Labor and Delivery

My pregnancy with Evan was much different than with Curtis. Besides having 3 previous miscarriages, I had gallbladder issues that were most likely caused by basically being pregnant for 2 years straight. I also took progesterone supplements at the beginning of this pregnancy. Increased hormones can be causes of gallstones and gallbladder problems. On top of the gallbladder issues I had elevated liver enzymes and bile acids, and periodic itching of my hands and feet. These things are called cholestasis of pregnancy, and have the potential to cause stillborn babies. 

So, a few weeks ago after another itching episode I asked to have my bile acids tested. Before this time I had been tested for elevated liver enzymes but not for the bile acids (which is the main indicator of cholestasis). The levels came back higher than normal (although not incredibly high). I was referred to see maternal fetal medicine at the hospital, where an ultrasound showed Evan was measuring quite small (although I think this is because my dates were off) and they confirmed that they wanted me to deliver at 37 weeks due to the increased risk of having a stillborn baby in the final weeks. 

After having Curtis I was excited and set on an unmedicated delivery. Knowing I would be induced was very disheartening as inducing labor makes the contractions stronger and (supposedly) more painful. I decided I'd see how things went. 

On top of all of this we were in the middle of a house renovation that was already taking every waking minute of our time trying to get it finished in time for the original due date of May 30th. Needless to say I was  extremely stressed. Instead of 5 weeks we now had only 2. I'll go into more detail when I write about the renovation, but I have to say that we were so blessed with family and friends who helped us so much. We could never have been ready in time if it weren't for them. 

So, the night of May 8th we worked all day and were up till 2am re-installing baseboards, cleaning, and packing for the hospital. We were up at 5:30am to get to the hospital by 7am. 

Thursday May 9, 2013

We checked into labor and delivery at American Fork Hospital at 7am and were shown right to the delivery room. I changed into the lovely hospital gown and we got started on paperwork and the IV. The nurse who did the IV put it in my hand (I should have been more outspoken about it) so I ended up asking for it to be moved to my arm. Our nurse's name was Mary Ellen and she was awesome. She was with us the whole delivery. The midwife on call was Claudia, and I was glad because she is one of my favorites at the clinic. She was also with me most of the day, and helped a ton with the laboring. 

They started pitocin around 8:30am and contractions started soon after. The worst part for the first few hours was having to use the restroom every 20 minutes with all the cords attached to me. So annoying. Soon after contractions began they inserted a little balloon thing to help me dilate and progress faster. It was definitely unpleasant. A couple hours later I had progressed to about a 5 and my contractions were much stronger at this point. I decided to continue without medication. 

My mom came around 1pm and labor continued to progress. Claudia helped Mike and my mom find good pressure points to help relieve back pain. Several hours passed but it honestly felt much quicker than that. I was able to get in a good position for most of that time and somehow found a way to relax and breathe through the contractions. It was actually pretty hypnotic at times. 

A while later Claudia checked my progress and discovered that baby had an arm on top of his head that was preventing him from descending. She tried to move it out of the way (which was by far the most painful part of this delivery) but he wouldn't budge. I tried different positions but he still wasn't moving his arm out of the way, and I started to lose focus at that point. Labor was extremely painful at this point and I finally understood why women are always screaming in the movies when they have babies. It hurt! Claudia then called the OB on call to come see if he could move the arm out of the way. Again, this was the most painful part of the whole thing. After the baby still wouldn't move his arm, and somewhere in the midst of most likely passing through transition I got an epidural because there was a chance I would need a c-section if we couldn't get the arm to move. 

I finally felt some relief with the epidural, and was grateful it wasn't as strong as the one I had with Curtis. I was still able to feel contractions and pressure. 

Literally 30 minutes later (maybe sooner) I felt a lot of pressure and change. Baby had crowned, his hand had moved, and he was ready to come. Another 20-30 minutes later and he was in my arms. Mike assisted Claudia the whole time, caught baby when he came out, and cut the cord. It was such an amazing experience! Baby came right to me and got to stay there for a good amount of time. It was heaven holding my new tiny boy, and I was so grateful I was able to have the birth experience I was hoping for. 

Evan Mark Kitto

5lbs 9oz

Things to remember...

-Things were so much less "rushed" with this birth. The nurse and midwife were calm, helpful, and made us all feel comfortable. Things were allowed to progress as they should. I didn't have to have any stitches and recover was so much faster this time.
-Even though I had an epidural at the end, I still feel like I've experienced a natural birth. I'm excited to do it again.
-Evan was so tiny!
-Nursing was still difficult the first 24 hours, but he caught on quickly and is a pro.
-We had much fewer visitors than we had with Curtis, but it was a blessing to have more alone time with my little family.
-Curtis loved seeing his new brother (although the excitement wore off for a few days after).
-After staring at Evan so much, Curtis seemed so grown up and so big.
-We took Evan to the nursery for both nights we were there. We decided it would be best to get some sleep after basically pulling an all-nighter the night before. When we had Curtis I stayed up all night and held him, worried he would stop breathing.
-We wanted to leave after 24 hours but Evan's blood sugar wasn't consistent enough for us to leave.