Here are the short and long versions of the birth story.The short story:
Sunday January 3rd – was having mild contractions about 11-30 minutes apart all day
Monday January 4th – starting having stronger contractions during the day
9pm – contractions were 4 minutes apart, called the midwife
11pm – midwife arrived and I was 4-5cm dilated
Tuesday January 5th – tried to nap until the morning
7am – midwife broke my water and we found out he was breech, drove to the hospital in rush hour traffic
7:45am – arrived at hospital and waited to be assessed, admitted, and prepped for surgery
10:04am – Jack was born and let out a great scream!
The long story:
Sunday January 3rd
midnight – started having constant cramp like feelings
3am – started having mild contractions, felt like cramps, that were spaced out about every 15 minutes. Took some tylenol and gravol and slept til about 9am
11am – went for my massage appointment, the contractions slowed down to every 20 minutes or so
Spent the rest of the day trying to distract myself on the computer, doing a puzzle, and taking down the Christmas tree decorations (had to stop every so often to rest during a contraction).
Jeremy and Kier started to install the hardwood floor!
Monday January 4th
overnight – took tylenol and gravol again so I could sleep, contractions were about 11 minutes apart. In the early morning they were getting painful enough that I was waking up to moan.
Spent the day working, and stretching when I had a contraction. I was still trying to find stretches to move the baby into an anterior position – since we thought he was posterior.
We debated going to our chiropractic appointment, but decided against it since I didn't think it was a good idea for me to drive.
4pm – Mom called to see if everything was ok. I told her I was having some contractions, but I thought they would go away.
In the evening Kier came over to help Jeremy continue to work on the hardwood.
Contractions were still spaced out every 8 minutes or so, but were getting more intense. So I decided to use the TENS machine – this helped a lot, and I was able to distract myself by cooking some pasta sauce (not an easy task in a kitchen that had been torn apart!). Asked Jeremy to start timing my contractions.
9pm – I was getting tired of standing so I went to have a bath.
10pm - Since there is a clock right beside the tub, I noticed that my contractions were about 5 minutes apart. They weren't getting any more comfortable, so I asked Jeremy to call the midwife. Mom called while Jeremy was on the phone with the midwife, so we told her to come over. Dad came to pick up Addy.
11pm – Suzanne was at another birth, so her backup Jessica came over. She checked me and I was already 4-5cm dilated, which made me happy to know I wasn't imagining the whole thing!
Once my mom and Jessica started to cheer me on, contractions seemed easier and more manageable. It was great having someone tell me I was doing a good job, and to give me suggestions on how to make myself more comfortable.
Tuesday January 5th
Suzanne and her student arrived and I was about 6cm dilated. Contractions were about 3 minutes apart. It was most comfortable for me to stand and lean over during contractions, since I was having a lot of pressure in the front and down my legs.
2am – I was getting tired of standing so much, so Suzanne suggested I rest with Jeremy. We dozed on and off until 6am. I would hold his hand really tight when I had a contraction. The pressure was so strong, that I felt like I had to pee all the time, so I was making frequent trips to the bathroom. I didn't realize it, but my contractions had slowed down a lot during this time.
6am – Suzanne asked if I'd like to have my water broken, to see if we can speed things up
7am – Suzanne broke my water, at this point she was able to feel for the baby, and discovered he was breech.
7:10am – we left for the hospital, Jeremy had to drive through rush hour traffic on the 417 to get to the Montfort!
7:50am – we arrived at the Montfort and headed straight to labour and delivery
8am – 9:30am – a lot of chaos (at least it seemed that way from my point of view) as we had to wait for the attending physician to arrive in order to perform an ultrasound. During this time I was being admitted, having blood taken, monitors strapped on, and an IV inserted.
Once the doctor arrived he did a quick (only a few seconds!) ultrasound to confirm the baby was breech. This meant a c-section. The rest was a blur as I was prepped for surgery and having some pretty intense contractions. Being stressed, in a hospital, and forced to stay in uncomfortable positions made me give up completely on my calm breathing and moaning to get through the contractions – all I felt was the pain and was getting pretty nervous.
Once I got to the operating room I was given a spinal and placed on the operating table. All I can remember is not being able to see anything and shaking quite a bit. The anesthesiologist was helpful in making me feel comfortable.
Jeremy was able to be by my head as they performed the surgery, and was able to stand up to see what was going on.
10:04am – Jack was born! He let out a good scream, which made me feel reassured, and I started to cry.
Our midwife had to make a shift change, so Maxine took over the care of Jack.
Jeremy was able to hold him by my head, as they finished the surgery.
He was 7lb 8oz and 20.25” long.
The hardest part was that I had to wait over an hour in the recovery room before I could go see Jack. During this time Maxine was doing all the routine checks and exams. Jeremy got to hold Jack skin to skin.
We were able to leave the hospital on Thursday January 7th. The recovery from the c-section has been rough and unexpected. But things are getting better everyday, and I can't wait to have my full strength back.
