Friday morning, August 21, Larry and I drove to the hospital and arrived by 7:00 am for the induction. However, things had not progressed as
much as planned, and I had to go through three rounds (3 hours each try) to get my body more prepared to dilate. Fi
nally, I was having contractions. At 9:00pm, my water broke and they then could begin to give me the pitocin to increase contractions. By 3:00 am, I was having intense contractions yet still not dilating anymore. I was in a lot of pain, so they gave me some medicine in my IV. Finally I could sleep (for 45 minutes until it wore off). They could give it to me every hour, but it would take the edge off the pain for less and less each time. At 6:00 AM, and after being at the hospital almost 24 hours, I received an epidural. Not a lot changed throughout the day. I laid in bed because I couldn't feel my legs very well, and I had a catheter. I couldn't feel the contractions, but I could feel everything else, including an intense pain as Jacob's head or something pressed up against my tailbone. At 5:15 that afternoon, I was told I had a 5% chance of delivering the baby the normal way. So, we began preparing for a C-section, and at 6:28 pm I was not only the mother of a beautiful little baby boy but also officially finished with about 36 hours of induction/labor!
Jacob Hendrik Zylstra was born on August 22, 2009 by a C-section at 6:28 pm. He was 9 pounds, 8 ounces and 20 1/2 inches long. His head measured 36 centimeters. I'm told that is quite big.
much as planned, and I had to go through three rounds (3 hours each try) to get my body more prepared to dilate. Fi
nally, I was having contractions. At 9:00pm, my water broke and they then could begin to give me the pitocin to increase contractions. By 3:00 am, I was having intense contractions yet still not dilating anymore. I was in a lot of pain, so they gave me some medicine in my IV. Finally I could sleep (for 45 minutes until it wore off). They could give it to me every hour, but it would take the edge off the pain for less and less each time. At 6:00 AM, and after being at the hospital almost 24 hours, I received an epidural. Not a lot changed throughout the day. I laid in bed because I couldn't feel my legs very well, and I had a catheter. I couldn't feel the contractions, but I could feel everything else, including an intense pain as Jacob's head or something pressed up against my tailbone. At 5:15 that afternoon, I was told I had a 5% chance of delivering the baby the normal way. So, we began preparing for a C-section, and at 6:28 pm I was not only the mother of a beautiful little baby boy but also officially finished with about 36 hours of induction/labor!
