Step Into the Nexus · Stimulation is the Goal

It was still somewhat early in the afternoon and not long after arriving in the delivery room, the nurse strapped me onto the monitors then the IV. I really hate those IVs and I later found out that the nurse hooked it up wrong!! I decided to eat (I didn’t have breakfast that morning) because once the pitocin was hooked up, I could not eat. A nurse brought me a turkey sandwich, chips, cookie and a itty bitty cup of juice. This food was just a tease for me. Also, I knew that I would not be eating again for a long while… so I asked JT if he could get me something else to eat when he went to the cafeteria. After eating the above mentioned foods, I had a hamburger and order of french fries, plus a couple of more juices. You know what? I was still hungry .

I had to wait two hours after eating before the pitocin could be hooked up to the IV. I was overly anxious about the day’s events… I thought that the augmentation would really speed things along. Boy was I completely wrong.

JT remained by my side and visits from my mom and best friend helped speed the evening along. Otherwise everything was a waiting game.

And then came the pain.

My contractions began to feel more painful and closer together in sequence that night; however, they were still not labor contractions. I remained at one centimeter dilated, but by the look on my face and the contractions on the monitor you would think I was actually in active labor.

Thursday.

Around 2pm, the nurses decided to give me a break from the pitocin because I was starving. A nutritionist brought my lunch in and they had the audacity to bring me pork chops!! Ladies and gentlemen, I am allergic to pork and all derivitives… and this was clearly stated on my allergy band laying next to my identification band on my right hand. I really got pissed off because one, they brought me swine for my meal and two, I would have to wait longer to get something to eat and I was hungry as hell. The nutritionist kept saying that no one told her I was allergic. I’m steaming right… thinking why the fuck do I have to tell you I’m allergic. Read my damn chart. I’m over here in pain AND hungry so now I have to remember to tell you how to do YOUR job. Oh okay. :roll:

And she ended up bringing me another damn turkey sandwich.

And of course after eating it, I was still hungry.

Thursday night was the second most difficult night that I had in the hospital. The doctors tried other methods for augmentation. They took the pitocin off and inserted a small rectangular pouch called cirvidil, into my vagina and on the cervix. Cervidil contains a chemical called prostaglandin that plays a part in ripening the cervix. Cervidil did nothing for my labor but cause more pain and it fact, more painful than the pitocin. I’m thankful though… that I did not experience any of the side effects which include infection and increased heart rate for my children. They also tried a gel substance that is inserted into the vagina, that I cannot recall the name of. All throughout this time, I remained at one centimeter dilated.

Friday.

They removed the cervidil from my vagina. Now neither the pitocin nor cervidil was going through my system, yet I was still having contractions. I was getting frustrated to say the least… I spoke with my OB/GYN and he laid out some possible scenarios for me. I decided to go home for the weekend, to let me, my huge uterus and babies rest, then come back Sunday night to get placed back on pitocin.

I made an appointment for Sunday evening and the nurse called in a prescription for some sleeping pills. I was so exhausted and in pain that JT had to roll me out of the hospital in a wheelchair. I could barely climb into his SUV. Friday afternoon and evening, my best friend took care of me. I took some sleeping pills, but that was a joke because they didn’t work. I was still restless a great deal of the night.

Saturday and Sunday remains a bit of a blur for me… but I remember not wanting to move around much at all and moving around was exactly what I needed to do to encourage a natural labor. I think JT and I went shopping on Saturday. Sunday, I was going to go to Walmart with JT to get some nursery items, but I was physically unable to. By this time, I had been wearing nothing on my feet but socks and houseshoes for the past four weeks. My feet, ankles and legs were gigantic and I ballooned up to 208lbs. Emotionally, I kept swinging back and forth between being optimistic and pessimistic. I wanted to have a vaginal birth but I kept thinking about remaining at only one centimeter dilated all that time. I knew the possibility of a caesarean was not far around the corner.

Despite not being able to make it to Walmart, I was determined to make it to the movies… as I had promised to go see Alien vs. Predator with JT. We went to McDonald’s where I bought my last Double Quarter Pounder Extra Value Meal (now the mere thought of eating all that makes me want to blow chunks). I carefully stuffed our meals and large Hi-C Orange Sprite mix drinks in my big black purse and snuck it into Esquire Theatre. That was the most food that I have ever snuck in LOL. During the movie, when they turned all of the lights on, I thought we had been caught and were going to be kicked out due to the outsider food. I never found out why they turned the lights on, but thankfully it wasn’t because of our food :rofl: We enjoyed the movie… and the babies must have too because they were kicking like crazy.

After the movie, JT and I took our time going to the hospital. The hospital was actually right down the street from the theatre. Just in case I would go into labor while Predator was beating up Alien’s ass… I would be near the hospital. Unfortunately, things couldn’t go so smooth.