Journal of Shelby's Matthews' Birth

The Matthews family welcomed Shelby Gara Matthews into the world on September 21, 2004. Here is the journal I kept while I was in the hospital having Shelby:

September 21, 2004 - 10:15 am

We have been at the hospital since a little after 6 a.m. We checked into the hospital, they assigned us to a room and hooked me up to the fetal monitor. The strap across my belly is not uncomfortable and it is nice to hear the blip-blip of the baby’s heartbeat and see the monitor. As the nurse went through all the paperwork with me, I had several contractions. A good sign I hope. The nurse left about 7 am since she was going off duty and a new shift was coming on. My new nurse brought me more paperwork to read and sign.

Peter has mostly been serving as my lackey, fetching me things here and there, since I am limited from getting out of bed. He also has been watching all the news shows, very interested in the latest news from the Presidential campaign. Also in the news is the scandal surrounding CBS news’ admission that a story it aired questioning President Bush’s national guard duty was based on documents that may have been forged. Of course, this scandal gives us the opportunity to berate the liberal media, as we are inclined to do anyway.

I brought Margaret Thatcher’s biography, The Path to Power, with me to read. I also have this computer with me so I can record the delivery developments and post on my blog.

11:20 am

I have had several contractions that are stronger and about a minute long, coming about every 10-12 minutes. The nurses are going to start pitocin shortly. So it is time to get ready for the real action. Been playing solitaire. I am already tired of sitting but there is little chance I am going to be able to get out of bed much. Ugh. Hate that.

1:50 pm

My contractions are about 5 minutes apart. I am still trying to breathe through them but they are getting more painful. The doctor was here a few minutes ago to check me. I am still 3 cm dilated ( I was 2 cm when I arrived) but I am now 90 percent effaced. At least that is something. Feeling a little sick to my stomach. Think it is time for pain medication.

September 22, 2004 - 7:45 am

Things moved very quickly after I last wrote. Around 2 pm, the nurse gave me some Stadol to help me through the pain of the contractions. (I chose not to get an epidural right then because I didn’t want to slow things down any.) They also increased my pitocin at that time. After that, I breathed through some pretty heavy contractions, some lasting as much as two minutes. Initially they were about 5 minutes apart but then they were coming just 2 and 3 minutes apart. As the contractions were pretty strong, the baby’s heart rate was dipping quite a bit. It would go from 130 beats down to 70, 50 and one time even into the 30’s. Eek. I was getting a little worried. They told me the heart rate was dropping because the contractions were compressing the umbilical cord so they kept turning me this way and that to relieve the pressure on the umbilical cord.

About 4 pm, I couldn’t stand it any longer and asked the nurse for an epidural. I also told her that I was worried about the heart rate and to let my doctor know that I was okay with a C-section. I was certain delivery was a ways off.

About 4:30, The anesthesiologist came and gave me my epidural. Then the nurse said that my doctor was on her way over. She was going to add some fluid to my uterus to help cushion the baby since its heart rate was dropping. When the doctor arrived, she checked to see how far along I was. I was 10 cm and fully effaced, except for a little lip. So I breathed through the next few contractions to help get the lip out of the way. Then a little before 5, my doctor came back and I began pushing the baby out.

Because the baby’s heart rate was still dropping, my doctor warned me we might have to use foreceps. So I needed to push real hard to get her out! Because of the epidural I could not totally feel the contractions, so the nurse had to help me. Breathe out, deep breath in and hold and push for 10 seconds then breath out and in and hold and push for 10 seconds. And again. Pete did the counting. (At first he was counting really slow and I was like geez man I can’t hold my breathe that long!)

As the baby came down the birth canal, the doctor got the foreceps to help her out quickly. The doctor also needed to give me a pretty big episiotomy. Man that was wild. Glad I had the epidural. The doctor was yanking and tugging and cutting to get her out. Shelby Gara Matthews was born at 5:16 pm, weighed 7 lb, 13 oz. She came out and was yelling and crying up a storm. She was definitely mad at us all! It took the doctor a while to sew me up, so I know I am in for a difficult healing time after this is all over.

When the baby came out, we found out why her heart rate was dropping. The umbilical cord was around her neck. But her color was fine and her Apgar scores were good, but if it had been a long labor the outcome might not have been so good. Some babies die or are brain damaged because the cord gets around their neck. Thank you, Jesus, for taking care of my baby!

September 23, 2004 – 10:00 am

We are getting ready to go home today. Peter will pick us up at 1:00 and take us home.

Shelby and I have had a great time bonding in the hospital. The boys came to visit us yesterday afternoon. Shelby had a slight taste of the chaos to come!

Still sore from the stitches but the pain medicine is working great. I have been up and about quite a bit with the baby, getting drinks and ice packs from the patient room down the hall. I'm ready to be home with my family!