Jasper's Birth Story, The Final Chapter.

Oh you guys are funny. I didn't intend for it to be such a dramatic story. Like my title? ;)

I left off with Wade holding our tiny babe, observing helplessly the events happening in front of him. I was scared and confused as well. I remember being curled up on the bed, uncontrollably shaking from wet and in pain, when I look to my right and saw my midwife, Anne, who had broken my water at the clinic earlier that morning. She had only stopped by to chat and meet the baby after work, but she had gotten there just in time. The nurses had already called Kim and she was on her way, but Anne got to work trying to help.

While in the bathtub, I was given a shot of Pitocin in my leg to get my uterus to clamp down. A shot that I had originally didn't want. Big mistake. Should've taken the Pitocin! Anne told me she was worried that a fragment of the placenta may have been left behind, and my body wasn't reacting well to that - clotting and trying to expel it? I don't know.  What I do know, is she told me she needed to "go in and get it." Yeeeeah.

I'll remind you, I didn't have any pain medication at this point. And I'm not sure why I didn't get any before she went in. Maybe it would've taken too long for  to go into effect? I don't know, but IT. WAS. AWFUL. For about 60 seconds, I screamed, cried, and squeezed so hard my nails dug into those poor nurses hands. (Okay, Wade just informed me it was only about 10 seconds. It felt like 10 minutes.) Folks, it was probably worse than childbirth. She got out another softball sized clot. They told me later that she was in almost up to her elbow - just diggin' around in there. (I am SO SORRY for the amount of detail!!!)

I still wasn't really feeling any better. By now, Kim had gotten there as fast as she could. She talked with Anne quietly in the corner. I overheard Kim ask, "Did you use a sterile gauze? No? Just a glove? Gee, I really think we need to use gauze to really go over the entire surface to make sure we get it. Let's also give her a shot of Methergine" [Methergine provides sustained uterine contractions rather than the more intermittent contractions of Pitocin, hence an immediate, strong response. Similar to the final transition stage in labor. Given to prevent or stop postpartum hemorrhage. source] Basically a dose of PAIN and some more PAIN. 


Yup, Kim had to repeat what Anne had just done. I remember crying, begging her to stop, yet knowing she had to do this. The Methergine had also kicked in and was excruciating. Before I knew it, a nurse was poking me for an IV, I had an oxygen mask over my face, and another nurse was giving me a shot of Demerol (similar to morphine). I had a blood pressure cuff on my arm and some heart rate thing on my finger. I felt exhausted and upset since everything on me was exactly what I didn't want. 


The contractions slowly faded away and I felt embarrassed by what had all just happened. The room calmed down and I was able to relax a little. It was over about as quickly as it had all happened. I talked with Kim and Anne before they left and found out that it's more likely to happen with larger babies - and this little guy was 10 lbs.


I ditched as much crap on me as I could and Wade helped me get some clothes on. By now, Jasper was starting to get fussy. I heard the nurses trying to decide what to do, figuring I probably wasn't feeling up to feeding him right now. I piped up, and said confidently, "I'm fine. I can take him." All I wanted, more than anything, was to nurse and cuddle my new son - and for the next few hours, I did exactly that.  


I'm so thankful for great midwives who helped me get through all parts of pregnancy, labor, delivery, and all the not-so-fun stuff after. I'm thankful for my husband for being by my side through all of it. And most of all, I'm thankful for my God, who blessed me with a healthy, baby boy and protected me from a situation that could have been much worse!