Same as with Taylor, i began having constant contractions around 29 weeks. This pregnancy we learned that i have what is called an "irritable uterus". Basically it means during the last trimester of pregnancy i have constant contractions which come at regular intervals and can be quite uncomfortable. With Taylor these contractions caused change to my cervix and resulted in bedrest and the steroid shot for her lungs, while luckily this time around there was no change to my cervix until 36 weeks and while i did have to stop exercising, i never had to go on bedrest.
Fast forward to the week Caley was born. I had been having definite signs of early labor for a week and was beyond uncomfortable. At my 38 week appointment i told the doctor of terrible back pain i was feeling and we did a non-stress test. Based on my back pain, the closeness of my contractions and the intensity of my contractions she was "sure" i was well on my way. Then she did an internal and to both of our surprise i had no change to my cervix from my previous week's appointment where i was 3cm. I burst into tears in the doctor's office! I figured pain = gain and in this case, that was just not true. It was heart breaking as i could barely stand the pain anymore. The week continued with back pain and abdominal cramps, we had a full moon AND a hurricane, but still no baby! After several calls to my doctor for "could this be it" inquiries, i was scheduled for a follow up appointment to get checked out again.
At my follow up appointment Wed. morning (38 weeks 6 days) i expressed to the doctor again about all of the discomfort i had been feeling. He did an internal exam and this time i was 4.5cm!!! We were finally making progress. The doctor told me that if i did not go into labor on my own we could induce on Friday. While i did not want to be induced, in this case i was thrilled as i finally had an out! The pain would be over!!! I left my appointment feeling much better about the situation... we would have our baby in no time.
I wasn't expecting to go into labor on my own before Friday. After all the false alarms i figured we were going to need a little convincing by way of induction, but around 8:30 Wed night i started having contractions that were more painful than the ones i had been having for weeks and weeks. They were coming at a steady rate of 9 mins apart so finally we made the call to go in to labor and delivery with hopes that this time it would be it... And it was! By the time we got to the hospital i was 6cm dilated, with contractions at 5-6 min apart. I was definitely in labor and they were admitting us.
As painful as it was, i was beyond excited that we were going to have our baby in no time AND didn't even have to be induced. But this excitement was short lived. The resident doctor came in to do another internal exam and we learned that Caley was trying to come out face first, called "face presentation". Apparently this happens in less than .2% of births. She told us that we would need to change the position of the baby if i was to deliver vaginally as Caley's head was arched back and instead of her crown coming out first her chin was trying to... and that would be impossible for me to deliver. (Later learned its not impossible, but nearly and in cases where babies are born face first they suffer severe bruising to their face).
In an attempt to get Caley into correct positioning we got an epidural right away and the doctor started having me try out different labor positions. Because my contractions were very strong, but not getting close enough together they also broke my water for me. Breaking my water resulted in EXTREMELY strong contractions coming 2 minutes apart, which i completely felt because the epidural was not working correctly due to my scoliosis surgery and a "nervous" anesthesiologist, so the pain was becoming unbearable!! After 2.5 hours of this pain and feeling the urge to push i asked to have another internal exam... i had made NO progress. This was definitely a bad sign. More changing of positions over the next hour finally got me to 8cm, but upon yet another internal exam we learned that Caley's face was lodged even more into the birth canal now, with no room for her to change position... To top it off, the stress from the contractions were effecting her heart rate. The doctor didn't even hesitate in his delivery of the news... it was time for a c-section.
A c-section was definitely not part of my birth plan, but at the end of the day the most important thing was to get Caley out safely. I was prepped for the c-section with a spinal (since my epidural didn't work) and at 7:26AM she was born! She did have facial swelling, especially around her eyes, but she was perfect!! (ok she got a 9.9 on the APGAR)
Welcome to the world Caley Grey!!! We love you sooooooooooo much! xoxoxo
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