Kanaan is Here!!!

We arrived at the hospital around 3:30pm on 9/3/13. They did another size check and measured Kanaan to be about 7lbs 5oz and they started the cervadil around 5 I wasn't allowed to eat or drink, only ice chips and popsicles. I was 1cm dilated and 50% thinned out.  Cervadil is a medication to soften the cervix to help it open in labor. It can sometimes start contractions and in about 10% of women will put them into labor, but it is mainly to get the body ready for the pitocin later on in labor. Pitocin is the medication that starts/strengthens the contractions. The goal was to put the cervadil in, let it sit for 12 hours and then take it out and start the pitocin.

 I started having mild cramps/contractions right away when they put the cervadil in. They gradually got a little stronger throughout the evening and by 3:30a.m. they were so strong I had to breath through them. They were also back to back the whole time. Three minutes apart was the most spaced out ones, they usually came in threes. I'd have 3 30 seconds to 1 minute apart and then a 3 minute stretch. They went ahead and took the cervadil out at 4am instead of 5 because my contractions were so close together. They were hoping that they would settle down a bit once the cervadil was out. The contractions didn't lighten up at all once the cervadil was out and I had dilated to 3cm and 70% thinned out. Since the cervadil had put me into labor they did not start the pitocin. Earlier they had said that once the cervadil was out that I would be able to eat some breakfast and drink something, also that I'd be able to walk around. However, since the contractions were right on top of each other they wanted me to stay hooked to the monitor in the bed and I couldn't eat or drink.

At 9am they came in and broke my water to try to make the contractions stronger and more effective. It did make them stronger, but they stayed at about the same pattern.

At about 11am I got an epidural and was almost 4 cm dilated. I really wanted to go without the epidural, but the contractions were so back to back there was no break in between and Kanaan was positioned so that I was having a lot of back labor as well. The doctor wanted to give me pitocin, because even though my contractions were strong they wanted them to be more evenly spaced and into a better pattern. They started the pitocin after the epidural was placed. Since I had only gotten about 2 hours of sleep, Andy, Kayla and I all napped after the epidural for a bit.

They checked me again at about 4:30pm and I was still basically 4cm but they could stretch me to a 5. At this point it had been 24 hours since the contractions started and I had only changed 4 centimeters, the doctor thought maybe Kanaan was turned wrong or he was too big to fit in my pelvis because I was still not progressing. Dr A said that we could try a few more hours if I wanted or we could go ahead and do a c section. I decided just to do a c-section while Kanaan was still tolerating things well instead of waiting until he was in distress. I was ready for it to be over at this point. Since I already had the epidural they were able to start fairly quickly.

Kanaan Lee King was born at 5:14pm on 9/4/13 and weighed 7lbs 12oz 20in. He took just a few seconds that seemed like hours then we heard his squeally high pitched cry. He was put on 50% oxygen but was breathing on his own. They took him off to the NICU and Andy went to tell Kayla, Mary and Alan he was here.

An hour and a half or so after he was born the Neonatologist came in and told me that Kanaan was doing well and that he was now on 30% oxygen and otherwise doing well. Andy was able to take Mary and Alan up to the NICU around 8ish and at around 9:30pm Kayla and I went to see him for the first time. By that time he was off all oxygen and they let me hold him. It was so nice to be able to hold and see him.