Katie Nykyha Dermer's Birth Story
Submitted by Jenna420
My entire pregnancy went very well—no morning sickness or anything. I was due on August 24, and three weeks before I was due, I went to the doctor and found out that my baby was breeched (upside down). They scheduled me in for a C-section on the 17th of August. The day before my scheduled C-section, I went back to the doctor's office to find out that my baby had turned around and was no longer breeched. Would I be having a natural birth ...?
So I played the waiting game after that. My due date came ... and went ... and there were no signs of labor. I tried all the old wives' tales of naturally inducing labor and nothing worked for me. So I went to my doctor's appointment on August 30 and she said she would induce me on September 2 but not to get my hopes up because induction could take up to four or five days. Boy, was she right! I went in at 6:30 Thursday morning to get the prostaglandin gel, which is supposed to "ripen" and "dilate" the cervix, but no such luck. LOL. So I got the gel and had to lay there for an hour, then I had to walk for another hour while the contractions slowly started, then I was sent home because I wasn't dilating, and I was told to come back the next day for another dose.
SOOO after a full day and night of contractions, I went back the next morning and got the gel again. I was sent home, and this time my contractions were way worse and very close together but there was still nothing they could do because I was not dilating. So I went through two days of bad contractions and was told to come back the next day and they would start the Oxytocin IV drip. So I went back once again at 6:30 in the morning and they started the IV drip, which gave me the worst contractions ever! It was the worst pain I have ever been in. After a full day of the Oxytocin drip, they took me off of it at 8 PM and I was exhausted and in a lot of pain. They said that they would let me sleep for the night and start it back up in the morning.
So I got in a few hours of sleep, without contractions, and at six the next morning, they started it up again. But the contractions were worse this time. I don't know how to describe them—I was bawling my eyes out and begging for something for the pain but I couldn't have anything because I wasn't dilated enough yet. Finally by 4 PM, I was at 3.5 centimeters dilated and the nurse said she could get me the epidural. I was sooo happy!! The only bad part about it was I had to sit still without moving through a contraction, which was very hard but all worth it.
Finally at around 4:30 PM, I was feeling some relief, no more contractions. At around 5:30pm I had a strong urge to push, so the doctor checked me and I was 9 centimeters dilated!!! Wow, I was so happy but nervous at the same time. Another hour hours passed and I was still at 9 cm so they said that if when they check again in a half an hour I'm still at 9 cm, they would have no choice but to perform a C-section. Well, they checked me again at about 8:30 and no such luck, so, they got me prepped for the C-section. (Might I add that my boyfriend was there the entire time helping me through every minute of pain!)
So I got wheeled downstairs and they took me into the operating room, where the anesthesiologist gave me the spinal. I went completely numb from my armpits down (I didn't really like the feeling because I am very claustrophobic and I couldn't move anything). They then brought my boyfriend in and he sat behind the curtain with me. I was sooo nervous but I didn't feel a thing! About 10 minutes later, I heard the doctor say, "Hey, it is a girl," and my eyes started watering.
They took her out of me at 9:22 PM and showed us our baby girl for the first time, and I couldn't stop myself from crying. They cut her cord and sent her upstairs to the nursery with Dad and I stayed to get sewed up. They then wheeled me to the recovery room for an HOUR(!!!) while the spinal wore off and I slowly regained the feeling in my toes and legs. After that they wheeled me upstairs to our room and put me on my bed.
About 10 minutes later, they brought in our beautiful baby girl and it was love at first sight. She weighed 6 pounds, 8 ounces and was 50.5 centimeters long with the most beautiful face I've ever seen. So after four full days of contractions (the worst pain I've ever felt), I finally had my bb girl, and all that pain went away once I saw her little face.
The recovery from the C-section wasn't that bad. I mean, it hurt but it was tolerable, especially with the pain meds they gave me. So, four days of labor and three days of recovery time, making a total of seven days in the hospital, and I finally got to bring her home :) She is 2 weeks old as of this writing and the best baby ever. She barely ever cries and is literally the CUTEST baby I have ever seen LOL.
So to all you out there afraid of labor or getting a C-section, let me tell you something: Yes, it hurts like hell, and yes, the recovery time for a C-section is about a month, but you got yourself into that mess, and there's no pain-free way out of it, so just go with it and you will forget all the pain once you lay your eyes on that little bundle of joy that the doctors pull out of you!
Read more birth stories or share YOUR birth story now!
So I played the waiting game after that. My due date came ... and went ... and there were no signs of labor. I tried all the old wives' tales of naturally inducing labor and nothing worked for me. So I went to my doctor's appointment on August 30 and she said she would induce me on September 2 but not to get my hopes up because induction could take up to four or five days. Boy, was she right! I went in at 6:30 Thursday morning to get the prostaglandin gel, which is supposed to "ripen" and "dilate" the cervix, but no such luck. LOL. So I got the gel and had to lay there for an hour, then I had to walk for another hour while the contractions slowly started, then I was sent home because I wasn't dilating, and I was told to come back the next day for another dose.
SOOO after a full day and night of contractions, I went back the next morning and got the gel again. I was sent home, and this time my contractions were way worse and very close together but there was still nothing they could do because I was not dilating. So I went through two days of bad contractions and was told to come back the next day and they would start the Oxytocin IV drip. So I went back once again at 6:30 in the morning and they started the IV drip, which gave me the worst contractions ever! It was the worst pain I have ever been in. After a full day of the Oxytocin drip, they took me off of it at 8 PM and I was exhausted and in a lot of pain. They said that they would let me sleep for the night and start it back up in the morning.
So I got in a few hours of sleep, without contractions, and at six the next morning, they started it up again. But the contractions were worse this time. I don't know how to describe them—I was bawling my eyes out and begging for something for the pain but I couldn't have anything because I wasn't dilated enough yet. Finally by 4 PM, I was at 3.5 centimeters dilated and the nurse said she could get me the epidural. I was sooo happy!! The only bad part about it was I had to sit still without moving through a contraction, which was very hard but all worth it.
Finally at around 4:30 PM, I was feeling some relief, no more contractions. At around 5:30pm I had a strong urge to push, so the doctor checked me and I was 9 centimeters dilated!!! Wow, I was so happy but nervous at the same time. Another hour hours passed and I was still at 9 cm so they said that if when they check again in a half an hour I'm still at 9 cm, they would have no choice but to perform a C-section. Well, they checked me again at about 8:30 and no such luck, so, they got me prepped for the C-section. (Might I add that my boyfriend was there the entire time helping me through every minute of pain!)
So I got wheeled downstairs and they took me into the operating room, where the anesthesiologist gave me the spinal. I went completely numb from my armpits down (I didn't really like the feeling because I am very claustrophobic and I couldn't move anything). They then brought my boyfriend in and he sat behind the curtain with me. I was sooo nervous but I didn't feel a thing! About 10 minutes later, I heard the doctor say, "Hey, it is a girl," and my eyes started watering.
They took her out of me at 9:22 PM and showed us our baby girl for the first time, and I couldn't stop myself from crying. They cut her cord and sent her upstairs to the nursery with Dad and I stayed to get sewed up. They then wheeled me to the recovery room for an HOUR(!!!) while the spinal wore off and I slowly regained the feeling in my toes and legs. After that they wheeled me upstairs to our room and put me on my bed.
About 10 minutes later, they brought in our beautiful baby girl and it was love at first sight. She weighed 6 pounds, 8 ounces and was 50.5 centimeters long with the most beautiful face I've ever seen. So after four full days of contractions (the worst pain I've ever felt), I finally had my bb girl, and all that pain went away once I saw her little face.
The recovery from the C-section wasn't that bad. I mean, it hurt but it was tolerable, especially with the pain meds they gave me. So, four days of labor and three days of recovery time, making a total of seven days in the hospital, and I finally got to bring her home :) She is 2 weeks old as of this writing and the best baby ever. She barely ever cries and is literally the CUTEST baby I have ever seen LOL.
So to all you out there afraid of labor or getting a C-section, let me tell you something: Yes, it hurts like hell, and yes, the recovery time for a C-section is about a month, but you got yourself into that mess, and there's no pain-free way out of it, so just go with it and you will forget all the pain once you lay your eyes on that little bundle of joy that the doctors pull out of you!
Read more birth stories or share YOUR birth story now!
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