pregnancy

My Labor & Delivery Story: Part 2

If you read part 1 of my labor and delivery story, you’ll learn how things progressed for me during the early stages of labor.

Once I hit active labor at the hospital, everything changed. At 5.5 cm I plateaued and needed Pitocin to keep things progressing nicely. Before I had them start the drug, I asked for the epidural. The procedure to get the epidural is scarier to think about then actually experience. Since the anesthesiologist has to come in and do the procedure, you’re only allowed one other person with you, so I had Max stay with me. He had to wear a scrub cap and everything (as did I) in order for the room to be sterile enough.

I was lucky with my anesthesiologist in the sense that he was quick with the epidural procedure. We were watching (and I was feeling) my contractions on the monitor and he was able to do the procedure in between contractions, which was nice, so I didn’t have to hold too still during those times. Once the epidural catheter was in my back (yes, it’s a procedure that goes into your spine to numb the nerves from the waist down), I thought the medicine would kick in almost immediately.

This is where things took a turn for the intense in my labor. The epidural medication kicked in a first, but lasted maybe 20 minutes. I had a button I could push for more medicine every 15 minutes, but suddenly the pump administering the epidural medication started beeping with an error code. The anesthesiologist came back over and I heard him say “hmm, error code ‘air in pump'” and my eyes got wide. I asked if they were pumping air into my spine and I was reassured numerous times by the anesthesiologist and my fabulous nurse Lisa that it wasn’t the case. Still, when you’re immobile with a tube in your spine and you think air is getting pumped in there, your brain takes a turn for the worst. You don’t want to come out of a childbirth experience paralyzed!

So, they replaced the pump administering the medication. Then the other pump malfunctioned: same error.

To make a really long story short, my epidural didn’t work. It was a faulty epidural and pump (and, apparently, we can blame our President for the problem since Kaiser gets its epidural meds from Puerto Rico and they were low on supply with a lot of New Years births happening…).

I. Felt. Everything.

It got so bad that my nurse literally had to administer drugs right into my IV port so I could get some rest before having to push. That’s the whole point of having an epidural is to get ample rest before putting your body through one of the most stressful, yet magical, things ever. Having to deal with excruciating pain was not part of my birth plan once I received the epidural.

I was in so much pain that I was literally screaming every time a contraction happened. Thanks Pitocin. At around 11:45 p.m. on January 1, 2018, the doctor checked me and as she was checking me, I had a contraction at the same time, and my water broke. That was a surreal experience actually feeling my water break. Once that happened, my labor progressed a lot faster.

January 2, 2018

At around 1 a.m. the doctor came in to check me again and told me that I was 100% effaced, 10 cm dilated and 0% station, and ready to start pushing. At that point, my night nurse, Kat, started helping me with the pushing process. Eliana and Max were each at one leg holding it and she was helping me count to push. I was so exhausted and felt like I wasn’t pushing to the best of my ability through each contraction. After pushing for a little over 2 hours, the OBGYN attending (yes, residents primarily deliver you at Kaiser San Francisco, unless they need assistance from higher ups) on call came in and asked if I could continue. I vividly remember saying that I can’t push anymore, that I was getting tired.

The doctor said “before you give up…” which my quick-witted response was “really, before I give up? I’ve been pushing for 3 hours and in labor for almost 36!..” the doctor wanted to use vacuum assistance to get my little girl out. I obliged after being threatened with an emergency c-section (that would not have been fun). Both doctors told me that if I couldn’t push Jadyn out with three pushes, it’d be necessary to have a c-section.

My first two pushes were mediocre and she would come down and then go back up. My last and final push, I gave it my all and pushed for way longer than 10 seconds and then…

Instant relief.

Jadyn Sky was born on January 2, 2018 at 3:17 a.m. She is the best New Years gift I could have ever received. After all the trauma my body went through, the end result is perfect. She’s my little angel nugget and we are so, so in love with her.

During my delivery of her I ended up getting a second degree tear and that was definitely not fun to feel the tugging of stitches down there. Also, according to my mom, husband and bestie, I lost a lot of blood. That would explain why I passed out twice about two hours after Jadyn was born when they tried to have me go pee after delivery. Thank goodness a nurse was watching the baby!

January 2-4, 2018

My hospital stay was to be expected. I ended up needing iron to help with the blood loss and nurses kept checking in on me every few hours. We attempted breastfeeding, but Jadyn is having a hard time latching, so I’ve been pumping and bottle feeding her (please no judgement. She’s getting my breast milk and it shouldn’t matter how). After a couple days of nurses and doctors checking in on me – and pressing on my uterus to expel any blood – we were able to go home. Jadyn checked out with a clean bill of health and I checked out with Motrin, Tylenol, a stool softener and iron supplements to last me a lifetime.

Let’s just say I haven’t received a solid night’s sleep since December 30, 2017. But in the end, it’s all worth it as we have the most beautiful little nugget in the entire world.

My Labor & Delivery Story: Part 1

It has been 15 days since our little one arrived and I now feel semi-human enough to share my Labor & Delivery story with you. Since it’s a pretty intense story, I’ve decided to break it up into two parts.

Disclaimer: if you’ve spent time watching beautiful YouTube videos of labor & delivery vlogs like I did before actually going into labor, let me warn you that it definitely isn’t necessarily all like that.

Sunday, December 31, 2017

You’d think that with New Years Eve, Max and I would be with our friends at a party like we were when we rang in 2017. Nope. I was either laying on the couch trying to sleep or on my birthing ball. I was able to make it to midnight to ring in 2018 while having sporadic contractions that were about 20-30 minutes apart. The contractions didn’t hurt that bad – like my regular period cramps – but I was still uncomfortable.

Monday, January 1, 2018

Courtesy of the BabyCenter app

From about 1 a.m. to 3:30 a.m. my contractions were about 4-7 minutes apart lasting 30-45 seconds, but the pain was surely picking up. It got so bad that I was literally moaning and crying in pain, waking up Max every few minutes. I was contracting the whole night that at around 4 a.m. I went into my mom’s in-law/studio unit (she lives with us) and continued my early labor there. I called Labor & Delivery at Kaiser (my healthcare provider) a few times during the night and the last time I called them, the nurses told me to come in when my contractions were about 3 minutes apart. Fast forward around 5 hours later and we’re heading to the hospital.

We got to the hospital at around 9 a.m. on New Years Day and immediately went up to Labor & Delivery. I checked in via security and the red phone and then immediately went to the triage room (of course, right after peeing in a cup). My entourage was my mom, Max and my best friend Eliana. She drove to the hospital the moment we told her we were on our way there. In the triage room, they immediately did what they had done at all my prenatal appointments: check my temperature, blood pressure and pulse. My blood pressure was elevated (I mean, can you blame me? I was in serious pain down there!!) so they gave me some medication to bring it down.

Next, the triage nurse put my IV port in. Unfortunately, she pierced right through one of my veins so I’ve had a gnarly bruise on my arm since then. It is almost gone, thank goodness. Once she got a good vein, everything in that department was fine. The doctor on-call came in to check me and do an ultrasound of Jadyn’s head positioning. She had been head down since 36 weeks, so I would have been surprised if she changed positions.

When the doctor checked me I was already 4 cm dilated and 90% effaced… In all honesty I can’t believe I did all that on my own at home. I had a horrific feeling that I was 2 cm and they were going to send me home. When they told me I was going to stay, I was so relieved. I was able to walk myself to my room, which actually had a very nice view of San Francisco and was incredibly spacious. There, I continued to labor on my own until I hit around 5.5 cm, yes, while listening to my playlist. Then I plateaued. I needed Oxytocin (commonly known as Pitocin).

I finally asked for the epidural before they started me on Pitocin, and then things dramatically changed.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of my Labor & Delivery story to see how intense things got.

Pregnancy Update: 39 Weeks

And so it begins… I am currently 39 weeks and 2 days and let me tell you, the aches and pains of pregnancy are absolutely real at this point. I have been really lucky during this pregnancy overall, though. I hadn’t really started feeling horrible until about 38 weeks. The back pain increased, walking turned into waddling and pregnancy insomnia is now in full effect. You know it’s bad when I’m writing this blog post while currently bouncing on a birthing ball.

Here’s what’s been happening since I gave a true pregnancy update or written a pregnancy post:

Baby W’s nursery is done. I am currently waiting for this custom bow holder from Magnolia Sweet Things (I love Etsy) and this rug I ordered from Overstock.com as the final thing to go under my rocking chair so it stops sliding when I sit in it. I kept her nursery somewhat neutral, going for greys, whites, blush pinks and golds. I have butterfly decals on the wall where her crib is and a grey rocker custom selected for me by Curated Nest (check out my sponsored post with them here).
We took all our classes. Per my healthcare provider’s instruction, we completed the three classes they strongly recommend we take prior to our little one’s arrival. Those are: breastfeeding, newborn care and preparing for childbirth. The most informative and bearable was the preparing for childbirth class. We even met another couple who is due a few weeks after me, so our little one with already have a playmate around the same age!
Hospital bags are ready. Baby W’s bag was ready at 36 weeks and I finally finished packing mine last weekend. I know, I know… it’s just hard to truly pack when I’m still using things on a daily basis (brushes, deodorants, etc), but I bought some travel sized items to take with me and everything is packed.
Car seat is installed. We officially installed the car seat in my car. Thanks to my father-in-law, we got our Chicco Bravo Trio Travel System that comes with a car seat base for easy (and safe!) install. We’re surely ready to bring our little one home from the hospital once she decides she wants to make her debut.
Labor playlist is ready. If you didn’t read yesterday’s post, I shared my labor and delivery playlist with you! Music has always played a big part in my life, so I can’t imagine going through something so monumental without music. Here’s the post if you’d like to check it out.
Trying to kick-start labor. I know I really shouldn’t be trying my hardest to get this little one out, but I am just so uncomfortable at this point. I’ve been googling ways to kick-start labor and they range from nipple stimulation and lots of sex to castor oil and drinking raspberry leaf tea. At the time this post was written, lots of raspberry tea has been consumed. We’ll see which of these options helps!

How did you feel this close to delivery? I’d love to know in the comments!

Classes During Pregnancy

One of the great things about my healthcare provider is that they encourage taking certain classes during pregnancy.

Last month, the hubby and I took a breastfeeding class, which was a little on the formal side, but super informative. It was nice to learn tips and tricks on latching and know that you can ask for help and the lactation consultants won’t make you feel silly for asking any question. The most informative, interesting and hands-on class we’ve taken so far is our preparing for childbirth class.

We took this class this past Friday night and yesterday and, while it was definitely overwhelming, the things we learned have stuck with us and we decided to implement some of what we learned into the labor and birthing process. Since my due date is only three weeks away, we were one of two couples who were delivering in December (I do have to say that I was slightly embarrassed because I kept thinking other couples thought we were procrastinators!!).

The Friday night portion of the class was only three hours and in those hours, we learned different techniques and positions that can help with the laboring process. There were different stations and my favorite was the massage station – especially having Max learn the double hip squeeze. The amount of pressure it relieves off the hips and lower back is AMAZING. We also learned different positions such as dancing, squatting and other methods using gravity that will help ease some of the pain during labor.

Saturday’s class was more traditional in the sense that we watched movies about the different stages of labor, what the 4-1-1 rule is, when to go to the hospital, how long you can potentially be at the hospital depending on what type of birthing process you have (natural, cesarean, induction) and even had a mock labor situation. We focused a bit more on the textbook (which is like a Cliffs Notes of What to Expect When You’re Expecting), but I’m glad we did because I’ll be taking it with me to the hospital just in case!

The preparing for childbirth class was the most beneficial class we’ve taken so far and I think the most interesting for Max. As a partner, sometimes these classes can be a little nonsensical as they can think “do I need to be here?” but in reality, yes… at least for me. It’s been super helpful having Max attend these classes with me since he retains so much information and recall it almost instantly and will be a great source when I forget something I learned once we’re actually going through the motions and baby girl decides to arrive.

Next class will be newborn care which I’m actually really excited about and hoping to get some hands-on experience (of course on a doll!).

Did you take any classes while you were pregnant? I’d love to know which were most beneficial to you. Leave a note in the comments section.

What to Expect Part 3

In this third installment of What to Expect, I want to talk about how a majority of your prenatal appointments will go moving forward in your pregnancy.

At 28 weeks, I am happy to announce that all ultrasounds will now be done ON your belly. Doctors appointments have been dialed down to about 15-20 minutes and blood tests are few and far between. The constant all around is the having to pee in a cup and getting blood pressure checks.

We’ve had to sign up for our birthing, breastfeeding and newborn care classes and we also scheduled our hospital tour. Most of these classes will happen next month, but we wanted to make sure to get registered well ahead of time.

The most exciting part of my second trimester was the anatomy scan! This 1-hour scan happens at 19-weeks and the tech scans for all the important organs in your baby: brain, kidneys, lungs, spine, heart, liver, etc. It was so cool to see our little one moving around! I actually had to go back the next day to finish my scan because the baby was moving around too much!

At this scan you can also find out the gender of your baby. Drum roll please…

We’re having a girl!

I obviously have known for the last 11 weeks that we’re having a girl, but I’ve just been so busy that I haven’t had a chance to tell my readers! Buying clothes has gone a little crazy and we’re now gearing up for all that’s to come.

I think this might be the end of my What to Expect series for a while. I probably won’t go into all the detail about labor and delivery until well after baby girl is here!

What to Expect Part 2

If you read my last post in the What to Expect series, you’ll know that the very first appointment you have with your nurse practitioner or doctor is almost an hour and a half long! Definitely an overwhelming experience, but rest assured that you’ll feel great about your pregnancy and if you’ve had any questions, they’ll get answered. Most doctors now offer email communication which makes your life even easier when you feel uncertain about things you can or can’t do.

So when do you see your doctor next?

Believe it or not, you don’t see your doctor again until you’re really close to starting your second trimester. The second time I saw my doctor was when I was 12-weeks. I literally saw my doctor and then jumped on a 14 hour flight overseas. That was for sure an exhilarating experience.

The 12-week check-up lasts about 45 minutes including the wait time from getting your blood pressure, weight and temperature taken to when you actually see the doctor. My doctor called this the “viability” exam to make sure that the fetus is still viable and growing. Some women can miscarry between weeks 8 and 12, hence why you have your appointments around then.

Your doctor will go over any prenatal blood work you had done and answer any questions that have come up since your last visit or email and then you’ll have another vaginal ultrasound. I know… I just shared too much info, but I want to be real with you all. This is the last vaginal ultrasound you have unless they can’t take certain measurements at your anatomy ultrasound later down the road (different post to come!).

As uncomfortable as it is for those 15-20 minutes of scanning, it’s remarkable. At 12-weeks, your little kidney bean has developed arms, legs, you can make out the skull and even its ears! While gender is determined upon conception, you won’t really be able to start spotting genitalia until around 9-weeks and even then, most doctors and ultrasound techs won’t tell you what you’re having until your anatomy ultrasound which happens between 18 and 20 weeks (at least with my health care provider).

If you so choose, between these first two appointments you’ll have your first round of genetic testing. You won’t get the results in until after your genetic ultrasound (this checks for any spinal abnormalities in the crucial growing stages) and the second round of genetic testing that’s done at the beginning of your second trimester.

What to Expect Part 1

Here I go with another series. I know, I know… but I figured this one might be a little more beneficial than the Do’s and Don’ts of Pregnancy. Now, I’m not copying the What to Expect When You’re Expecting best-seller. My series is more along the lines of what you should expect at doctor’s appointments and what tests you need to think about.

The reason I started this series is because a) a friend of mine asked about it and b) it can be a really overwhelming experience if it’s your first child.

The only thing I knew to do after finding out I was pregnant was to email my OBGYN and start the process. Not even a week after I emailed my doctor did her staff call me and start asking questions and giving me a plethora of information. The phone nurse asked when my last menstrual cycle was and calculated my due date that way (I’m due this December) and then proceeded to tell me about all these videos I need to watch before my first ultrasound and doctor’s appointment. I should also expect links to review about what I can and can’t do or eat, as well as tips for a healthy pregnancy in my inbox. Then was I able to ask questions. Learning all these pieces of information, I didn’t have many questions to ask on the phone. My first ultrasound was scheduled around 2 weeks after my phone call with the nurse.

Oh, can’t forget to mention the mountain of paperwork that was sent to me that needed to be filled out before my first appointment. It went through my whole family history – and my husband’s – to help rule out certain genetic testing (if you decide to do that, which we did). We filled out all the paperwork and put it aside until we needed to bring it to our appointment.

Fast forward two weeks and my husband and I are sitting in the exam room, waiting for the nurse practitioner. My healthcare provider calls this first ultrasound the “confirmation” ultrasound to confirm pregnancy and to calculate whether your due date is accurate or not. They do the standard weight check-in and blood pressure readings and then go in for the full exam. Now, I’m going to get a little TMI here, but your first two ultrasounds are done vaginally, so it’s really uncomfortable, but not painful. Think of it as a pap smear with a thick tool. I’m just grateful that I didn’t need a full bladder as sound waves tend to travel better with one.

Then we saw the baby: our little kidney bean at the time. So small that it would have harmed the baby to turn on the doppler and hear the heartbeat, but boy was it beating! The nurse took some measurements and made sure everything was kosher and then she printed out some pictures, let me get re-dressed and came back into the room to start asking and answering questions (check out my pregnancy do’s and don’ts post for more info).

While the paperwork we filled out gave our nurse practitioner a guideline, she wanted to go into more detail about what we can expect during this whole process. A slew of blood tests for me, and my husband not needing to be at every single appointment (lucky him!!). We then had to decide whether we wanted to start our genetic testing, which we did, and I had to fill out a bunch of paperwork for that. My nurse practitioner also put in an order for other prenatal tests that would tell me my blood type, if I have a cold, how my glucose levels are, etc. Lots of pricking, for sure! Fun fact: genetic testing is done through the State of California and not in your local lab, so while you can get your blood drawn at your local lab, they send it off to the State and it takes three weeks to get your results.

After discussing everything, they scheduled my next appointment for around four weeks later and I made my way down to the lab to get my first set of blood tests done. Stay tuned for Part Two of the series.

Fast Facts:

Length of appointment: 1 hour and 15 minutes.

What is done: Confirmation of pregnancy ultrasound (vaginal) and questions.

Next steps: First trimester genetic testing and prenatal workup blood tests.

What was your first experience like after finding out you were pregnant? I’d love to know. Leave a comment below.

Pregnancy Do’s and Don’ts: Part 1

After finding out I was pregnant the first thing I did (aside from telling my husband, of course) was go straight to Google. What can I eat? What should I avoid? Are manicures and pedicures okay? What about wearing makeup? Can I have feta cheese in my salads?

Great thing about Google is that you can typically find answers to most questions. Bad thing about Google is that you can also scare yourself just by reading the comments other moms or moms-to-be have left on certain sites. That’s when I stopped the researching and made a list to ask my doctor at my first appointment two weeks later.

While there isn’t a lot I’ve had to give up there are a few things I have had to completely cut out of my life for the meantime (list to expand per series):

Soda. I am the person that enjoys a mini-can of Coke Zero at dinner almost every night. Giving up soda or only limiting it to when I feel really sick has been somewhat difficult.
3-cups of coffee. I’d usually have three cups of coffee per day. Now I’m only allowing my self either one cup of freshly brewed coffee or a cappuccino from my local Starbucks or Peet’s. Why cappuccino? Less caffeine content than in a brewed cup of coffee. Or, if I’m feeling really excited about not drinking coffee (said no one ever), I go for a cup or two of decaf.
Tuna salad. I absolutely love albacore tuna. Tuna salad sandwiches and tuna melts have been a hard thing to give up.
Moldy cheeses. Yes, this means blue cheese, goat cheese, any unprocessed cheeses… But what about feta? It’s my favorite of the cheeses and can be considered a moldy cheese since it’s crumbly. I asked my doctor and she said that as long as it has been pasteurized (as all milk and cheese products should be while you’re pregnant), then I’m OK to have small amounts. Phew! That was a close one.
Wine. Duh. Need I say more? I’m counting down the months to when I can bust out a big glass of red wine and truly enjoy it. That being said, it probably won’t be as exciting as I’m imagining, since I’ll be breastfeeding for as long as possible, and I’d hate to “pump and dump.”
High-heeled shoes. Sticking to flats and chucks. Why? Because I can be somewhat of a klutz when I’m not pregnant and I want to avoid any chance of falling.
Certain body washes & face washes. I was using Dove body wash for the longest time mainly because I love the way my skin feels afterwards. I then started reading the ingredients and realized they aren’t the best for your skin when you’re pregnant. So, I’ve since switched to Aveeno and I’ve been loving it! The oatmeal wash is absolutely amazing and smells divine. As for face wash, I was using Proactiv for my acne breakouts and have since had to stop due to the Retin-A-like chemicals in it. I’ll go back eventually, but cutting out a majority of processed sugars (except for the occasional Oreo or ice cream binge), my skin is looking pretty good. I’m sticking to natural products as much as I can.

Now, if you know me, you know that I absolutely love makeup. I love watching YouTube tutorials, I have my own makeup blog and it’s a collection I keep up-to-date (my husband collects Lego, I collect makeup of all shapes, kinds and sizes). Makeup – and mani/pedis – were two things I really couldn’t bare to part with. Parting with my acrylic nails was hard enough (due to the acetone nail techs use to remove them), so having to give up my favorite makeup brands was something I wasn’t willing to do.

Lucky for me, since I 99.9% wear cruelty-free and/or vegan makeup brands, I didn’t have to part with any of my makeup products (with the exception of my MAC Russian Red lipstick – which I only wear during winter anyway). The brands I wear most often are tarte cosmetics, Too Faced Cosmetics, Urban Decay and ColourPop. When pregnant, one must steer clear of parabens and phthalates, which thankfully, these brands don’t put in their products! At least, I haven’t found these chemicals when reading the ingredients label.

Manicures and pedicures are also something that I’ve struggled to do less of. I love a good pedicure and miss my acrylic nails, so when I’m able to schedule a mani/pedi, I’m excited. I’ve had to watch out for nail polishes, too. Most nail polish brands feature toluene, phthalate and formaldehyde, so when I was trying to find a subtle pink color, I was looking for brands that carry nail polishes that are 7-free. 7-free nail polishes mean that they don’t have seven harmful chemicals (toluene, DBP, formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin, camphor, TPHP and xylene). The best brand I’ve found that actually lasts a long time and has great color payoff is Zoya. Check them out.

I know this is a lot of information, but I’m curious to learn about what you have had to give up or didn’t give up when you were pregnant! Leave a comment below.