Everyone tells you that your birthing experience will be nothing like your birth plan. So early on in my pregnancy, I told myself that my birth plan would be simple, “#1 Give birth.” As much as I thought I was going into it without any expectations of course in the back of my mind, like many first timers, I wanted to have a vaginal birth and try to do it without an epidural. I’m not sure why we put that pressure on us for this to be the ideal birth experience, but here I was.
Towards the end of my pregnancy, I had to get additional ultrasounds at the Fetal Diagnostic Center so a Maternal Fetal Medicine (MFM) doctor could check on baby’s weight and measurements because my fundal height was measuring on the smaller side. I also had to do Non-Stress Tests to monitor baby’s movement and heart rate.
At 38 weeks, the MFM doctor recommended that I get induced at 39 weeks because baby wasn’t growing as much as they should be. She said in case the placenta isn’t nourishing the baby, to be safe, getting induced and giving birth early will ensure that baby will get nourished from outside of the womb. My OBGYN agreed with this recommendation and I was officially scheduled for my Induction Day on Tuesday, 7/27/21.
I was very nervous about getting induced and felt disappointed that I wouldn’t get to try to have an unmedicated birth since it was going to be medicated from the start. But I had to keep in mind that my OB said the goal is “healthy baby and healthy mom” and inducing earlier would be getting ahead of any complications that might happen if we waited until I was 40 weeks.
A silver lining of getting induced was that it was planned. I always wanted my auntie to be in the delivery room when I gave birth and with the pandemic, this wouldn’t have been possible if I had a spontaneous birth. Because we had a date set, my auntie and uncle planned to fly to Oahu from Maui, quarantine in a hotel, and get tested so my auntie would be able to be my second support person and my uncle could meet the baby before they fly home.
John and I spent my last week of pregnancy going to the beach, taking photos, getting take out, and spending time together just the two of us.
I also had to get tested for Covid-19 beforehand. The nasal swab is never fun, but I’m glad I was negative.
To get my mind off the induction, I started sewing the baby quilt that I planned to make out of t-shirts and fabrics that our families sent us to represent each of them. I wanted to have it done before I gave birth and had put it off for so long, but I’m glad I procrastinated because it was such a welcomed distraction and a good way for me to stay busy for the final two days of my pregnancy.
The Tuesday that we were waiting for was finally upon us. I was told it was scheduled for 5:00am, but luckily that was a mistake and it was actually scheduled for 5:00pm. That meant John and I had an unexpected full day to enjoy together. We went to the beach and did my 39 Weeks bumpdate dance with a cameo of the soon-to-be dad to the Baby Mama Dance song. We got kalua pig nachos for take out and went to the store to buy coconut water to keep me hydrated during labor and delivery. While buying water, we saw a stuff hammerhead shark and it was perfect for baby since we saw a hammerhead shark pup when we went swimming when I was 36 weeks pregnant. I finished sewing the baby quilt just in time, we took showers, packed up, and left for the hospital. I ate a Zippy’s mochiko chicken plate in the car on the way there because I knew I wouldn’t be able to eat once I got induced.
We checked in at 5:00pm, I got my room, changed into a hospital gown and the Boy? or Girl? socks from John’s mom, danced around, looked up gender prediction superstitions, and took photos while waiting.
The nurses hooked me up to monitor baby’s movement and heart rate and my contractions. My OB came in and planned to start the induction by putting me on Cervidil, a medication that is inserted into the vagina like a tampon to soften the cervix. However, I was having frequent contractions at every 5 minutes, so I was not able to go on this. I didn’t feel any of the contractions and was only 1cm dilated. We went on to the next induction step and she inserted a foley bulb, (it’s almost like a balloon) into my cervix for hours to mechanically open the cervix until it falls out. She had a hard time putting it in so it was very uncomfortable and I had some bleeding, but she and the nurse were surprised that I was able to talk through it. I got it put in at 7:30pm and it was supposed to stay in for 4-6 hours. The pressure in my cervix was a lot! I couldn’t sleep because I was tensing up from how uncomfortable it was and I didn’t want it to fall out early and have to be painfully re-inserted. As I was tensing up my body, I had terrible cramping in my legs. After having my cervix checked multiple times, the nurse finally pulled it out after 8 hours! I made progress and was dilated 4-5cm at that point. I was only able to sleep for one hour.
At 4:00am, I was put on Pitocin. This is meds to make the contractions stronger and closer together. It is administered through an IV and the nurses are able to control how much of it to put in at a time. I was able to sleep one more hour in the beginning of this since they started me off slow.
At 7:30am, my OB came back and broke my water with a long plastic hook. The contractions were supposed to intensify by then and they did because I started to actually feel them. My OB predicted I would give birth in the afternoon or evening. I was so tired at that point from being up for so long, but wasn’t able to sleep. I had a blood pressure cuff on my arm that consistently checked my blood pressure every 30 minutes, so as soon as I started to doze off, it would wake me up. I drank broth, ate jello, and drank the coconut water to stay hydrated. As the contractions grew stronger, the same feeling of tensing up my legs came with every contraction. The pain in my outer quads of my legs felt like a burning sensation with every leg cramp. One of the nurses said it’s interesting how contractions can be experienced and that some women experience it throughout their whole body, but in my case, it was just my legs. John tried to massage my legs with his hands and with a tennis ball, but it didn’t help. The nurses gave me heat packs to put on my legs and that didn’t help either.
My auntie was on standby until the labor progressed more. She arrived at the hospital and as soon as she walked in the room, I burst into tears. Tears because I was happy she was there and because I was in so much pain. The nurse asked me if I wanted to go on fentanyl or I could get the epidural to relieve the pain. She said the fentanyl would be temporary relief for one hour and it depends how I react to narcotics and I could decide after that if I wanted the epidural, but to note that there may be a wait for the anesthesiologist if he is with other patients. As I was going back and forth to decide, every time I had a big contraction, baby’s heart rate would decline. The OB told the nurse to have me switch my lying down position from left to right, back and forth, every 15 minutes to try to keep the baby active. My auntie tried talking to the baby and that helped, baby was active! The nurses were monitoring me very closely.
I decided to get the epidural. It must have only been a 10 minute wait, but it felt like a lifetime. John and my auntie couldn’t be in the room for this and my nurse told me I could hold her hands and squeeze them as hard as I needed to. I definitely needed her there because the contractions were still coming. The anesthesiologist asked if I was nervous and I said yes and he said he was too because this was his first epidural. Funny, but not funny at the time! I actually heard about this anesthesiologist because he comes in with his cart and a portable speaker playing loud music, then he switches the music to spa music, massages the patient’s back, administers an injection to numb the area, and puts in the epidural. And that is the experience I had. The numbing shot stung a lot and when he started putting in the epidural, I could feel it. So he had to give me a second numbing shot. I could feel something dripping down my back and saw that it was blood when he wiped it off. I focused on staring at the nurse’s perfect ID photo.
The epidural started to kick in and my legs relaxed! It was such a relief and I wished I got it earlier. Then I could slightly feel the contractions in my uterus. Once I was relaxed, I was quickly dilated to 9.5cm! I told the nurse that I took a birthing class and learned how to breathe but didn’t learn how to push. The nurse told me that my OB was delivering another baby, so we could practice pushing before she would come to my room. And she reminded John that he would be the person announcing the sex of the baby when he/she comes out. She said there is going to be a pause and if everyone looks at him, that’s what we’re all waiting for. I asked if I could push the epidural button one more time and for a mirror to see. The nurse held my left leg and John held my right and I did my first practice set of 3 pushes. The nurse kept giving John a signal while coaching me through this. Once I finished that set, she asked him if he saw the baby’s head, but he was so focused on me that he didn’t see her signal. She instructed me to do another practice set of pushing. I asked if I could turn sideways this time and so I did and we all saw the top of the baby’s head. She told me we needed to wait for my OB now.
My OB arrived after a very short time. She told me to push and hold my breath. My auntie was in front of me cheering me on, “Good job, Bianca! Good job!” and clapping. In 4 more sets of 3 pushes each, in less than 29 minutes total, baby’s head emerged. My OB saw that the umbilical cord was tightly wrapped around the baby’s neck. She looked at John and said, “I’m sorry, I have to cut it.”, quickly cut it (but saved some for John to cut afterwards) and my baby arrived with loud cries! After all this time not knowing his sex, John announced, “It’s a boy!” Truly, there is nothing in the world like that moment when he was on my chest for the first time.
I learned I had a 101 degree fever, so I had John do skin-to-skin instead of me. I had antibiotics put in my IV because of a possible infection and the fever. I lost 500cc of blood, so the nurse gave me a shot of hemabate in my thigh to treat severe bleeding and to prevent me from needing to have a blood transfusion. The nurse said it causes nausea and diarrhea and I told her that I don’t do well with nausea. She gave me anti-nausea meds. My OB was pushing on my belly to help the placenta be delivered and as a fundal massage.
She said I had a very superficial tear, she stitched it up, and said that it will heal by my next appointment. She then found that I had an internal cervical tear and had to stitch that as well. She inserted a vaginal pack of a lot of gauze to stop the bleeding that needed to stay in over night. The nurse gave me anti-diarrheal meds a little later and because I didn’t get this right away, I had uncontrollable diarrhea four times because the second epidural button push was still kicking in. I was relieved that I didn’t poop while pushing like many women are horrified by, but this experience was way more embarrassing than that.
While all of this was happening to me, I watched John and our baby immediately bond through skin-to-skin.
And my auntie FaceTimed my family and John’s family to introduce them to our baby boy. The nurses took baby’s weight 5lbs 13oz, length 19.5″, vitals, gave him Vitamin K, the eyedrops, and the Hep B shot.
Then I was able to do skin-to-skin. He immediately started rooting and found my nipple on his own. I couldn’t believe it.
Two nights in the hospital were filled with skilled mother/baby nurses taking great care of us, being well fed with ono local dishes and desserts and a celebratory dinner, sessions with a lactation consultant, and check-ins by my incredible OB and our new pediatrician, and us finally deciding to name our baby Zaccai.
After a long journey of trying to get pregnant for two years, two failed IUIs, IVF, 39 weeks of pregnancy, 26 hours of labor, and about 29 minutes of delivery, we had our baby. Our lives are forever changed as we are now a family of three.
I’m so thankful for the support I have from my auntie/godmother throughout my life, but especially through this journey to motherhood. It was so meaningful to have her there for the birth of Zaccai.
