So my baby is here

So, I was 40+2 days on March 24th, my doctor had scheduled an induction for me when I reached my due date because baby was not coming down/had not dropped and she was on track to being a big baby. I was entirely against induction and did not want to be induced at all, but I knew the risks of having an overdue baby, so I scheduled it about a week and a 1/2 ahead. In the meantime, I had done everything to try and induce labor on my own. Walking, spicy food, primrose oil, red raspberry leaf tea, etc. I even drank about 2 tbsp of castor oil the day before my scheduled induction but it didn't do much, not even a bowel movement. 

May 24th came and I was supposed to be at the hospital at 8 PM, but didn't get there till almost 9:30 PM. they checked my cervix and said I was only 2 cm dilated. Apparently, I had been having contractions but I wasn't feeling them at all!! Which was really surprising. For that reason, they decided to skip the foley balloon and hooked me up to have pitocin. From 10 PM-2 AM, they had been upping my pitocin all the way to 10 ML. at this point, my contractions were 1-3 minutes apart for an hour (around 6 am), however they were not strong enough despite them increasing it gradually. I was breathing through them and honestly, they weren't that bad. I was on the bouncing ball, as well. 

The resident doctor at the hospital (along with my midwife's consultation) came in to advise me to get epidural because my contractions weren't strong enough and the max they could up the pitocin would be 20 ML, and I wasn't dilating quick enough. I got the epidural, which was super easy and not painful at all!! Plus the anesthesiologist was great. This allowed me to rest up and be well rested for the actual delivery, and also have my water broken. 

At 12, they said I was 100% effaced and 10 cm dilating and they wanted to wait for baby girl to make her way down so I could start pushing, but then suddenly, baby girl's heart rate started to drop :/ I had to get on my hands and knees, keep a peanut ball between my legs, etc to keep her heart rate steady but it simply wasn't working. Since I was already 10 cm, they decided it was time for me to start pushing, even though she hadn't dropped and was still too far up the birth canal. 

The doctor's and nurses all rushed in and I was instructed to start pushing. I could feel pressure and I still had some feeling in my legs, pelvis, etc so I was able to push properly, unfortunately, they had to speed the process up and they used forceps to get her out quicker. This made me have a 3rd degree tear :/ I've been recovering nicely, but the first 2 days were absolutely brutal. Third day has been painful, but tolerable as long as I don't spend too much time sitting and walking around. My bleeding is super minimal almost like a very light period and I've passed zero clots. I've been wearing pads and using dermoplast spray, witch hazel pads, and ibuprofen for relief. 

Baby girl was 8.5 lbs of perfection!! She is happy and healthy 😊 absolutely perfect. She feeds well (formula and breast), even though I don't have breast milk come in yet. She's not fussy and spends most of her time sleeping. She did have miconium when my water got broken by the doctor, but it doesn't look like it effected her and she's doing great. So thankful and absolutely in love ❤️❤️❤️