Let me begin by saying that I am very, very grateful for my husband's support through the whole process, doctors and nurses who were incredibly kind...and for modern medicine.
11:15 pm on Tuesday night, contractions started pretty hard...but with 2 false alarms under my belt, I waited to do anything for a few hours and made sure that the contractions were getting stronger. 2:30am, we called James Rantanen to watch T (so we could head to the hospital) and called my parents. At the admittance check, I was at 5 1/2 cm and 80% effaced. We were definitely staying to have a baby.
By 7, I was at 7 1/2 cm and just about 100% effaced. We broke my water (since it was bulging and had been since admittance at 3 am) around 9 when my OB came in, thinking that since he was very low, he'd come popping out. Nope.
We started pushing around 9:30 as I hit 10 cm and 100% effaced and... nada. His heart rate would shoot higher and my body was doing what it was supposed to do, but his head was no where in sight. Certainly he'd come after an hour of pushing, right, since his brother took 2 hours of pushing? I tried every position I could think of to get traction and though every contraction MADE me push out of instinct, I was tired after 3 weeks of BH and little progress. They felt around him, and realized that he was in OP position (just like Tristan, he was face up and slightly turned to the left side). His head would have to mold to move...which meant I had to keep going and pushing probably for another hour.
My OB had to go handle an emergency situation around 11 am, and my AMAZING nurse Karen (who'd taken over at the 7 am slot) took over trying to walk me through pushing, with Rob. Counter pressure, curling, squatting bar...and I was tired. and overwhelmed. I asked the nurse what else we could try. She called my OB for a consult, and they said we had two options: forceps and c-section. I REALLY didn't want a c-section if I could avoid it (the thought of trying to keep up with T and Roran by myself after surgery was scary), so I said we'd try the forceps. I had avoided it with T by being able to push harder, but Roran wasn't decending enough.
Natural was now out because I'd pushed for three hours, was worried about his head (T had been really cone headed), and the contractions were STRONG--until I tried pushing. It was like my body was working against me, and pushing, while taking energy, wasn't making any progress. Since his head wasn't showing and they were going to try forceps, they asked that I get an epidural. I consented (though I knew it would make recovery a bit harder and I couldn't walk around anymore).
I can't begin to tell you the relief I felt after the back pain and contractions numbed. My OB returned a little before 1, and just before she arrived, a 4th year resident, Brieanne, came in to introduce herself and explain that she was excited to work with my OB and learn how to use forceps. She explained that most docs don't even try it anymore (malpractice lawsuits if things go wrong), but it's an art and better for getting out stubborn babies than vaccuums. My doc said they'd try over 3 contractions and if that didn't work we'd have to go to c-section because of his heart rate and position. Even though it was her first time, Brieanne did BEAUTIFULLY getting in the forceps (she didn't even have to reposition them) and 2.5 contractions later (and a heck of a lot of pushing), he was OUT. His head was in better shape than T's had been when delivered and he came out crying loudly! Apgars were 8 and 9 and his oxygen levels were 100%. I ended up with a level 2 tear (hard to avoid with forceps) and a LOT of stitches, but everyone shook their heads. As Brieanne told me, "the thing no one tells you about trying to go natural is that you really need the labor to progress and fast." When I stopped progressing, I had to change my birth plans--but the important thing is that both Roran and I are doing very well, though I imagine he had a bad headache yesterday and I'm pretty sore. There is much to be thankful for today, not the least of which is that I was in a safe place with great doctors.
