I’m a sucker for birth stories. Long before I knew what birth was like from a personal experience, there was something about it that intrigued me. Perhaps the fact that women across the world, since the beginning of time, no matter their ethnicity, their culture, their upbringing, their age, their circumstance, could now have a bond of both pain and beauty that transcends any other language. I think it’s just a womanly thing, that I just love experiences that draw me closer to others. Hearing birth stories has become a favourite thing of mine, much because of the community, the camaraderie, and the fact that this is something that has bonded women for as long as time can tell.
Be prepared for this to be long and unedited. I want it to be our raw experience, and to allow myself to just blab on. I feel like before I share the actual birth, I should share my preconceptions about birth. Dan and I decided to take a hypnobirthing class, which we loved and would highly recommend to others who are hoping to be as mentally, emotionally and physically prepared for labor. I felt as though it empowered us to know different terms that we would hear during labor, and to be familiar with possible interventions, so we would be more prepared and know how to approach them should they come up. We made a birth plan, but I held it loosely. I wanted to be able to go with the flow, and most importantly, be in tune with my instincts during the process, I wanted to just know how to listen to my body to make things as comfortable as possible. On April 1 (April fools day), at 38 weeks and 4 days,I woke up after a terrible sleep with a dull pain in my back that lasted the entire day. It felt very similar to the feelings of period cramps, but nothing more, so I carried on doing life. I went to fortinos and got a massive load of groceries, waddling around in great discomfort as though a bowling ball was between my legs. I went to the Mulberry Coffee shop to meet a friend and got some sympathy for my cramps. That evening after a chicken pot pie dinner we went to look at the house which we ended up buying. They wanted to show us the basement and I said, “Nah”, I just didn’t feel up to it. At 9:00 that evening I convinced Dan to drive us to McDonalds to pick up some chocolate Milkshakes, which were said to induce labor. We got home, I chugged the milkshake, and within 5 minutes of finishing it, I went to the bathroom, and, here’s where the exciting stuff happens. I yelled to Dan from the open bathroom door “I can’t stop peeing. I think I’ve lost control. I just peed on myself. Is this a pregnancy symptom?!” He looked like a deer in headlights. I told him this must be my water breaking, and he was like (in typical Dan fashion) “but how do you know? There must be somewhere we can look this up!” Sure enough, found it in our hypnobirthing book, then called the midwife to confirm. She said it sounded like it was my water breaking (thank goodness it happened on the toilet, and at home, not at McDonalds!) So Dan ran around trying to grab the last minute items for the hospital, and I helped by … Calling every single person I knew. I think he got a bit frustrated at how pumped up and yet distracted I was. I was so excited I could have thrown a party in that moment. We made it to the hospital at 10:30 pm. and the nurses made jokes about how many bags we’d packed, asking if we were going immediately on a trip to Europe once baby was born. Since I had group B strep, I had to have I.V. antibiotics to protect the babe, and it took 5 tries, and 3 different people. My small little veins kept blowing, leaving my hands and wrists black and blue for 2 weeks after. I felt like such a wuss, I tried to be so positive. I thought to myself, “Oh dear, if I feel like crying and yelling during this, I’m not brave enough for what’s to come” So I coped in the only way that seemed appropriate to distract me from the needles. I got Dan to turn on the playlist from our friend Nate and Becky’s wedding, and got him to dance for me. To this day, 9 months later, I can see Dan dancing with such grace to the Bollywood song “Sheila Ki Jawani". At 12:30am I was induced with Oxytocin, and told to walk around the empty floors of the hospital, carting around my IV bag, waiting for contractions to start. It felt like a weird dream, and Dan and I passed the time by walking, taking stupid selfies, and making ridiculous videos on his phone. In hindsight I think the silliness might have produced more adrenaline, which prevented the natural oxytocin to work in my body to get the hint that labor was supposed to be coming along but whatever! It was SO US, and a fun way to start things out. The fire alarm kept going off as well, and that was just weird, one more thing contributing to it feeling like a dream. By 3 am, I finally had regular and strong contractions. At 3:50 am, Dan describes it as the Drake Song, Zero to a Hundred. My contractions were suddenly SO strong, unbearably strong, almost overlapping. It felt like a basketball was expanding in my stomach each time. Dan was so great the entire time. He kept massaging my head, stroking my hair, and holding my hand. He’d play our hypnobirthing track, reminding me to be mindful of what my body was doing. This was official start of active labor. From 4-6 am the contractions continued like that every 3-4 minutes, and each one lasting about a minute. It felt like an eternity when I was in it, but now to look back it felt like it flashed by. At 6 am I had only progressed 1 cm. I’d gone from 3 cm, to 4, and was so exhausted after just pulling an all nighter, and my body not getting the hint. I remember having 3 contractions while trying to get to the bathroom, and while on the toilet praying to God that he would miraculously birth my baby. I asked him to help deliver him right there on the toilet. Then I realized that was the crazy talking. I then realized I could ask for a c-section. Then I realized, I could firstly, ask for an epidural. YES! An Epidural! SO thankful for the Epidural, it wasn’t part of the plan, but for me, in that moment, it was so necessary, and I have 0 regrets. It made things much more bearable as it numbed the beginning and the end of the contractions, giving me an extra minute or so to rest between contractions. It’s like that’s what clued my body in to the cues of the oxytocin, and allowed the rest to get caught up with the contractions. Mentally that time, from 6-8 am I was able to take in more of what was happening, and think about our baby coming into the world. That time frame was a gift, and I was no longer focussed on my pain, but my baby. By 8 am I asked the midwives to take me to the bathroom because I felt like I had to go poo. When they checked me, they saw I was 10 cm and ready to push. They prepared, and from 8:30-9:21 I pushed with each contraction. It was exciting because I could finally feel more in control of the process. They brought over a mirror so I could see Theodore’s head. I thought I’d find it uncomfortable, but I’d recommend it to anyone. It was SO motivating! Dan was so encouraging, such a little cheerleader he is! I got to the point known as the Ring of Fire. I’ll let you use your imagination for that one. I hated it. And wanted it to end as soon as possible, so on the next contraction I pushed with all my might, and he came completely out, and they laid him on my chest. It was so surreal. His umbilical cord was really short, so they had to bring the mirror up to my side so I could see his face. What do you know, he was a little HUMAN. A real, live human! I couldn’t believe it was all done, and that this little baby, who I’d grown so intimately in love with over the past 9 months, and yet who I was just getting to see for the very first time, so incredibly new. Oh my goodness, if I could go back to that feeling, and just sit there for 20 minutes every day, I don’t think it would every lose it’s wonder. It was a holy moment. It was the closest I’ve ever felt to God. I felt so much love, so much affection. He was 7 pounds, 3 ounces, born at 9:21 am, after 5 hours of labor, on April 2, at 38 weeks and 5 days. He was perfect. Dan told me that my parents had left from Ottawa early in the morning after my mom finished her night shift and that they were only 45 minutes away. What a surprise! They stitched me up while I held him. He was covered in wet, warm, sliminess, and his little body moved up and down so much with each breath he took. He cried for only a moment and was comforted easily in my embrace. He nursed a little but we had some work to do before it would feel natural to both of us. Then the midwives took him to the table to weigh him and I got ready to move to my recovery room. I wanted to tell everyone. I wanted the world to know about him immediately. Our labor story wasn’t at all what I expected, but I wouldn’t change a thing. I didn’t labor at all at home, I didn’t get to be in the water for any of it, I wasn’t able to do it naturally, but I had a healthy little baby, and I’m so proud of myself, and the strength within. I praise God for all of his gifts within the experience. Those first few days were a thin place for us, where heaven came close to earth. We were captivated by every little yawn, sneeze, breath, grasp of a finger, and dinosaur-like squeaks. But you’ll have to wait for my next post to read more about my postpartum experience, and then life with a newborn human.
2 Comments
Hannah Gardner
1/18/2016 04:06:02 pm
Best birth story ever!! :) I love you all! Theo is one cute kid... 👶
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7/30/2017 11:00:24 pm
Congratulations to you guys, it always makes me happy when I see people sharing their lives with others and cherishing all the moments. Thank you for sharing your moment with us
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AuthorI'm a farm girl living in the city, a daughter, a sister, a wife and a mother. I love the simple things in life, and love to share them with others. Archives
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