Mila Rose's Birth
- Cassie Ann
- Aug 6, 2018
- 8 min read
September 28th, 2017
I was anxiously waiting for the arrival of my daughter. I found out I was pregnant when I was already 2 months pregnant, and I immediately shifted into mommy mode. I found out her gender at 13 weeks, got her nursery done around 26 weeks, and was getting more excited by the day.
We wanted to get an elective induction (super controversial, I know), but my OB and I thought it would be best since Mila was getting so big while my frame was still small, and some family members were far away. Going into labor without notice meant that people would most likely not make it. Or at least that's what we thought. The date we had in mind to be induced was September 28th, 2017. Exactly 39 weeks.
For the weeks leading up to that date, we went through tests to calculate our bishop score. This score examined the readiness of my body, and the ability to be induced in a healthy manner. We started calculating this score at 38 weeks to see how close we were to being approved. Well...my body was barely dilating, so we went ahead and did a membrane sweep to move things along.
This 38 week appointment was on a Thursday, September 21st, 2017.
Friday | September 22nd- Monday | September 25th
The next morning I woke up to what seemed to be my body preparing for labor (no details in case it's too TMI!) It was my very first sign that my body was ready, and I was getting super excited! The next morning, Saturday, I woke up to contractions. They weren't bad, but they were pretty consistent. I walked through Target and vacuumed Mila's nursery, and they maintained their pace, so I went into L&D. They monitored Mila and I for a bit, and concluded that the contractions weren't strong enough. After that L&D visit, I went to a local pizza place that had a "Pregnancy Pizza" that supposedly helped your body prepare for labor.
On Sunday, the contractions consisted. Monday was the same except I started to have another new sign. I was told to immediately go into L&D to get looked at. So they tested me for amniotic fluid, but my water was still secure! They also checked me for dilation since I was contracting, but I had not budged. I was heartbroken because the next day, Tuesday, I had my 39 week appointment a couple days early to see if we could set the induction for that Thursday when I would officially be 39 weeks. I knew that since I hadn't dilated or effaced more, I wouldn't get the green light. I was so disappointed because I was afraid that it would mean that family members wouldn't make it to Mila's birth on time when it happened on its own.
So after the bummed out Monday I had after a trip to L&D and seeing that I wouldn't be approved for the induction at my appointment the next day, I went to bed just hoping to get through tomorrow's appointment. But I got NO sleep that night. My hips and my back were on fire. I woke up every couple of minutes to really bad contractions. When I finally woke up for good in the morning, I texted everyone and told them I was SURE that I would be going into labor that day. The contractions increased significantly. I couldn't walk through them. I had to focus on breathing. And they were super consistent. My mom kept urging me to go into L&D but I was worried that it would be yet another disappointing visit. So I somehow made it until 4 PM when my early 39 week appointment was.
When my mom got home from work, we knew that she would have to drive my car because I couldn't. We packed our hospital bags (thank god) because we were sure that today was the day. Tuesday, September 26th, 2018. There was no way that I wasn't going into labor and having Mila. We made it to the office after various stops on the way because of my contractions. When I used the bathroom at the office, I noticed blood. I never bled in my pregnancy, so this was odd. I told my OB when she came into the room, and she ordered yet another test for amniotic fluid. For the SECOND TIME in 24 HOURS. She tested me yet again, but it came back negative for amniotic fluid.
She then calculated my bishop score to see if we could get approved for the induction that Thursday. I was literally one point away from the approval, so my OB left the room to go check with her chief to see if we could get approved anyway. When she left, my mom and I discussed our excitement. Wow, I could get approved for that Thursday! Mila would be here this week! All of Mila's family could make the arrangements and be in town for her arrival!
SPLOOSH. "Uhhh, Mom. Something just happened in my pants." That was all I needed to say. My mom ran out of the room, and looked for my doctor. I heard her say, "I think her water broke", and the entire staff of nurses and doctors came in. Although it was quite obvious that my water broke ( a literal waterfall), they still had to test me for amniotic fluid before sending me to the hospital. So for the THIRD TIME in 24 HOURS, I was tested YET AGAIN for amniotic fluid. And surprise! It came back positive.
My mom ran to the car to grab a pair of depends (postpartum magic), and ran to bring them to me so that I could get to the hospital without leaking everywhere. By the way, if your water is to break, pray it happens in a doctor's office. Super easy. I was the first person whose water broke in the office, and they saved the slide from my test to show everyone what amniotic fluid looked like. I walked out of the office for the last time as a pregnant woman, and my doctor yelled, "I'll see you early in the morning when I deliver that baby!" Lol, no.
We got to L&D with all of our hospital bags in tow, and they looked at us like we were crazy. My OB called and told them we were coming in and my water broke, but for some reason they didn't believe us. My contractions had progressed like crazy from my water breaking, and I wasn't having any part of it. They wanted to test me for amniotic fluid AGAIN, but we kept telling them that they literally did it 20 minutes ago. They monitored her movement and my contractions, and finally took us from triage into an actual delivery room. In that time, we freaked out and called all of Mila's family members to see if they could get flights out. It was 4:30 PM when we got to the hospital, so it was late for our family members on the other side of the country. They tried their best, but couldn't get flights. They would be getting in at noon on Wednesday, September 27th. The nurses kept saying that it was a shame because our baby would definitely be here before then. Oh boy, was that false.
Wednesday | September 27th, 2017
Around midnight, I finally gave in and got the epidural. My contractions had picked up and gotten stronger after my water broke, and Mila was sunny-side up, which meant really, REALLY bad pain in my hips and back. They had to keep trying to put the epidural in because it was shocking my hips. After a couple hours, the anesthesiologist had to come back in because it wasn't working properly. I wasn't feeling contractions in the front, but I felt them in my back and hips. My hips literally felt like they were breaking. They let me know that epidurals don't always work on back labor and sunny-side up labors. So that was fun.
My actual OB came into the room when she was the head doctor on staff for her shift. She checked me...I had barely budged. She was super surprised that I had not been closer to go-time. I had been on a Pitocin drip and a cervix thinner for almost 24 hours as that point. I was in and out of sleep this entire day, and I was in a ridiculous amount of pain. I barely remember much, except for being annoyed at my body for not progressing faster.
24 hours after my water broke, another doctor came in to check me. She wanted to scratch Mila's scalp because her movement had decreased. I was extremely nervous about her decreased movement, because she was ALWAYS moving. When she scratched her scalp, another bag of water popped open. And when I say it went everywhere, I mean it went everywhere. It was just another pocket of amniotic fluid. When it popped open, the doctors looked puzzled. They looked at each other and concluded that it was her meconium. Now, meconium can be dangerous if it is breathed in by Mila. At this point my water had been broken for 24 hours, I wasn't progressing quickly, and Mila now was at risk. The doctors kept telling me that everything would be fine, but I was freaking out.
I ended up with an infection and a fever because of my water being broken for so long, and most likely the meconium. Throughout Wednesday night, Mila's vitals were insane. She was barely moving, doctors kept asking me if it was normal (it wasn't), and her heart rate would go to the 200's down to the 90's. I was freaking out. I asked everyone who came in if she was okay, and they kept saying everything was fine.
Thursday | September 28th, 2017
At this point I was the most stressed out that I had ever been. I was convinced that something was wrong. I've heard of so many scary stories, and moms not being listened to. I was so worried that this was just going to be another.
At about 1:30 AM on Thursday, I started feeling like I needed to push. After I came down with a fever, they decided to stop checking my dilation as often as they were, in an attempt to introduce less bacteria to my body. But I KNEW I needed to push. I told my nurse, and she told me that they would check me in 2 HOURS. I urged them to check me. So one doctor came in, checked me and said, "Oh, there she is!" I was 8 centimeters dilated, but Mila was low enough, and I was effaced enough. Two more doctors and some more nurses came in, and they had me do some practice pushes. I got to touch the top of Mila's head which was the coolest/weirdest thing.
Suddenly, the entire staff was in my room. They called in all the doctors, the NICU team, and all the nurses. It got extremely scary. No one told me what was happening. My oxygen levels kept lowering, my body stopped contracting, and my vitals were wonky. At a certain point, they couldn't find Mila's heartbeat, and they were freaking out. I pushed for 30 minutes. Her head started shaking in the birth canal, and the doctors kept asking me if I could feel it. Uhh, yeah. Finally, Mila came out at 2:45 AM, and I kept holding on for a cry. She cried once when she was placed on my chest. I felt her arm. It was so soft and warm. But they quickly took her off my chest and rushed her to the NICU because she was struggling to breathe on her own.
I desperately wanted skin-to-skin and for her umbilical cord cutting to be delayed, but we didn't get to do either. She was rushed off while they took care of me. Once they were done with me, I asked to see Mila. My nurse told me that I couldn't go up there until I could walk. My legs felt like jello, but I willed myself to walk. I don't know how I did it, but I did. I then got to go up to the NICU and see my daughter. I got an actual look at her face, I held her in my arms, I loved on her...And it was worth the wait.
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