Friday, August 7, 2009

Lucas Gabriel is born!

Today is just over two weeks since little Lucas Gabriel decided to make his big brave entrance into the world. I’m finally getting a few minutes to catch my breath and update my blog with the exciting news. There is so much to tell, and I really don’t know where to start.

Today I’m finally feeling much better after 18 hours of labor and 2.5 hours of pushing. It has been a traumatic yet exciting experience – and I’m grateful I’m able to share it with you. All in all, I’d do it again in a heartbeat! It’s truly amazing and all worth the big reward in the end.

I had finally reached my 40th week (full term) and the next few days felt longer then my entire pregnancy. Everyone around me seemed anxious, including me, especially after my last doctor’s appointment, since I learned that my fluids were low and it could potentially be harmful to the baby.

On July 21st, 3 days after my due date and a day after my previous appointment, I had only dilated 1 cm and my blood pressure was really high. I was told to admit myself to the LIJ hospital in New Hyde Park that evening to be induced and help start the delivery process. By the time I reached the hospital, I had dilated on my own another 2 centimeters and also began to feel minor contractions. It seemed Lucas was ready to come out on his own either that evening or the next day. A few hours later my contractions began to get stronger and without thinking twice, I requested an epidural. Was I glad I asked for it when I did! Kudos to the brave women out there who have an all natural birth!
The epidural takes about 40 minutes or so to administer. During painful contractions you have to stay really still while they place the needle in the itty bitty epidural space of the spinal cord, so I’d recommend not waiting to ask for it when you cannot take the pain any longer. It instantly kicks in and all sensation is lost from your waist down. While it’s an instant relief, it’s a scary feeling when you realize that you have complete paralysis in the lower half of your body. A number of times it did cross my mind…”what if I stay like this forever?”

Eighteen hours later and a good night sleep I was dilating about 1 centimeter every couple of hours or so with the help of massive amounts of Pottosin. The Pottosin was also causing my legs and ankles to swell beyond recognition, and the swelling only goes down about a week post partum. Unfortunately, after 8 centimeters or so I wasn’t dilating further. It had been over 4 hours and there weren’t any signs of progress, and my little Lucas’ heart beat was dropping. I was also told that I had a temperature of 100.8 and there was no doubt in my doctor’s mind that we were going in for a c-section in a couple of hours. It was at that point that I learned if your temperature during labor is over 100.4, your newborn is taken automatically to Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for 48 hours when he/she is born. I was devastated! Not only would I not deliver Lucas naturally, but I would not be able to have him sleep in my room. I felt like a complete failure and couldn’t stop my tears! Of course in hindsight, c-sections are performed all the time and often to prevent complications, but I soon realized my case was debatable. The nurses felt I could easily deliver naturally, but they were getting a bit of resistance from my doctor. That’s when I insisted that she give me a couple of hours to dilate 2 more centimeters, and if I didn’t succeed, then of course we would proceed with the c-section. With the amazing help of no less than a football team of nurses, who only had my interests at heart and were determined to help me dilate in order to avoid surgery, and my sister and husband, I went from 8.5 centimeters to 10 in about an hour.

It was then that the nurses asked me to start pushing. The epidural had worn off completely and my contractions were unbearable. I was determined to deliver Lucas without a cesarean one way or another, no matter how difficult and painful the pushing was after 2.5 hours or so. Right when I was about to give up and felt I didn’t have the strength to push any more, my sister yelled “feel his head it's right there”, and I did. It gave me the last bit of strength & motivation I needed to push Lucas out.


Lucas was born at 6:44 PM on daddy’s birthday, weighing 8.8 lbs and 21 inches long. While I was still sad that my little man would not be able to spend the night with me, I couldn’t have been happier with my healthy baby boy. I knew that the staff at NICU would take good care of him, and I’d be able to visit him as often as I wanted while in intensive care. We were released on Friday, July 24th, and that night I gratefully welcomed my first sleepless night. The three of us were finally home.



I will forever be grateful to the amazing nurses and staff at North Shore LIJ, and to my little sister and husband (who pushed so hard with me that he woke up the next morning with a migraine). I don’t think I would have pulled through without their support and encouragement!

3 comments:

  1. What an amazing birth story! I almost started crying when you said you almost gave up but then felt his head and you powered through it and brought your beautiful son into the world. It gave me goose bumps!

    I am so proud of you for holding out and not letting the doctor scare you into a c-section. Horray also for those wonderful nurses and your family who supported you!! Baby Lucas is so lucky to have you for his mama. Big, BIG Hugs to you!

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  2. Congratulations! I'm so glad that you were able to push that baby out without having to go through a c-section...and how neat that he was born on his daddy's birthday.

    P.S. Birth is much easier - and faster - the second time (at least in my experience).

    stephanie@metropolitanmama.net

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  3. Diana Mendoza EstrellaAugust 19, 2009 at 3:04 AM

    Pretty girl... I'm sitting here with tears in my eyes. I read your blog and felt like I went thru it with you every step of the way:)
    I too had my moment of "feeling like a failure" when after 36 hours of contractions, I gave up got the epidural... umm, yes, for baby #2, I'll be getting it a whole lot earlier! lol. Someday we'll swap stories. My lil girl was also in danger at some point and once they told me that, it gave me the power to get her out no matter what it took!
    And just like you said...a minute after looking into their lil tired faces, you can picture yourself doing it all over again.
    Thank you for sending me to bed with such a sweet feeling in my heart.
    Besitos a ti y a Lucas.

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