Quinn's Birth Story

Well I'll just come right out and say that having two kids is a lot different than having one. It's absolutely wonderful being a family of four, but it's a lot more time consuming. This is coming from my old and wise 10 days of experience. So now that I'm attempting to catch up, let's start from the beginning. 

Late evening on June 12th I headed to the hospital to check in for my foley bulb induction. Unfortunately L&D had some emergency situations going on and I had to wait 2 hours before I was admitted to my room. Thankfully everything turned out just fine with those ladies and their babies. I had the foley bulb inserted and it was no where near as uncomfortable as the type I had with C.orben. This was a new type that uses two balloons and therefore doesn't require being strapped to your leg and tugged on every few hours. It did cause a night of painful contractions, but they gave me a sleeping pill and I was able to rest. My husband had to work, but was able to stop by for a short visit and my mom stayed the night with me. 

My doctor came in at 8 am and I was 3 cm and 70% effaced. Rather than wait for the foley bulb to fall out, he took it out and then broke my water. I was afraid that it would cause instant horrendous contractions as I had experienced with Corb.en, but that wasn't the case. A few hours later I was 5 cm and my contractions picked up over the course of the day and worked themselves up to 2-3 minutes apart. They were totally manageable though and I was able to carry on conversation with my husband and mom. Then all of a sudden the contractions completely stopped. We waited until my 12 hour deadline and with no other interventions left to try it was c-section time. Initially I was really distraught because I was told that with a vaginal delivery you get an hour of uninterrupted time with your baby, but with a c-section they take your baby to the nursery right away for 2 hours. I cried at the thought of being separated from my baby for that long and not getting to breastfeed right away. I talked to my OB and he was completely supportive of me getting the time with her that I needed and they talked to the nursery and got everything straightened out. Then getting prepped and waiting to go to the OR was such a scary time. I can't describe the feeling I felt, but I didn't feel like myself. I was terrified and I just wanted to pick up and run out of there. 

Once I was in the OR and they administered the spinal block my anxieties increased. Not being able to feel or move my legs was so strange and then I felt like it was hard to breath and my hands went a little numb. I felt really vulnerable laying there unable to do anything for myself. Once my husband and OB came in I felt a lot better. Familiarity is a wonderful thing. The surgery started quickly and my husband talked to me the whole time, making things so much better. I didn't feel any of the tugging or pain that I did with my previous c-section. Thank God! However, it did take him a little longer because of scar tissue and Quinn's shoulders being hard to get out. Once I heard that beautiful sound of her crying nothing else mattered.
 

 They brought her over and showed her to us before doing their initial once over. After that she went to the nursery to get things started there while they finished up with me. 

I was wheeled to the recovery area and I felt instant pain, but luckily the nurse was on hand with some pain medication and it didn't take too long for me to get some relief. Quinn was immediately brought to me and I was able to breastfeed. Let me tell you now that my breastfeeding experience this time has been like night and day to Cor.ben. Those of you that have been around awhile may remember that I had quite the challenging breastfeeding journey with my little man. Quinn latched right on and has been nursing like a champ ever since. My girl loves to eat! {more on this later}.

As soon as my room was ready I was taken there. I couldn't wait to get up and walk around. I absolutely HATE hospital beds and I'm never able to get comfortable in them. 7 hours after my surgery they finally let me get up and walk around and it felt so good! My recovery went so well that I was able to leave the hospital a day early. I was so ready to get out of there! We were in the hospital for 39 hours to be exact. 

So that's the tale of Quinn's birth. WOW that was long! As far as having to have a c-section, I wasn't upset when I was told that was what had to happen (and I'm still not) because I knew we tried everything we possibly could, from the ECV to the foley bulb and AROM, to make my VBAC dream happen. My doctor theorizes that because both of my labor experiences ended in failure to progress that it's very likely that my pelvis is just too small or there is something to where my babies can't descend. So with that, and the fact that my uterus is thin, if I have another baby it will automatically have to be a c-section delivery. I'm sad that I'll never get to experience a vaginal delivery and all of the wonderful moments that come with that, but it is what it is.

Next I'll get to the mushy, cute, and wonderfulness.... QUINN!