The story of Savion's birth

****Note: This post may be a bit graphic, but birth is always graphic. Read at your own risk.****
On Nov. 1, 2008, Steve and I arrived at the hospital at the same time and we went directly to the maternity ward. They were waiting for us and showed us into the labor and delivery room. Dad arrived shortly after.
The nurse took some vitals and then began the admissions process, where they asked all kinds of background medical history and had me sign all the consent forms. That process took about an hour.
While we were waiting for my midwife to arrive, Steve and Dad gave me a blessing of comfort and peace. It was a beautiful blessing that literally helped when things got complicated.
Erma, the midwife, showed up a little after 7p and talked again with me about the induction. With a final consent to begin, I asked Dad and Dena to leave the room so Erma could do the physical exam to see if she would use the Cervidil or just break my water.
My cervix was dilated too much for Erma to be comfortable giving me the Cervidil, so she and I agreed that she could break my water. Unfortunately, Savion's head and my cervix were not positioned conveniently for her to break the water the regular way, so she opted to attach an electrode to the water bag, hoping that it would eventually tear a pinhole in the bag. Literally 5 min after she finished, I had to go to the bathroom and the electrode came off.
Steve ran to tell her before she left the hospital and she exclaimed, "That's exactly what we wanted! Now we wait for the contractions and gravity to rupture the rest of the bag." She expected that I would go into full labor within a couple of hours. (This was when I posted "We're at the hospital")
The next morning, Nov 2nd, my water bag still hadn't broken so we made the decision to use Pitocin. The Pitocin was ordered, the IV line set up and all was set to go at 9am. Every 15 min, the IV drip monitor would beep and the nurse would up the dose of Pitocin. The contractions were coming on stronger, but were still bearable.
I reached the max dosage for Pitocin and at about 1p (I lost track of time at about this point) Erma decided that it was time to rupture my water bag. The contractions were no longer bearable and I asked for Stateall, an anesthetic given through the IV.
During the whole procedure, I was attached to the baby monitor and we had all noticed that every time I contracted Savion's heart rate would drop. The nurses and Erma told us that they are keeping an eye on his heart rate and that if there was a concern they would tell us.
After rupturing my water bag, but before giving me Stateall, Erma told me that they were concerned with Savion's heart rate because it would drop below their "happy zone" and sometimes would take a while to recover. She speculated that his umbilical cord was being pinched (most likely between a shoulder and my uterus) every time I contracted. She told us that we could opt for the Stateall and if that works and we can move me around to release the pressure on the umbilical cord then we would be able to have a vaginal delivery. At the same time, she also told me that I should consider going straight for an epidural because his heart rate may not recover and if it doesn't then I would have to be rushed to the operating room for an emergency c-section, and if I already have the epidural then I would be able to get a huge dose of it on the way to the operating room. If we chose not to go with an epidural and I ended up having an emergency c-section then I would have to be put completely under because there would be no time for anything else.

Steve and I decided to try one dose of Stateall and if we couldn't get the cord unstuck then we would get the epidural.
The Stateall didn't work and within minutes the anesthesiologist, Dr. Bushy, was there to give me my epidural. To get an epidural, you have to sit up in bed with your spine vertically straight but with your back curved (hunched over) and cannot move, even during a contraction. Savion's heart rate dropped so low and took so long to recover that the doctor that oversees Erma, Dr. Glidden, had to take over. As soon as the epidural was in place and Dr. Glidden was in the room, they had me change positions three times, still trying to dislodge the umbilical cord. It didn't work.
Dr. Glidden informed me and Steve that we needed to head down to the operating room immediately for the emergency c-section. Just like in the movies, they unhooked me from everything in the room and wheeled me out to the elevators. As they were doing this, I remember Dr. Bushy saying that he lost my IV line and needed a new one. I knew that he needed to establish a new IV line and I was a bit scared because it took four nurses to establish the first IV line.

As they wheeled me down the hallways, Dr. Glidden very clearly stated the reason for the emergency operation and the risks associated with it. I gave her consent to perform the operation. Basically, the operation needed to take place or Savion would die, and they would do everything they could to minimize damage to my body but would cut out anything necessary to save my life.
I had heard the nurses tell Steve that he probably would not be able to go into the operating room with me because there wouldn't be any time for him to scrub and dress, so I was relieved that, right after I heard Savion's first cry, which was about two seconds after they pulled him out, that I saw Steve's face above mine and he was telling me that everything was going to be okay and that Savion was doing fine. The doctors showed him to me and let me kiss him before taking him away.

When Savion was cleaned up, they had Steve go with him to the nursery while they finished putting my innards back where and how they belonged. I was torn that he had to leave but was grateful that Savion would not be alone ... that he would be with his daddy.
All together, from the time I entered the operating room to the time Savion was born was only nine minutes, and the only reason that it took that long was because they had to wait a few minutes for the large dose of epidural to kick in before they could begin.



The most amazing things that happened during this wonderfully terrifyingly wonderful event:

• Both Steve and I were calm and we were given peace to KNOW that everything would turn out ok
• I remembered the words of the blessing I was given the night before assuring me that Savion would come into the world safely and that we would both be fine
• I remember praying during one of the contractions after given Stateall but before the epidural that if it was His will to let me forgo the c-section but that I was willing to trust Him if it was necessary
• I remember singing "How Firm a Foundation" during the operation. I got to the end of the third verse when Savion's first cry reached my ears and I cried, once again bathed in peace that he was fine and healthy
• Steve was allowed into the room and was able to talk to me and reassure me for a bit before leaving to take care of Savion
• KNOWLEDGE that Heavenly Father and Jesus were THERE with us bathing us in Their love and support, helping all to go well for both of us