Just a few hours before I was to be admitted to the hospital for an induction, I started bleeding. Running came Mayuresh (okay, driving!) and took me to the hospital. We were all happy that the delivery will be 'natural' and not induced. Although why there is this emphasis on naturalness, I do not know. But more about that, in a separate post.
Anyway, as it turned out, the bleeding was not related to the onset of labor. The hospital gave me an hour-long NST (No Stress Test) to confirm that the baby was not experiencing any distress in the uterus. It was quite funny - I was strapped to a machine and was asked to push the button of a probe every time I felt the baby move. :D Finally, as there were just 3 hours left, they decided to admit me and induce me, before the originally scheduled time.
I was transported from the triage room to 'labor and delivery room'. They connected an IV and all of a sudden, the in-house gynecologist stormed in, inserted a Cervidil, and left. I was asked to lie down for 2 hours without moving. After two hours, I was allowed to eat. My contractions had also started in the meanwhile.
Poor Mayuresh was suffering from allergies and the medication made him sleepy, so while he slept, I endured my contractions using breathing techniques. That's right - breathing techniques. I had never thought they could be so effective, but heavily breathing in and out during the entire contraction certainly reduced my pain, or my reaction to the pain, a lot. By the way, I was only experiencing pain in the back and not in my stomach, and the nurse told me that's because I was in back labor, meaning the baby was facing my stomach, rather than my back. And as luck would have it, my kind of labor was the more difficult one. Sigh!
By 2 AM, the pain was almost too much to handle. I was super-tired, and very distressed. I was even beginning to hope that the Cervidil doesn't work and that I have to be delivered by C-section! Sigh, 7 hours of labor pains does that to you! I asked for an epidural, and while it was uncomfortable to get administered, (it stings! and the anesthesiologist was quite curt. Then again, it was 2 AM... :P ) but once it was administered, I felt almost instant relief. I had not been that comfortable in several months!
I went to sleep on my back...on my back, I think after 5-6 months! As a side-effect of the epidural, my upper body was itching a little; and the nurse came and woke me up every now and then to change my position to monitor the effectiveness of the epidural; but apart from that, I felt extremely relaxed and slept peacefully. I was so glad I opted for the epidural. Many people had advised me against it, with reasoning like epidural has many side-effects during and after delivery, and that having labor pains is a natural process and should not be over-ridden. Natural? Really? Just because pain is natural, should girls continue bearing it despite having an option to reduce it? By that logic, any sort of medication to cure any form of illness is also un-natural, isn't it? Then why do we accept it, in children as well as adults? Sounds a little MCPish to me to make an exception for labor pains!
Anyway, epidural serenity in effect, I slept until I felt my water break, at about 4 AM. After I informed the nurse and she confirmed it, I went back to sleep, only to be awakened by my OB/GYN who had come to check my progress. I was expected to be fully dilated by 4 PM that day, as it usually takes about 24 hours after induction to reach that stage. However, surprise, surprise! I was ready to deliver, at 8 AM itself! In fact, Mayuresh was getting ready to go home for a quick shower when the doctor announced this unexpected news! LOL imagine what would have happened if the doctor were to arrive a few minutes later... :P
The actual delivery went surprisingly well. After the first few minutes of faltering, I could push correctly. I was well-rested and felt energetic. Also, I could feel the contractions, in spite of the epidural; so I knew when exactly to push. (The good thing was, I could feel the pressure of the contractions, but not the pain! :) :) ) To motivate me to push, they also placed a mirror in a way that I could see my dear little baby crowning. I was SO eager to see her, not so that the delivery could end soon, but so that I could meet her and hug her and welcome her into this world! :) Bless the epidural, really!
So amid eating ice chips between every pushing phase (for some reason, water is not allowed but ice chips are); discussing my doctor's Vegas trip with her, the nurse, and my husband; and pushing very, very hard, the biggest miracle in my life happened! :) It took just 1.5 hours; and except for the last 5 minutes, I didn't even have to wince.
About 9 months and 12 days of pregnancy and about 20 hours of induction, labor and delivery happened, and then suddenly I heard a cry. I looked up and there she was... so little, so precious, so delicate.
What happened afterwards was kind of a blur to me - The placenta delivery, the many stitches, the cleanup... I am totally woozy on the details. I, along with a very teary-eyed Mayuresh, was busy seeing our baby. ('Our baby' has such a nice ring to it, doesn't it? )
Weighing all of 5 pounds and 15 ounces, baby Ananya was here to rule our world! :)
Anyway, as it turned out, the bleeding was not related to the onset of labor. The hospital gave me an hour-long NST (No Stress Test) to confirm that the baby was not experiencing any distress in the uterus. It was quite funny - I was strapped to a machine and was asked to push the button of a probe every time I felt the baby move. :D Finally, as there were just 3 hours left, they decided to admit me and induce me, before the originally scheduled time.
I was transported from the triage room to 'labor and delivery room'. They connected an IV and all of a sudden, the in-house gynecologist stormed in, inserted a Cervidil, and left. I was asked to lie down for 2 hours without moving. After two hours, I was allowed to eat. My contractions had also started in the meanwhile.
Poor Mayuresh was suffering from allergies and the medication made him sleepy, so while he slept, I endured my contractions using breathing techniques. That's right - breathing techniques. I had never thought they could be so effective, but heavily breathing in and out during the entire contraction certainly reduced my pain, or my reaction to the pain, a lot. By the way, I was only experiencing pain in the back and not in my stomach, and the nurse told me that's because I was in back labor, meaning the baby was facing my stomach, rather than my back. And as luck would have it, my kind of labor was the more difficult one. Sigh!
By 2 AM, the pain was almost too much to handle. I was super-tired, and very distressed. I was even beginning to hope that the Cervidil doesn't work and that I have to be delivered by C-section! Sigh, 7 hours of labor pains does that to you! I asked for an epidural, and while it was uncomfortable to get administered, (it stings! and the anesthesiologist was quite curt. Then again, it was 2 AM... :P ) but once it was administered, I felt almost instant relief. I had not been that comfortable in several months!
I went to sleep on my back...on my back, I think after 5-6 months! As a side-effect of the epidural, my upper body was itching a little; and the nurse came and woke me up every now and then to change my position to monitor the effectiveness of the epidural; but apart from that, I felt extremely relaxed and slept peacefully. I was so glad I opted for the epidural. Many people had advised me against it, with reasoning like epidural has many side-effects during and after delivery, and that having labor pains is a natural process and should not be over-ridden. Natural? Really? Just because pain is natural, should girls continue bearing it despite having an option to reduce it? By that logic, any sort of medication to cure any form of illness is also un-natural, isn't it? Then why do we accept it, in children as well as adults? Sounds a little MCPish to me to make an exception for labor pains!
Anyway, epidural serenity in effect, I slept until I felt my water break, at about 4 AM. After I informed the nurse and she confirmed it, I went back to sleep, only to be awakened by my OB/GYN who had come to check my progress. I was expected to be fully dilated by 4 PM that day, as it usually takes about 24 hours after induction to reach that stage. However, surprise, surprise! I was ready to deliver, at 8 AM itself! In fact, Mayuresh was getting ready to go home for a quick shower when the doctor announced this unexpected news! LOL imagine what would have happened if the doctor were to arrive a few minutes later... :P
The actual delivery went surprisingly well. After the first few minutes of faltering, I could push correctly. I was well-rested and felt energetic. Also, I could feel the contractions, in spite of the epidural; so I knew when exactly to push. (The good thing was, I could feel the pressure of the contractions, but not the pain! :) :) ) To motivate me to push, they also placed a mirror in a way that I could see my dear little baby crowning. I was SO eager to see her, not so that the delivery could end soon, but so that I could meet her and hug her and welcome her into this world! :) Bless the epidural, really!
So amid eating ice chips between every pushing phase (for some reason, water is not allowed but ice chips are); discussing my doctor's Vegas trip with her, the nurse, and my husband; and pushing very, very hard, the biggest miracle in my life happened! :) It took just 1.5 hours; and except for the last 5 minutes, I didn't even have to wince.
About 9 months and 12 days of pregnancy and about 20 hours of induction, labor and delivery happened, and then suddenly I heard a cry. I looked up and there she was... so little, so precious, so delicate.
What happened afterwards was kind of a blur to me - The placenta delivery, the many stitches, the cleanup... I am totally woozy on the details. I, along with a very teary-eyed Mayuresh, was busy seeing our baby. ('Our baby' has such a nice ring to it, doesn't it? )
Weighing all of 5 pounds and 15 ounces, baby Ananya was here to rule our world! :)
#Ice-packs: May be becoz they want to keep you hydrated but not choke with water? Random guess since mom never allows drinking water while lying down..
ReplyDeleteAnd Vegas trip discussions while pushing! Now that's a feat!