What, a labor.

It's hard to imagine - but on April 8 I was still waiting for my water to break or contractions to kick in. That day, my mom and I headed off to what would be my final doctor's appointment. During this visit, I was given a non-stress test where the nurses monitored my contractions (non-existent) and the baby's heartbeat. Unfortunately, the baby's heart-rate was not up to par and my doctor advised me to get induced - right away. He's not one for medical interventions to start labor - so I took his advice very seriously and headed home to tell Dan the big news. 

Friday, April 8 

We packed up for the second time that week (I had a false alarm on Wednesday night) and headed to the hospital with great anticipation and excitement. That day, I was given Pitocin to induce labor. My body wasn't having it - the Pitocin did nothing and my contractions were sporadic and weak. That night we were given three choices: 


Choice 1: Keep going throughout the night and kick up the Pitocin level. 
Choice 2: Keep going throughout the night with a moderate Pitocin level. 
Choice 3: Turn down the Pitocin, get something to eat, sleep and kick everything into high gear on Saturday, April 9, 


We choose option three, Dan picked up some food at Apollo and we settled in for the night - until 1 a.m. when they would turn up the Pitocin to jump start  my contractions. Guess what happened on Saturday? Nothing. I would experience some contractions, then they would go away. Fun. Needless to say, we were both getting restless and wondered what we were doing at the hospital in the first place. Our doctor felt our pain and admitted that if the baby's heart rate was this well during the non-stress test, we wouldn't be here. Going home - at this point - wasn't an option. I felt defeated, I felt restless and I was hooked up to about five different medicines and monitors - I felt like a lab rat. That night we were given two options: 


Option 1: Break my water that night and hope the Pitocin kicks in. 
Option 2: Keep going with the Pitocin and break my water at 6 a.m. 


I went with option two - knowing that the c-section clock would start ticking the moment they broke my water. Day three - Sunday, April 10 - I finally started having regular, strong contractions around 3 a.m. at 6 they broke my water, at 8:30 asked for my epidural and by 3 p.m. I was dilated to 10 cm and was ready to get this show on the road. After pushing for two and a half hours (the max amount is three hours), the nurses knew something wasn't right and my doctor confirmed their suspicions - baby was face up and wasn't going anywhere soon. Due to her position the options were to attempt a vacuum extraction - and if that failed, a c-section. Then, everything was a whirlwind - Dan had to change into scrubs and I was wheeled into the operating room. Nurses were literally falling over as they scrambled to get this baby out. After a failed vacuum extraction and a failed attempt to numb my lower half - the doctors ended up putting me under for a c-section. I remember my doctor explaining the reasons why we had to do this - and how I'd be able to have VBAC someday. As they say in the south, "Bless his heart" - but at this point, this baby needed to come out and I was "over" my fear of a c-section! I would later learn that this little nugget wasn't going anywhere - she was wedged in such a way that c-section was the only option. 


On Sunday, April 10 at 6:35 p.m. Ingrid Stone Atkinson was born. I loved all 19 inches, 6 pounds, 12 ounces of her the moment I saw her in Dan's arms. I thought having a c-section after days of waiting and 14 hours of labor would be a nightmare - but the result was worth the waiting, pain, pushing and frustration - a cute little bundle, our daughter Ingrid. 

Ingrid Stone Atkinson - one week old.