We went to the hospital at 8 PM on the 29th of Oct. and I was induced using a prostaglandlin gel which was applied to my cervix. 2 hours later I was having 5 minute contractions every 2 minutes apart. Yes you are reading that correctly. 5 minute contractions, 2 minutes apart! It was terrible!
So we went back to the hospital Emergency Room and I laboured there for 6 hours and the worst part was I was not dilating past 1 cm! So frustrating! I had hoped for a relatively drug free labour however when they offered me morphine at 5 AM I took it! A few hours later they wheeled me over to the Labour and Delivery ward where I showered and then a few hours later they hooked me up to an IV hormone called oxytocin. I started having regular contractions which were much more natural - 60 seconds long 5 minutes apart. However still not dilating.
The doctor broke my water and then I dilated from 1 cm to 3 cm within 2 hours, but by that time I had been in labour for nearly 12 hours and with no food nor rest was feeling like I wouldn't have enough energy to push when it came time to do that. So I requested an epidural to help with the pain so I could sleep. However the anesthesiologist was missing in action so laboured for another hour.
When I did get the epidural the effect was almost instantaneous and it was wonderful to be able to sleep a bit. I didn't feel a thing anymore. They checked me a few hours later and I had progressed only 1 cm more, and then 10 hours later I had not progressed at all.
So they gave me an IUPC - Intra-Uterine Pressure C....? I don't remember what the C stood for. It's like a pressure tester. From the IUPC they could tell the baby was stuck. His heart rate was dropping as low as 90 beats per minute. I was told I would need to have a C-section.
In my hospital room I was given medicine that would help nausea. I had eaten 6 small popsicles (the cheap kind) and they were soooooo good. When it looked like labour would be a while, I sent Cam to Safeway for better popsicles. The ones made with real fruit juice. I ate 3 bites before they told me I couldn't eat any more because I was going into surgery. They took my popsicle away! The medicine tasted really bitter like tequila.
I remember being wheeled from my labour room to the O.R., and then being told to hold still while they transferred me from the hospital bed to the operating table. They said that trying to help might make them drop me. I remember feeling the iodine being scrubbed onto my belly, and then the anesteseologist was there giving me a booster for the C-section. A curtain went up and Cam was to my right, the anesthesologist to my left. My arms were out at 90° from my body, and they were shaking uncontrollably. I was told this was normal, a reaction to the anesthetic. I was asked if I could feel anything (I presume they were pinching me), I said no. I didn't feel anything for the longest time, then I was told "you're going to feel some pressure" - it felt like an elephant was sitting on me, and there were some disturbing sucking noises. I could hear the doctors talking, they said something about "strange anatomy". The baby was out, I knew it was, there was no noise and it was just heartbreaking. It was 1:05 AM A minute since the baby was taken out. Then the baby started to cry! And cry, and CRY, and CRY! The doctor said "whoah, this one's p*ssed off".
The doctor asked if we had any names picked out - we said Chance if it was a boy, and (another name) if it was a girl....and he said "well, say hello to Chance!" Then they finally held my little boy up for me to see it was so amazing! I clearly remember Cameron holding him to show me his face (the rest of him was wrapped up in blankets) but then I lose track of time for about 8 hours when I was pretty drugged. I remember being freezing cold and wrapped up in blankets myself and trying to get the baby to breastfeed, but he wouldn't so they took him away.
The next morning I woke up as about 6 doctors, nurses, etc. were in my room. It seemed they wanted to me to breastfeed, examine my catheter and incision all at the same time - overwhelming! I was still hooked up to the IV. I was told I needed to pee 1 L before noon. I also had a baby sleeping next to me in a basinnette. He was snoring.
The nurses were wonderful, especially one who really helped me breastfeed Chance. She was very hands-on, but I appreciated the effort, because it really payed off in spades. Chance was feeding successfully within 24 hours. This was a big victory for me. I felt triumphant when he finally got it, around 5 PM or so on Oct. 31. Eating was hard work for him though, and he often fell asleep very quickly, so Cam and I spent hours expressing colostrum and syringe-feeding it to him. Lynne came to visit around supper time, bringing Chance a stuffed lamb and t-shirt declaring that he was born at Rockyview General Hospital.
I was in the hospital for a day and a half and then they said I could choose to go home if I wanted to - I nearly jumped for joy! Cam came to pick me up at 10 AM, and by the time we were through with feeding the baby, forms, etc., it as 2 PM. Cam put me and Chance to bed and we slept for 3 hours - it felt like 3 seconds. When we woke up Cam had made a simple supper and hand-fed me while I fed Chance. Real food, veggies, crackers, etc. tasted so good after days of nothing but liquids.
The first few days at home were pretty wild. We were visited by a public health nurse who weighed Chance and we were told that he had lost 400 g, or 9.6% of his birth weight. 10% is the limit where the Calgary Health Region brings the babies back to the hospital. I had a bit of trouble breastfeeding him right off the bat and it took about 24 hours to get it figured out how to latch him on and even then he sometimes fell asleep after only 5 minutes. After we got home, it was better because I was more comfortable and relaxed, but the weight was already lost and we couldn't do anything except to supplement his feedings with formula, just tiny amounts every other feeding. The next day we visited the doctor & we weighed Chance again and he had not gained any weight but he had not lost any either. The next day we went to a health clinic and my section staples were removed and we weighed Chance again...this time he had gained a little more than 100 g! The bad part was that when his temperature was taken it consistantly read low - below the 36.6°C threshold that the Health Region needs in order to send the baby back home. So we had to go to the Children's Hospital where he was assessed - I was really upset because I just wanted to feed my baby and everyone seemed to be keeping me from doing just that. At the hospital his temperature was taken again and he was 37°. Normal. It was an exhausting day. Was that really only 2 days ago...? It seems so long now.
Being at home feels really good and now I'm feeling ready to go out for a short walk with Cam and the baby tomorrow, probably late afternoon when it's warmest. I wouldn't have believed that it would feel so good to be a mom - my heart nearly bursts if I think about it too long! I'm just so happy to have Chance here with us, and we love him so much! He seems to be gaining weight and he is definitely producing a lot of dirty diapers, all good signs that breastfeeding is going well. I'm looking forward to when coughing doesn't hurt anymore - right now it is still pretty sore where I was operated on but it will be better soon.
Our first visitors will be coming to stay next weekend, Cam's parents and my sister & her boyfriend. It will be a full house, just for the weekend! A few days later my mom is flying into town and she will stay with us for 10 days which will be great. Then my dad is driving the 800 km here to spend the weekend with us and then he and mom will go home together. A few weeks later they will be back for a week in early December and then at Christmas time we are going to drive 800 km north to Cameron's parents' farm. The time will go quickly, I'm sure.
