I went to my normal weekly appointment on Tues, March 9th and expressed some concern of tenderness on one side of my stomach that had been present for the past 3 wks or so. After further discussion with my doctors, we decided it was best to induce just in case the pain was caused by my Crohns. So everything was set for the following day at 5am.The next morning we headed to the hospital for everything to start rolling. It was a very restless night for both of us. Knowing the exact day and time was more nerve-racking than having things happen naturally. The morning was rough as I started with a nurse on the end of her shift that treated me like a pin cushion. So much that I nearly passed out after a second nurse finally got my IV going. My blood pressure dropped and so did Kanon's heart beat from 150 to 70 bpm. I was put on oxygen and had to be stabilized before they could even start the pitocin.
They started the pitocin around 6:45am and my doctor broke my water around 7:30am, discovering there was meconium in the amniotic fluid showing that Kanon had been in distress at some point, probably from the earlier morning events. From there things got moving, contractions started and by 9:30am I was ready for the epidural. Major props to all those that never had an epidural during child birth. I think I was finally feeling better around 10:30-10:45am once the epidural was in place and I could feel the effects. The nurse told Kurt and I to get some rest, that never happened. It wasn't long after that, the contractions and pressure came back on my left side and made sleeping impossible. The nurse turned down the pitocin since my body had taken over and labor was going much faster than anybody expected. Apparently the epidural was already wearing off for me. They ordered more meds and by the time they gave it to me and when it finally started working it was just after 12 and it was go time. I pushed for 45 minutes or so and Kanon was in distress again and he was not recovering after each contraction like he should have been. My doctor gave me the choice of him using the vacuum or going in for the c-section because Kanon needed to get out immediately. I gave him the go ahead on whatever he felt was best. He wanted to try the vacuum first on the next contraction and luckily it worked on the first try and Kanon was out. He was immediately brought over to the warmer with 3 or 4 nurses surrounding him clearing his lungs and making sure everything was okay.
It was rather stressful at times and there were some very scary moments in the beginning and the end with me being seconds from a c-section, but it all worked out okay. And to us, Kanon is perfect. Having a baby is definitely an experience I'll remember the rest of my life. I can't say it was what I expected because I honestly tried not to think about it too much before. I read the books and knew what was coming, but it's just not anything like something you can read. Did it hurt? Yes. Was it scary? Yes. But was it worth it? Yes!
While at the hospital we were selected by the hospital to be interviewed by the local newspaper. Below is the article.
