This is our birth story! It came a little quick!
On Friday, April 21, 2023, I was 36 weeks and six days pregnant, and Derek and I went to my 36-week doctor’s appointment! We were getting to weekly appointments, and we were so excited to be nearing the end to meet our little boy.
Throughout my entire pregnancy, I have teetered on gestational hypertension. Overall, my blood pressure ran high but never high enough to intervene with medication, thankfully. Beginning in week 35 of my pregnancy, I started getting some intense swelling that would start when I woke up and gradually worsen throughout the day. I showed my doctor, and she told me to monitor my blood pressure and come in if it ever got above 160/110. It never got above that, so I did not think I had anything to worry about.
At the beginning of my 36-week appointment, they took my blood pressure, and it was 148/109 (!!!!). This was high, so they retook it 5 minutes later, and it went down to 143/98 – still not much better, but since it went down, I thought it was in the clear! I was wrong. My doctor walked in with a concerned look and told us it was time to get to the hospital because we were going to have a baby. We asked if she meant “right now” or in a few days, and essentially my body was creating a hostile environment for the baby, and nothing good could come from holding him in any longer since I was considered full term at 37 weeks.
We got our dogs boarded (HUGE SHOUTOUT TO HOUNDS LOUNGE FOR GETTING US IN LAST MINUTE!), grabbed the extra items we needed for the hospital (pillows, blankets, etc.), and we were on our way to Labor and Delivery!
Once we got to the hospital, we checked in and had to wait almost two hours before a room was available. I had a snack since I was not technically admitted yet (lol, don’t come for me; I was hungry). Once settled in the room, I was 1/2 centimeter dilated and 0% effaced. My body was not ready to deliver this baby, so I figured this would be a long process. It was long but not grueling as I thought it would be!
The Process
We inserted the first cytotec at 9:00 pm on Friday the 21st, and Preston was here by Sunday at 9:00 am. They used Cytotec twice, a foley balloon, and Pitocin to move induction along. I received the epidural before the foley balloon, so I did not feel a thing.
Around midnight Sunday morning, I got the shakes and was unprepared for that. I had the nurse come in, and once she checked me out, she mentioned that the epidural and my body progressing were the cause of it. They went away after about an hour, but they were not fun! Around 6 am, I woke up and felt contractions (!!!!!! WHAT! I did not know that could happen with an epidural). I was so confused because I had not felt anything until now. Again, we called the nurse in, and thankfully we did because the epidural had locked up and was about empty. They replaced it, and I felt almost immediate relief. I got a peanut ball to help my cervix open up a bit more around 6:30 am, and it worked because I was ready to start pushing at 7:45 am!
Everything I was nervous about ended up being a non-event! We had an incredible medical team assisting us, and I would recommend having a baby at UAMS. We had the best experience and now have the most perfect baby boy in all the land!
Without further ado, meet our sweet Preston!
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How did you choose your ob/gyn?
I have been seeing my OB/GYN since I moved to Little Rock. I have friends and family who all work at UAMS and told me how incredible my doctor was and to keep her if I could. <3