Margo's Birth

After having a emotionally difficult delivery with my third and being busy with 3 kids under 3 I took a short break from wanting more. Sure enough the urge did came back. I started bugging my dh for another he said sure but that I had to dye my hair red. Wow that was easy! He said that I'd had a history of winning the "have more" fight and that he might as well get something out of it. He likes red hair and freckles. I sure had enough freckles but no red hair. My good friend Lori always up for an adventure offered to help me with my hair. She said I needed to bleach my hair to get the color out then color it red after. So we got a bleach. The bleach turned my hair strawberry blond! I've always liked the color strawberry blond so I was very happy with it. Just had to see if it was red enough for dh and it was!

I got pregnant the first month of trying again. This time I took a test. I had an extra test from a double pack. My first few cycles after having a baby are usually a little long so I always worry and buy a lot of tests. Of course they were all negative. I was sure I was pg but it was fun to see a postive!

We had moved out to the country. I decided to go back to the same dr as last time since I liked him. There was a closer hospital but it was the one I was a nursing student at and I really didn't want to deliver there. My old hospital was just 15 minutes further away and after you've been driving for 30 minutes 15 more is not much.

I called my dr and started my prenatal care. My duedate was June 17th. I had the usual morning sickness that I get from 5 to 20 weeks. I throw up bile every morning but after that I was ok just a sensitive to smells. I had 2 u/s which showed we were having a healthy girl. I was disappointed as I had 2 girls and 1 boy only. I got over it quickly and was looking forward to having her. I started getting pelvic joint pain again at 20 weeks but I kept active as possible and it never got as bad as with my 3rd.

Everything went fine until my 39th week appt when my BP went up. It was Tuesday and he asked me to come back on Friday to get my BP checked again. My BP was still high and he asked me to report to L&D to be induced. For some reason I didn't think he was going to say that. The excitement was on.

The babysitter we had made arrangemnts with had to leave suddenly because of a family illness. Her SIL that we had never met would be able to sit. Since we knew the day now we picked her up on the way home to get ready for the hospital. She turned out to be great with the kids and I was put at ease leaving them with her. She had them all organized and was making them supper before we made it out the door.

We stopped for a bite to eat and but I was so nervous. We when arrived at the hospital I was shaking like a leaf. My last birth experience was really bad and I was very afraid of it happening again.

They got me settled in a room and started up an IV and hooked me up to the fetal monitor. I had told the dr how scared I was. The nurse came back in and said that she heard my last birth was hard and wondered if I would be wanting an epi. I said yes. The nurse started up the pit drip and told me the anesthesiologist would be there soon. I was a little surprised but happy I was going to get the epi.

The anesthesiologist arrived not long after. My husband was told to get a coffee. I don't think he needed a coffee as we were both nervous but out he went. They got me to sit at the edge of the bed hugging a pillow and put in the catheter in my back. I felt a jolt go done my leg and it was done. The anesthesiologist asked me if the pain was gone. I thought to myself if I had any pain it would be gone but I answered him with a simple yes and thank you. He left and Reg came back.

The nurse kept coming back in and turning up the pit. I watched my tummy get hard and the contractions on the monitor. I waited for it to hurt but it didn't. Shift changed and I got a new nurse. After a couple of hours I mentioned feeling some contractions to the nurse. She returned shortly with a top up for my epi and once again I felt nothing. I started having some strange pressure feelings. The nurse checked me and ask me to give a push. She said I was ready to go.

They got me ready and transfered me to the deliveryroom. Eveything was calm this time as the baby hadn't started to descend. Her heartrate was good and all I felt was a litttle pressure. Reg changed into his scrubs and got ready to take pictures. The dr had fallen asleep and was woken up. He had been sleeping on his side and his ear was red so I teased him.

The only thing that went wrong was that I had a med student who was really uncomfortable being there. He wasn't very nice when I first met him and looking back I should have asked not to have him there. Up till the all my med students were very nice so I just didn't expect it. The dr asked him to wash me. This was back in the days when they washed you with a disinfectant. He started washing me and my dr looked stunned. Finally the nurse yelled at him that I was frozen and not dead.

After that I was told to push. I pushed a few times and out she came. They put her on my tummy. The dr asked if Reg wanted to cut the cord and I said it was my turn. So I cut the cord. Felt strange to do that.

The nurse moved her to a warming table and checked her out. Margo's apgars were 6 and 9. I delivered the placenta with the med student yanking on it.

My dr left and the med student was about to leave when the nurse told him he wasn't finished yet. I think by then she was used to ordering him around. The nurse told him to remove the tape from my back. After getting an epi they taped a tube to my back all the way up to my shoulder for topping up the epi. It stung to have the tape removed. But considering that was the most painful part of the whole delivery I didn't complain.

They left us alone with Margo. Reg was holding her and I mentioned I felt something funny. He checked and I had huge clots coming out. He called for the nurse and she massaged my uterus and even more came out. Reg turned white as a ghost, gave me Margo and left the room! Umm hey I was the one bleeding! Margo wanted to nurse and the nurse suggested me feeding her to help stop the bleeding so I did. My dr came back and the bleeding slowed down. I got more pit in my IV. The dr left and Reg came back. I had been told that red heads bleed more. I told the staff that my hair was naturally brown but I dyed it red so not to worry. I had no idea dyed red hair made you bleed more too. LOL.

I sat there thinking that wow it didn't hurt. The dr was gone and I was holding the baby in my arms. It was over! I had been scared for nothing! I was shocked but happily so. After I finished nursing Margo they brought her to the nursery and moved me to recovery. The nurse came back and told me Margo was 8 pounds 9 ounces. I was transfered to my room and Reg went home.

When Reg got home he had to break into the house. The babysitter felt very alone out in the country at our house. She locked the doors with the hook latch so Reg couldn't get in. He drove her home the next day and brought our 3 other kids to the hospital to visit their new sister. I asked to leave early again and went home the next day.

And then there were 4.

Margo is 8 and a half years old as I write this. I always say that her birth was a painfree one. I was very surprised that it was after what happened with my 3rd. I decided with my pelvic joint problems that a natural birth just isn't for me.

Catherine (mabear)

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