Tessa's Story

Tessa Brianne Richards - March 25, 2010
3:58 pm 6 lbs 13 oz, 18 inches

36 week check up – not dilated
37 week – dilated 2; 75% effaced
38 week – dilated 3; 75% effaced

Tuesday 3/23

6 – 8:30 pm – I start having my first real and consisten t contractions (up to this point, haven’t really felt anything). Get excited, but they end and don’t come back.

Wednesday 3/24
4:30 pm - phone call from L&D telling me I’m #4 on induction list. They only schedule first 2. I will get a phone call in the morning (they start calling between 7-8 am) and then have an hour to get in. Will all depend on how busy their night is with walk ins. Set my alarm for 6:45 am. Asleep at midnight; slept great.

Thursday 3/25
6:30 am – call from L&D. They have a spot if I can be there between 7 & 7:15. Jump in quick shower and leave house by 7 am. Bag stuff is ready, but not in bag yet. Jared wakes up kids I quickly say goodbye. Mia concerned about me not doing the flat iron on her hair. What?! Jared drives kids to Bluffdale (25 mins) to stay with Dan & Melissa and then meets me at hospital.

7:20 am – check in; change, check me (dilated 3.5), get IV going, doctor Jones breaks water (he has 9 patients being induced today. He leaves on vacation tomorrow!), start on lowest dosage of Pit (4). Done with all this by 8:30 when Jared arrives.

As with Gavin, my body does not like pitocin. I have frequent contractions, almost too frequently(they come every 1.5 – 2 mins…as I progress I barely have time to breath before another begins) so they don’t want to increase my dosage too quickly (typically they increase by 4 every half hour). They wait an hour and increase to 8.
11:45 am – nurse comes in and tells me anesthesiologist is with a patient and there are 2 in line to get epidural. I ask her to put me on the list...I end up 4th on list. I figure it will be about an hour at least. Contractions get pretty strong and I’m uncomfortable. Worse part is some of them come right on top of the other.

1:15 pm – anesthesiologist arrives! Jared (for whatever reason) decides to stay. First time with any kid. Out of 3 kids, all with epidurals, WORSE ONE BY FAR. Contractions were hard, and I had to be hunched over. Trying to hold still. Put epidural in, could totally feel pain/pressure on right side. She tries to adjust; doesn’t help. Still feeling LOTS of pain/pressure on right side. I’m kind of freaking out and praying like crazy. Wasn’t nervous about possible side effects for me, but nervous it wasn’t going to work and I’d give birth in PAIN!!! I’m a wimp and NOT prepared for that! She takes out epidural and tries a lower spot. More pressure/poking/stinging pain….but it does eventually start to work – ON RIGHT SIDE ONLY. My right leg goes numb, but still have complete control of left leg and can feel contractions on left side. She increases dosage, but that only makes my right leg dead like a brick. Tells me to lie on my left side and gravity should do its job and get the fluid to that side.

Nurse checks and I’m at a 7! Wahoo. That’s the LONGEST I’ve ever been before epidural. I rock! Good news was that area didn’t hurt when nurse checked me.

I wait 20 mins but I don’t feel any less pain. In fact, contractions feel like they are getting stronger. I call nurse in and she pages the anesthesiologist back in. I was kinda panicking now (on the inside….trying to remain calm on the outside!) I was almost certain I was either going to be feeling a lot more than I wanted to OR she was going to RE-DO my epidural (which at the time sounded worse and was more terrifying to me than option 1). She comes in and tells me she will first administer just higher dosage of the epidural directly to the IV and IT WORKS!!! It took a little, but eventually I the spot on my left side felt better, by left leg started numbing and I could only feel a little directly in the center of my stomach, down low. HUGE SIGH OF RELIEF FOR ME!

3:15 pm – I am FINALLY COMPLETELY PAIN FREE!!! Granted, I can’t move my legs or toes AT ALL. Definitely MUCH more numb overall than I’ve been before. I had ZERO control during the delivery, which I didn’t like. But I was NOT complaining!!! And what a crazy sensation to see people moving your legs around and not even being aware. Don’t ever wish to be paralyzed. Nurse says she’ll come back in a half hour and check me.

3:45 pm – 10!!! Nurse said she would go get the doctor. He had just finished delivering a baby and she was thinking he might still be here. He was…across the hall delivering a different baby! He arrives soon and I think I pushed 7 times before she was born at 3:58.

Healthy, beautiful baby girl with only 10 fingers/toes :)

Jared cut the cord and then they laid her on my chest and she stayed there about 5 mins. They took her vitals in the room, diapered her and then she stayed with me for about an hour. My other 2 were both given to me, done vitals in room and then whisked off to the nursery. I was kind of in shock at having her ON MY OWN so quickly, but it was nice and she was able to nurse for the first time before they came and got her. Oh, and I threw up about 30 mins after she was born. That’s always fun.

5:30ish - While she and Jared were gone the nurse had me attempt to use the bathroom (my legs were mostly back, but I was a little wobbly and light headed because she had just done the whole pressing on my stomach thing…ouch!). After the bathroom she helped me into a wheelchair and took me down to mother/baby and my new room. I had about 30-40 mins before Jared and Tessa arrived and I was really tired, so I just rested.

The only annoying thing was the nurses all change shifts at 6 pm…so I got down to mother/baby around 5:50 and the day nurses weren’t going to get started on me because they were going home soon. So they did the bare minimum. Not to complain, and I was mostly just fine, but come on. And the night shift nurses were getting on and remember how Dr. Jones was delivering 4 babies in a row? Well all those moms ended up down on floor 2, needing new nurses around the same time. My dinner tray was left upstairs and I had to remind them multiple times and didn’t get it til 7 pm. I hadn’t eaten for 12 hours…I was hungry :) But my night nurse finally made it and she seems like she’ll be nice enough.

8:00 pm – fed the babe again. She seems to be doing alright but I had forgotten how your stomach cramps at first when you nurse and how they fall asleep and it takes FOREVER :)