On Monday June 11, we went to see our OB @ 12:15 pm.  [back story: We were tracking low amniotic fluid which had been identified as a possible problem on Thursday June 7.  On the 8th, we had gone in for a non-stress test to see if the baby’s umbilical cord was compressed but thankfully there were no signs of that.  If there had been, we would have been admitted that evening for an induction.  So thankfully we went home and enjoyed a quiet and fun weekend with friends.  We were still scheduled to have the induction on Thursday June 14 (Dr. Mason chose Flag Day because it amused her and because she has an outfit to go with it :-), which was 9 days before the due date of June 23.

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While I was waiting in Dr. Mason’s room (on Monday 6/11), I noticed a post-it on Dr. Mason’s file for me.  The post-it had then numbers 144/80 on it.  I thought to myself and then said out loud “is that my blood pressure?”  I *never* have blood pressure higher than 110/60s.  Doctors comment on how low my blood pressure is routinely.  She calmly said “Yes” and then went on to explain to me that it was a sign of pre-eclampsia.  I asked her to remind me what that was and she said “pregnancy induced hypertension.”  She said she would check my blood pressure again in just a few minutes but that I would also need to go get my blood drawn after our appointment and if there were any other signs (lowered platelet numbers, liver function abnormalities etc), then we would be admitted that evening.  If not, then she would monitor it and we would stay on schedule for our Flag Day induction. 

My next blood pressure check that she did before I left was lower but still high: 130 something/70 something. 

1:30 pm — I got my blood drawn and went about my day — even got a prenatal massage finally :-).  When I got home, I started cooking meals so that we’d have them for the week. SPL went off to Tae Kwon Do with his babysitter. 

I was amazed at how quickly it became 5:00 pm, and how I had somewhat forgotten what was possibly in the offing. I had even texted Beth and my other support friends saying that the probability was low: “Very slim chance we would be admitted tonight. Had to get my blood drawn, though, so if there is a low platelet count or some other indication I should hear from Dr. Mason sometime this evening.  That would be a reason for being admitted.  But I think we won’t be.”

Famous last words.

Then the phone rang.  “Blocked” was the caller so I picked up and it was Dr. Mason saying my platelet count was 124,000 and “normal” was 140,000.  The concern was that if it got any lower, it might risk the possibility of having an epidural, if i should choose that route (platelet count has to be above 80K).  Based on this lowered count and my blood pressure, she thought it best if we go ahead and “get this party started” (her words).  I, on the other hand, was still thinking Thursday 6/14 was our day and it took me awhile to switch gears.  Plus SPL was out with his babysitter @ Tae Kwon Do and wouldn’t return until 6:00 pm.  So I was a bit flustered as to what to do.  Our bags were packed and we were mostly prepared, but mentally, it still was a big switch to go from a June 14 induction to a June 11 induction.

I asked Dr. Mason what time we would need to be @ LPCH and she said 7:00 pm.  My immediate reply was “how about 7:30 pm?”  :-)  Negotiating with my OB from the start.  Classic.

So after hanging up the phone, I called John who was having drinks with a work colleague.  He answered and said he’d be home shortly.  Then I called Beth — no answer.  Turns out she was on a conference call on her drive home which I found out from Scott when I called him. 

6:00 pm — I have reached Beth on the phone and she is on her way over to pick up SPL.  SPL just arrived home from Tae Kwon Do and is excited to hear that his baby brother will be arriving sooner than he’d expected AND he would get to spend the night @ his cousins house (I’d forgotten that, while this early delivery was throwing me off a bit, it was his best case scenario :-). 

6:30 pm - Aunt Beth arrives to pick up SPL and we hug and take some last minute photos (see above).  He happily hops in the car with her and they drive off.  I think to myself how things are changing and how happy I am that he is so grown up and able to go with the flow.  Also how grateful I am to Beth and her family for switching gears so quickly.

7:00 pm - We get our bags (too much stuff!) and get into the van to head over to LPCH.  John celebrates that our new lens for our Canon had just arrived.  We also were celebrating that the baby’s car seat had arrived on Friday, which was our first possible “go” day (Thanks Grandee and Nana Dana!).  It was on the door step when we arrived home from the non-stress test.  We have great karma :-).

7:15 pm — we arrive @ LPCH and valet park.  I am still a bit flustered when we check in at the security station (security @ Lucille Packard is *crazy* btw). After signing in @ security and getting our IDs, we arrive at the nurses’ station on the 2nd floor, Labor and Delivery.  No one seems to know that we are supposed to be arriving for an induction.  Veeeerrry interesting…….On the phone with Dr. Mason earlier, she had said there was hardly anyone on the ward all day, which is why she decided to admit us that evening.  Slow day. Or so she thought.  Things had gone from 0 to 60 in the span of a couple of hours and now there were 12 women admitted.  Full house.  But there were still some rooms so we got Room 1. 

Also, when we reached the nurses station, one of the nurses asked if I had a birth plan.  Oh yeah, that was one of the things on my to do list for today — d’oh!  Her reply was “We don’t read those anyway.  We just throw them away.”  Wow.  Way to instill confidence.  :-/

7:45 pm — our doula, Miko Yamaguchi (who is *fabulous* by the way) arrives.  She helps us set up our room.  We’d brought our birth art to decorate the walls (art SPL, John and I had each created at our birth prep class).  I remember resisting wanting to sit on the bed as I didn’t want to feel like a patient this time around.  I wanted to do everything I could to maintain my focus and center as a woman giving birth, not a patient.  Psychologically they were at opposite ends of the spectrum for me. 

We had arrived at shift change too so communication was a bit challenging for awhile.  Our night nurse wasn’t a good listener — never really heard what I was asking and answered questions I didn’t ask.

8:00 pm — I got my IV (had resisted wanting one of these too but given my pre-eclampsia and need to induce, I had to have a pitocin drip hence the IV).  Not perfect but I could still be mobile.

Sometime after that I got the monitoring belts hooked up to my abdomen.  I remember asking for wireless devices thinking they would help me in my efforts to be mobile during labor.  *Get this!*  In 2012, at Stanford University, in the heart of Silicon Valley, they have……wait for it……ONE pair of wireless monitors.  Are you kidding me!??!!??!  I was stunned and had to pick my jaw up off the floor.

8:30 pm — the pitocin drip started at 1-2 microunits.  The nurse said she’d increase it by 2 microunits every 30 minutes until we got to 30.

We settled in to the room and our respective sleeping spots.  I had the best set up with a full bed. John had the next best which was a cushion window seat.  Miko had a chair :-(.  The room was amazingly bright for nighttime especially with the TV monitor on.  I was wishing I had a blackout mask (like those you wear on overnight airplane flights).  Also ear plugs.  Thankfully Miko loaned me her scarf which worked and had some earplugs in her purse. Did I say she was great??  :-)

I slept until 11:30 pm or so then was up a bit.  I remember having 3 main periods of contractions — not enough so that I couldn’t talk but I did use them to practice my breathing.  One set was around 2 AM.  The other two were around 2:30 am and 4:00 am. 

6:00 am — Dr. Mason arrived and decided my body was making progress but needed some more help.

6:30 am — Dr. Mason manually broke my water.  I remember the next contraction being a *lot* stronger than anything I’d had so far.  I definitely couldn’t talk and I needed to use my breathing.  “Ohm” helped a lot.  (Note: my water broke by itself with SPL and yet I didn’t have any increase in contraction frequency or intensity.  So I wasn’t prepared for what happened).  Just like we had practiced, low, open throat vocalizations during the hard part of the contraction were what helped me through.  That and having your dad and Miko help me find my center — they were amazing!  I used my yoga positions, exercise ball, TENS unit during the challenging part of the contractions too.  They lasted a minute or so and then they would subside.  I could rest a bit in between. 

After 3 hours of challenging contractions I decided that I’d reached my limit.  It was around 10:00 am and I was dilated 4 centimeters so not as far as I’d hoped so I was glad I got the epidural.  The hardest part was not knowing how far along I was and how successful (or not) the contractions were.  The psychology of labor is fascinating — hard to know how to train for it even as a 2nd time mom.  It is a marathon but each person’s experience and pain threshold is so different.   I think the way to avoid any interventions is to have a home birth but given my pre-eclampsia, that wasn’t a path we could take. 

(Turns out the anesthesiology team was a mentoring doctor who clearly understood and communicated/taught the nuances of the situation throughout his time in the room.  The student MD/PhD candidate was less aware of the nuances of the human interactions than was the mentor and he also missed the midline when administering the epidural.  Not a good thing!  :-/.  But the mentor was calm and supportive.  I was wondering why the anesthesia wasn’t kicking in as quickly as I’d hoped but labor is an altered state (to say the least!) and even though I registered the works “you missed the midline” and I knew what that meant, it didn’t really upset me.). 

After the epidural took effect, life was a lot better.  I got some rest.  I was able to interact with everyone and get ready for the pushing phase (though interestingly enough, the “altered state” of labor was amazing to be in for the time I was.  I missed the mental part of the altered state but not, of course, the pain part).

Dr. Mason arrived around 1:30 pm and said your head was fully engaged.  She even encouraged me to touch your head, which I did.  *Squishy!*  Kinda freaked me out but I thought it was cool too (hadn’t done this with SPL).  Dr. Mason suggested that I have a mirror so they brought one in.  It was amazing to see your head crown and realize the power of the human body to give birth.  Pushing lasted from 1:45 pm until 2:29 pm which was your birth time.  IT took about 8 sets of 3 pushes timed/coordinated with my contractions and there you were!  You were purple and your head was square but you were handsome!  I was so happy to see you.  So was your dad (and before I forget — you were hiccuping when you exited.  I had forgotten that but Miko reminded me when she visited us for her post-partum visit). 

I got to pull you to my chest immediately and hold you.  It was memorable and magical.

And your dad was magnificent throughout.  He was, and always has been, incredible: devoted, supportive, willing to do whatever it takes, a great advocate, providing strength and encouragement.  Not to mention the grace and generosity he showed throughout the IVF process: 6 months into a demanding new job and faced with the unpredictability of an IVF schedule.  Didn’t miss a beat.  He juggled it all effortlessly and never once handed off the stress he must’ve been feeling to me or anyone.

I couldn’t have done this without him nor would I have wanted to.