Warning: here is "the story" of Owen's birth - you should skip it if you aren't into hearing all the gory details......
Even though I had a scheduled induction date, I decided to try castor oil because I really wanted to go into labor on my own (an experience I've never had.) I know, pretty desperate. On the day before my scheduled induction I drank a tablespoon (mixed in Coke.) It was really gross to drink, but I eventually got it down, and sure enough I was running to the bathroom about 5 hours later. Yuck. But nothing else. So that afternoon I called Darcy, who is a pro at going into labor (sounds weird but it's true.) She encouraged me to try it just ONE MORE TIME. So that night I had another tbsp, this time mixed in Sprite. At 1:30am I woke up with contractions. They were really mild but consistently 3 minutes apart. I figured there's no way I could go to the hospital yet because the contractions were so mild, so I waited. Then I decided to lay down for a bit and they got stronger, but were spaced farther apart (5-7 minutes.)
Around this point I woke Keith up and had him start timing the contractions. I agonized about when we were supposed to head to the hospital (even though according to my doctor's instructions I should have gone in by then.) I only wanted to go if it was the real thing. So finally at a little before 4:30am I had a really painful contraction and I was like LET'S GO NOW!! Luckily Keith's mom had arrived earlier that evening from Idaho so we could just leave the kids with her. We got into the truck and I screamed through contractions the entire way to the hospital.
By 5am I had waddled into the hospital and gotten myself checked in. They told me I was 7 centimeters!! I asked if there was time for me to get an epidural and the nurse said maybe. Yikes. The rest is kind of a blur, but I just remember a lot of sceaming and pain. I got an epidural, and the anesthesiologist told me it would take 10 minutes to take effect (I don't remember that being the case before??) Well I had a contraction as he was finishing up and I started screaming that I needed to push. The nurse told me to breathe through it because THE DOCTOR HADN'T ARRIVED YET. Which is about the most horrible thing you can tell anyone I've decided. On the next contraction the doctor decided to show up and by then I was screaming and in kind of a semi-conscious state (I think that was how I coped with the pain.) I am pretty sure the entire state of Wisconsin heard me screaming - well at least the entire 2nd floor of the hospital anyway. And Keith said I was telling him "I can't do this. I can't do this" over and over. And I think I was thrashing around from side to side, I think I've blocked out a lot of what happened. Anyway, to sum it all up, two contractions later, after feeling like my body was literally going to split in half and wanting to die, Owen was born. And he was beautiful, but I'll be honest at that point I was just happy that the pain was over. And it really was over because 3 or 4 minutes later my epidural did kick in (just like the doctor said!) and my legs started to tingle, etc. Oh the irony.
To add insult to injury, and to make another long story short, the doctor messed up my epidural, which gave me spinal headaches. Which meant I had to lay flat for several days, and I had two procedures done to relieve the headaches, but they caused me to have intense lower back muscle spasms where it hurt to walk or move around. This lasted for a couple of WEEKS. So at this point I am terrified to EVER have an epidural again, and I am terrified to ever go through labor again without an epidural. But I guess that is ok because we are perfectly content with 4 kids :)
Another crazy thing that happened the day Owen was born was that Milwaukee had torrential rainfall (7 inches in just s few hours I think?) and we had a tornado alert - code black - at the hospital, which meant everyone had to leave their rooms and hang out in the hall. I am so glad Owen was already born by then, can you imagine giving birth in a hallway? And then we had some minor flooding in our basement. So yes it was a crazy day!!
Well to focus on the positive, Owen is a wonderful sweet baby and I love him so much. I am enjoying every moment with him at this age. He was 6 lb 11 oz at birth but has gotten so much bigger over this last month. I love the little faces he makes and the little sighs and squeaks. He is such a doll, and worth everything I went through the day his born. We love him!
Around this point I woke Keith up and had him start timing the contractions. I agonized about when we were supposed to head to the hospital (even though according to my doctor's instructions I should have gone in by then.) I only wanted to go if it was the real thing. So finally at a little before 4:30am I had a really painful contraction and I was like LET'S GO NOW!! Luckily Keith's mom had arrived earlier that evening from Idaho so we could just leave the kids with her. We got into the truck and I screamed through contractions the entire way to the hospital.
By 5am I had waddled into the hospital and gotten myself checked in. They told me I was 7 centimeters!! I asked if there was time for me to get an epidural and the nurse said maybe. Yikes. The rest is kind of a blur, but I just remember a lot of sceaming and pain. I got an epidural, and the anesthesiologist told me it would take 10 minutes to take effect (I don't remember that being the case before??) Well I had a contraction as he was finishing up and I started screaming that I needed to push. The nurse told me to breathe through it because THE DOCTOR HADN'T ARRIVED YET. Which is about the most horrible thing you can tell anyone I've decided. On the next contraction the doctor decided to show up and by then I was screaming and in kind of a semi-conscious state (I think that was how I coped with the pain.) I am pretty sure the entire state of Wisconsin heard me screaming - well at least the entire 2nd floor of the hospital anyway. And Keith said I was telling him "I can't do this. I can't do this" over and over. And I think I was thrashing around from side to side, I think I've blocked out a lot of what happened. Anyway, to sum it all up, two contractions later, after feeling like my body was literally going to split in half and wanting to die, Owen was born. And he was beautiful, but I'll be honest at that point I was just happy that the pain was over. And it really was over because 3 or 4 minutes later my epidural did kick in (just like the doctor said!) and my legs started to tingle, etc. Oh the irony.
To add insult to injury, and to make another long story short, the doctor messed up my epidural, which gave me spinal headaches. Which meant I had to lay flat for several days, and I had two procedures done to relieve the headaches, but they caused me to have intense lower back muscle spasms where it hurt to walk or move around. This lasted for a couple of WEEKS. So at this point I am terrified to EVER have an epidural again, and I am terrified to ever go through labor again without an epidural. But I guess that is ok because we are perfectly content with 4 kids :)
Another crazy thing that happened the day Owen was born was that Milwaukee had torrential rainfall (7 inches in just s few hours I think?) and we had a tornado alert - code black - at the hospital, which meant everyone had to leave their rooms and hang out in the hall. I am so glad Owen was already born by then, can you imagine giving birth in a hallway? And then we had some minor flooding in our basement. So yes it was a crazy day!!
Well to focus on the positive, Owen is a wonderful sweet baby and I love him so much. I am enjoying every moment with him at this age. He was 6 lb 11 oz at birth but has gotten so much bigger over this last month. I love the little faces he makes and the little sighs and squeaks. He is such a doll, and worth everything I went through the day his born. We love him!
Seriously how could he be any cuter???
He always poses his hands in the cutest ways....
Pouty lips!
Kate likes to sneak into every shot. She looks SO HUGE next to him.
Yes we like to get them started young....
7 comments:
Oh, wow, Emily. What a story! I love how you showed a picture of castor oil...it looks like you're a believer! I can't believe how fast it went for you...congratulations on surviving natural birth...sorry you had to deal with an epidural that didn't work! Your story also makes me not want to have an epidural AND not go through labor without an epidural. I was so excited for you when I heard you went on your own (as I know you wanted the experience)...sorry it was so rough!!! Glad he's finally here! I loved those pictures...he's a REALLY cute baby (and I don't think that about all babies...is that bad? :)
Great write-up! He has grown a lot!!! We miss you all!
cyminglOwen is adorable, as are all of your children. Sorry that your epidural did not work -- but my generation never even had that choice! Just the pain! but it was worth it. Where are you living now? If in Indiana how was the move with a new born?
That story is so different than the stories of your other childrens' births. I always had pain meds with my children and it sounds like it is HORRIBLE if you don't have them! The headaches sounds absolutely horrible as well! I am glad he is here and he is so cute. He seems like a good mixture of all your kids! Now you need to let us know about your move and all the fun stuff that comes with that!
Love this baby! He is adorable, congratulations, you did a great job! Sorry to hear how traumatic the labor and delivery was, but yes... it was totally worth it! Congrats Emily and Keith, he is a KEEPER!
Can't believe I'm finally just reading this! At least I got to talk to you though. That birth story just sounds terrifying and awful!! But, you're right, it's all worth it once they are out and find out how much you love them. He's adorable! Hope to see him in person someday.
Wow! I had something similar happen. I FINALLY hit 4 cm with BrookLyn and they said I could FINALLY have my epidural. I had 2 MAJOR contractions while Getting it and when they checked me I was at a 10!!! I've never hear of it taking 10 mins. Sounds like you had a TERRIBLE anesthesiologist. Mine worked right away so they turned it off and let it wear off for 2 hours before I started to feel like pushing! Sorry you were down and out so long. But they are SO worth it!
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