A little intro first- I was originally due on August 1 but my doctor was going to be out of town. I was worried about going overdue again (I was 2 weeks overdue with my first) so I elected to be induced a week early (July 26) so my doctor would be there.

My pregnancy was going really well, I didn’t gain too much weight and had normal blood pressure despite having a very very stressful time with work and my husband getting in a dirt bike accident. I was all belly! I looked like I swallowed a basketball.

I went to my normal and last appointment before my induction to check for dilation. I didn’t feel well that day and thought maybe I was coming down with a stomach bug. I mentioned it to the nurse as she was taking my blood pressure. Next thing I know, my doc comes in and says “how is it that you look so great for feeling so miserable and having such high blood pressure!? You must be good at putting on a happy face and hiding misery!” I was completely caught off guard! He told me I had a couple options: 1- be monitored for 3 days and check my kidney function and NST’s on baby or 2- be induced and have baby. He recommended going with the induction and scheduled it for THAT NIGHT! I wasn’t prepared at all!!! I had many items I needed to put away, my house was a mess, I needed to meal prep. Hell, I hadn’t even unboxed her car seat! So much to do- but I felt so miserable and couldn’t do anything! I could hardly eat!

I called my husband who came home from work and got as much done as he could before going to the hospital that night.

Now on to the birth story part-

We got checked in at 9 pm on Monday night. They started an IV and inserted a pill to help soften and hopefully dilate a little. I was only at a 2. We tried to sleep as much as we could. I had some contractions- but nothing horrible. They came in the morning around 9 and removed the pill and started Oxytocin. I was now at a 3 and pretty thin and “very posterior”. (They didn’t give many details as far as thinning and effacing) Oxytocin started at a 2 and they increased it by 2 every 30 minutes. A doctor came in and broke my water at about 10 AM and it was game on from there.

Contractions came almost immediately and weren’t too bad. I was managing it well and wanted an epidural, but I didn’t want it too soon as I was worried it would wear off or not be as effective when it came time to push.

My husband left around 12 to get some lunch. By the time he got back- I was gripping the bed and having to remind myself to breathe through the contractions. He immediately got the nurse for me and I asked for the epidural. The anesthesiologists was about 30 minutes out. Let me tell you... it was the longest 30 minutes!!! After getting the epidural, he told me to give it 30 and I should still be able to wiggle my toes and feel my legs a bit- but the pain should be gone. I started to get numb and was able to bear the contractions more. The nurse took about 30 minutes to find a latex free catheter. I could still feel my legs and my left pelvic bone was really hurting. She checked me and I was at a 7. She told me it wouldn’t be too much longer!

It seemed almost immediately things kicked into overdrive and I could feel the contractions again. I told my husband to call the nurse and that I could feel my body pushing with every contraction. We hit the button multiple times! No one was answering and no one was coming in! (They forgot to mention to us that the bed button doesn’t work- you have to hit the remote button) my husband ended up hitting the call button on the wall behind the bed and instantly there were 5 nurses running into the room! I guess that button is only pressed if there is a life threatening emergency- oops! We had no idea! One of the nurses(after coming down from her adrenaline rush) checked me and I was at a 10 and baby was definitely coming! My doctor came in and they broke down the bed. I was feeling basically everything at this point, but it was too late for the anesthesiologists to come back in and adjust it( I had also hit the button twice to try and adjust it). I told my doctor I could feel more than i thought I should have and he told me it was probably pressure.

It was time to push! 3 pushes lasting 10 seconds each with only a breath in between, I ended up pushing for 15 minutes. I was surprised by the amount of grunting and moaning escaping my mouth. It was like I had no control over my body!

She finally moved down and was just about to crown. My doctor had to remind me to keep pushing through the pain as he could tell I could really feel it now. I pushed once for 10 seconds and screamed out “son of a bitch!!” As she was crowning. The ring of fire is real and I had a second degree tear. Once out, they placed her on my chest and my doctor started stitching me up. I wanted to crawl off the bed and as far away from the sutures I could! That shit hurt!!! Once my doctor delivered the placenta, I started hemorrhaging! He was pushing on my stomach and I could feel the blood pour out of me! Next thing I know, he is shoving gauze in my vag and doing more sutures and then the nurse starts pressing on my stomach. More moans and mumblings kept escaping my mouth. He ended up getting some pills and shoving them up my ass to help make the blood clot. I literally looked at him funny’s a in complete shock and said “are you shoving those up my ass!?” I was so shocked he was putting pills in my ass. It still kind of shocks me, but I guess it’s faster absorption than through the IV.

He was able to get the bleeding under control. I had to have more IV meds and keep on the Oxytocin to make my uterus contract to get the clots out. My nurse also had to come in every 10 minutes and knead my stomach to get the clots out and ensure my uterus was shrinking. When my nurse took out my epidural, there was blood in the line. She mentioned that’s how she can tell it wasn’t placed right and definitely didn’t work!

It was quite a miserable delivery and a bit of a traumatic experience but it all ended well. Baby is super healthy, I am recovering quite well and we are trying to adjust to breast feeding.

Raylie Jae was born on 7/16/2019 at 2:13 pm weighing 6 lbs 14 oz and measured 19.7 inches long.