Aubrey Ann’s Birth Story

(Here I am at the hospital waiting to get my labor started.)

Aubrey Ann’s Birth Story

     The initial plan was for my labor to be induced on Saturday April 2^nd at 7:30am because my doctor was on call that day and I really wanted her to deliver my baby since she wasn’t able to deliver Mallory. However, due to the stormy weather that moved in overnight I kept getting bumped to a later time because of all the walk-ins that were coming into Labor & Delivery. So I rested a lot that day waiting for the phone call saying that I could come in. I also didn’t feel very well that day, and little Aubrey wasn’t moving around very much at all that day which I just wrote off to being nervous. However, I did tell  the nurse who called that Aubrey wasn’t moving very much that day, but they still didn’t have a nurse for me. My doctor kept asking the labor and delivery staff if I was there yet because she knew that I was suppose to be induced that day. And she told the staff and John and I that she would stay as long as she needed to until Aubrey was born. Finally I get a phone call at 3:30pm saying that they could take me at 4:30pm. I was absolutely thrilled. So John gave me a blessing and then took Mallory to his mom’s house and I got all of my last minute things ready for the hospital. 

     When we arrived at the hospital I was already contracting even though I didn’t know it. The nurse hooked me and baby Aubrey up to monitors to monitor our heart rates. And that’s where the problems started. Both mine and baby’s heart rates were really high. My resting heart-rate was at about 120, and Aubrey’s was at 210 when it should have been around 140-160.  The nurse called my doctor and she informed me and John that we may have to have an emergency c-section because the baby’s heart-rate signaled that she was in distress. They said it could possibly be due to a heart problem, or possibly an infection that baby and I had. They also informed me that Aubrey may have to spend some time in the NICU after she was born. I was so scared; I just wanted my baby to be safe and healthy. They immediately started me on I.V. fluids, drew blood to check for an infection, and then my doctor broke my water, and placed an internal monitor on the top of Aubrey’s head to better monitor her. Then the pitocin was started and I waited for the anesthesiologist to get out of surgery to give me an epidural. I had to have a special epidural with a spinal block because of the chance that I may have had to have an emergency c-section. My nurse checked me after I got my epidural and I was dilated to a 3. My blood work came back fine so my nurse gave me another bag of I.V. fluids to keep me hydrated, and I got my epidural. My heart-rate came back down to normal, but baby’s was still high. The nurse and doctor kept a close eye on us, especially baby Aubrey and her heart rate eventually came down to the 160-180 range after they gave me a third bag of I.V. fluids. Apparently I was dehydrated which probably caused some of the complications. 

     I could feel my epidural wearing off because the pump wasn’t turned on so I told my nurse and the anesthesiologist came back in and dosed me up really well. Once I was comfortable again which only took a few minutes, I told my nurse that I was feeling a lot of pressure due to the baby possibly dropping. Sure enough when she checked me I was fully dilated to a 10, and ready to push. She called my doctor in and they got things ready for the delivery. I started to push and that’s when Aubrey’s heart-rate dropped down into the 60’s. My doctor called in the NICU team just in case. I only had to push through 4 contractions, about 10 minutes or less, and then Aubrey was born! She had the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck and abdomen which had caused her heart-rate to drop down into the 60’s. The doctor quickly un-wrapped it, suctioned her nose and mouth, and then she was just fine so we didn’t need the NICU team after all which made me so very happy. She was beautiful weighing in at 7lbs. 4oz. and 20 inches long, and I was so happy to see her. I was also able to have my Birth Plan followed through and my whole experience, even though scary because of the complications, was such a positive one. My nurse and doctor were awesome, I couldn’t have asked for a better nurse or doctor. 

     It’s funny because I would get the question all of the time, “Why do you want to be induced?” and “It’s not good to be induced” and I can honestly say I’m so glad that I decided to be induced. Who knows what could have happened if I didn’t and had waited until my next check-up? Call it mother’s intuition or what you will, but I’m so happy that I decided to be induced.