Anthony & I had an early start as we had a long list of things to-do as we prepared for Monday morning - the day we were to be induced at 37 weeks. We needed to buy a few things for baby and planned on going to look at dressers and finish buying some essentials...of course getting a pedicure prior to giving birth - gotta have good-looking feet, you know - was on *my* essential list as well.....so while hubby went and read the newspaper in Starbucks, I got a pedicure. I had already been to my waxer lady (aka aesthetician - sp?) the day before and had all my waxing done - priorities, priorities! LOL
After my pedicure we went for a quick bite to eat and I realized that I had a message on my cell phone. I called and checked and it was the hospital calling to ask me to come in right away to be induced rather than coming in the next day. I guess they were not busy and were being pro-active. YIKES. Anthony & I both were kind of freaked...it was bad enough that we wouldn't be ready for Monday - let alone going in a day earlier than that. They had asked me to call them back right away so they would know whether or not to expect me. I stalled. Anthony wanted me to call but I knew if I did, I would be on my way and really, I just wasn't ready.
I know most moms-to-be would be jumping at the chance to give birth 3 - 4 weeks early - but I really wasn't. I was looking so forward to a few weeks at home to shop and nest and get myself mentally and physically prepared. So I dragged Anthony around the mall a little more trying to buy what I had on my list but I was preoccupied and couldn't make any decisions anyway - so I finally gave in and called the hospital back. Yes - they wanted me to come in right now.
Anthony & I headed home and started to get a bag ready for baby and my own bag ready for myself. I probably made that take a lot longer than necessary as we didn't even get to the hospital until around 4:30 pm!
Once we arrived at the hospital we went to admissions and got all set up and headed up to the labour & delivery unit. They were really great in there and sent me in for an assessment. I had to repeat my entire pregnancy from start to finish to about 6 different nurses and doctors and med students - as Foothills is a teaching hospital. The glucose intolerance, the heart problem, the high blood pressure, the insulin doses, the fibroid in my uterus, the bio-physical ultrasound results, my previous birth stories etc. etc. It was very repetitive and seemed like a long process but I understand the need.
This is my pre-labour happy face!
After all of the questions, it was determined that they would proceed with the induction as planned. They did ask me which way I would prefer to be induced....lucky me, I'm sure most don't get a choice in the matter. The four choices were:
1 - break my water and see what happens naturally
2 - give me the gel on the cervix
3 - start the IV drip/pitocin
4 - a combination of the above
My concern was - which of the above has the highest risk of ending in a c-section? That took on some debate as it hasn't been well documented, however, apparently one of my OBGYN's was doing a study on it so they signed me up as a test subject. LOL In the end, they felt that the gel would have the highest risk of ending in a c-section - so we put that at the bottom of the list and I opted for having my water broken and seeing what my body could do on it's own.
So I was admitted and given a birthing room. As Anthony & I hadn't had dinner yet - they sent us off to the cafeteria to eat and when we arrived back at 7:30pm, they broke my water. It was not so fun as the Dr. couldn't quite get the amniotic sac to break and had to keep digging around up there poking and pushing with what looks like a crochet hook. ugh. But the water did break eventually and we then spent the next 2 hours walking around in circles in a very small area of the labour & delivery unit. However, we did venture down to the main level once and found a computer to post a facebook update on! LOL
After two hours they checked my cervix and I was still just the 2 cm. dilated that I was the week before at my OBGYN check up. Hmmmmm. I was having contractions and a really bad sciatic/thigh/calf pain that would not ease up - but it wasn't making me dilate.
At that point we decided to add the IV drip/pitocin. Which sounded great but the nurse had a helluvah time getting the IV in my hand - I'm still bruised! I guess I could have kept walking around and pulled the IV stand thingy around with me but I opted to hop in bed and get comfy and wait it out. Because of my high blood pressure I also had to be attached to that monitor and have my pressure checked every 1/2 hour or so. And the drip certainly made the contractions stronger and a little less bearable, but I managed to breathe through them for hours. A friend at work had made me a great song list and put it on Noah's Ipod for me to listen to and it really helped get me through a few hours.
1 - break my water and see what happens naturally
2 - give me the gel on the cervix
3 - start the IV drip/pitocin
4 - a combination of the above
My concern was - which of the above has the highest risk of ending in a c-section? That took on some debate as it hasn't been well documented, however, apparently one of my OBGYN's was doing a study on it so they signed me up as a test subject. LOL In the end, they felt that the gel would have the highest risk of ending in a c-section - so we put that at the bottom of the list and I opted for having my water broken and seeing what my body could do on it's own.
So I was admitted and given a birthing room. As Anthony & I hadn't had dinner yet - they sent us off to the cafeteria to eat and when we arrived back at 7:30pm, they broke my water. It was not so fun as the Dr. couldn't quite get the amniotic sac to break and had to keep digging around up there poking and pushing with what looks like a crochet hook. ugh. But the water did break eventually and we then spent the next 2 hours walking around in circles in a very small area of the labour & delivery unit. However, we did venture down to the main level once and found a computer to post a facebook update on! LOL
After two hours they checked my cervix and I was still just the 2 cm. dilated that I was the week before at my OBGYN check up. Hmmmmm. I was having contractions and a really bad sciatic/thigh/calf pain that would not ease up - but it wasn't making me dilate.
At that point we decided to add the IV drip/pitocin. Which sounded great but the nurse had a helluvah time getting the IV in my hand - I'm still bruised! I guess I could have kept walking around and pulled the IV stand thingy around with me but I opted to hop in bed and get comfy and wait it out. Because of my high blood pressure I also had to be attached to that monitor and have my pressure checked every 1/2 hour or so. And the drip certainly made the contractions stronger and a little less bearable, but I managed to breathe through them for hours. A friend at work had made me a great song list and put it on Noah's Ipod for me to listen to and it really helped get me through a few hours.
Monday March 23, 2009
Anthony made himself comfortable on the pull out chair/bed thingy and napped throughout most of my night-time labour. I was moaning and groaning every three minutes when I'd get a contraction and he'd stop snoring once in a while and ask how I was doing. Uhh...big help dear, big help. LOL But honestly, I didn't really care too much - he was tired and I was OK on my own listening to my music and waiting.
Anthony made himself comfortable on the pull out chair/bed thingy and napped throughout most of my night-time labour. I was moaning and groaning every three minutes when I'd get a contraction and he'd stop snoring once in a while and ask how I was doing. Uhh...big help dear, big help. LOL But honestly, I didn't really care too much - he was tired and I was OK on my own listening to my music and waiting.
Anthony getting comfortable!
At about 3 am I was having trouble handling the pain - in hindsight, I think I could have handled it, but chose not to. I am a wimp at best anyway and have a very low tolerance for pain! I had an epidural with both of my other kids - so I knew going in that I was going to want/need it if the labour didn't go fast.
The nurse was like OK - if you really want it, I'll order it - or you could try walking around or using the birthing ball or having a shower etc....and I was like...um, no thanks - how about I just take my epidural now. She laughed and agreed...if I was planning on ending up with one - why delay it and go through so much unnecessary pain first? So she paged the anesthesiologist...and lucky me, it didn't take him long to arrive...but then the fun began - OK - actually - that wasn't fun at all... The poor Dr. could not get the needle to go in the right spot - he tried for over an hour and kept hitting the bone. He asked me if maybe I had arthritis in my back? - but I don't and I told him that I had two previous epidurals without any trouble - so he kept trying. Meanwhile I am trying to control myself through the contractions as he continues to try and get the needle in - which means you must stay absolutely still during each contraction so you don't move and the needle hits the wrong spot - and then you end up paralyzed!
In my head I am panicking - hoping that he doesn't give up and say he can't do it! I had/still have a whole row down my spine of poke holes from failed attempts. It was not pleasant! But alas, he finally did make it in the right spot and sweet relief was not far away at that point. Afterwards he apologized for taking so long and said that it was a humbling experience for him. I guess he has never had such a hard time before - aren't I special? LOL
Ahhhhhh - once the epidural was in place and flowing well - I relaxed. I commented that I'd hoped whomever had invented it won a HUGE prize for it. ha ha ha Anyways - it did the trick - I dilated from 2 to 7 cm. in no time!
The nurse was like OK - if you really want it, I'll order it - or you could try walking around or using the birthing ball or having a shower etc....and I was like...um, no thanks - how about I just take my epidural now. She laughed and agreed...if I was planning on ending up with one - why delay it and go through so much unnecessary pain first? So she paged the anesthesiologist...and lucky me, it didn't take him long to arrive...but then the fun began - OK - actually - that wasn't fun at all... The poor Dr. could not get the needle to go in the right spot - he tried for over an hour and kept hitting the bone. He asked me if maybe I had arthritis in my back? - but I don't and I told him that I had two previous epidurals without any trouble - so he kept trying. Meanwhile I am trying to control myself through the contractions as he continues to try and get the needle in - which means you must stay absolutely still during each contraction so you don't move and the needle hits the wrong spot - and then you end up paralyzed!
In my head I am panicking - hoping that he doesn't give up and say he can't do it! I had/still have a whole row down my spine of poke holes from failed attempts. It was not pleasant! But alas, he finally did make it in the right spot and sweet relief was not far away at that point. Afterwards he apologized for taking so long and said that it was a humbling experience for him. I guess he has never had such a hard time before - aren't I special? LOL
Ahhhhhh - once the epidural was in place and flowing well - I relaxed. I commented that I'd hoped whomever had invented it won a HUGE prize for it. ha ha ha Anyways - it did the trick - I dilated from 2 to 7 cm. in no time!
This is my post epidural happy face!
Going from 7 - 10 cm. took a while longer as they didn't want me to strain in any way because of my high blood pressure/heart problem...so we just relaxed and waited for things to open up on their own. The night nurse was hoping we'd deliver before she left her shift at 7am but nope - we were still waiting.
The next nurse came on and had a new nurse shadowing her - so I had two nurses for the rest of my time...and it was great! They were awesome! I must say out of the four nurses we had throughout the evening/night/morning in labour and delivery I could not have asked for any better than they were. I'm so grateful that they made the experience that much better.
Finally - I was 10 cm and should have been ready to push - but they did not want me to strain and they even had an EKG done just to make sure the old heart was holding up well. This was where I started to get nervous as I worried that they would decide (after all that labour!) to send me in for a c-section anyway. But I had two young fresh and awesome resident Dr.'s that were willing to let me just relax and let the baby pull himself down the birth canal rather than having me try and push him down and possibly strain my heart. So this took a couple of hours....I think it was 9:30am before I felt a real urge to push. They Dr.s gave me the go ahead to try some pushing and see what happens. Well...all it took was 20 minutes and he was ready to come out. I have to say everyone was so encouraging...and we had a roomful - two resident Doctors, the OBGYN on call, two nurses and two paediatric doctors...and Anthony. Oh and the anesthesiologist was popping in and out to make sure I was ok - still feeling badly about getting that darn epidural in!
The pushing was actually pretty easy but they did determine that baby was "sunnyside up" - meaning face up. Which I will say is much more painful than the cute name they give it! LOL I have seen on "baby shows" where that alone can end up meaning a c-section! Lucky for me, my Dr.'s were ok having me give it a natural try. I ended up having a 2nd degree tear and the poor baby came out with a really flat nose and his forehead and the top of his head were horribly bruised (purple). But he cried and let us all know he was fine.
The next nurse came on and had a new nurse shadowing her - so I had two nurses for the rest of my time...and it was great! They were awesome! I must say out of the four nurses we had throughout the evening/night/morning in labour and delivery I could not have asked for any better than they were. I'm so grateful that they made the experience that much better.
Finally - I was 10 cm and should have been ready to push - but they did not want me to strain and they even had an EKG done just to make sure the old heart was holding up well. This was where I started to get nervous as I worried that they would decide (after all that labour!) to send me in for a c-section anyway. But I had two young fresh and awesome resident Dr.'s that were willing to let me just relax and let the baby pull himself down the birth canal rather than having me try and push him down and possibly strain my heart. So this took a couple of hours....I think it was 9:30am before I felt a real urge to push. They Dr.s gave me the go ahead to try some pushing and see what happens. Well...all it took was 20 minutes and he was ready to come out. I have to say everyone was so encouraging...and we had a roomful - two resident Doctors, the OBGYN on call, two nurses and two paediatric doctors...and Anthony. Oh and the anesthesiologist was popping in and out to make sure I was ok - still feeling badly about getting that darn epidural in!
The pushing was actually pretty easy but they did determine that baby was "sunnyside up" - meaning face up. Which I will say is much more painful than the cute name they give it! LOL I have seen on "baby shows" where that alone can end up meaning a c-section! Lucky for me, my Dr.'s were ok having me give it a natural try. I ended up having a 2nd degree tear and the poor baby came out with a really flat nose and his forehead and the top of his head were horribly bruised (purple). But he cried and let us all know he was fine.
Baby Boy Palaschuk
Born: Monday March 23, 2009 (at 37 weeks - 3 weeks early)
At: 9:55 am
Weight: 7 lbs. 15 oz.
Length: 23"
Born: Monday March 23, 2009 (at 37 weeks - 3 weeks early)
At: 9:55 am
Weight: 7 lbs. 15 oz.
Length: 23"
I was a little surprised at his weight - thinking he should have weighed more to justify being induced 3 weeks before his due date. But the Dr.'s assured me this was the weight they wanted him to be born at and had we waited another 3 weeks, he would have weighed closer to 10 pounds. Now that would not have been fun to deliver face up! Ouch!
Anthony was happy and grinning and was so enthralled that he totally missed getting any good birth pictures! How can he be married to a scrapbooker I wonder?
I did have to have my tear repaired - and as the Dr. was stitching me up I asked - how bad is it? how many stitches do I need?...and she laughed and said - oh don't worry, it's just one big long blanket stitch. Lovely! So I still don't know how many stitches it actually ended up needing.
After the pediatric Doctors checked baby out after I had a cuddle with him - they were concerned about his blood sugar levels - due to my glucose intolerance - so after I nursed him, I expressed a small amount of milk and they fed it to him from a cup in order to re-check his sugars...and he was perfect! It was pretty cute to see this little newborn drinking from a little cup!
So cute - and smart - this boy is - just minutes old and drinking from a cup!
At this point my mother-in-law showed up with Jordan and Noah and they came into the birthing room to meet their brother. It was so great to have them there so soon afterwards so they could meet the little guy. I think Jordan took a bunch of pictures - I guess I'd better get copies.
A snuggle with big brother Jordan!
And pretty soon they were getting me up and in the shower - which felt great! And then it was off to the postpartum unit. And that is where my excellent adventure ends and I become a bitter woman! LOL
I had asked in advance for a private room. I know myself well - and I do not sleep soundly under the best circumstances and I know that sharing a room will not be fun. But all the private rooms were still full as it was still early in the day and the occupants had not been discharged yet.
So I get wheeled into this little room - there is already a woman in the window bed and I am put in the bed by the door in front of the bathroom. As soon as I got in the room I was unhappy - I am totally claustrophobic and it felt like the curtains were touching me on all sides - that's how small the space was.
The woman and her husband on the other side of the curtain were talking really loudly in another language but it sounded more like they were yelling...just the volume and tone of their voices was stressful to listen to.
The postpartum nurse comes in to introduce herself and I ask if there is any way to still get that private room later on? Nope she says - it is the hospital policy that once a room is assigned, a patient cannot be moved. Grrrrr. Ok - I say - then I would like to be discharged today as I can't spend the night in this room. The nurse understood and was sympathetic but asked me to reconsider - so I agreed to wait till 10 pm (12 hours post birth is the minimum they ask you to stay).
I had asked in advance for a private room. I know myself well - and I do not sleep soundly under the best circumstances and I know that sharing a room will not be fun. But all the private rooms were still full as it was still early in the day and the occupants had not been discharged yet.
So I get wheeled into this little room - there is already a woman in the window bed and I am put in the bed by the door in front of the bathroom. As soon as I got in the room I was unhappy - I am totally claustrophobic and it felt like the curtains were touching me on all sides - that's how small the space was.
The woman and her husband on the other side of the curtain were talking really loudly in another language but it sounded more like they were yelling...just the volume and tone of their voices was stressful to listen to.
The postpartum nurse comes in to introduce herself and I ask if there is any way to still get that private room later on? Nope she says - it is the hospital policy that once a room is assigned, a patient cannot be moved. Grrrrr. Ok - I say - then I would like to be discharged today as I can't spend the night in this room. The nurse understood and was sympathetic but asked me to reconsider - so I agreed to wait till 10 pm (12 hours post birth is the minimum they ask you to stay).
Grandpa , Noah & Dad holding Jack (missing a picture of Grandma!)
The next 10 hours were awful! OMG - other than the fact that I had this cute little baby and my husband and family were there with me - I was in hell. The woman next door let her baby cry and cry and cry and cry...the nurse kept coming in and offering to take her baby for a while but she wouldn't let them - and she wouldn't get her to stop crying either. ugh.
At 10 pm - a new nurse was on shift and convinced me to stay the night...I was so tired I didn't really put up a fuss. And shortly after that is when the snoring behind the curtain began. It was like a freight train and a baby screaming in the background. My little guy seemed to sleep through it all just fine, but I couldn't sleep at all. The nurse gave me a set of earplugs and took my baby to the nursery so I could try and rest and she would bring the baby in to nurse when he woke up. So that part worked out ok.
When the Dr. on rounds came by at 7am I asked to be discharged ASAP - which was fine, but I had to wait for the paediatrician on rounds to come about and discharge the baby. At 11am she came around but didn't want to discharge baby because she wanted to monitor his sugar levels and his nursing. Luckily the nurse from the morning before was in my room too and argued for me that we'd be better off at home. Happily the Dr. reluctantly okays baby to go home too.
Whew - there is no way I could have stood another moment in there.
At 10 pm - a new nurse was on shift and convinced me to stay the night...I was so tired I didn't really put up a fuss. And shortly after that is when the snoring behind the curtain began. It was like a freight train and a baby screaming in the background. My little guy seemed to sleep through it all just fine, but I couldn't sleep at all. The nurse gave me a set of earplugs and took my baby to the nursery so I could try and rest and she would bring the baby in to nurse when he woke up. So that part worked out ok.
When the Dr. on rounds came by at 7am I asked to be discharged ASAP - which was fine, but I had to wait for the paediatrician on rounds to come about and discharge the baby. At 11am she came around but didn't want to discharge baby because she wanted to monitor his sugar levels and his nursing. Luckily the nurse from the morning before was in my room too and argued for me that we'd be better off at home. Happily the Dr. reluctantly okays baby to go home too.
Whew - there is no way I could have stood another moment in there.
At that point we had to fill in the paperwork required - which also included naming the baby! I had wanted to see the baby before deciding anything so we were not 100% sure on which names to use. But the ones that Anthony & I both loved were Jack Lawson. Despite disapproval from the MIL and Noah - that is the name we chose - and I really think it suits him.
Getting ready to go home!
After we handed in the paper work, Jack needed some blood work done - which was horrible to watch - as they had to squeeze his poor heel a few dozen times to get drops of blood from it. Afterwards we got Jack dressed and ready to go in his car seat and headed home - finally!
I'm sure I've missed some details - so I will update as I remember things.
It all seemed to happen so quickly - I really wish I could be there and relive it and enjoy it all over again.
It all seemed to happen so quickly - I really wish I could be there and relive it and enjoy it all over again.
So far Jack is amazing - will update more when time allows!
1 comment:
Thanks for sharing! I've been waiting patiently for the birth story! Now lets see some updated pics! LOL! I'm sure he's changed tons...
Post a Comment