Postpartum hemorrhage - birth story

I’m finally getting around to posting! I will say my birth experience is exactly why I didn’t have a birth plan or try to predict how things would unfold.

I started having contractions around 1am on the 11th; they were about an hour apart. Fast forward to 11am and they were in the 4-6min range; by noon we were headed to the hospital although the nurse wanted me to labor at home longer (my gut said no). We made it to the hosp and I was 5cm and 90% effaced. Perfect, right? I thought it would be great...plenty of time for an epidural. My husband went to park the car. In those 10mins my water broke and I shot up to 10cm and felt like pushing RIGHT AWAY! Looked like I was out of luck for the epi! Three hours later (yes, pushed for 3 hrs) the progress was slow. Someone decided to try an epidural (bless them) so I could rest for an hour and then push again. Staying still for that during contractions was by far the hardest part (and not pushing). My little girl was born by 8pm!

Now for the crazy part-2 weeks postpartum I had a hemorrhage. I had to rush to the ER and be readmitted to the hospital. I barely made it there before I passed out. My husband was a rockstar (taking care of me and our infant) as were the two male nurses there that night. It took doctors quite awhile to get the bleeding under control; a very uncomfortable process so I will spare you the details. I was able to get a blood transfusion and meds to help my uterus contract, but it was very scary. I was able to keep my daughter with me in the hospital for the two additional days I was there so I could breast feed. The L&D; staff remembered us so we were well taken care of. I felt like I had to start the healing process all over; it almost took more out of me than childbirth. However, it was totally worth it! I also learned more about my uterus than I ever needed to know.