In Labor!
Tuesday morning, at 38+4, I had my routine 38-week OB appointment. Dr. Gabel checked my cervix and said I was dilated 3 cm and 70% effaced (which was not much progress from my 36 week appointment where I had been 3 cm and 50% effaced). She said she would sweep the membranes to see if that kick-started labor and I agreed. She also agreed to schedule an induction for sometime during the 39th week and told me the hospital would call within 48 hours to let me know the date. But she said, "I don't think you'll need it." However, she also told me to schedule an office OB appointment for the following week "just in case." So I didn't leave the office feeling like we'd definitely be having a baby that day.
After the appointment, I went to school and Eric went to work. I started noticing some cramping and inconsistent contractions around noon. At 2:00 I started timing and recording the contractions using an app on my phone. They were 6-10 minutes apart and lasting 30-45 seconds. But the end of the school day, they were 5-6 minutes apart and lasting around 45 seconds. When I got home, Eric was watching me very carefully and started to wonder whether we'd be heading to the hospital in the immediate future. Since I could walk, talk, and breathe through them, I was convinced that active labor was not imminent. I was just convinced the contractions would stall out like they did with Gavin's labor. Just in case, I sent a text to Mom and Dad to let them know that things were starting to happen and I'd let them know if they picked up throughout the evening.
I had Bible study at Justine's house at 7:30 and we debated whether I should go as the contractions had remained 5-ish minutes apart and were still lasting 45+ seconds. I was still sure that I wouldn't be in active labor yet that night and Eric agreed that I could go with the promise that I would call him the minute they got closer together, more intense, or my water broke. I picked up Audrey from around the corner and we drove to Johnston together.
During Bible study, the contractions remained constant in time and length, but did get a little more intense. Before 9:00, Audrey and I excused ourselves and headed home. I dropped her off and arrived back at our house around 9:15. At this point, I'd been having contractions every 5 minutes, lasting 45-60 seconds for several hours. Eric was ready to head downtown and be checked in triage, but I still doubted whether this was the real thing. So we compromised: I would stretch out my hips on my excercise ball for 5-10 minutes and then lie in bed for an hour. If the contractions were still consistent after lying down for an hour, we would head to the hospital. Eric jumped in the shower (just in case) while I sat on the ball in our bedroom. After just a couple of minutes of rolling my hips on the exercise ball, I felt a gush of fluid. My water broke (I thought)! I ran into the bathroom to tell Eric and change my pants. But when I sat down on the toilet, I was surprised to see that it wasn't amniotic fluid - it was bright red blood. My initial reaction was to assume it was "the bloody show" that happens during labor (mucus plug mixed with blood and fluid), but there was no mucus or discharge. Just bright red blood. I continued to bleed into the toilet and there was a small clot when I stood up. I immediately called Mom and she said she could be over in 20 minutes. Eric wrapped up his shower and got dressed while I changed my pants, grabbed a couple of pads, and headed downstairs to call the after-hours OB line. At this point it was around 9:45 pm.
Mom arrived just as I was calling the OB office. The nurse answering the phone listened as I described my symptoms (consistent and intensifying contractions and the gush(es) of blood. She asked some claifying questions about the color and amount of blood and said she would have someone return my call very soon. Within 5 minutes, the traige nurse called me back. She said that she didn't want to scare me, but we should call an ambulance for transportation to the hospital. Considering the color and amount of blood, she was concerned about the baby getting enough oxygen. She made me promise to call an ambulance and said she would let the hospital know that we were coming. So, I begrudgingly called 911 and explained my symptoms to the paramedic. I requested no lights and sirens, but they came with lights (no sirens). Unfortunately, the ambulance was followed by a fire truck and police car. Amazingly, none of our neighbors have said anything about noticing all of the commotion at 10:00 on a Tuesday night.
There were two paramedics that rode with me to the hospital. They took my blood pressure, monitored my heart rate, and tried to listen to the baby's heartbeat (but it was a slightly bouncy ride and their doppler's batteries kept dying). They also attempted to start an IV, but my veins were moving and they decided to let the nurses in triage do that. One of the paramedics asked me if I had ever been talked to about having high blood pressure or an irregular heartbeat because of my vitals on the way downtown. Obviously those symptoms were out of character for me!
When we arrived at the hospital, the paramedics wheeled me straight to triage. Eric had followed us in the Pilot and met us in triage. We had to explain my symptoms one more time to the nurses as they took vitals again and started an IV. The on-call doctor came in and did a cervix check. She said I was dilated 4-5 cm, which was progress since my appointment at 8:30 am. She also said she could see more blood clots and was able to remove two clots. Then we were admitted and taken upstairs to our room on the OB floor. We were lucky to get a room as they said there were lots of patients on the floor and they were then out of empty rooms.
As soon as we got upstairs, Eric advocated for me to get an epidural before I progressed too far. The nurse was very agreeable and the anesthesiologist was in the room within a few minutes. We told him my previous experiences with getting epidurals and he started it slowly and carefully. It was great to have it before the contractions were super strong and painful. By the time he left the room it was already around 12:45 am on Wednesday.
I continued to labor through the early morning hours. The nurses kept an eye on my bleeding and filled each new nurse in on the amount of blood they had been seeing as the nursing shifts changed. The baby and I also had constant monitoring of our vitals (heart rate and blood pressure). By 6:00 am I was 6 cm and 100% effaced, but the baby was at -2 station. My water had not broken, but the doctor wanted to wait until the baby had moved down further so that the cord wouldn't drop below the baby's head and become compressed. So we started working on getting the baby to drop down a bit. I put the peanut ball between my legs and alternated which side I was lying on each hour. At 8:30 am I was 8 cm, 100%, and the baby was at -1 station. Progress! I continued to be amazed that I was able to make progress on my own - without needing Pitocin.
Finally, around 11:30 am, the nurse checked me and declared me 9.5 cm, 100% effaced, and the baby was at +1 station. The birthing team started to set the room up for delivery.
Dr. Kaufman came in shortly after 12:00 pm and broke my water at 12:24. I started pushing at 12:25 and after 4-5 contractions, Colin Luke Thorsen was born at 12:41 pm. The doctor put him on my chest, Eric cut the cord, and then he was taken to the warmer to be cleaned up and weighed. He measurred in at 7 pounds 12 ounces and 20 inches long.
As a result of the (partially) detached placenta, a lot of blood passed after Colin was born. I didn't see it - which is probably a good thing - but I could hear it. The sound of all the fluid hitting the floor was a bit alarming. The doctor quickly delivered the placenta (using a hook to make sure all of it was delivered) and told me that I had a second-degree tear requiring a few stitches. This is very normal in a vaginal delivery. When she was finished taking care of me physically, Dr. Kaufman told me that I had a partial placental abruption. The nurses and doctor suspected this throughout the labor process and that was the reason for the constant monitoring and tracking of the bleeding. She asked me to reschedule my postpartum appointment so that I will see her in six weeks.
Immediately after the birth, I felt weak, a little nauseous, and shaky. But after a little while those symptoms subsided and we ordered lunch (we hadn't eaten since dinner the night before!). I rested in bed until the nurse came to get me to use the bathroom. While in the bathroom I felt extremely lightheaded and was very close to fainting on the way back to bed. So I was told to call a nurse for help getting to the bathroom twice more. By the end of the day I had a bit more strength and was cleared to get out of bed on my own.
We sent Colin to the nursery for the night since we hadn't slept at all Tuesday night and Wednesday. The nurses brought him to the room so that he could nurse every 3 hours and then we snuggled him all day long. On Thursday he had his hearing screening, his first bath, a blood test, a urine test, and his curcumcision. It was a busy day! Everything went well and we were discharged Friday around noon.