Felicity's Birth Story!

This is Felicity's birth story for those interested in all the gory details. There are also pictures of the precious angel for those who have been asking.

On Tuesday, the 4th, I went to the doctor, when I was 41 weeks. She checked me and told me I was 2 cm and she swept the membranes she could reach. We also went over all the details for the scheduled induction on the 6th. I had been having contractions pretty regularly, but none of them hurt. By Tuesday night, the contractions were about 3-7 minutes apart, but not too painful. David suggested I call my mom and get her out here so we could go to the hospital. I really did not think we needed to go to the hospital because I was certain she was not coming until eviction day, the 6th. So, we went to the hospital and arrived around 12:30 am on the 5th. They hooked me up to the monitors and saw the contractions coming regularly, but when I got there I was still 2 cm. They were worried because the baby's heartbeat was staying constant and not fluctuating. They said I would have to be induced that night. Being an experienced mom, I said, "Woah. Hold on a minute. I am scheduled to be induced on the 6th. I am tired and the baby is sleeping. May I have some juice to see if that wakes her up?" So, they gave me some juice and sure enough she started responding. Once they saw this, they suggested I walk around for 2 hours to see if that jump started things. David and I walked and walked and the contractions kept coming, but I did not find them painful. I also have a high pain threshold, so I was hopeful but not optimistic that these contractions were doing something. We went back and I was 2.5 cm. They said they could induce me then and there. I declined. I wanted to go home. It was 4:30 in the morning and I knew I did not have the strength to endure a pitocin induced labor right then. So, they said they could let me go, only after I had an ultrasound to check for fluid levels. Ugh. Really. I'll be back in 26 hours. I could tell tell they were anxious for me to stay and be induced. I was anxious to leave the hospital and give my girl every last chance to come on her own. They were pulling out all the stops. So, I get the ultrasound, which reveals massive amounts of fluid, but I can't go because the doctor has to read the report and confirm that I can go. Finally, we get to leave and we arrive home at 7:00 just as the kids are getting up and neither of us has gotten any sleep. I managed a two hour morning nap on Wednesday. I got everything prepared for the next day.

Thursday morning, we left the house by 5:15 to get to the hospital for the induction. I get signed in and changed and hooked up to the monitors, but not before some final belly shots. And I just loved my labor and delivery gown. It made me feel pretty!

The monitors revealed that that the baby had a very high heart beat, in the 180's, which was very concerning to them. They like to see the heat rate between 110-160. Last night it had been 120's-130's. I tried not to freak out, but I could see the C-Section look on their faces. No one had to say it. They left me hooked up to the monitors for over an hour and her heart rate started to go down as I prayed like crazy. Finally it was down in the 150's and they started the pitocin drip at about 7:30. I was still 2.5 cm dilated at that point.

I was hooked up to the pitocin for a while and they kept increasing my dose. I was able to get up to use the bathroom and to sit in a chair, but I was hooked up to the monitors the whole time. Around 10:30, my contractions were about 3 minutes apart and the doctor came in to break my water. When I say it was a lot of fluid, I don't think there are any words to describe how much fluid kept gushing out. Unfortunately, there was meconium in the fluid and they were concerned that she could  have aspirated it, so they arranged for a house pediatrician to be there at the birth, just in case. After that I had to stay in bed. This was not my regular doctor, but a doctor in her practice group. She checked me and after 3 hours of pitocin, I was only 3 cm. I tried not to get discouraged, but I was. They also moved the contraction monitor from my belly to an internal one. From 10:30 to 1:30, I sat in bed getting more and more discouraged because the contractions were not getting stronger notwithstanding the increased pitocin doses every 15-30 minutes. I guess it was about 12:30 or so, that I stood  up because more and more fluid was coming out and I wanted to change the pads on the bed and David was out at lunch. David came back as I was standing up and I told him to get the bed pan so I could pee, which I did, but my contraction monitor came out. So, we had to get the midwife to reinsert it. When she did, she checked me and I was still 3 cm at 12:30. Five hours on pitocin and no progress! I was discouraged and tears streamed down my face. The midwife said I could not stand up or walk around because the water had been broken and there was a chance that the cord could get between my cervix and the baby's head and strangle her since her head had not descended down to my cervix. Her head was not yet up against my cervix. The contractions were still not bad, but I had pain in my back. I decided to listen to my iPod and cheer myself up. Around 1:30 my OB came in. She saw the tears in my eyes. I asked her if I could please get up and walk around. She checked me and said the baby's head was against the cervix so there was no chance of her getting strangled. She had the nurse track down a portable monitor so I could walk the halls. In all the years of being induced with every labor, I have never heard of been offered a portable monitor! All I could say was, "Merciful God, thank you!" I was so happy.

Around 1:45, I had my monitor around my neck and took hold of my IV stand and proceeded to walk the halls with David. After a couple laps, the contractions started picking up. I felt the need to grab the rail on the walls and squat with every contraction. I would go into a deep squat and breathe with each contraction. After about 30 minutes of this, I could tell the baby had turned her head into the right position because the back labor stopped. The contractions were definitely worse, so I knew something must be going on. The nurse tracked us down and said that I would have to find a way to hold the heartbeat monitor on my belly when I had a contraction or else they would put me back in bed. So, each time I squatted and breathed, David held the heartbeat monitor on my lower belly. The contractions eventually got so bad that I had to get David to assist me in getting out of the squatting position at the end of the contraction. David said all the doctors and nurses were staring at me walking and squatting and breathing, but I did not notice. I was in a zone. The contractions got worse and eventually, David was pretty much picking me up out of the squatting position after each contraction.

At one point, Rose, the midwife, came over to encourage me and tell me how awesome I was doing and to continue to listen to my body. She had a student with her and she was telling the student that this was how it was supposed to be. She helped me breathe through a bad contraction and with a few words of her encouragement, I was refocused. My walking slowed, and I began to feel a little nauseous. I felt as though I turned white. A few doctors and nurses would ask me if I was alright, and I was. Eventually, I got to feel as though I needed to go back to the room. I felt like I needed to be there for some reason and that I wanted to sit down just for a moment. My walking was very slow and I felt weak and faint.

We slowly made back to the room through some bad contractions. So, I sat down and immediately got back up. The baby was right there; I could not sit. I got up and grabbed and leaned over the counter through the worst contraction yet. I think I might have actually made some noise through that one. At this time, a student nurse came in to take my vitals. Really, she did. She tried to stick a thermometer in my mouth, and I just looked at her and said, "can you do that another time?" She asked if I was alright and I said, "I think the baby is coming." She asked what she should do. I told her to get someone. Within seconds, about 10 people were in the room. I am not exaggerating. The doctor came in and asked if I wanted her to check me. I asked if she could do it while I was standing up because I did not want to get back in that bed. I was afraid they'd never let me out again. She said she could try, but it would be awkward and she would prefer if I were in bed. I was 9.5 and just about read to go. I was sweating like crazy and all these people were over the bed and I was feeling very claustrophobic. A nurse got an ice pack for the back of my neck and forehead and that helped. It was time to push, but I tell you, lying on the bed flat on my back seemed like the most unnatural position to me. It was so uncomfortable. All I wanted to do was stand up and then squat and push the baby out. I was having trouble with the pushing thing with the force of gravity working against me. After about three pushes, the baby's head crowned, and it burned like crazy. The doctor told me to push again, and I just could not. I could not stand being on my back so I asked her if I could stand up as I attempted to get out of bed. I think four people restrained me, as she literally screamed, "Absolutely not! You are about to deliver a baby and you are going to stay in bed." Another push and her head was out and then her shoulder was stuck and that really hurt. The last thing I wanted to do was push. I think I tried to climb off the bed again at that point and was restrained and somehow in that process pushed the baby out. I felt like I tore and they took the baby right to the pediatrician because they were worried about meconium aspiration. They did not even put her on my belly to kiss her. That is the first time that ever happened to me. She was with the doctor for a long time, it seemed, getting checked out. She was fine.

The doctor collected the cord blood and tissue and we delivered the placenta, which was huge and healthy looking. The cord was also very big, wide and healthy looking. I don't remember the other kids' being so remarkable that I would comment about it. Maybe that is why she was so big! Then, the doctor stitched me up without any medication. I think I was so sensitive by then that that seemed to hurt more than the birth! I did not need stitches with any of the other kids, so this was new for me and let me tell you, it makes the recovery a little more challenging.

The doctor and pediatrician were finished at the same time and I was finally able to hold my girl! I could not stop staring at her pudgy cheeks and kissing them and thanking God for his goodness and grace and mercy. She was perfect. All the while, the Ave Maria, different versions of it, were playing on my iPod, over and over.

Felicity Rose came at 3:46 PM, weighing 8 pounds, 10 ounces and 21 inches. It only took about 1.5 hours of walking for me to go from 3-10 cm and ready to push. If I would have been confined to that bed, I know it would have been longer and I would have been screaming for the epidural. I was so thankful that my doctor showed up to check on me--I know she saw how discouraged I was and she took pity on me. I was also thankful for Rose and her encouragement and for David who was my rock through all those contractions.

Felicity means happiness, and she is named for St. Felicity of St. Perpetua and St. Felicity named in the canon of the Mass, who were martyred in Carthage in 202. Rose is symbolic not only of the blood of the martyrs, but also of the blood of Christ and of the Blessed Mother.

David brought the kids by on Friday to meet their new sister. And I was able to go home on Saturday morning. We even got out to go to Mass on Sunday morning.