Clara's Birth Story

My birthing story:
Wed March 30th in the evening I started having contractions that were strong and coming quickly, but only lasting 10-30 secs. Even though they were coming close together, we waited out going for about an hour, but then the contractions were coming 3 mins apart and were unbearable, even though they were still only lasting 30 seconds, so we headed to the Birthing center. The drive there was awful! I thought I was going to give birth in the car. My husband was driving as fast as he could to get me there, but it was all city streets and we kept hitting red lights. When we got checked in they thought she'd be delivered in an hour or so, but unfortunately that is not how it unfolded. I labored in the tub for an hour and progressed to 5cm, then got on a birthing ball & opened to 7cm. This is where things stalled. There was a "lip" in my uterus that the baby was having a problem getting past, within a half hour, I started to feel the urge to push, the Midwife told me to go ahead to see if it would get the baby past the lip. Instead I became swollen and my cervix began to swell shut. I was very tired at this point & the contractions were coming one after another, so the swelling just kept increasing. The decision was made to wheel me to labor & delivery and be given an epidural to help the swelling in my cervix. There went my med free delivery. Within 20 minutes of getting the epidural, I had progressed to fully dialated, but baby was still stuck behind the swollen lip. The pushing began, after about 2 hours, she hadn't budged & her heart rate had dropped. She was too high to get with a vacuum, so a surgeon was called in to assess. By the time she got there, baby's heart had stopped a few times, so she had me rushed to the OR for an emergency Csection. I was in tears and just kept apologizing to my husband, my doulas and my midwife. I had failed. I was prepped with urgency, my husband was let in & Clara entered the world with

	Comment from Lolo1176 » Posted Apr. 28, 2016 11:51am Congratulations! Even though you had a rough delivery...you did an awesome job! She is absolutely Gorgeous! *HUGS*
	Comment from josamarie » Posted Mar. 30, 2016 5:26am Thinking of you!
	Comment from Lolo1176 » Posted Mar. 25, 2016 12:07am My husband has been home since delivery. He has been so wonderful. But sadly he goes back to work this weekend. :( And of course it has to be a holiday weekend too. But at least he gets holiday pay, so that helps. I have also had my parents and in laws stop by periodically to help out by holding him while we get a few things done. I will for sure be taking advantage of that more since DH is going back to work. I am so going to miss him. :(
	Comment from Lolo1176 » Posted Mar. 22, 2016 11:31pm I am recovering. It's been a challenge for me...no one told me that your feet would swell up into balloons... :/ But, thankfully that is slowly getting better just really sensitive to the touch. My back has been sore and achy. But thankfully the cramps are starting to subside a bit. :) Now if only my boobs/nipples, back and feet would follow suit I would feel much better...lol. Emotionally I am starting to feel better too. Had some blues and periodic mini breakdowns but starting to get the hang of things...I think...just tired. FX'd your little one arrives soon!
	Comment from lala_0412 » Posted Mar. 21, 2016 11:07am I'm feeling a lot better. It's hard to heal with littler ones. She is doing great. We had her apt today and she is passed her birth weight. Chubby girl! I am hoping it's any day now for you!!
	Comment from Lolo1176 » Posted Mar. 20, 2016 10:23pm Hey sweetie, how's it going? Any signs of your baby arriving?