I have thought about this a number of times on how I am going to share this with you guys and if I should share it or not just because it is so personal and because it is not the story I hoped it’ll be. But I decided on sharing it because it ended with a healthy and happy baby boy, the absolute love of our life!
Throughout my whole pregnancy, I believed that he will come early. By the start of my 3rd trimester, I started getting Braxton-Hicks which are also called practice contractions, and they got pretty intense as I got closer to my due date. At my 34 weeks appointment, my doctor told me that I was not dilated but my cervix was thinning, which was a good sign. I was hoping to progress a little bit more at my 36 weeks appointment but nope, still at the same point. And the same point at my 40 weeks appointment 😀
Now, I had a pretty good pregnancy, except for the first trimester. But by the end of my pregnancy, I honestly wanted to be done and have this baby in my arms. So, I was pretty disappointed that I had not progressed at all and was having no actual contractions either. At my 40-week appointment, we set up an induction date for when I’ll be 41 weeks in case I didn’t go into labor before, which I didn’t.
We got to the hospital on 14th may evening at 7 and go admitted in the L&D room. The hospital was also very safe and taking all the precautions for COVID-19. They also tested me for COVID-19, which came out negative. Let me tell you, I knew I was in quarantine for more than 2 months but I was still very scared to get those results! 😀
Once all the initial tests and procedures were done, my favorite doctor came in to check in on me, I was still at the same point LOL. They started me on cervidil to kick start the process. It is something they use to thin out the cervix if it’s not happening on its own. And then they check in on you again after 12 hours. So, the next day, I was 3 cm dilated, and I was SO happy to know that after weeks of being at the same point 😀 Next, they put me on pitocin because I was still having no contractions. I am telling you, he did not want to come out!
Once I was put on Pitocin, I started getting contractions, intense! After an hour and a half, when the doctor checked me again, I was 4 cm. Woohoo! I then went ahead and asked for epidural because the contractions were frequent and getting more painful and intense by the hour. Before I got the epidural at around 12 pm, I was at 4-5 cm dilated and 60% thinned out. It was looking good! But, like a lot of people have experienced, my progress slowed down by a lot once I got the epidural.
After about 7-8 hours, I was only 6 cm dilated. Also, baby’s heart rate was dipping every contraction and every time it was going lower than the last. The nurses were trying to put me in different positions hoping that he would like one position where his heart rate won’t dip that low every time, which wasn’t really working.
At one point, his heart rate went very low in 50s and the nurses and doctor couldn’t find his heart rate for 10-15 secs. They had me change positions from side-to-side, which didn’t work and then they asked me to go on my knees and elbows to relieve some pressure, which seemed to work a little.
Honestly, those were the scariest 15 seconds of my life. I actually broke down in front of all the doctors and nurses and just praying that my baby was okay. We had the best doctor at the time. She told us everything that was happening, while also letting us know that we might need to go for a C-section if the baby doesn’t do well with the contractions for the next hour. I was very determined on having a vaginal birth but I knew that I would anything at that moment for my baby to be okay.
It was about 10 pm at that point. For the next few contractions, I started rubbing my belly to soothe him, since I used to that a lot in my pregnancy. I believe that somehow worked because his heart rate was steady with my contractions and even if it did go low, it wasn’t that low to be a concern. I was also lying on my side with a lot of pillows on my back, which wasn’t really comfortable and I was starting to have really bad back pains to the point that I actually started crying. I think epidural’s effect was also getting low because I was starting to feel those contractions and also rubbing my belly to soothe the baby.
After about 2-3 hours, the doctor checked me again and she said the baby was ready to come out and I was 10 cm and he was sitting really low. She told me I didn’t have much time with the pushing since they wanted to keep a check on his heart rate and make sure it didn’t get too low. After pushing for about 45 minutes, he still wasn’t coming out. So, the doctor said they will be using vacuum to suction him out. What I didn’t know at that point was, that meant I was also getting an episiotomy, which, if you do not know, is probably one of the most painful things that can happen, in my opinion.
Neal Sinha was born on May 16th at 3:13 am 🙂 They immediately cut his umbilical cord and took him to their newborn station since he had the cord around his neck, which was causing the dips in his heart rate. After they checked him, they gave him to me for skin to skin. I always thought I would cry when I’ll see him but I was just SO HAPPY! He will be turning a month in 5 days and I cannot believe it! These last few weeks have been the most tiring weeks of my life but also, they have been the sweetest moments. It has been so fun seeing my husband bond so much with Neal.
First few weeks were difficult for me too since I wasn’t able to sit or lie down comfortably after episiotomy. But I am healing and feeling a lot better now. I have my 6-week postpartum appointment in a few weeks. I am in the newborn bubble right now which I don’t want to come out of! 🙂
