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Blossome's Pregnancy
My Due Date: November 17, 2011I have given birth!
Age: 37 years old
Location: Phoenix, United States
Expecting: Twins
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My Birth Story Pt. 1
By Blossome » Posted Nov. 6, 2011 5:30am - 497 views - 0 comments
On 10/25, I went in for a growth ultrasound and prenatal checkup. I had been in and out of the OB triage for several weeks with contractions, spotting, bloody show, and had remained only 2cm dilated and 50% effaced the whole time. There had been some concern over discordant growth between the twins, so this latest ultrasound was to check their sizes once more and determine if anything needed to be done.
Twin A was estimated to be 6lbs 7oz, and Twin B only 5lbs 7oz.The growth wasn't ideal, but it was within the 15% spectrum allowable for twins.I spoke with the perinatalogist personally for the first time, and he informed me that with my apparent pre-eclampsia, the size of the second twin, and the fact that I had not had a previous vaginal birth (only a c/s), he did not recommend that I try a VBAC as I had been planning with my OB, but rather schedule a repeat c/s. If I did go ahead with my VBAC, he warned me that I had less than a 20% chance of success, and that it might put Twin B at risk. I thanked him for his input, but left the office rather devastated, and somewhat angry at the perinatologist for his flippant attitude towards my birth plan. My wife felt the same, and we agreed to speak to my OB about the matter before making a decision.
I went straight from there to my OB appointment, perinatal report in hand. My OB took my blood pressure, and it was rising higher every day for the last week. He informed me that he was happy I had made it past 36 weeks, a huge milestone for a twin pregnancy, but that he felt I needed to deliver soon because of the pre-eclampsia, before complications arose. He listened to my concerns about what the perinatalogist had said, and gave me two choices. I could opt to try for the VBAC still, knowing the low chance of success, and head to the hospital that night for induction and augmentation, or he could schedule me for a c/s on the day of my choice, preferably not more than two days time. Either way, he wanted me admitted for monitoring that night. After discussion with my wife, I decided to go ahead with the VBAC attempt.
I was admitted at 4pm on 10/25 to the hospital, and shown to my labor room. Babies looked good on the monitor, and contractions were small but regular, so a pitocin drip was started around 6pm. I was warned I might need a magnesium drip as well, because of my BP, but that they were waiting to see. After about 2 or 3 hours, the contractions were quite strong, but I was handling them well. After 4 hours, I could no longer tolerate the pain and frequency, so I asked for narcotic painkillers. I was given dilaudid, which worked miracles for me- I was able to feel the contractions, but get some sleep. My OB arrived at the hospital around 5pm, and came by every couple of hours to check on me, which was greatly appreciated. He did warn me that if I had not progressed over night, he would have to reevaluate and see if I should go with the c/s anyway. The nursing staff was simply amazing, very kind and helpful, and made my laboring very comfortable. Througout the night I was continually checked for signs of rising BP and swelling, and mag was administered when the signs became to apparent, to prevent seizing. Unfortunately, that did mean that the pitocin drip had to be increased as well.
I labored overnight, getting decent blocks of sleep in between painkillers and exams, with some discomfort due to the side effects of the magnesium. In the morning my doctor checked me for progress, and I had goen to 3cm and the sac was bulging. This was encouraging enough for my OB to allow further laboring. Pitocin was increased every 30 minutes.Two hours later, at 11am, I was 4cm and 70% effaced. The contractions reached a point where dilaudid was not helping very much, and I was offered an epidural, which I took. This made me the most comfortable I had felt in months, and the nurse even found extra pillows to pile around me and make it even better. (con't)
My Journal
My Birth Story Pt. 1
By Blossome » Posted Nov. 6, 2011 5:30am - 497 views - 0 comments
On 10/25, I went in for a growth ultrasound and prenatal checkup. I had been in and out of the OB triage for several weeks with contractions, spotting, bloody show, and had remained only 2cm dilated and 50% effaced the whole time. There had been some concern over discordant growth between the twins, so this latest ultrasound was to check their sizes once more and determine if anything needed to be done.
Twin A was estimated to be 6lbs 7oz, and Twin B only 5lbs 7oz.The growth wasn't ideal, but it was within the 15% spectrum allowable for twins.I spoke with the perinatalogist personally for the first time, and he informed me that with my apparent pre-eclampsia, the size of the second twin, and the fact that I had not had a previous vaginal birth (only a c/s), he did not recommend that I try a VBAC as I had been planning with my OB, but rather schedule a repeat c/s. If I did go ahead with my VBAC, he warned me that I had less than a 20% chance of success, and that it might put Twin B at risk. I thanked him for his input, but left the office rather devastated, and somewhat angry at the perinatologist for his flippant attitude towards my birth plan. My wife felt the same, and we agreed to speak to my OB about the matter before making a decision.
I went straight from there to my OB appointment, perinatal report in hand. My OB took my blood pressure, and it was rising higher every day for the last week. He informed me that he was happy I had made it past 36 weeks, a huge milestone for a twin pregnancy, but that he felt I needed to deliver soon because of the pre-eclampsia, before complications arose. He listened to my concerns about what the perinatalogist had said, and gave me two choices. I could opt to try for the VBAC still, knowing the low chance of success, and head to the hospital that night for induction and augmentation, or he could schedule me for a c/s on the day of my choice, preferably not more than two days time. Either way, he wanted me admitted for monitoring that night. After discussion with my wife, I decided to go ahead with the VBAC attempt.
I was admitted at 4pm on 10/25 to the hospital, and shown to my labor room. Babies looked good on the monitor, and contractions were small but regular, so a pitocin drip was started around 6pm. I was warned I might need a magnesium drip as well, because of my BP, but that they were waiting to see. After about 2 or 3 hours, the contractions were quite strong, but I was handling them well. After 4 hours, I could no longer tolerate the pain and frequency, so I asked for narcotic painkillers. I was given dilaudid, which worked miracles for me- I was able to feel the contractions, but get some sleep. My OB arrived at the hospital around 5pm, and came by every couple of hours to check on me, which was greatly appreciated. He did warn me that if I had not progressed over night, he would have to reevaluate and see if I should go with the c/s anyway. The nursing staff was simply amazing, very kind and helpful, and made my laboring very comfortable. Througout the night I was continually checked for signs of rising BP and swelling, and mag was administered when the signs became to apparent, to prevent seizing. Unfortunately, that did mean that the pitocin drip had to be increased as well.
I labored overnight, getting decent blocks of sleep in between painkillers and exams, with some discomfort due to the side effects of the magnesium. In the morning my doctor checked me for progress, and I had goen to 3cm and the sac was bulging. This was encouraging enough for my OB to allow further laboring. Pitocin was increased every 30 minutes.Two hours later, at 11am, I was 4cm and 70% effaced. The contractions reached a point where dilaudid was not helping very much, and I was offered an epidural, which I took. This made me the most comfortable I had felt in months, and the nurse even found extra pillows to pile around me and make it even better. (con't)
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