Babies everywhere

There were babies everywhere this weekend - some fertility goddess or another seems to have blessed me. From Friday nigt to Sunday night I had 8 hours of sleep...and they weren't consecutive either!

Friday night I had a lady pop out her big (but not her biggest!) 9-4 baby with ease. Course the epidural helped in the whole pain department. While I was waiting on her to birth, a primip came in. She walked for awhile and changed so i thought I would keep her but ultimately sent her home for therapuetic rest when she didn't change anymore. She was 4cms at that point. I told her she would be back more than likely over the weekend. But before I sent her home another lady came in dilated 8cms, and her second baby.

She had her first baby at a birth center, so was planning natural for this one as well. She had a doula also. I like doulas :) The only time I don't like a doula is when they overstep their boundaries - that's only happened once. Most seem to work with me as a team to help the patient achieve her goals while having a safe and healthy labor and birth. Anyway, this one was very good. The patient pushed out her child in a squatting position which was cool. She had a couple of small tears - nothing that required suturing. But I kinda wondered if they were a result of the squatting position. This baby was considerably smaller than her first. I have heard that there can be increased tension on the perineum.

After her birth, I went home...it was about 4:30 am when I left.

I slept about 4 hours.

Then my pager went off, with the nurse informing me that my primip was back, now 6cms. Woohoo - I was probably not too terribly excited. She delivered nicely....late afternoon.

I then went shopping with my mother...probably not a smart idea when I had bags big enough to pack, under my eyes. I went to bed late...

After an hour and a half of deep, deep, deep sleep, my pager went off. Grrr. A multip had come in at 5cms. It's 3am. No way can I go back to sleep, I don't want to miss the birth, on account that I live a little ways from the hospital. So I get up and head in. I manage to sleep another three hours in the call room.

So basically I am getting enough sleep to function on, but maybe not be terribly cheerful.

The multip delivers in the morning around 9am. At this time I have another patient who is there due to her water breaking around 1 am. We decide to start pitting her as it is her first baby and she isn't contracting...at all. I also have an induction there as well.

The primip delivers second - going from 5 to 9.5 in one hour and ten minutes - wow! Apparently, there is a history of fast labors in her family. All we had to do was give her a little kick in the butt to get going.

My induction finally takes off and she delivers mid-afternoon. That one was a bit of an emotional drain. She is a personal patient of mine who is putting her baby up for adoption. The birth parents were there, with the adoptive mother catching the baby. I know how my patient must have felt, to some extent anyway. It was incredible to see how joyful and happy the adoptive parents were with this handsome little baby. But it was also sad because I know how much pain my patient was going through to do this. I had to go in an empty room and cry my eyes out afterwards. Even thinking of it now makes me teary-eyed.

Sunday night, I got one page at 10pm about another induction admitted for preeclampsia. Then off to dreamland with not another peep from pager. I think I would have cried if I had to go back in.