Scarlette Jane's Birth Story

Ok...where do I begin? ...
This pregnancy felt like it was going to last FOREVER. I was the sickest I'd ever been in my first trimester, there were complications and "questionable" things in my second and then it turned "high risk" in my third. I was at the midwives' office and at maternal/fetal medicine with Vanderbilt twice a week from 30 weeks to 37 weeks (when I had the baby). Every time I went it there was a possibility I would be sent to Vandy to have the baby. The placenta was wearing out, she was resisting a lot of blood flow and as a result was barely growing...measuring quite small (less than 3% tile.) Anyway....there was also a chance I just have small babies and she was just small for no other reason. The longer I went pregnant, the higher the risk that blood flow would stop completely and Scarlette Jane could have possibly been still born. So the plan was to induce at 37 weeks and lower those chances greatly. I went in on Thursday, Dec. 6, 2012 at 8:30pm...didn't get a room until about 11pm (apparently it was a busy night for having babies!)
I was induced around midnight. It took three rounds of meds every four hours to get my contractions going. Really began around 12pm on the 7th. They were pretty consistent for awhile...every 2-4  min lasting for about 1 minute BUT they didn't get me anywhere but ONE centimeter for about 5 hours. After that, I got some pitocin...didn't do much either for hours my contractions were all the same and wouldn't change and even slowed down a few times. They were painful, tiring and discouraging and I had  A LOT of back labor and I was suffering from Sciatica. They only awesome thing was my husband who willingly massaged my back and did EVERYTHING for me except labor. Haha and he would labor for me too if it was humanly possible. I can't imagine having a baby without my husband there...I would loose my mind and my sanity. I was barely 3 centimeters dilated around 8pm. I was SO tired and hungry and annoyed with all the monitors hooked up to me THE WHOLE TIME (it's the protocol for high riskies at Vandy) that I opted for an epidural. That also seemed to take forever. It wasn't as bad this time...my blood pressure didn't drop and I actually still felt my legs and could move them...as opposed to last time...where I was SO numb my heart felt like it was going to stop. My midwife broke my water and the baby became stressed---which was a huge concern, because of her size, it was possible she wasn't strong enough for labor...at least the more intense part of it. With every contraction her heart rate slowed down immensely  and she wasn't getting enough oxygen. The midwife and nurse threw me on my side, gave me an oxygen mask and stopped my pitocin, to relieve her for a bit. After just two hours and NO pitocin..I jumped from 3 cm to 8cm, but her stress didn't change...still a no-go and they kept losing her heart rate with the monitor. So they put in an inner monitor and let me be for a few more hours just to monitor her heart a little closer. It wasn't changing...the next and last intervention before a C-sec would be suggested was to do an infusion...where they ran an IV into the placenta to fill it back up with water and then drain it, in an attempt to cushion the baby and mimic the amniotic fluid that was there before my water was broken. A few hours later, she seemed to be back to normal but still lacking in oxygen so they kept the mask on me. It was time to push. She was out in 30 minutes with no complications for mama or baby. My sweet girl was perfect, healthy and beautiful. Scarlette Jane Elisabeth Hoffman was born at 5:50am on 12.8.12 was 5lbs 7oz and 18in long. What a long, stressful, frightening labor and pregnancy for that matter! I am SOO happy with this sweet little girl, she is SO calm, sleeps for 5-6 hour stretches at night, barely cries...when she does it's not nearly as loud as Donnie and she's a great nurser... again not like Donnie at all. haha. They are so different but both so precious and wonderful. I am blessed beyond measure. Thankful to God for his mercy and protection through all of it...could not have asked for more!