NubianHoneii
Well-known member
I was looking at my blog and I saw my birth story and realized that I didn't share it with the mommies on specktra! Its long, and 3 months old, but in case you need a good laugh (because my friends swear its funny.. but I really don't see it being that I lived through it) here it is. Feels good to be a mommy doesn't it?
(fyi, I copied this word for word from my personal blog, I know I explained everything like I was talking to someone who didn't know birth procedures, and also some of the smiles got pasted too. Just to let you know those aren't specktra smilies)
Bryan then: 9-9-08
Bryan Now: 12-22-08
I got to the hospital’s maternity ward around 9am with Ralph, signed in, and waited .. waited… and waited some more for a room. Even though I was scheduled for an induction, every time I looked it was like someone who was “more pregnant” then I was being wheeled into the triage unit (where they check your cervix to see if you should stay or leave and come back later) screaming and 9cm dilated. Since I wasn’t dilated at all and in minimal pain (in actuality, I was in labor already.. since the night before, but it wasn’t much pain) my shit was pushed back farther and farther. Ralph had to leave me and come home for a bit but his mother was on the way to stay with me so I wasn’t that mad.
Around 1pm or so I finally got my room. Because I had waited so patiently I got the BEST room on the floor! I changed into my hospital gown and got into the bed to relax. A doctor and a nurse came in to start my iv drip and insert my Cervadil. Cervadil is a small pill (or strip) inserted into the vagina and pushed up to the cervix to make it dilate. I asked the doctor if Cervadil would make me have contractions and she said “No”. Big ass lie.
15 minutes later Ralph’s mother and his little brother bobby show up. A half hour later Bobby left for work and around there is where I start to feel like I’ve gotten my period, I felt crampy.
I was starting to get a headache because I hadn’t eaten since early that morning. Usually during labor they don’t let you eat anything but ice chips but I was instructed I could have a light lunch because I’m diabetic and my blood sugar level was only 52! Yes, that was LOW. Ralph’s mother got me a kids meal from Boston Market and by the time she got back I was so crampy that I couldn’t eat the whole thing. She fed me because I was weak with the low blood sugar.
Ralph came back about an hour after I had finished eating. My blood sugar was much better after I ate. By this time I realized that my cramps were contractions. I was hooked up to the fetal heart rate monitor. I hate that thing by the way. Its this monitor that is strapped around your stomach with this big tight band so they can monitor the baby’s heart rate. They do that to see if the baby is in distress. If the baby is in distress, then usually you will have to have an emergency c-section. My sister came. I was in pain. My mother came. I was in even MORE pain. By that time it was about 8pm and I opted for an epidural.
I knew I needed the epi more then anything in the world by that point, but getting relief would come with a price. I’m not really scared of needles, but an epidural is a spinal tap. Ever see how long and fat that needle is? It’s nothing like the ones they use to draw blood or deliver vaccines with. It has to go right into the small of your back, so they can thread tubing down your spine to deliver the anesthesia. The anesthesiologist came into the room with a tray of assorted drugs and they prepped me for the procedure. Lets be clear on something, one wrong move and I could be fucked up for life. They are playing with your spine. I had to sign a clearance paper before she started. As soon as they lifted me up from the bed, a contraction hit me hard. That contraction mixed with all of my fear caused me to throw up
. After they cleaned me up they prepared to administer the drugs. I was leaning over the edge of the bed with my back curved. Ralph was in front of me holding me and giving me comfort (gotta love him!). They cleansed my back with what looked like iodine and it was icy cold, then she applied some kind of plastic film over the area, now it was time for the needle. I was scared but I knew jumping could paralyze me so I stayed calm. To my surprise it didn’t hurt at all! Once she got the epi flowing I felt a burning sensation in my lower back and legs, then my lower back and legs went numb. OMG talk about relief! Everyone came back into the room and stayed with me for a while then one by one left, leaving me and Ralph for the night. The doctors started me on Pitocin which makes your contractions come more frequent and stronger, but I couldn’t feel a thing so I was happy.
My nurse Michael(omg I loved him! He was great!) came into the room at gave me an urethral catheter since my legs were numb and I couldn’t go to the bathroom on my own. They stick this tube up your urethra and it drains the urine for you to a bag, and no It didn’t hurt since I was already numb from the waist down to begin with. After that Ralph and I watched some tv and went to sleep.
I’m a true fat ass. Who has dreams of grocery shopping for cheese with their aunt? Apparently, I do. At 4 am I was awakened from such dream because I felt warm and wet between my legs. I thought somehow through the night I had dislocated my catheter, then I realized what it really was when I went to sit up. My water broke. I made the STUPIDEST mistake ever, instead of calling Micheal (my cool ass nurse) first… my dumb ass wakes Ralph up…
FYI, just because your water has broken, doesn’t mean that the baby is coming any faster.
My bff Michelle shows up around 8am .. since Ralph had called everyone at an ungodly hour. Later, my mother comes and so does Ralph’s mother. All day doctors were sticking their hands up my crotch to see how far dilated I was. I never thought I would have so many people feeling me up like that ever
. Once I got to like 5 centimeters the doctors said I would advance more rapidly. Around 5:30 or so my sister showed up since her job is only like a block away from the hospital. She was determined to be in the delivery room when I gave birth since I told her I was pregnant. That was also around the time I started feeling pain in my stomach. I thought the epidural would take away all the pain. The doctors explained to me that it leaves some feeling behind, how else would you know when to push? Since I was feeling the pain now the doctors checked me one more time, and this time I was fully dilated and ready to push, as a matter of fact, his head was down the birth canal already.
Since Ralph and my sister were my chosen “birth coaches” they got to stay in the room while everyone else had to go to the waiting room. They propped my legs up, had Ralph hold one, and Dashawn (my sister) hold the other one. My OBGYN was able to be at the hospital for my delivery which was great. He directed me on how to push. Basically with all your might you have to force down like you are trying to have a bowl movement. My sister was trying to coach me too which was funny being that she has no children of her own
.
Now while I’m pushing, I’m also watching TV (what! I’m an avid ‘Pardon the Interruption’ fan! ) that shows you how much the epidural was doing. The head was almost out, my doctor put a hear rate monitor on my baby’s head to make sure he wasn’t in distress. Then I started getting scared. The doctor told me to stop pushing and he kept on staring at the monitor like something was wrong. Then after a while he told me to push again and this time I gave it all I had. I kinda felt his head fully come out. I saw my doctor come to me with the scissors. I knew what was about to happen, I was getting an episiotemy. For those who don’t know what that is, that’s when they cut you open wider to allow for the baby’s shoulders and/or head to come out without injuring the baby when the baby is too big or the mother is tiny. In my case, I had a big baby. At 6:14 pm after about 20 minutes of pushing I delivered my baby boy.
They put him right on my chest, bloody and all. Ralph cut the umbilical cord. Then I got scared again after I realized that my child was born into this world without making one sound. He wasn’t crying. They took him off my chest and put him on the warmer table to clean him up. They suctioned some fluid from out of his throat and nose and then he let out a cry. I was so happy I started crying myself. While he was getting cleaned up the doctor was stitching up my cut. After the 7th stitch I stopped counting
. They put him on the scale and OMG I felt like super woman. I vaginally gave birth to a 9lb 4oz baby.
I still have my battle scars to prove it too!
Bryan then: 9-9-08
Bryan Now: 12-22-08
I got to the hospital’s maternity ward around 9am with Ralph, signed in, and waited .. waited… and waited some more for a room. Even though I was scheduled for an induction, every time I looked it was like someone who was “more pregnant” then I was being wheeled into the triage unit (where they check your cervix to see if you should stay or leave and come back later) screaming and 9cm dilated. Since I wasn’t dilated at all and in minimal pain (in actuality, I was in labor already.. since the night before, but it wasn’t much pain) my shit was pushed back farther and farther. Ralph had to leave me and come home for a bit but his mother was on the way to stay with me so I wasn’t that mad.
Around 1pm or so I finally got my room. Because I had waited so patiently I got the BEST room on the floor! I changed into my hospital gown and got into the bed to relax. A doctor and a nurse came in to start my iv drip and insert my Cervadil. Cervadil is a small pill (or strip) inserted into the vagina and pushed up to the cervix to make it dilate. I asked the doctor if Cervadil would make me have contractions and she said “No”. Big ass lie.
15 minutes later Ralph’s mother and his little brother bobby show up. A half hour later Bobby left for work and around there is where I start to feel like I’ve gotten my period, I felt crampy.
I was starting to get a headache because I hadn’t eaten since early that morning. Usually during labor they don’t let you eat anything but ice chips but I was instructed I could have a light lunch because I’m diabetic and my blood sugar level was only 52! Yes, that was LOW. Ralph’s mother got me a kids meal from Boston Market and by the time she got back I was so crampy that I couldn’t eat the whole thing. She fed me because I was weak with the low blood sugar.
Ralph came back about an hour after I had finished eating. My blood sugar was much better after I ate. By this time I realized that my cramps were contractions. I was hooked up to the fetal heart rate monitor. I hate that thing by the way. Its this monitor that is strapped around your stomach with this big tight band so they can monitor the baby’s heart rate. They do that to see if the baby is in distress. If the baby is in distress, then usually you will have to have an emergency c-section. My sister came. I was in pain. My mother came. I was in even MORE pain. By that time it was about 8pm and I opted for an epidural.
I knew I needed the epi more then anything in the world by that point, but getting relief would come with a price. I’m not really scared of needles, but an epidural is a spinal tap. Ever see how long and fat that needle is? It’s nothing like the ones they use to draw blood or deliver vaccines with. It has to go right into the small of your back, so they can thread tubing down your spine to deliver the anesthesia. The anesthesiologist came into the room with a tray of assorted drugs and they prepped me for the procedure. Lets be clear on something, one wrong move and I could be fucked up for life. They are playing with your spine. I had to sign a clearance paper before she started. As soon as they lifted me up from the bed, a contraction hit me hard. That contraction mixed with all of my fear caused me to throw up
My nurse Michael(omg I loved him! He was great!) came into the room at gave me an urethral catheter since my legs were numb and I couldn’t go to the bathroom on my own. They stick this tube up your urethra and it drains the urine for you to a bag, and no It didn’t hurt since I was already numb from the waist down to begin with. After that Ralph and I watched some tv and went to sleep.
I’m a true fat ass. Who has dreams of grocery shopping for cheese with their aunt? Apparently, I do. At 4 am I was awakened from such dream because I felt warm and wet between my legs. I thought somehow through the night I had dislocated my catheter, then I realized what it really was when I went to sit up. My water broke. I made the STUPIDEST mistake ever, instead of calling Micheal (my cool ass nurse) first… my dumb ass wakes Ralph up…
Me: Baby, Baby wake up. I think my water broke
Ralph: OMG OMG OMFG. :runs around like a chicken with his head cut off:
Ralph finally gets it together and calls Micheal (the dopest nurse around if you didn’t get the gist yet lol) for me. The doctors came and checked me and I’m about 2 cm dilated at this point. I get cleaned up, and go back to sleep. Ralph however must call everyone at 4 am and tell them that my water has broken
Ralph: OMG OMG OMFG. :runs around like a chicken with his head cut off:
My bff Michelle shows up around 8am .. since Ralph had called everyone at an ungodly hour. Later, my mother comes and so does Ralph’s mother. All day doctors were sticking their hands up my crotch to see how far dilated I was. I never thought I would have so many people feeling me up like that ever
Since Ralph and my sister were my chosen “birth coaches” they got to stay in the room while everyone else had to go to the waiting room. They propped my legs up, had Ralph hold one, and Dashawn (my sister) hold the other one. My OBGYN was able to be at the hospital for my delivery which was great. He directed me on how to push. Basically with all your might you have to force down like you are trying to have a bowl movement. My sister was trying to coach me too which was funny being that she has no children of her own
Now while I’m pushing, I’m also watching TV (what! I’m an avid ‘Pardon the Interruption’ fan! ) that shows you how much the epidural was doing. The head was almost out, my doctor put a hear rate monitor on my baby’s head to make sure he wasn’t in distress. Then I started getting scared. The doctor told me to stop pushing and he kept on staring at the monitor like something was wrong. Then after a while he told me to push again and this time I gave it all I had. I kinda felt his head fully come out. I saw my doctor come to me with the scissors. I knew what was about to happen, I was getting an episiotemy. For those who don’t know what that is, that’s when they cut you open wider to allow for the baby’s shoulders and/or head to come out without injuring the baby when the baby is too big or the mother is tiny. In my case, I had a big baby. At 6:14 pm after about 20 minutes of pushing I delivered my baby boy.
They put him right on my chest, bloody and all. Ralph cut the umbilical cord. Then I got scared again after I realized that my child was born into this world without making one sound. He wasn’t crying. They took him off my chest and put him on the warmer table to clean him up. They suctioned some fluid from out of his throat and nose and then he let out a cry. I was so happy I started crying myself. While he was getting cleaned up the doctor was stitching up my cut. After the 7th stitch I stopped counting
