I was pretty disappointed when we arrived because no one knew that we were supposed to show up even though the doctor “scheduled” us to. Another couple beat us by a couple minutes and were already in the monitoring room. We were sent to the cafeteria to wait our turn. I was already so nervous about the induction and then frustrated about how the morning was going and all I could do was cry the entire time we sat there. Once they called me in to be monitored, I cried through those 45 minutes as well. Once that was over, doctor Berens came in to do an ultrasound and to check my cervix. I had only met this doctor once before, but she was wonderful. She said that my cervix was still long (not thinned), posterior and only a fingertip dilated. She also explained that the ultrasound looked good and that baby would be fine if I wanted to remain pregnant. For a minute I really was having my doubts if I should be induced or not. I asked her if it would be bad if I were to go ahead with the induction with how my cervix is and since the baby looks fine and she said that it would not be a bad decision… baby is ready. Once I decided to go ahead with it, she explained that they were going to stick a gel in my cervix to help it thin and dilate. She said for some women it puts them right into labor, where others it can take days. She told me that mine would probably be days and that I most likely wouldn’t deliver until Saturday. I wasn’t too thrilled about that, but I was also prepared, as I had heard from others that have used this gel. It is a very conservation way of induction.
After we put some of our stuff in our room, they sent us downstairs to labor and delivery. In Germany, the midwives run the show. They pretty much help you with anything and everything through labor and can even deliver your baby if they need to. They are awesome. Our midwife, Ute (You-ta), had me go lay down to be monitored for a little while longer and then at 10:30 am placed the gel in my cervix. After she placed the gel in my cervix she said that believed that my baby was coming today and that even though it was a little long and posterior, it was soft and looked really good and said I was about 2cm. I am pretty sure she many have stretched me to that however. I layed back down to be monitored for another 30 minutes to make sure the gel wouldn’t stress the baby out and to see if I would have contractions. Within about 5-10 minutes, I started having contractions. They were not super painful contractions, be they were right on top of each other and strong enough I had a put some pressure on my back to relive the pain. When the monitoring was over, I was so happy to be able to get off of the bed and walked around and I knew the pain wouldn’t be that bad. The doctor and midwife instructed me to come back in 2 hours, at 1pm so they could re-check me and monitor the baby. If I started to have a lot stronger contractions, I was to come back earlier. Abe and I headed back to our room just in time for lunch. While we ate our lunch, I did need to get out of my chair a handful of times and had Abe put some pressure on my back through contractions. I was happy that the gel was “working”, but knew that it was probably going to be a long day since I had experienced a very long induced labor with Norah (15 hours) and it was quite painful. Once we finished lunch, we decided we should run to the car to get the rest of our stuff (the camera, baby bag and pillows). I decided I might as well walk to the car with Abe instead of hanging out by myself. By this time is was about 12:00pm. As we were walking to the car, I was having contractions about every 1 minute and 30 seconds. So my contractions lasted about 30 seconds long and I had about a minute to recover. They were starting to get pretty painful at this point, but very manageable. I would just have Abe stop and would hold on to him while he pressed on my back. My minute breaks we would walk pretty fast because it was freezing cold outside and my contractions seemed to be getting closer together. Once we got back in the hospital, I decided that we should just stop by labor and delivery since it was on the 1st floor to see if she had any suggestions on what I could do to help relieve the pain and to let her know they were closer together. I felt a little silly because it seemed too premature for me to already be showing up to labor and delivery. At this point, it was 12:15pm. I only really wanted to speak with her and then was planning on going back up to our room. As I was talking to her I had to stop and lean over for each contraction. A door opened in the room right by where I was standing with two of the doctors sitting in there. They both looked and me and said, “You are having contractions. Good, the gel is working!” The midwife talked me into getting some medicine through an IV that would help my cervix relax to it would open more easily. She checked me at 12:28pm and said that I was still only 2 cm dilated, but that my cervix was completely thinned. I remember lying down on the bed and starting to have to really brace myself through each contraction. My contractions at this point were about a minute apart, so I only had a 30 second break in between. The doctor and midwife had to leave because another girl next store was ready to push. While they were gone, I told Abe to hurry and fill out the paperwork for an epidural because I could not bear the pain much longer and felt like I couldn’t do it. Abe hurried and filled it out and gave it to the doctor when she came back in. She decided to check me (probably around 12:40?) and said that I was already at a 5. She said she would go get the anestisiologist, but wasn’t sure if it would be able to happen before the baby came. She went and got the midwife and she asked Abe if I had epidurals with the other girls. After Abe said no, I remember her asking me while I was having a contraction if I wanted to push on the next one. I honestly thought she was crazy because the doctor had just checked me and I was at a 5. While I was finishing that contraction and TRYING to relax in the seconds in between, she was putting the stirrups on the bed and preparing for delivery. On the next contraction she had me put my feet up and start pushing. I am pretty sure Abe was a little surprised as well. On that contraction they all said that the head was right there and they could see some hair. On my next contraction the midwife told me not to push and the doctor asked Abe if he would like to help deliver the baby. They threw some gloves on Abe and on my next contraction he delivered the baby with the midwife at 12:55pm. They had me look down as the baby was being delivered and I could see right when Abe pulled her out that it was a little girl. She looked so tiny! They had her lay on my chest and Abe and I sat there for a couple hours (longer than my entire labor was), while they were helping the other couple that just had their baby right before us. I was in complete shock. I feel really blessed how it all turned out because I was so worried going into it and was expecting the worst. It was a VERY VERY painful 35 minutes at the “end” of my labor going from 2cm dilated to delivery, but it was over before I knew it and I couldn’t believe that I was holding my baby. Abe was also in shock and couldn’t believe it. Meika is a little peanut weighing in at only 6 lbs 4 ounces and 20 inches long. She looks preemie even though she is 7 days overdue, but you can tell by her skin that she was overcooked.
We had a great experience at the German Hospital. Most of the Nurses spoke enough English to get by and they left us alone most of the time, which was nice. We should have been able to get a nice private room that had lots of little “extras” and internet, but we were not able to since it was so busy. It is not like in the States where you can get wifi pretty much anywhere. There were some differences delivering here: Midwives are in charge and run the show, babies wear about 5 layers of clothing and a bonnet while at the hospital, newborns are not bathed, water with “gas” (carbonation) is what they offer, there is no such thing as a hospital gown when delivering/recovering, you have to bring your own towels, etc. We heard that it was hard to get out of the hospital before 4-5 days after delivery, but we didn’t have a problem and left after two nights. Meika weighed 5lbs 13 ounces when we left the hospital and is absolutely perfect!
minutes before I delivered...
