It has been 12 weeks and 5 days since my last run (OK, pause, this post was written almost two weeks ago so now you know! 🙂 And unpause!). Today I did this…

It was brutal. My intention was to just see what I could do and that was about the limit. I set out with the jogging stroller to run/walk 3 miles. In my head I wanted to be easier, I ran up to 35 weeks pregnant but I still pretty much knew that it would not be good. I took off way longer than I intended and here is why…

I went into my 36 week doctor appointment and the doctor told me that I was carrying a rather large baby. At the rate that he was growing he would be over 9lbs if he did not come on time. She mentioned induction but I knew that was not what I really wanted to do. My intentions were for no medical intervention. Induction clearly was medical intervention. Every week passed this date we waited for progress towards labor. Nothing.  Well nothing really, I dilated slightly but it pretty much never moved. This baby was bound and determined to cook forever. We got to 39 weeks and really nothing. I had an induction scheduled and still pretty much didn’t believe we would have to do it. I did EVERY old wives tale in the book…. Every single one… walk, spicy food, sex, eating pineapple, drinking weird teas… you name it, I did it. NOTHING. No progress. We came to the induction date and I had pretty much accepted that this would happen. My thought was, ok, I will avoid a C-section. He won’t be huge, I will have natural labor and this will be fine! Keep in mind this is my first, I know nothing but what I have read on the internet. I had googled the crap out of everything. I wanted to find stories of women who had had an induction but still had labor without medication and other interventions. There were tons. I felt confident going in. I had read the books, taken the classes, prepared/practiced breathing and had 2 very good coaches I felt comfortable with. My mom is pretty hippy and she kept convincing me that natural labor would work and we would get through it.

We went in for induction 5pm the day before and they started me on cervidil. I actually went into labor with just that around 2am. Contractions started and were pretty mild and were definitely manageable. 7am hit and I was having more intense contractions, and starting around now I would start to vomit during every contraction. I was nowhere near transition and was only about 3cm dilated and was very worried about this. I went for about an hour like this. Contraction, vomit, break, contraction, vomit, break. In my head I was very worried about this. I was worried about being sore, hurting the baby, being dehydrated and really it is flat out horrible throwing up during contractions…it makes them soooo much worse because I could not breathe through them like the classes had said. My blood pressure would also drop drastically during this time and they would have to give me meds to try and raise it. I felt like at this point after 7 hours that I couldn’t make it. I talked to my nurse and she said an epidural would most likely stop the vomiting. I caved after 7 hours. I felt horrible about this decision and didn’t like it but I did it. I pretty much felt like the biggest weenie in the world and like I had failed myself. I really knew at this point I wouldn’t make it with all the vomiting.  At 8:30 I took the epidural, which took about 10-15 minutes to work. Immediately after that my blood pressure started to fall drastically again. They had to put me on oxygen and give me drugs to try to raise it back up again. It really wasn’t working and my contractions on the monitor began to get very eradicate.

Around this time the nurse came in and told me to immediately role on my right side. I did and stayed there for like 10 seconds, at least that I what it felt like. She then said go to the left. We stayed there for almost no time. It was at this point she said “Teal, I need you to get on all fours NOW” and she hit the emergency button. I panicked. I hear emergency in room 310 on the speaker and within seconds we had about 18 people in the room. They were moving me, my monitors, and kept saying they had lost the baby’s heart rate. I freaked out. I start crying like crazy and asking what is going on and they just keep looking for a heartbeat. I have no confirmation that my baby is OK and it was about this time that my doctor was literally 2 cm from my face saying “We are going to take this baby now, he is telling us how he wants to come out.” I hear them say that “Dad needs clothes,” and know immediately we are going in for a C-section.

Within 12 minutes they had my baby out. I was still panicked and still crying even after they showed me him. My baby had wrapped his cord around his body and every time I had a contraction it would tighten around him and cause his heart rate to drop or get cut off. His cord was barely attached to the placenta and that’s why we had so many problems. He was out, however, and 100% fine. Nothing that had just happened sat with me and I really was out of it. I realized hours later that I am glad I took the epidural when I did because they would have most likely had to put me to sleep for the delivery since it works faster. I am glad I was awake!

I remember being rolled into the room and getting my baby boy and thinking that was nowhere near what I had expected but I was so happy that he was OK. I was in the hospital from Monday to Saturday and really did not feel well the majority of the time. I have never been on pain meds or given so many drugs and really felt out of it. I can’t even tell you what all I had but I knew it was more than ever, especially for someone that you have to force to take Aleve.

Because of the C-section I was told to do nothing physical for 6 weeks, including walking for exercise or lifting anything more than the weight of the baby. The pain for the C-section was a lot for me and I struggled. I took the pain meds at home for about 3 days and pretty much weaned myself off way before the doctor said I should. They sucked! It took me about a month but I decided to go for walks. The first one I cried through and it was painful and then got better from there. At 6 weeks the doctor cleared me to work out!!! I immediately went back to my trainer Will who I knew would help me and make sure I didn’t hurt myself but still was pushed. The workout was super hard. My ab strength is essentially gone and my stamina is blah.

I took my first run today. You see it above, 14+mins a mile. Super sweaty, super exhausting, but super amazing. I am glad to be active again and ready to get back in shape. My goal is to run the half at Dallas Marathon in December and feel good about it. We shall see!! Today is Day 1 of working on that! I have tons of time but life with an infant is crazy! Ready to see how this all plays out!