Birth

Well tomorrow I am going to write the 12 month newsletter to Lucas so I thought I would write the story of his birth tonight. It was just a year ago at this very time that I was having contractions and breathing through them. Of course we had had a few evenings like this, so we weren't really sure if it was another false alarm. I spent most of the evening trying to do things to get more comfortable. Bouncing on a ball, having a shower, laying in bed in different positions. I remember the beginning as beening tough, but not really unbearable at first. It was until about 2 in the morning that I suggested to Darryl we head into the hospital. When we got to the hospital we went up to the birthing ward and put us into a "holding room" because all the labor rooms were full. The nurse check and I was 4 cm dilated. The rest of the night and into the morning the contractions started to get worse, but not full flegded yet. The nurse suggested putting a damp cloth on the forehead and controlled breathing while the contractions were coming to. I didn't want narcotics as I had heard people having bad experiences with them. They did bring over the laughing gas, not sure if that helped or not. But it did work to keep my mind focused on trying to breathe it in rather then the pain of the contractions. I had another shower in the hospital while Darryl sat on the floor outside the shower. After about 5 hours of being in the holding area they moved us to a birthing room and we called my mom. I also remember Mom bringing Darryl Tim Hortons for breakfast.

We got into the birthing room at about 7am and the anatheiologist was in at about 7:30 to give the epidural. Darryl had to leave for the needle, but mom was there to hold my hand. By 8am I was feeling quite comfortable and was able to sleep a little for the marathon that lay ahead. The room also had a pull out couch for Darryl to nap on. I also remember Mom and Darryl doing sudoku's. The craze had just started. Most of the day went well. I continued to dilate and listening to heartbeat of the baby. Darryl and Mom had to tell me when I was having a contraction on the monitor. Mom and Darryl had breakfast down in the cafeteria, although breakfast did not sit well with Darryl. I also remember the nursing staff being wonderful. We also had an intern who came into check. Tammy also stopped in because she was working downstairs. The did put me on a pitocin drip to regulate the contractions so they were coming at regular intervals. Dr. Greyvenstien did stop in first thing in the morning to break my water. I remember they didn't have the usual instrument he was use to so they had to use a kelly clamp. Again most of the day went well. We were all told to rest.

At about 4pm I was 10 cm dilated and ready to push. Since it had been such a busy day they were women who were more ready and Dr. Greyvenstien wasn't there yet, so they had me wait while they delivered another baby first. At about 5:30 I was ready to start pushing. They have both of your feet up on a bar and you are pulling on a wrapped bedsheet with my hands. I would get a contraction while Darryl counted to 10. I would take another breathe and push again for Darryl's count to 10. One more breathe and one more push to the count of 10, then pause till the next contraction. I remember the nurses, Darryl and my mom all acting like cheerleaders. "you can do it" You're doing a great job". I also remember being so focused on the pushing it was almost like I was in a bubble and although I could hear them it was fuzzy and not as loud as I thought it would be. Darryl kept feeding me ice chips and I would chew on them between contractions. I remember at one point in the pushing, Dr. Greyvenstien was there and he said your getting closer" I remember saying it can't be that close because you don't have your gloves on yet. At another point a little further along they asked if I wanted to see the baby's head. At first I was turned off by the idea, but after 2 hours of pushing I needed something to keep me going so I asked to see it. I was kind of disappointed by the fact that Lucas's head wasn't further out and the end was still a bit away.

Lucas had been in the birth canal for a while so they called in the pink team just incase there was a problem with his breathing when he came out.

"warning* The next paragraph may be too much information for some of you.

With Lucas being in the birth canal for so long they needed to get him out. I hadn't teared yet. Dr. Greyvenstien gave us the option of continuing to push and possibly having a bad tear or him giving me an episiotomy, which would not be as large of a cut. He recommended the episiotomy and he had already frozen the area if that's what I wanted. Although I had done lots of reading and research that recommended against episiotomy I wanted that baby out. I was exhausted and I knew it would be safer for the baby to come out sooner, so we went with the episiotomy.

Lucas was born at 8:13 pm. He did not cry a lot when he came out. He measured 21 cm and weighed 9 pounds 2 ounces. As soon as he came out Mom announced to us we had a son. Darryl couldn't look at him without crying for the next hour. I remember being just exhausted after 2 1/2 hours of pushing, and I had to keep my legs up to get cleaned up. During the prenatal courses that Darryl and I took they talked a lot about skin to skin contact immediately after the baby was born. We insisted on that and enjoyed holding my new baby so close. He also latched on and nursing a little bit. Mom went down to fetch me a coke that I had been craving for hours and hours. I did not feel as emotional as Darryl did after Lucas was born. I was happy it was all over but probably too tired and traumatized to feel too much else. About a half and hour they got me up to have a shower. It felt good to get cleaned up.

Lucas and I were rolled down the hallway and I was lucky enough to get him a private room. Lucas stayed in the room with me all night. Darryl needed to get home because he had been up as long as I had. But we knew we needed to name him before he left. As many have you have already read in another blog entry we chose the name Lucas, because he didn't look like a Nathaniel and we both love Great Big Sea and their song Lukey's boat. Darryl went home and I think I feel asleep quite quickly. Lucas did sleep the first night waking a couple of times, while I tried to learn how to breast feed. Also the nurse came in and showed me how to swaddle, which Darryl became and expert at in the weeks following.

Birth was not a fun experience. It really hurts, but what you get after it's done makes it all worth it.

Till tomorrow and the 12 month newsletter.

Jenn