Since my plan was to go natural I wanted to wait to and go on my own and not be induced. I was due on 12/08/14 and I went into labor on 12/10/14. I was having a lot of contractions on and off there were a couple times that they went on for a couple of hours and be steady but then they would stop. So when I started to have contractions again I waited until they were steady and regular. I was having them about 5 min apart and they felt pretty strong but they did not hurt more of just a tightening. I figured I better get into the hospital anyway because I was GBS positive and I needed to receive IV antibiotics. So at about 7:00 I had my friend Nisha Rawlings come over to be with the boys until my other friend Darla Ranger could come and stay the night with them. I am so grateful for good friends that are willing to help you out!
This is us on the way to the hospital 40 weeks and 2 days! At my last appointment I had been dilated to 4 and 50 % effaced. When we got to the hospital they hooked me up to the monitor and I was having steady consistent strong contractions but they did not hurt at all. I could feel them but I would explain them as just a tightening but not painful. When they checked me I was at a 5 almost a 6. They started my antibiotics around 8:00 which is good because they want you to have 2 doses but they can only be given 4 hrs apart.
This is one of my Best Friends Alexis Childs!! I just love her and she was training to be a doula so I had her help me out! It was so nice to have her there I don't know what I would of done with out her! I have never wanted a Doula before but is was very beneficial and I would recommend one.
Look at my HUGE belly I am pretty sure that baby needs to come out! We kept waiting and I was having consistent contractions but my water never broke. So I asked my doctor if he would break my water and he said he would but we would have to wait until I received my second dose of antibiotics. So we went for walks and talked and it was fun I think Kevin even took a little nap but I was too excited to do anything like that. I was not even tired. So it was nice Alexis was there to talk to me. I received my 2nd dose of antibiotics around 12:30 so Dr. Harter came around 1:30 to break my water. When he came in he said to me, "You look way to comfortable". After he broke my water I did feel the contractions a lot stronger but I still did not think they were that bad. However they would not let me get up to walk around once they broke my water because her head was still up there she was at a -2 station and they did not want a prolapsed cord. So I had to stay in bed, around 2;30 things started to get more painful so I wanted to get off my butt and kneel instead. I got on my knees and layed against the back of the bed and that helped a lot. Then around 3:00 am I started to feel sick and nausea so I knew I was in transition. The nurse wanted to check me to see where I was at but she could not do it very well in the at position so I had to move which was really uncomfortable. The nurse was not very patient with me when I was moving and kept telling me she needed me to move a bit more but I was having a contraction so I really just wanted to kick her! Once I was finally in position I felt a lot more pressure and I wanted to push so the nurse went to go get Dr. Harter.
That was when the "FUN" started to happen! Alexis said when Dr. Harter checked me he seemed surprised that I wanted to push because the baby was still up a bit high but I was dilated to a 10 so he let me do what I needed. I started to push and I had to push for a few minutes just to get her down to 0 station. But then the doctor checked me and told me to stop pushing. He felt the cord around her neck and she had it wrapped around her like a scarf so it was harder for him to get off. The other problem was that it was a very short tight cord. I guess that explains why she was not dropping down!! Alexis said the cord was so tight he could not get his fingers under it at all. Because of the position the cord was in we had no idea that it was going to have a cord issue her heart rate never dropped! Dr. Harter tried to get the cord off but it was not moving at all! He even had a really hard time getting the clamps on so he could cut it! Finally he was able to clamp the cord and he cut it with her still inside of me.
Now her cord is cut and we think she will come out easier but no she has a horrible Shoulder Dystocia and it is not the normal type of dystocia that they can push on your belly and that will help her shoulders are lined up with my hips. So the doctor had to reach up inside of me and pull one of her shoulders forward and turn her! I am still doing this all natural and have not received anything for pain and that part was horrible!! I thought I was going to die! Once he did that everyone was screaming and me to push and get her out because she has not oxygen. I was pushing as hard as I could I knew I had to hurry because she could die. I finally got her out and once she was out the stupid nurse put her on me. Ella looked totally dead!! Her head was purple, she was not moving and not breathing at all. She had a APGAR of 3 which is horrible! I believe she only received those 3 points because she still had a heart beat. Dr. Harter started yelling at the nurse to "Get the baby, get the baby" I was freaking out thinking my baby is dead! They started working on and the whole time I kept asking if she was doing ok and no one was really telling me anything. It was pretty quite and I knew things were serious. Finally I heard her cry just a little and the nurse told me she was breathing. She had to be bagged for a little while and they had her on oxygen. When I asked the nurse the next day she said my pushing time was only 10 mins and it was less then 2 mins from the time he cut the cord until she was out. That was the longest 10 mins of my life!!
This picture is after they had been working on her and she started to breath on her own but they were taking her to NICU for observation. They showed her to me just before she left. I was so exhausted and shaking at this point and I still had to delivery the placenta and be stitched up. Dr. Harter gave me medication to numb me but it did not work that well and I still felt him stitching me and up and that was not fun! Dr. Harter kept saying geese I am not going to be able to go back to sleep now! You could tell he was stressed and nervous in the delivery. This is the part I was really grateful for Alexis!! Kevin had left to make sure the baby was doing ok so it was nice to have her by my side. She helped comfort me, I was shaking so bad she held me legs a little and that helped a lot. It was also nice to be able to talk to her about what just happened! I was so exhausted I was ok with the baby being in the NICU for awhile so I could get a little rest!
After about 4 hours they let me come over to see her in the NICU and they wanted me to feed her when she was on the monitor to make sure she would do ok. The nurse said she had been grunting a little still so she was not sure about letting her out but when I fed her she did not grunt at all and her sats never dropped. She ate great and latched on with no problems. I was talking to the nurse and also let her know that I was a nurse and I felt comfortable watching her close. Once the nurse knew that she was a lot more comfortable with her coming out and she was able to be out of NICU after about 5 hours. These pictures above are my first time seeing her after they took her. Her face is pretty bruised up from all the traumatic events! But other then that she is just perfect!! They thought she had problems with her shoulder at first but it ended up being just fine and there were no issues with it.
Ella Marie Baldwin
9lbs and 8 oz, 21 1/2 inches long
12/11/14 @ 3:20 am
She was my biggest baby!! No wonder she had such a hard time coming out I did not give birth to a newborn I gave birth to a 3 month old!
She wanted us to know she was a girl and she came into the world very dramatic!! After everything that happened we knew we were truly blessed that she made it here safe and sound! Thank goodness for a loving Heavenly Father that we had to guide us along the way and help us make good choices on with who and where we needed to have this baby!
