Monday, July 26, I had a routine doctor's appointment. The baby hadn't been moving in over 6 hours and I felt uncomfortable, and so did Dr. Warner. She sent me to the hospital, and since it was 1 day past my due date, she pulled a few strings and set up the beginning of a 2 part induction process to get things started for me. They did an ultrasound to check the baby's fluid levels, a non-stress test to check for movement, and inserted the first round of gels to soften my cervix.
Things felt like they were moving along nicely, the contractions hurt badly enough I couldn't talk through some, and I was starting to dialate. I went into the hospital dialated to 1cm, my cervix was thick and hard. The first round of gels started to thin me out and soften it up, so I was feeling positive. Unfortunately, the nurses there were pretty lax about getting things moving, and I waited around for quite some time before round 2 ever started.
By the time round 2 was over, and the news came I only dialated to 3cm, Dustin and I were ready to go home. He started gathering my things and told the nurse we were done, and we were leaving whether or not they gave us consent. They were kind enough to give me an ambien, and Dustin was sweet enough to grab me a burger from In-N-Out on the way home since I was starving after being in the hospital nearly 12 hours with nothing to eat.
Wednesday brought another ultrasound for me, this time at a women's clinic that deals strictly with ultrasounds and babies. The ultrasound tech said everything looked great, and best of all, measurements told Dustin would weigh no more than 8 pounds! How exciting! The doctor, though, thought things didn't look so perfect. I was sent immediately to the hospital across the street for an emergency induction, the fluid levels were extremly low and the baby needed to be born. I was terrified, to say the least.
They hooked me up with an iv of pitocin and penicillin and a granola bar. Lucky me. I was already contracting, though I couldn't feel it yet. Every 30 minutes the pitocin was increased, and my pain was out of control within just a few hours. By the time I was 4cm, the doctor broke my water and inserted a tube to add fluid around the baby since mine was so low. Once my water was broken, the games began. Dustin was "sunny side up", which was great fun once they tried turning him. I could hardly stand the pain of the contractions that were measuring nearly off the charts, and they were trying to rotate him by his head. I thought I was going to pass out. I asked for something to take the edge off, I was determined not to get the epidural. The stadoll just made me nauseas and tired, though it didn't seem to help the pain. By the time I was 6 1/2 cm, they turned him again, and my body was shaking so uncontrollably the nurse practically demanded I get the epidural, and by that point, I would have done just about anything.
All my dreams of a nice, smooth, drug free labor were gone out the window. Mariela showed up and brought her bag of tricks, as usual. She helped me calm down, rubbed my legs, and put some music on to help me relax. She had a camera ready and her video camera in the other hand, and thank goodness! Once I received the epidural things went as fast as lightning. I dialated to 10 +2 cm, and once Dustin Jr. was crowning, it only took 1 1/2 pushes and he was ready to meet the world. Dustin Sr. was able to touch his head before he came out, he likes to be the first one to touch the babies, and before Mariela could touch him, I had another contraction and that was it! No tears, no cuts, and a perfect baby boy. What a miracle.
He looked so much like Laila when she was born we had to laugh, the resemblance was outstanding. Of course, since Laila looks so much like her daddy, Dustin Jr. did too. Here are a couple of comparison pictures of Dustin Jr. and Laila at birth and one week old:
Dustin Jr. 12:46am July 29, 2010
Laila 6:58pm August 29, 2005
Dustin Jr. One week
Laila One week
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