Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
The Birth
Sunday April 13th, T and i went for Chinese food. I remember having really bad back pain that night. When we went home i started having light contractions, which we were timing at about 7-10 minutes apart. I went to bed to get some rest thinking tonight was the night. I woke up the next morning with no baby!
Monday i just pottered around the house, lots and lots of back pain. I went over to Pete's store and the sales clerks were in shock that i still hadn't delivered. I waddled home with my back pain thinking this baby was never going to arrive. I was sitting in the rocking chair by the time T got home. Around six that night, i started having more contractions, but all the time feeling despondent because i would get these contractions and nothing would happen. The night went on and the contractions were coming about 7-10 minutes apart, but they weren't stopping. I went to bed again, in the hope of getting some rest but i couldn't sleep. Even when i drifted off i would be woken by the peak of a contraction. I was getting hopeful. T slept for a few hours, but i had to wake him up at about midnight because i needed him to time them for me. It was hard to concentrate at times. Things definitely picked up in the early hours of the morning. Contractions were more intense and coming regularly. They weren't too painful at this point, but they definitely were sore and i was breathing through them. I had to change positions a lot, and was frequently on all fours doing my breathing exercises. About 2.30am T ran me a bath and poured warm water over my stomach. He fed me toast and fruit to keep my energy up. I was thinking i had another twelve or so hours of labor to go before i would go to the hospital. At 3.30ish i decided to call the doctor just to ask her advice. Just before i got to speak to her i had the contraction from hell. I remember being doubled over the couch with this one. She said i better get to the hospital pretty soon as it sounded like i could be up to 4 or 5 cms dilated at this point. It only took us about 15 minutes to get out of the house, but i had at least three contractions at this point....they were incredibly painful. I felt like my whole abdomen was being wrung out like a washcloth. From the house up to the car, i had another three or four contractions. I would stop outside a neighbors front door and double up in pain till the contraction subsided. It was crazy when i think back to that time...hanging on to the back of our neighbor Tims' van up on the street. I was in so much pain. The drive to the hospital was intense. I felt so focused internally, although T says i was cracking jokes in the car at 4am!
As soon as i got to the hospital i was wheeled into the triage ward. They were just fabulous. I had an internal and was 5cms and 100% effaced. I'd managed to get from three to five all by myself that night. Obviously i asked for the epidural straight away. The pain was hurrendous at this time. I remember cleaners in the hallway looking at me so pitiful...funny! I was admited to a delivery room rather quickly and assigned an OB nurse called Angelique. She was lovely. The anaesthesiologist came in and gave me epidural #1. One leg went completely numb and like a dead weight and the other just went slightly numb. I began to feel the contractions less and less. It was such a relief to not feel them anymore.
A few hours later, the new OB Dr Foltz arrive and gave me an internal. I was 6cms. She was lovely. Unfortunately my epidural was beginning to wear off. So i got a top up which didn't really work from my recollection. Then when the anaesthesiologist checked my back, the epidural catheter had come out of the sweet spot in my spine, so i wasn't getting any pain meds at all. Great! I swear the new nurse Barb had knocked it out of position when she was trying to tape up the tubes down my back. So epidural #2 arrived with some very inefficient anaesthesia guy! Still more pain. Supposedly you can have windows in your body where the epidural doesn't take effect. I was having one of these windows at the top of my uterus and in my back. The bed was so uncomfortable too, which i'm sure exacerbated the situation. More top ups followed, and some fentynl...i felt toxic with drugs at this point and was getting rather pissed off at their inability to manage my pain. Epidural #3 arrived with a fabulous anaesthesiologist called Dr Zeever. He was just great, although this epidural didn't work either, even though he'd upped the dosage for me. More top ups ensued. Still the same pain. This all happened over a 14 hour period. I was not a happy camper. My nurse Barb was so unresponsive that i was dying to see the back of her. I hadn't eaten since early that morning and was only allowed ice chips, so i was pretty much like a demon. T was really stressed out. He was helpless. I could still feel the baby up high under my breast, so i knew he/she wasn't engaged enough.
Then i got pitocin, which just made things worse. I was feeling enough pain before i got it, but i needed it to make the contractions more intense and dilate me up to 10cms. It took about two or three hours to go from 7cms to 8cms. They wanted to increase the pitocin so i would dilate faster, but i was so scared because i knew i was going to feel a hell of a lot of pain if they increase the dosage. Then i got to thinking that i could be another six or seven hours laboring with pitocin, then i'd have to push for another two after that, and i'd have to do it with much worse pain. I honestly didn't have the energy or the will to push myself that far. If they had given me a sandwich and a glass of juice i may have considered it, but i wouldn't have lasted into the next day with my energy levels in the state they were in. So i asked for a c-section. T and i discussed it and it just felt right at that moment. Dr Foltz thought i should have labored longer, but she was also happy to put me out of my misery and perform the surgery. Within minutes of agreeing to this, i had the consent forms signed, had my pubic area shaved, had drank some liquid that stopped me from throwing up during surgery (was the tastiest thing i'd had all day) and T was dressed in some mad white bodysuit and looked like a fraggle! I was wheeled into the operating room and had to sit cross legged on the bed to get a spinal administered by Dr Zeever. He was fabulous and stuck with me and made sure i was pain free for the whole surgery. I started to shake uncontrollably while i was on the operating table. I hear that is normal though. Then i had a peak through the reflection in the light above me...i could see blood and smell burning flesh. I was wide open. Within minutes our baby was out! I'm in tears just thinking about it now, but it was miraculous. T got to announce that it was a girl and she was brought over to the table to get check out straight away and have the cord cut (T did this). I looked on from afar. I was so envious of everyone standing around her on the table. I felt a little left out when i think back, but i got to see T's reaction and hear the comments about her '80's hair'. She had so much hair!! Then i saw her and fell in love straight away. It was that quick. She was the most beautiful baby i had ever layed eyes on...so perfect in every way. She was a beauty! I couldn't wait to hold her and look into her eyes. What a moment!!
I was sewn up and wheeled back to the room with her on my chest. It is all a blur really, but i know it was one of the most unforgetable experiences of my life. I would go through it again in a heartbeat.
T and i spent the next three days in the hospital getting used to our little girl and figuring out the best way to feed her. The nurses were exceptional. We had lactation consultants help us with so much.
To be continued...
Monday i just pottered around the house, lots and lots of back pain. I went over to Pete's store and the sales clerks were in shock that i still hadn't delivered. I waddled home with my back pain thinking this baby was never going to arrive. I was sitting in the rocking chair by the time T got home. Around six that night, i started having more contractions, but all the time feeling despondent because i would get these contractions and nothing would happen. The night went on and the contractions were coming about 7-10 minutes apart, but they weren't stopping. I went to bed again, in the hope of getting some rest but i couldn't sleep. Even when i drifted off i would be woken by the peak of a contraction. I was getting hopeful. T slept for a few hours, but i had to wake him up at about midnight because i needed him to time them for me. It was hard to concentrate at times. Things definitely picked up in the early hours of the morning. Contractions were more intense and coming regularly. They weren't too painful at this point, but they definitely were sore and i was breathing through them. I had to change positions a lot, and was frequently on all fours doing my breathing exercises. About 2.30am T ran me a bath and poured warm water over my stomach. He fed me toast and fruit to keep my energy up. I was thinking i had another twelve or so hours of labor to go before i would go to the hospital. At 3.30ish i decided to call the doctor just to ask her advice. Just before i got to speak to her i had the contraction from hell. I remember being doubled over the couch with this one. She said i better get to the hospital pretty soon as it sounded like i could be up to 4 or 5 cms dilated at this point. It only took us about 15 minutes to get out of the house, but i had at least three contractions at this point....they were incredibly painful. I felt like my whole abdomen was being wrung out like a washcloth. From the house up to the car, i had another three or four contractions. I would stop outside a neighbors front door and double up in pain till the contraction subsided. It was crazy when i think back to that time...hanging on to the back of our neighbor Tims' van up on the street. I was in so much pain. The drive to the hospital was intense. I felt so focused internally, although T says i was cracking jokes in the car at 4am!
As soon as i got to the hospital i was wheeled into the triage ward. They were just fabulous. I had an internal and was 5cms and 100% effaced. I'd managed to get from three to five all by myself that night. Obviously i asked for the epidural straight away. The pain was hurrendous at this time. I remember cleaners in the hallway looking at me so pitiful...funny! I was admited to a delivery room rather quickly and assigned an OB nurse called Angelique. She was lovely. The anaesthesiologist came in and gave me epidural #1. One leg went completely numb and like a dead weight and the other just went slightly numb. I began to feel the contractions less and less. It was such a relief to not feel them anymore.
A few hours later, the new OB Dr Foltz arrive and gave me an internal. I was 6cms. She was lovely. Unfortunately my epidural was beginning to wear off. So i got a top up which didn't really work from my recollection. Then when the anaesthesiologist checked my back, the epidural catheter had come out of the sweet spot in my spine, so i wasn't getting any pain meds at all. Great! I swear the new nurse Barb had knocked it out of position when she was trying to tape up the tubes down my back. So epidural #2 arrived with some very inefficient anaesthesia guy! Still more pain. Supposedly you can have windows in your body where the epidural doesn't take effect. I was having one of these windows at the top of my uterus and in my back. The bed was so uncomfortable too, which i'm sure exacerbated the situation. More top ups followed, and some fentynl...i felt toxic with drugs at this point and was getting rather pissed off at their inability to manage my pain. Epidural #3 arrived with a fabulous anaesthesiologist called Dr Zeever. He was just great, although this epidural didn't work either, even though he'd upped the dosage for me. More top ups ensued. Still the same pain. This all happened over a 14 hour period. I was not a happy camper. My nurse Barb was so unresponsive that i was dying to see the back of her. I hadn't eaten since early that morning and was only allowed ice chips, so i was pretty much like a demon. T was really stressed out. He was helpless. I could still feel the baby up high under my breast, so i knew he/she wasn't engaged enough.
Then i got pitocin, which just made things worse. I was feeling enough pain before i got it, but i needed it to make the contractions more intense and dilate me up to 10cms. It took about two or three hours to go from 7cms to 8cms. They wanted to increase the pitocin so i would dilate faster, but i was so scared because i knew i was going to feel a hell of a lot of pain if they increase the dosage. Then i got to thinking that i could be another six or seven hours laboring with pitocin, then i'd have to push for another two after that, and i'd have to do it with much worse pain. I honestly didn't have the energy or the will to push myself that far. If they had given me a sandwich and a glass of juice i may have considered it, but i wouldn't have lasted into the next day with my energy levels in the state they were in. So i asked for a c-section. T and i discussed it and it just felt right at that moment. Dr Foltz thought i should have labored longer, but she was also happy to put me out of my misery and perform the surgery. Within minutes of agreeing to this, i had the consent forms signed, had my pubic area shaved, had drank some liquid that stopped me from throwing up during surgery (was the tastiest thing i'd had all day) and T was dressed in some mad white bodysuit and looked like a fraggle! I was wheeled into the operating room and had to sit cross legged on the bed to get a spinal administered by Dr Zeever. He was fabulous and stuck with me and made sure i was pain free for the whole surgery. I started to shake uncontrollably while i was on the operating table. I hear that is normal though. Then i had a peak through the reflection in the light above me...i could see blood and smell burning flesh. I was wide open. Within minutes our baby was out! I'm in tears just thinking about it now, but it was miraculous. T got to announce that it was a girl and she was brought over to the table to get check out straight away and have the cord cut (T did this). I looked on from afar. I was so envious of everyone standing around her on the table. I felt a little left out when i think back, but i got to see T's reaction and hear the comments about her '80's hair'. She had so much hair!! Then i saw her and fell in love straight away. It was that quick. She was the most beautiful baby i had ever layed eyes on...so perfect in every way. She was a beauty! I couldn't wait to hold her and look into her eyes. What a moment!!
I was sewn up and wheeled back to the room with her on my chest. It is all a blur really, but i know it was one of the most unforgetable experiences of my life. I would go through it again in a heartbeat.
T and i spent the next three days in the hospital getting used to our little girl and figuring out the best way to feed her. The nurses were exceptional. We had lactation consultants help us with so much.
To be continued...
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
40 Weeks
Yep. Still here. Still pregnant. I am doing just fine though. I actually feel really good which is becoming annoying, because all i really want to feel are contractions!!!
I have had my membranes swept twice in the last week, and still labor has not begun.
I will need to schedule an induction for next Thursday the 17th, if labor has not kicked in by Monday or Tuesday of next week. Hopefully it won't come to that.
I am still 3cms dilated. 80% effaced now.
I cannot stop cleaning the house and rearranging things. It's quite sad really.
Hopefully there won't be a '41 weeks' posting next week.
Ps. The tulip in the previous post is outside my bedroom window. I have been visualizing it as my cervix. This technique is not working though! The tulip is fully open today, but i am not!
I have had my membranes swept twice in the last week, and still labor has not begun.
I will need to schedule an induction for next Thursday the 17th, if labor has not kicked in by Monday or Tuesday of next week. Hopefully it won't come to that.
I am still 3cms dilated. 80% effaced now.
I cannot stop cleaning the house and rearranging things. It's quite sad really.
Hopefully there won't be a '41 weeks' posting next week.
Ps. The tulip in the previous post is outside my bedroom window. I have been visualizing it as my cervix. This technique is not working though! The tulip is fully open today, but i am not!
Monday, March 31, 2008
Friday, March 28, 2008
Still 38 Weeks...
No birthday baby for me! Ah well, i guess the baby deserves its own special day anyway.
Still no major labor signs. I've had lots and lots of contractions over the last few days, really odd back pain last night, some big bursts of energy and still NOTHING!
Although it sounds weird for me to say this, i am anxious to feel some regular pain. I just want to go into labor ASAP. However, knowing my luck i will go over my due date and be stuck at 3cms for weeks on end. I guess if that's the way it's going to be, then i'll just have to deal with it. As my friend K says 'this is our first test of patience at being a mother'...she's right too.
My colleagues are sick and tired of seeing me waddle back and forth between my desk and the restroom. I don't think they can believe i'm still here. Well they better believe it, because i'm coming in next week too. And i'll come in the week after that if i have to. I'm not sitting at home unless i physically cannot move out of the bed. I don't want two weeks at home twiddling my thumbs waiting for things to happen when i could be in work at least using my brain.
Anyway...i did have a lovely birthday. God some nice gifts and flowers and birthday greetings. Had a lovely dinner out with T on Wednesday night...was actually romantic too! It's been a while since we've been out for a romantic dinner together. He gave me a gorgeous pearl bracelet at dinner and i enjoyed half a glass of red wine and a desert! I need to stock up on deserts while i can, because there'll be no indulgences after this baby is born!
Last night i went out for coffee with the girlies and had cupcakes and yummy chocolates and lots of laughs.
I am getting a lesson in breast pumping tomorrow!
Still no major labor signs. I've had lots and lots of contractions over the last few days, really odd back pain last night, some big bursts of energy and still NOTHING!
Although it sounds weird for me to say this, i am anxious to feel some regular pain. I just want to go into labor ASAP. However, knowing my luck i will go over my due date and be stuck at 3cms for weeks on end. I guess if that's the way it's going to be, then i'll just have to deal with it. As my friend K says 'this is our first test of patience at being a mother'...she's right too.
My colleagues are sick and tired of seeing me waddle back and forth between my desk and the restroom. I don't think they can believe i'm still here. Well they better believe it, because i'm coming in next week too. And i'll come in the week after that if i have to. I'm not sitting at home unless i physically cannot move out of the bed. I don't want two weeks at home twiddling my thumbs waiting for things to happen when i could be in work at least using my brain.
Anyway...i did have a lovely birthday. God some nice gifts and flowers and birthday greetings. Had a lovely dinner out with T on Wednesday night...was actually romantic too! It's been a while since we've been out for a romantic dinner together. He gave me a gorgeous pearl bracelet at dinner and i enjoyed half a glass of red wine and a desert! I need to stock up on deserts while i can, because there'll be no indulgences after this baby is born!
Last night i went out for coffee with the girlies and had cupcakes and yummy chocolates and lots of laughs.
I am getting a lesson in breast pumping tomorrow!
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
38 Weeks
3cms dialated and 75% effaced. I had a rough night the other night. I was awake for a few hours tossing and turning with really bad menstrual like cramps. Part of me was getting excited that was it, and the other part of me was getting scared that was it! I think the imminent pain is what i'm scared off and the not knowing of how i'm going to cope with childbirth.
Babs is still moving around. The OB said it's probaly an 8lb baby. She also said that if i start getting regular contractions, that hte hospital would not send me home as i'd probably be at 4 or 5 cms by then.
We got a lovely swing from our neighbors the other night. They received it as a gift and never used it, so hopefully our babs likes it.
I am manifesting for March 27th delivery!
Babs is still moving around. The OB said it's probaly an 8lb baby. She also said that if i start getting regular contractions, that hte hospital would not send me home as i'd probably be at 4 or 5 cms by then.
We got a lovely swing from our neighbors the other night. They received it as a gift and never used it, so hopefully our babs likes it.
I am manifesting for March 27th delivery!
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