Okay. Some people have asked for this, and I would like to have a copy of it for journal purposes, so I have decided to write down my birthing story. I may say a couple things that will be “too much info”, but because I want to use it more as a journal, I want to write down everything. so it may make some squeemish, but really there isn’t anything horrible, just not something i would talk about with people on a normal sunday afternoon.
I was due on July 20th, 2013.
so anyways, lets start with wed july 24th. we went to see our OBGYN and she had said that i was 0 cm dilated, and that baby hadnt even dropped yet. i was heartbroken. at that point, she was 4 days overdue, and everyone (the ultrasound techs, and the doctor) had been telling me that she was going to be this giant of a baby. i was sooo nervous that if we kept it much longer she would be too huge that i might have to get a csection. not knowing labour, i just assumed it would be more horrible if the baby was a giant.
she scheduled me to get induced on August 2nd, 2013. i really thought that we werent going to have this baby until i was induced. we were even thinking of going to calgary for the week so geoff could work, or to go camping just to get out of the house. because i was going crazy.
we were even starting to look into castor oil and other old wives tales we had heard would induce labour. castor oil terrified me, but i was seriously thinking that in the next couple of days we would try it.
so on july 25th, i started having contractions at probably around 10am. they did not hurt too bad, but i did notice that they were there, and were happening pretty regularly. I didnt tell anyone though, because i was afraid i would jinx it. i also didnt want them to be braxton hicks, and have everyone just brush me off because it is my first baby and what do i know. but once it hit about 9pm, and they were happening more often and the intensity was stronger i decided to tell geoff. we went for a walk at about 11pm because i heard it would get labour moving faster. but at about 1230am the contractions were happening about every 3 min. they werent hurting too bad, in fact i was talking to kristine while they were happening without skipping a beat. but because they were happening so fast, and because we had never done this before, we decided to go to the hospital. i was really hoping that i would just be one of those women where labour doesnt hurt them. haha. that i would go into the hospital, be 10 cm dilated, and just pop the baby out no problem. ...nope...
so we went into the hospital and she tested me, and yes, i was still 0 cm dilated, so they sent me home. i felt super defeated because i felt that it was too early to go into the hospital and i didnt want to be silly. oh well. so we went home. i was scared that if those were braxton hicks, i would never know when i was really in labour. they were very evenly spaced out but getting faster, and they were getting stronger over time. arent those the rules of labour?
so we went home. we were able to get to sleep at about 4am until i was woken up at about 630am just screaming because i was in such excruciating pain. poor geoff, i must have given him a heart attack. but for real, it hurt so bad. i didnt know what just happened, so i tried to sleep again until a couple minutes later it happened again, and it sucked. so now it was sooo painful and still happening pretty quickly. so we took off to the hospital at about 10am. i really didnt want to go, because i just knew i wasnt going to be any further along, and i didnt want to feel defeated again. but by this time i couldnt handle the pain on my own, and needed to do something, maybe just to help my psyche. but what was i dilated? only 1 cm. holy crap.. that sucked. and she had the longest nails ever, and it was sooo painful to be checked. i almost cried just at that part. so we headed home again. but at least this time she gave me morphine.
so we are at home, and i was able to get a bit of interrupted sleep having that morphine. but that started to wear off and i was in the most pain i have ever felt. it was horrible. we called the hospital at about 3pm to ask if i would be able to just come in and get some morphine, and go back home. because i knew i probably wasnt dilated enough to be admitted, and i sure as heck did not want them to check again. they said i would have to be checked and everything first, but that i would definately get the morphine and to come in. i had started throwing up every time i tried to eat something, but we still waited until 8pm to finally go into the hospital.
luckily though this time i was 3 cm dilated and was admitted. woohoo. and i think we were blessed at this, because we were there for the shift of the worlds greatest nurse. the second i got in i had just spent the last 12 hours in excruciating pain, and wanted the pain to be gone. so i asked for an epidural. she said that they didnt want to do that right away because it might slow down my contractions. okay, i get that. so they gave me more morphine, even though the morphine wasnt really doing anything.
i am pretty sure that over that night, i must have spent over 9 hours in the shower. it was the only thing that relaxed me and helped me get through each contraction. i always thought that i had a high pain tolerance, but i have no idea how people do this. it was the worst pain i have ever been in, and i just about died each contraction. poor geoff, i had to have his thumb to squeeze each time because they were the perfect size. so he didnt get any more sleep than i did.
at 130am they broke my water. but it wasn’t until 7am, that my nurse finally called an anesthesiologist at home to come and give me an epidural because the one at the hospital never showed up. that is 12 hours of me begging my poor nurse to give it to me, and her being able to do nothing. i guess she called him many times, and he never came. he had more important things to do maybe... so at 8am i finally got my epidural. it was like heaven. the worst part was that you arent aloud to move during it, and i started to have a contraction in the middle. it was the hardest thing ever, to be in that much pain and not aloud to move or anything. but i think the threat of being paralyzed was a good enough reason for me not to move. haha. but again, it was like heaven. i was finally happy. i was even able to sleep for a whole hour after getting it. which was much needed since i hadnt slept now for over 48 hours at this point except for an hour and half fri morning, and me trying to nap in between contractions. at the same time, they also gave me oxytocin to speed up labour.
side note: epidurals are fantastic. i could still feel my legs through the rest of labour, and when geoff went to nicu with baby right after delivering, she was wide awake! so i know that it reacts differently for each body, but i would only do it again that way. those 12 hours without it in the hospital was deadly... i will not ever do it without drugs. those 24 hours of insane pain was waaay too much for me.
so at this point i was finished having my hour nap, and woke up to look at geoffs face. and he looked terrified. i had no idea what was going on, but he did. the nurses kept whispering and trying not to worry us, but having a biology major as a husband sure comes in handy at times like this. well, handy(?) or would i rather have been oblivious... who knows. i guess with each contraction that i was having, babies heart rate would go from about 150, down to 16. the nurse was trying to move me around so baby would “wake up” she said, trying different positions in the bed. when that didnt work she would then reach into me and try to tickle the babies head, or move her around. when that wasnt working she called the doctor in. when the doctor saw what was happening, he calmly explained to me that i was 10 cm dilated, but that baby wasnt going to make it through too many more contractions and that we needed to get her out right away. he also said that he was sorry if my plan was to have her naturally, but that we needed to do a csection. at that point, i was still soo tired that i was almost falling asleep as he was talking to me, but i think i told him to do what he needed to do. i didnt have a plan.
a huuge blessing to us, was that there was a planned csection already scheduled for that exact same time. so all they had to do was bump that poor girl, and i was in. the room was already prepped for a csection and the staff was all ready and everything. man, i cant tell you how blessed we were that it was at that exact time. someone was looking out for us.
so they pushed the code button, and nurses came out of nowhere! i didnt even know that many nurses worked on that floor. there were about 7 of them working on me, and getting me ready to go in for my csection. it was actually quite overwhelming, and since i didn’t fully understand what was happening still it was quite scary. they got geoff dressed in some scrubs, and they ran us down the hall to the surgery room. surgery room? oh well. it felt like greys anatomy, with everyone running me down the hall. between the time they pushed the code button, and the time baby was out, it must have only been 10 minutes. it was crazy how fast they worked to save my little lady.
the most relieving moment was when i heard her crying. my heart just skipped a beat, and i knew everything would be okay. cutest little cry ever. haha. and then the nurse that was cleaning her up laughed because her feet were so long. a comment i have grown to love, because her feet are my favorite.
they then took geoff with baby to the nicu,
baby girl came out and was 6.8 pounds, and 21 1/2 inches long. she wasnt dropping because the chord was wrapped around her neck twice. at one point they were talking about using a vacuum, and so i am even more grateful we didnt do that, because it probably would have cost us her life. they say the last couple of months, because the chord was around her neck, she wasnt getting enough nutrients, and that is why she is tall, but so little. they also tested the chord, and said that she was getting enough oxygen though, so we dont have to worry about developmental stuff. phew!!
So that was our birthing experience. Now lets discuss what happened after. We had a lot of visitors saturday and sunday, and we were on cloud 9. And then sunday evening they noticed that she hadnt peed yet. Flashback: when she was still in my tummy, we had to get an ultrasound again because there was some sort of an issue with her kidneys (pyelectasis). Geoff can explain it, but i can not. so they were worried that was why she wasn’t peeing. they also said that she had significant weight loss, and rushed her off to the NICU. It was another whirlwind of activity, which left geoff and i heartbroken from everything we had previously went through, to now her possibly being sick. it happened so fast, that we didnt even have a chance to tell my grandparents not to come down from high river. they still showed up, but with no baby to see.
when they went to put the catheter in, they think they must have punctured a membrane, because she peed right then, and was able to pee after. they also put her on an IV,
she was doing alright, so they gave us our baby girl back monday evening. it felt so nice to have her with us again. but that night was probably the worst night ever. they had me feeding her every 3 hours, and pumping right after every feed for 20 min. they also had geoff giving her a bottle of formula after every feeding. they told geoff a specific way of giving her the bottle where she laid flat on her back, but didnt tell us that the nipple didnt have quantity control. it was just pouring into her mouth forcing her to eat it. the whole night she was throwing up basically constantly, because she was getting too much food. not only that, but i was over exhausted because it would only give me just over an hour in between feedings, after feeding her for almost an hour, pumping for 20 min, and then cleaning up the machine thing when i was moving soo slowly. we barely got any sleep when we were already so low on sleep, and heartbroken because nothing seemed to be working. it wasnt until the next morning one of the nurses told us we should feed her differently with the formula. it made a world of a difference.
i also hadnt had a bowel movement, and they were threatening to “help me”, which was very scary. haha. I also felt really uncomfortable, because i was a little constipated. but things got back to schedule, and we were all doing better. until they realized she wasnt pooping enough, and she was back on watch. nurses coming in all the time to check on her. i cant say i have ever been soo excited for poop! not just for me, but for baby girl. it was a very exciting poop day. haha.
they were also very worried because she had jaundice. they were going to put her under a light, but the last day we were there, the test said it wasnt as bad as they thought it was, and decided they didnt need too. but that also made breast feeding difficult, because she was soo tired, that she wouldnt stay awake long enough to eat. man, it was a stressful couple of days.
i also have negative blood, and because she is positive i had to get a shot when i was about 30 weeks pregnant. supposedly if too much of her blood and my blood mixed, i would build up antibodies against it, and i would probably never be able to have another child, because my body would fight any fetus that came around. that is why they give these shots, so i would have a chance of another baby. so after delivery, i also had to get another shot. when they tested my blood, they saw that the mixture was dangerously high, and had to send it off to calgary to take a look at, where they would then decide if i needed to have yet another shot! calgary still hadnt responded, and they were wondering if i needed to stay at the hospital until we heard back. luckily i didnt have too, and they sent us home wed afternoon!!
it was a very stressful, exhausting, and somewhat horrible of a week.. but we came home with this beautiful and tiny human being that we are so madly in love with. i never thought i even wanted children, but after her, i wish i had started earlier. she is for real, just the cutest, and my heart explodes with love everytime i look at her, or hold her. i now understand what mothers mean, when they say they could just sit and stare at their child. i find myself doing that same thing, even though i used to think it was silly. for real, we could not be more thrilled with this tiny new family member.
