My blood pressure is usually low. About 110/70 normally and most pregnancies I need to watch that it doesn't drop too low, but in April, around the anniversary of my father's death four years before, my bp shot up to 159/100 and my face looked like a beet. I was in agony from a headache and the farmers were burning their fields contributing to the migraine I had at the time. By noon time, my husband took time off work and came home to find me in tears from the pain, lying in my darkened room. The baby was not due until May 11th and I really wanted to name her April. We'd had only 2 doctor ultrasounds and they wouldn't confirm it was a girl but my husband felt that it was and he usually is right, and we'd had a babymoon ultrasound at 9 wks but it was too small then to tell.
So here I was, approaching the anniversary of dad's death which we all know is often a common time to deliver if a baby is coming early and after going to the doctor ironically enough for my regular appointment, he took my bp and said we're getting this baby out NOW! I was elated! So excited in fact that my bp dropped somewhat. He got me to the hospital, and then said forget it. You get magnesium sulfate and a weekend in the hospital which was a horror show. Do you know how hard it is to lug your overweight body plus baby plus extra fluids and an iv attached to you back and forth to the bathroom. Remember the bladder problems? They were STILL there. The nurses in ICU where I had to be because of the mag sulfate, didn't know how to deal with a pregnant patient. They were asking ME what to do for me and for the most part were nice, but simply lacked knowledge and I am the type that suffers in silence in hospital so I wouldn't say anything. I was still in shock that the doctor changed his mind and I could hear him laughing at the door with the nurses telling them he never said he'd take the baby ha ha ha. But he DID. HE knew it, my HUSBAND knew and so did HIS SECRETARY/NURSE at the office. So I suffered until about 9 that night when an on call doctor came in. He questioned the other doctor's diagnosis and choice of treatment to the nurses and of course since nobody knew I was previously a medical secretary or that I'd had 8 children before this one, they didn't lower voices and I understood perfectly that he didn't think I needed that drug but perhaps a migraine treatment. Sure enough, he overrode my doctor's instructions and called him to tell him so. He stopped the mag sulfate and gave me some other meds to stop the migraine which did the trick. Then they re-started the mag sulfate. Later the second night I was in there, I began coughing again and my throat was so sore but nobody did a thing about it. I couldn't stop coughing which caused lack of bladder control again and I was miserable with no care from the nurses. How could ICU nurses ignore a person choking like I was? Finally around midnight the one nurse offered me honey. The next morning the doctor offered me cough medicine which he SAID wouldn't hurt the baby. It tasted gross and about all it did was make me tired and so I ditched it asap. I went back to the honey which seemed to help soothe my throat and calm the cough for a while. I drank tons of ice water all night long.
Around 3am, I heard doctors and nurses talking. I'd had no reflexes when they'd checked me for a reading on what my normal reflexes were like. Apparently it's important to check them before giving mag sulfate so that if there's a reaction one knows what the baseline reflexes are. Well since I don't have any anyway, they had nothing to base reactions on and the one doctor was concerned about that once he heard about my coughing and how I felt so heavy and my chest was tight. He was asking about an allergic reaction.
Once I heard that, I fired up my laptop and at 3 am, the only really nasty nurse I had, came in and caught me researching magnesium sulfate's effects. She told on me. She called my doctor at 5 am and tattled. I know because I was STILL up and heard her. Then he slunk into my room at 6am and "woke me up" (I was pretending) and told me he was stopping the drugs and releasing me as of that morning and I was to go home and wait till the baby wanted to come. I was livid. I said nothing much but let my disapproval be known to the nurses later on. Then I walked through the misty rain on April 24th the 4th anniversary of my father's death to our car, in pain and still pregnant and devastated that my baby was inside me and not in my arms. This was the type of weather I'd imagined for her birth and the right day and month and everything was set up for me to deliver her yet it never happened.
After we got in the van, Derk and I decided that I was not going back to this guy. Even if I was that pregnant there was no way this guy was going to touch me. I called my old doctor who'd delivered the twins and later Zachary. He agreed to take me back and so my first visit to him, I was 38 wks pregnant and he was horrified at my story of why I needed to change doctors at this point in my pregnancy.
He gave me good care and began trying to get me into the hospital. I still had the cough that was ripping me apart. I mean it when I say ripping. I'd pulled all my stomach muscles across my baby and just breathing hurt never mind coughing or throwing up which I was now doing almost every day again. The bladder issues remained. My family doctor said it was because of the baby's weight on my bladder and my coughing but it should stop once I delivered. I was trying everything we knew to control the coughing and my ob was trying to figure a way to get me into the induction program. HE knew that I don't go into productive labor but only dilate to about 3 cm and then need induction to get me further. That being said, I'd been induced for 5 babies with one coming on his own, (another story there completely) and the twins being taken by c-section due to them being transverse cord down and my being 3 cm dilated and in labor at that point. So... it was obvious that this one was either a section or induction. He couldn't get them to keep me until my bp started rising again and finally was 149/101 and they said they'd keep me in the ward where women go with pregnancy complications all night until they could get a bed in induction. So from 6pm Sunday May 16th until 3pm Monday May 17th that was my room. Derk went home around 10:30 pm and I slept pretty good that night. The next day he got there around 8 am and stayed all day with me. Finally they took me to my bed in delivery and settled me in. By this point, we were exhausted. They started the drip and we waited and waited because being a double vbac, they were not taking chances with bursting that scar so we went up 1 level every half hour.
We were up to level 14 at midnight. It was looking good. Dilated to about 5 cm and head was in the birth canal and coming down. In fact, they had called the doctor to break my water. It looked like she was coming before morning but then I felt like the pain had lessened and when he examined me, sure enough her head had popped out of the birth canal and was resting on my left hip basically. He stopped the whole process dead. no more drip, no more pains, nothing. They put in a catheter to relieve pressure on the bladder. That dumb bladder again! Then they made me go for a walk. I was about in tears. Derk was falling asleep every second and he has sleep apnea which sends me insane. With the pain and up to this point I'd not had anything for it, never had taken ANY pain meds previously to this either except the spinal necessary to deliver the twins by c-section, I was getting frustrated with Derk and the doctors. In fact, I'd never felt so angry during delivery before!!
So we went for the walk. I'd begged him to take her c-section like he'd done for the twins but he said no, that I could do this and that I'd thank him later for it when I didn't have a major surgery to heal from but right then? I could have punched him cheerfully!!
So back we went to the room, drip was restarted and we started from level 1 again! I was devastated. Derk kept falling asleep and the pains slowly began to get stronger and stronger. My doctor asked me at one point if I'd taken any pain meds and I said no and didn't want any. He looked sad. Later that morning, a nurse came to ask me if I'd considered anything. What she offered was gas and I will not take that stuff so I refused but Derk asked if there was any other option. She told me I could have an epidural and explained how it would work. Derk told me after all my med-free deliveries, I deserved to take care of myself during this one and to take it. I refused over and over and finally the pain was so bad I gave in. THEN they couldn't do it right then because they were short staffed and were delivering another woman so I waited. At least, around 1pm, they came in and gave me my epidural and instantly I felt the pain leave. i felt safe and warm and actually was sleeping through most of the next few hours unless the pains were stronger. My hubby was relieved! So was my doctor. He was overjoyed when he found out I'd had the epidural!
Finally he came and broke my water. Later around 4pm, he came to check me and pretended to be angry with the nurses. (I know that now lol) I thought they were told to move this catheter out of the way he said because I'd been feeling a sharp pain with every contraction that felt like I was pushing hard on something. Turns out I was. The catheter. He said he could take it out now and did so then he told me I'd have the baby within the hour and left. Derk went to get a drink to get ready for delivery and within 15 minutes, I felt that baby tunneling down through my body like a freight train rushing down a track and wanted to push. She was coming fast I thought and sure enough upon checking me, they called for the doctor who was just outside the delivery area. HE saw my hubby at the drinks machine and raised his eyebrows and hurried away. Derk thought if he was doing that, maybe he best get in there and sure enough he arrived to them prepping my room and me for delivery. it was 4:46pm Tuesday May 18th, 25 hours after they'd begun induction that my not so little baby girl catapulted from my warm safe body into the doctor's waiting hands. He had to give me a small episiotomy (no surprise there... every other birth had one except the c-section) and he had to guide her shoulders out. At that point, still not knowing her sex, I figured it was a boy after all because now her birth felt like Zachary's. However, she was a big very big 9 lbs 2.3 oz and 20 inches long. She was chubby everywhere and her bottom and thighs were huge!! We had a good laugh over that! She began to nurse instantly and I ate the hospital supper of roast pork and potatoes etc, then had a burger and fries from downstairs I was so hungry and sick of the jello and beef broth.
I guess I forgot to mention that from about 20 wks on, they thought I had gestational diabetes too and so I had to constantly monitor my sugar and diet. Other than that, I didn't do anything more about it and am pretty much fine now. However my sugar tends to be low rather than high and so they were constantly giving me jello and broth to help it stay stable during the long hours of induction.
I'm going to stop here for now and post some pics. I'll write more about Derikkah later.
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