Friday April 15th
We arrived at the hospital around 7:30 pm on Friday night April 15th. By 8:00pm we were in the labor and delivery room (E-1) and I was in bed already hooked up to a fetal monitor and a contraction monitor. By 9:30pm the nurse administered the Cervadil that would soften my cervix and remain in over night. The worst part was that for the first two hours you are not allowed to use the bathroom. Now you try telling a VERY pregnant woman with a huge baby sitting on her
bladder that she can not go to the bathroom for two hours. There were horrible storms that night so Nick and I tried to pass the time by watching the news about the storms. I kept watching the clock and at 11:20 I could not hold it any more. I buzzed the nurse and told her that I had made it 1 hour and 50 minutes, and really had to go. Luckily she allowed me to get out of bed and use the bathroom. About an hour went by and my contractions started picking up. They were about 3-5 minutes apart and very uncomfortable with minor pain in my back. By 1:00 am, after being on the cervadil for 3.5 hours I had not progressed any more and was given morphine for the pain and ambien to help me sleep. Nick didn't take anything to help him sleep just in case we had to get up in the middle of the night, but a couple of cocktails later he was relaxed.
Saturday April 16th
At 8:00 we began the pitocin. The pitocin was supposed to bring on contractions and help me dilate. At this point, my contractions were already 2-3 minutes apart and I was still feeling them in my back, but nothing to terrible and no need for drugs yet. At 9:10 I had progressed to 2 cm and Dr. Godwin broke my water. I’m not sure if it was my water breaking or the pitocin starting to kick in, but the contractions were starting to get intense and painful. I was hesitant to ask for drugs because being only 2 cm I thought that things would be getting much worse.
I was allowed 3 doses of Fentanyl. Each on would last about 45 minutes-1 hour and it would allow me to still get up and walk around the room, versus the epidural that would keep me in the bed until the baby was born. At 10:30 I went ahead and got my first dos of Fentanyl. It did not really seem to help with the pain but knocked me out in between contractions and helped to take the edge off. At 11:50 I had my second dose. At this point my contractions were still only 2-3 minutes apart and I could still feel them. I was breathing through them and trying to wait as long as I could before asking for the epidural because I did not want to be tied to the bed for the remainder of my labor. Nick was so supportive and really kept me calm through out all of it. I could not imagine going through this with out him. He even “went to get a drink” at some point and came back with some beautiful flowers for me.
By 12:30pm I couldn't take it any more. I knew that I could have my final dose of the fentanyl, but the pain was too bad and all the fentanyl was doing was making me tired, so I got my epidural. It was not nearly as bad as I had imagined it would be and it provided instant relief. 15 minutes later I found out that I was 4 cm dilated.
Before we knew it, 2 hours had went by (now 2:45 pm) and it was time for me to get checked again. We were disappointed to find out that there was no progression, I was still 4 cm. Even though I was not in pain anymore, I was ready to meet our little man and didn't want the labor to continue to drag on. Everyone was anxiously waiting.
The next check was 3 hours later at 5:45pm. Much better progress this time. The baby had dropped more and I was 6.5cm dilated. Excited about the progress we had Sister go ahead and start to make her way to the hospital. Sister arrived and entertained us with her labor and dilation dances and helped to make the end of the day go by a little faster.
Around 7pm Dr. Godwin came and told us that she had 2 c-sections to do and that she would be back to check on us in about an hour. Of course in Dr time that meant it would be a lot longer. At 8:30 the nurse checked and I had progressed to 8 cm. By this point, Dr. Godwin had only completed 1 of the 2 c-sections and said that she was going to do the other c-section and then come back and check on me and we would be in 1 of 3 situations.
1. I would be 10 cm and baby fully engaged and it would be time to push
2. I would be 10 cm and baby not fully engaged and we would try some positioning techniques and hope that gravity would do its thing
3. I would not be 10cm and it would be time for a c-section.
Another hour went by and we went ahead and put me in the gravity positioning techniques just hoping that it would help things to progress. I thought for sure that things were progressing because of the extreme pressure I was feeling. At this point we called the rest of the family, informed them of the situation and told them that the should go ahead and head to the hospital.
By 9:45 I was still only 8cm and Dr. Godwin ordered the C-section. From that moment on things were kinda a blur. Sister had to gather all our “stuff” and bring it to the waiting room, Nick had to get all dressed up in his scrubs (which are hardly scrubs but more like a one piece zip up blue moon suit), and I had to be prepped and prepared for surgery.
About 15 minutes later everyone was ready and prepped and I was being wheeled to the operating room. Nick had to wait outside the room while they further prepped me for surgery and I just remember lying on the table wishing he was with me and thinking that in just a matter of minutes we would be meeting our little man. The increase in the epidural dosage made me shake like I have never shook before. My teeth were chattering and my jaw hurt so bad...good thing my jaw was the only place I was feeling pain. There were about 7 other people in the room and the mood was very light hearted and they were even taking guesses as to how much he was going to weigh. Before I knew it Nick came into the room and was sitting beside me. We both started crying just knowing that in minutes we would be meeting our Son for the first time. Neither one of us remember what we were talking about but we continued to talk as they performed the c-section. I could not feel anything other than some pressure but no pain. I could feel my body moving as they tugged and began to pull the baby out.
Before you know it the Dr said “Dad do you want to see us pull him out” without even thinking Nick stood up, looked over the blue curtain and watched our son being born at 10:37pm. All he could say over and over again was “he’s perfect, he’s perfect”. They held him up over the curtain and I saw my son for the first time and immediately started crying.
Within minutes Asher and Nick were over in the back of the room as they wiped him down and cleaned out his airways and suctioned his nose and administered the APGAR test. He scored an 8 at 1 minute and a 9 at 5 minutes! A couple of minutes later they were bringing Asher to me to hold for the first time while I was being stitched up. It was very brief that I got to hold him, but is was incredible. We did even have time for our first family photo!
A couple of minutes later Nick and Asher were moving into the recovery room, and I would be joining them as soon as I was finished being stitched up. It was just a couple of minutes later when they brought me to recovery. Turns out the only thing i missed was them weighing and measuring him. He weighed 8lbs 12oz, was 21 inches long and his head had a circumferences of 13.5. I got there just in enough time to watch Asher get his first bath! They cleaned him up, and then gave him to me for some skin to skin time and for me to breastfeed. My biggest apprehensions involved with a c-section was not getting to immediately hold him, the skin to skin time and the opportunity to breast feed, so I was very relieved that within the first 15-20 minutes of his life I got to do all three!
Asher had a tiny fever when he was born so they wanted to take him to the transition nursery briefly for some blood work. Nick went with Asher and the nurses finished explaining to me how to work the remote control for the pain relievers, and before I knew it they were wheeling me up to the hospital room that we would be spending the rest of our time in. Not sure where all the time went from Asher being born at 10:37pm, but it was around 1:00am Sunday Morning by the time I actually got to the hospital room. The rest of the evening/ early morning really is a blur, we had a perfect little boy who was well worth the wait and nothing else seemed to matter!
We arrived at the hospital around 7:30 pm on Friday night April 15th. By 8:00pm we were in the labor and delivery room (E-1) and I was in bed already hooked up to a fetal monitor and a contraction monitor. By 9:30pm the nurse administered the Cervadil that would soften my cervix and remain in over night. The worst part was that for the first two hours you are not allowed to use the bathroom. Now you try telling a VERY pregnant woman with a huge baby sitting on her 
bladder that she can not go to the bathroom for two hours. There were horrible storms that night so Nick and I tried to pass the time by watching the news about the storms. I kept watching the clock and at 11:20 I could not hold it any more. I buzzed the nurse and told her that I had made it 1 hour and 50 minutes, and really had to go. Luckily she allowed me to get out of bed and use the bathroom. About an hour went by and my contractions started picking up. They were about 3-5 minutes apart and very uncomfortable with minor pain in my back. By 1:00 am, after being on the cervadil for 3.5 hours I had not progressed any more and was given morphine for the pain and ambien to help me sleep. Nick didn't take anything to help him sleep just in case we had to get up in the middle of the night, but a couple of cocktails later he was relaxed. Saturday April 16th
We both slept through the night and ready for the big day! At 6:30 the nurse came in and removed the cervadil. I was still only 1cm dilated and 50% effaced but the nurse said that my cervix was softer. After receiving an enema at 7:00am, I was able to disconnect from all the monitors and take a shower and put on some makeup.
At 8:00 we began the pitocin. The pitocin was supposed to bring on contractions and help me dilate. At this point, my contractions were already 2-3 minutes apart and I was still feeling them in my back, but nothing to terrible and no need for drugs yet. At 9:10 I had progressed to 2 cm and Dr. Godwin broke my water. I’m not sure if it was my water breaking or the pitocin starting to kick in, but the contractions were starting to get intense and painful. I was hesitant to ask for drugs because being only 2 cm I thought that things would be getting much worse. 
Before we knew it, 2 hours had went by (now 2:45 pm) and it was time for me to get checked again. We were disappointed to find out that there was no progression, I was still 4 cm. Even though I was not in pain anymore, I was ready to meet our little man and didn't want the labor to continue to drag on. Everyone was anxiously waiting.
1. I would be 10 cm and baby fully engaged and it would be time to push
2. I would be 10 cm and baby not fully engaged and we would try some positioning techniques and hope that gravity would do its thing
3. I would not be 10cm and it would be time for a c-section.
Another hour went by and we went ahead and put me in the gravity positioning techniques just hoping that it would help things to progress. I thought for sure that things were progressing because of the extreme pressure I was feeling. At this point we called the rest of the family, informed them of the situation and told them that the should go ahead and head to the hospital.
About 15 minutes later everyone was ready and prepped and I was being wheeled to the operating room. Nick had to wait outside the room while they further prepped me for surgery and I just remember lying on the table wishing he was with me and thinking that in just a matter of minutes we would be meeting our little man. The increase in the epidural dosage made me shake like I have never shook before. My teeth were chattering and my jaw hurt so bad...good thing my jaw was the only place I was feeling pain. There were about 7 other people in the room and the mood was very light hearted and they were even taking guesses as to how much he was going to weigh. Before I knew it Nick came into the room and was sitting beside me. We both started crying just knowing that in minutes we would be meeting our Son for the first time. Neither one of us remember what we were talking about but we continued to talk as they performed the c-section. I could not feel anything other than some pressure but no pain. I could feel my body moving as they tugged and began to pull the baby out.
Within minutes Asher and Nick were over in the back of the room as they wiped him down and cleaned out his airways and suctioned his nose and administered the APGAR test. He scored an 8 at 1 minute and a 9 at 5 minutes! A couple of minutes later they were bringing Asher to me to hold for the first time while I was being stitched up. It was very brief that I got to hold him, but is was incredible. We did even have time for our first family photo!
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| The First Freeman Family Photo |
A couple of minutes later Nick and Asher were moving into the recovery room, and I would be joining them as soon as I was finished being stitched up. It was just a couple of minutes later when they brought me to recovery. Turns out the only thing i missed was them weighing and measuring him. He weighed 8lbs 12oz, was 21 inches long and his head had a circumferences of 13.5. I got there just in enough time to watch Asher get his first bath! They cleaned him up, and then gave him to me for some skin to skin time and for me to breastfeed. My biggest apprehensions involved with a c-section was not getting to immediately hold him, the skin to skin time and the opportunity to breast feed, so I was very relieved that within the first 15-20 minutes of his life I got to do all three!
Asher had a tiny fever when he was born so they wanted to take him to the transition nursery briefly for some blood work. Nick went with Asher and the nurses finished explaining to me how to work the remote control for the pain relievers, and before I knew it they were wheeling me up to the hospital room that we would be spending the rest of our time in. Not sure where all the time went from Asher being born at 10:37pm, but it was around 1:00am Sunday Morning by the time I actually got to the hospital room. The rest of the evening/ early morning really is a blur, we had a perfect little boy who was well worth the wait and nothing else seemed to matter!
oh Wendi, I am so so SO happy for you! This post totally gave me flashbacks to my own delivery and meeting our little man for the first time and I am now crying! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing your link :) I loved reading your birth story! And I love that last picture of you looking at your sweet boy. It makes me so anxious to experience that again.
ReplyDelete