Overdue

Baby J  was a couple days overdue, but what is really overdue is her birth story! I have been friends with M and J for years. We attend the same church and were trying to conceive our last babies together. I was thrilled when M asked me to doula for her. Her first son was born via c-section after he went into distress after an induction due to elevated fluid levels. We were anticipating a vbac since history wasn't bound to repeat itself.

M was due in August which put me at 15 weeks pregnant myself. This was a good time to be doulaing as I was (mostly) out of the morning sickness phase and wasn't too big to be of help. There was some concern that I wouldn't make it because my oldest son was scheduled for spinal fusion surgery in mid-August, but the stars aligned and 3:00 am one Sunday morning I got call from her husband. He told me that contractions were coming every 3-5 minutes and were pretty intense. I will admit that I paused when he said that this had been going on for only 15 minutes. But, a Mom needs me when a Mom needs me and we had no idea how this birth would progress since M was induced last time. So I threw my stuff in the car and headed the few blocks over to their house.

M was laboring on her hands and knees in the living room and I could tell that these contractions were not being nice. I thought maybe Baby wasn't in a good position, so I suggested some different positions for M to labor in, but it wasn't reducing her pain. M's parents were on their way up to watch their grandson, so we couldn't really head to the hospital until they got there. I suggested trying a bath and that took the edge off while we waited. M was able to get through contractions with a combination of breathing, moaning, and having the water running.

I stepped out of the room to greet M's parents and to give them some privacy. It was almost 4:00, only an hour after I had been called. As soon as the grandparent's arrived we got Miranda dressed and we went over to the hospital.

The hospital was only a 5 minute drive at most. I was in front of M and J and I was stopping at the stop signs because I could just imagine the pain of dealing with a ticket, but apparently M was cursing me "There's no stop signs in labor!!" LOL

We made it to the hospital at 4:17 and M was put in a wheel chair for the ride up to L&D. No sooner had we arrived at the room did M's water break in the wheelchair. There's no turning back now!! Our first nurse was named Jessie and we all got a kick out of M telling her that she smelled nice. Unlike most laboring women in unbelievable pain, M was polite and funny her entire labor.

M took a sip of Gatorade and immediately threw it up. Her body was telling us that it meant business! They put M on the monitors about 4:30 to get a baseline and see how things were moving. She was checked and was 2 cm and 80% effaced. 80% effaced is fantastic! Sometimes our bodies efface before they dilate and so we were optimistic that her body knew what it was doing despite not having a chance the first time.

Things were very intense about 5:00 and the nurses took blood and started an IV. M was managing contractions sitting on the edge of the bed, clinging to J while I applied counter-pressure on her lower back. What she really wanted to do was "cuddle up" with J, but baby had other plans. Another cervical check found her at 3 cm and -1 station. This is happy news! M opted for some oxygen shortly after the second cervical check and we got the ball rolling on an epidural. Her contractions didn't start off mild and far between, they started off with a bang and we all felt that in order to progress she needed some rest and pain relief.

The epidural was administered at 5:40 and we noticed mucus plug when M laid back. Another move in the right direction! About 6:30 Nurse Amy checked M's cervix and it was 3.5 cm and 100% effaced! Nurse Amy placed a catheter and then we settled in to watch Stand by Me.

Nurse Shelley came in about 7:15 and adjusted M's position. We were having a hard time getting the monitors to stay in the right place and Baby was showing some decels, so after some discussion, they placed internal monitors about 8:00. Cervical check revealed 4 cm and some head swelling.

Baby was not as happy as we would like her to be, but to give M the best chance at having a vbac, MW Jen did an infusion - which is putting fluid back into the uterus to give the baby a little cushion. This seemed to help and J and I had breakfast while M dozed until about 10:30.

At that time they did another cervical check and M was 5-6 cm, and 0 station. So Baby was coming down just like she was supposed to. The epidural was not working as well as M would like and when pushing the button didn't provide relief, the anesthesiologist came to top it off about noon.

M was checked again at 12:30 and again was making good progress - 6-7 cm and about +1 station. Baby was having some decels and by 1:00 they were getting longer and more concerning. The Nurse, MW, and OB came in to access the situation.

They all felt that things were not emergent at this point and had M switch positions. They talked about using a dose of terbutaline to stop the contractions for a while and give Baby time to rest. After another couple of concerning decels, M and J felt like terbutaline was a good call and they administered that at 1:12. Cervical check showed even more progress at a solid 7 cm and +1 station.

M's uterus was not responding to the terbutaline and Baby was not happy. Despite EVERY effort to facilitate a vaginal birth, the MW came in to discuss a c-section with M and J. They were given time to think and pray and at 2:00 they signed consent. As a doula, it's always hard to see a birth take an unanticipated turn, but I really was impressed with M's team and how they were willing to try everything they could to keep Baby happy while M labored. I felt like they wanted M to have a vbac almost as much as she did and they only recommended a c-section when they knew the pros outweighed the cons.

M was in the OR 15 minutes later and after she was settled they let J and I in. My position was such that if I just stuck my hand around the corner I had a great view for pictures.

At 2:40 we heard the glorious sound a baby crying and the Dr's pronouncement that she has RED hair! They also told us that the cord was not only wrapped around her neck twice, but it was wrapped around her arm and her hand. It was no wonder that she was having trouble with decels.

After a brief check up and weight on the warmers, Baby J was reunited with M. The OR nurse was wonderful and not only helped M do skin-to-skin, but held the baby so that they could nurse right there in the OR!

Baby J

2:40 pm

7 pounds 14 ounces

20 inches