Well, it's been awhile since my last post. I've been meaning to update this thing ever since we arrived home from the hospital but due to sleep deprivation, napping always prevailed as THE priority during any "free time"....so, finally...here's Riley's birth story (mostly told by daddy/Dr. Toby Rockefeller...as you'll be able to tell).
"Birth Day Thoughts:
06:00 – Awake after a TERRIBLE night of sleep. I tossed and
turned all over the place. I’ve never done well with anticipation of big events
(e.g. vacations, tests, birth of my first child, etc).
07:58 – Just arrived to the hospital for our 7:00am check in
time… Yeah, we’re that late. The front desk lady was pretty rude, but we
eventually got registered. We had to wait for the front desk lady to register
the 8:00am appointment first. She didn’t care that the traffic was atrocious.
10:00 – Oxytocin started after 3 painful attempts at placing
an IV. Apparently she was a little dehydrated so they gave her a liter of LR.
Man, I really hope this goes well…
10:15 – Bridget struggled out of bed to straighten her hair
in front of the mirror. Unbelievable…
10:30 – We prayed together that Riley and Bridget would stay
safe. God is sovereign over all things, including the delivery of his
handiwork. Can’t wait to see what He’s been knitting for the last 40 weeks.
10:45 – Contractions are starting to get a little stronger.
Now coming every 4 min and lasting 2 min.
12:00 – Mom is pacing the room, intermittently watching the
monitor. We’re talking about Mom’s deliveries, and apparently, I was the
perfect child. Unfortunately, I was born 8 days late and I seemed to have
passed this trait on to Riley. Contractions are becoming a little more painful
and frequent.
1:20 – I step away and grab a bite to eat.
3:00 – Nothing is happening now. Seems like everything has
stalled out… Did we make a mistake?
3:30 – Dr. Philpott came in to talk about our options if
Bridget gets to 20 on the Pitocin in the next hour and things still haven’t
changed. We can try an artificial
rupture of membranes and put ourselves on the “we’re gonna have a baby in the
next 18 hours come hell or high water” pathway, or we can go home and try again
in another week or so if things don’t take off naturally in the meantime.
Needless to say, I was pretty frustrated at this point, because no one had any
strong opinions. We all just looked at each other and said, I could go either
way…
3:30 - 4:40 – I read everything from midwivery blogs to
Cochrane Reviews and I still haven’t convinced myself of the perfect decision.
I’m mentally weighing the risks/benefits with no real research to guide me. I
hate when medicine is more art than science… Midwives might say “you never
should’ve tried the induction in the first place because there’s no such thing
as a baby that’s too big, and Pitocin is made by the devil himself,” OB/Gyn’s
would probably say, “go ahead with the AROM and see what happens. If she fails
to progress and gets a c-section that’s not the end of the world,” and the
research I was reading claimed something in the middle: Primigravida AROM
causes more fetal distress than SROM, but inductions prevent meconium
aspirations and deaths… So, if we proceed with induction and do the AROM, I
feel that the risk of c-section is unchanged, the risk of infection from
prolonged rupture is higher, and the risk of meconium aspiration is lower
versus going home to wait for SROM or a more receptive time to induce. Add to
that the fear that insurance may balk at paying for an induction under the
diagnosis of “high risk for cephalo-pelvic-disproportion” if we just walk away
later in the day. I mean Riley’s head is changing faster than Bridget’s pelvis.
How could the risk for CPD be present in the morning and not in the afternoon?
I can hear them now, “if you went home, then there obviously wasn’t a real
indication for induction.” They may be right…
4:40 – Bridget’s Pitocin is turned up to 20 microunits/min
and the countdown begins. We’ll give it an hour and recheck her cervix. If
there isn’t any change, then we’ll be forced to make a decision. Pretty sure
I’ll push for going home…as crazy as that sounds.
5:00 – Contractions are coming pretty regular now and they
seem to be more painful. Wish this would’ve happened hours ago!!
5:30 – Contractions are pretty painful! Bridget is crushing
my hand and she’s telling everyone to shut up while she’s making a floppy face
and blowing away the pain…
5:45 – Cervix rechecked and we’re 5-6cm, 90% effaced, 0
station. Things have changed…some. The nurse asks for a decision and I voice
all my concerns. Bridget is laboring away. We’ll wait and see what Dr. Philpott
thinks of the change…
6:00 – Bridget’s contractions are considerably more
uncomfortable. Dr. Philpott basically said we can do whatever we think is best.
The nurse is wishy-washy. Ahhhh! I ask Bridget one more time if she has an
opinion (which she didn’t have before) and she now seemed adamant about
finishing what we started. She wanted her water broken and she wanted Riley
OUT! We prayed it over before making it our final decision. In the middle of
the prayer I had the realization that my anxieties about the delivery would never
go away, there is no way to reduce the risks to zero, and I just needed to
trust God’s faithfulness. The decision to induce was made after much prayer, so
why second guess it now? Onward!
7:30 – Contractions are regular and intense. No AROM yet
because the Dr is busy, so we checked the cervix again. 7cm and 100%!! We
turned down the Pitocin to 10 and plan to ride this thing to SROM!
9:00 – SROM occurred and it was clear. Contractions are
really good and we have a great system of rubbing every inch of Bridget’s body
while she blows the pain away…
10:00 – Bridget got in the shower for some warm
water/relaxation. It was actually quite nice, and she seems to be doing a
little better.
10:45 – Bridget is REALLY tired and the contractions are
starting to get to her. It’s time for that epidural. She seems defeated, but
I’m really impressed with her tolerance so far!
11:10 – Epidural is in and she’s getting some relief. We
checked her cervix after laying back down and she’s completely dilated with
some of Riley’s hair visible!!
11:20 – She’s now feeling numb all over and wants the
epidural taken out. Hahaha. Grass is always greener…
11:45 – Bridget’s starting to push!!
12:07 – Riley is literally at the threshold! Dr. Philpott is
on the way in! Bridget actually asked to use a crotch mirror to see Riley’s
head! Mom is taking off-centered pictures!
12:17 – Riley Anne Rockefeller is born, healthy! Bridget has
minimal tears/tears and is so beautiful! Pictures galore. She weighs 6
lbs/12oz, is 19 inches long, and had APGARS of 9 and 9! God is good…"
As for my thoughts...I can only simply say, it was the most AMAZING feeling to finally have her here!! I endured hours of pain (was pretty proud of myself that I made it to 9 cm without the epidural!), was beyond thrilled that we didn't have to have a c-section (as many thought I would), thanked God that she came out screaming, kept wondering why she had dark hair :), but above all else, now know what love at first sight truly means!
I am currently loving my job as full-time mommy & wouldn't trade this for anything. We have prayed for her for years & now have her in our arms....yes, we're completely & utterly in L-O-V-E!
Daddy's little girl...
About to head home from the hospital...
Hating the carseat...
And we're still trying to decide who she looks like...thoughts??
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| Mommy |
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| Daddy |
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| Riley |
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| Riley |
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| Riley |
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Cutie Pa-Tootie
And don't worry...more updates to come such as: 1wk stats, 2 wk stats & first bath...but right now I need to go change a blow-out diaper. ;)
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