Isla's Birth Story

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

9:00 am: We had an appointment with a maternal fetal medicine specialist who was going to do a doppler ultrasound and check on baby's growth and blood flow. We were told that if there was a problem, then we may start talking about delivering the baby early.

We got to the dr's office (which is located at the hospital) on time, but they had no record of me or my appointment. Not a good sign. Somehow the appointment was not put in the system. However, they said they would be able to work us in. We had to wait a couple of hours, but we eventually were called back to the ultrasound room.

11:15 am: The sonographer did a very detailed and thorough ultrasound, using Doppler and 3D ultrasounds. She thought everything looked pretty good.

12:00 pm: The Dr. came in to talk to us. He also performed a thorough ultrasound. He then explained that the baby's blood flow looked good. Fluid levels were good. Everything was measuring right on track...except the belly.

We already knew her belly was measuring small, but he pointed out how small it was measuring. At my 33 week sonogram, her belly measured at 33 weeks in the 42%. On Tuesday, her belly measured at 33 weeks 5 days which was in the 2%.

Basically, her belly was no longer growing. The doctor had no explanation why, because everything else looked healthy. He said the chances were good that she was perfectly healthy. But he also thought it would be best to deliver right away. His concern was that if we waited, the belly would continue to not grow and could create more problems.

12:45 pm: The Dr. took us downstairs to the admissions desk...and we checked in for delivery!

1:15 pm: We got settled into the room, and they hooked me up to the monitors. I was having some mild contractions at the time. The nurse did a cervical check and found that I was already almost 4 cm dilated and 70% effaced!

This made me feel better about being induced. My fear in being induced was that it would take a long time, and it would be a long, difficult labor. Starting at 4 cm dilated was very encouraging news.

1:45 pm: Started Pitocin.

2:45 pm: The doctor broke my water.

3:15 pm: Started epidural, as the contractions quickly grew more intense once my water was broken.

3:45 pm: Epidural FINALLY started to work. Nurse checked and found that I was 9 cm dilated...during the time that I was getting the epidural, I had changed from 4 cm to 9 cm.

4:00 pm: Fully dilated. I started to feel lots of pressure, like the baby was going to fall out of me. But I couldn't push yet, because we had to wait for the doctor to arrive. The nurses and the resident got everything ready for delivery. And then we all just sat there staring at each other. At least I wasn't feeling the contractions at this point, so it was a nice little rest.

4:30 pm: Doctor finally arrives! Time to push.

4:51 pm: Isla Kate Shelton is born!