Jacob's Birth

June 27th was my due date (2nd child). Finally on July 7 I was scheduled to be induced. My husband and I arrived at the hospital at 7:30. I was hooked up to Pitocin at 8:00. It took 5 tries to get the IV started (this was a sign of things to come). At noon I was checked and was dilated only about a fingertip. I began walking the hallways and staircases hoping to get something started because they would send me home at 3:00 if nothing happened. Shortly after 1:00 my water broke. I was checked again but not much had changed. I started having very painful contractions and was given a shot of Nubane. I sat in the shower for close to 2 hours to help me relax. I was checked again at 4:30 and was dilated to 3 cm. The nubane was wearing off, so they hooked me up to an epidural drip. After dozing and watching TV off and on, I was checked again at about 2:00 a.m. I was now at 9 c.m. and the doctor was called. I began pushing at 3:00, but had a hard time because of the way the baby was situated. I stopped pushing after 45 minutes and was told to breathe thru my contractions (very painful). The doctor checked my cervix at about 4:15 and I was told that it was swollen, so I was hooked up to the epidural again. It took an hour for this to happen. Meanwhile paperwork was being filled out, and doctors and a room were being scheduled for my pending C-section.

At 7:00 the doctor doing the surgery came to check on my condition. She checked the cervix and said that the swelling was down and that I should try to push. I was still on the epidural so I had to rely on the contraction indicating machine and nurses to advise me when to push. This was very difficult. I pushed for almost 2 hours. Jacob was born at 8:54 a.m. on July 8th. He weighed 9lbs. 11 ounces and was 23 inches long. Needless to say we have decided that 2 children is the perfect number.