things don’t always go how you had hoped or planned. Zander’s due date was Friday November 6th. He wasn’t ready to make his debut though. I wasn’t uncomfortable being pregnant towards the end…I just was dying of anticipation to meet him. A couple of days before my due date, my doctor scheduled an induction for Wednesday the 11th, just in case he didn’t come on his own. But, I really wanted to go into labor on my own and have the least amount of intervention possible. On Monday the 9th, I called the doctor to see if I could cancel the induction and schedule it for a few days later. When he called back, he gave the bad news that labor and delivery was completely booked until the following Wednesday. So, I could keep the existing appointment or reschedule for a week later…I would be 2 days short of being 42 weeks pregnant. I was afraid that I was going to end up with a 10 pound baby if I waited that long. Plus, my mom and grandma were here visiting and would be heading back to Illinois on Monday. I really wanted him to be born while they were here so that they could see him. So, feeling totally caught between a rock and a hard place, I opted for the induction on the night of Wednesday the 11th. When we called labor and delivery that night to find out what time to come in, they were completely full. They said to call back a couple of hours later. When I did, they were still full. So, we got to stay at home and get a good nights sleep, which I was extremely grateful for. We went in on Thursday the 12th. I was 2 centimeters dilated at that point. They started the pitocin around 9am. I still really wanted to try to have a birth without pain medication or an epidural. I was scared though, having heard that pitocin makes the contractions really intense. They turned the pitocin up gradually so that I would be able to tolerate it. After turning the pitocin up quite a bit, I could feel the contractions, but they weren’t really uncomfortable and I wasn’t making much progress. So, at 5pm, they broke my water. Zander didn’t tolerate that at all and had a huge deceleration (decrease in heart rate). In about 30 seconds, my doctor, his nurse practitioner, my nurse, the charge nurse, and a resident were all in the room. They placed a fetal scalp monitor in his head, which monitors his heart rate more accurately than the external monitors. They were able to get his heart rate up again…much to my relief. Just a minor scare, in the whole scheme of things. Just a couple of minutes later, I started really feeling the contractions. I was ok with that though because I knew that would help me progress faster so that Zander could be born. Adam was such an amazing husband during the whole thing. He did everything he could to keep me comfortable. I couldn’t have gotten through it without him. The pitocin was turned up to a 17 at this time and it seemed like the contractions were coming one right on top of the other. I didn’t have any time to recover from one before another one would start. It was awful to say the least. Just about the time the contractions started getting really bad (right before shift change, of course) my nurse checked me to see if I had dilated more. I was only dilated to a 4. Talk about frustrating. I didn’t have too much time to think about it though, because right then Zander had another large deceleration. All of a sudden, there were a bunch of people in the room again. They completely shut off the pitocin and gave me a shot of medicine that was supposed to make my uterus relax. They placed another internal monitor that would more accurately measure the strength of the contractions. They decided to do an amnio infusion to give Zander back fluid in the hopes that he would bring his heart rate back up. Luckily, all of this worked. But, the medication that they gave me made me so shaky. I just wanted to curl up in the fetal position and disappear. But, with all of the monitors that I was connected to and Zander’s frequent decelerations, I felt like I couldn’t move from the exact spot I was in. The plan was to leave the pitocin shut off to give Zander and I both a break for about 30 minutes and then start it up again, increasing it slowly. The whole time the pitocin was shut off I kept contracting. I was terrified to restart the pitocin. I was seriously considering asking for a c-section. I just wanted Zander to be alright. I was scared that he would end up in the NICU, where I work. The contractions were so intense and so close together that I really started thinking I wasn’t going to be able to go on without something for the pain. I kept thinking of how little progress I had made in 10 hours and that it was going to be a very long night. I was exhausted to say the least. So, I decided to get the epidural. I felt like a failure getting it, but little did I know, that was the best decision I could have made. I have seen a lot of epidurals placed during nursing school and it isn’t a very nice experience. Most anesthesiologists are really rough with the needle, don’t care if you are having a contraction or not, and are just plain rude. The anesthesiologist that did my epidural was great. I seriously didn’t feel a thing and it was all over really quickly, and the next day my back wasn’t even sore. Right after that I started feeling a lot of pressure. So, the nurse decided to check me. It took 4 different people checking me to come to the concensus that I was fully dilated. No wonder I hurt so badly before. They started setting up the room for the delivery. I couldn’t believe that my baby boy was about to be born. I was a little worried that having just barely gotten the epidural, I would be too numb and unable to push well. Luckily though, the epidural took the edge off, but I was still able to move my legs. I even was able to get up and walk to the bathroom within an hour of giving birth. They had me start pushing. Zander’s heart would dip every time I pushed with a contraction. So, afterwards I would turn onto my right side so that his heart rate would come back up. My doctor got there and rather than letting me continue on, he wanted to get the baby out right away. So, they ended up using a vacuum and giving me an episiotomy. I was so grateful for the epidural the whole time that they were doing the repair. Needless to say, the doctor isn’t my favorite person anymore. I think I will definitely find a new one for my next pregnancy and birth. I am thankful that Zander was alright, but I think the doctor was way more aggressive than he needed to be and totally jumped the gun. Zander came out crying and they handed him right to me. What an amazing experience! I couldn’t take my eyes off of him. Even though I ended up having way more medical intervention than I had hoped for, it was all worth it in the end. Adam and I are completely in love with our little guy. I never imagined that becoming a parent would be so great or that you could love someone so much. He weighed 7 pounds 10 ounces and was 20 inches long. He is a great baby. He eats well, sleeps in 4 hour stretches at night, and hardly ever cries. We love him so much!!!
The last prego belly shot. I am so happy Zander is here, but I kind of miss being pregnant. Call me crazy, I know.
Zander weighed 7 pounds 10 ounces and was 20 inches long.
I look absolutely horrendous in this picture, but it is our first picture as a family so I had to include it.
Our little man.
