Labour and Delivery

Every mom's got a story - here's mine.

I woke up at about 4am on October 16, 2009, with a gush of liquid coming from between my legs. I thought my maybe my water broke, but I also thought maybe I was peeing - I stood up to smell the mattress. As the water continued to gush out, I realized the sniff test wasn't necessary - this was baby time. I shook Mike to wake him up "Mike, my water broke" and I don't actually remember what he said. Because I was strep-B positive, I needed to go to the hospital right away. I'm glad I didn't have to just wait around for labour to start.

My due date wasn't until November 1, and unlike everyone else who's pregnant, I was NOT anxious to meet my son. I would have been content for him to stay in there forever. As such, my hospital bag was not packed. I started packing my bag. Not rushed, but not taking my time either. I packed a few pairs of underwear (little did I know I'd need 50 pair for the amount of water gushing out of me), some clothes for Aidan, some comfy clothes for me, and of course snacks.

Luckily there wasn't much traffic (it was pretty early) and it didn't take long to get to the hospital. They gave me some pretty mesh hospital underwear (these are not actually pretty) and got me hooked up to some machines to monitor me. The nurse came in after a while to check the machines and told me I was 3 cm dilated, had I felt any contractions?

I was surprised - 3 cm dilated and I still hadn't felt any pain. Woo hoo! While she was in there she said, "Oh, you just had a contraction, did you feel it?" I had not felt anything. This experience made me excited, thinking maybe I'd deliver the baby and never feel a thing! How naive of me.

The first (and maybe most?) painful moment came soon after - I had to get an IV. This was not enjoyable AT ALL. I'd never had one before, and it really hurt to get that needle put in. The pain is supposed to go away, but it hurt the whole time. Maybe I'm just a big wimp, but it killed me. As a side story, I remember getting blood taken during my pregnancy. It was the first time I'd ever had blood taken and I told the woman that I was scared. Her comfort was, "Oh, honey, you're going to feel much worse pain than this before your baby is born!" I was not comforted. I cried.

Shortly after that, I was whisked to the delivery room where I was given pitocin to speed up the process. All that was left to do was sit back and wait for the pain. I read the paper while chatting with Mike and listening to music. I talked on the phone with my family. My thoughts - "Pfft, labour is easy".

I asked Mike for a snack. During my prenatal class, the instructor had informed us that you used to not be allowed snacks during labour but, HURRAY, Alberta had recently changed the rules and you were now allowed to eat and drink. When I asked for the Arrowroot (baby cookie), the nurse that was in the room turned to me immediately, "You're not allowed to eat". WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAT??? I know I've written before about my love affair with food, but only those that know me well will understand just how important food is to me. Or even if you don't know me well, if you've ever tried to steal some of my snacks (as I bring snacks with me pretty much every where I go) then you know how seriously I take my food.

After some discussion, the nurse told me that if I was starving I could have something. So I told her I was starving. I was allowed some toast and juice.

At about 10:30 am, I went to the bathroom. All of a sudden I felt really bad period cramps. I seriously did not clue in that it was a contraction, because it really felt just like period cramps. A few minutes after that (felt like a few seconds) the cramps returned, only more intensely. My sister had delivered her baby only 2 weeks ago and her words of wisdom rang in my ears, "Get the epidural". As soon as a nurse came in I said "I'm going to want the epidural". I think I went through about a half hour of contractions before the anesthesiologist finally came and gave me my needle. Our prenatal class (and lots of books) had made epidurals seem evil and unnatural, but I could still feel the contractions, they just didn't hurt as much. I have no regrets.

When it came time to push, I was not prepared. I felt like I had just started having contractions and all of a sudden it was time to have a baby! Luckily, I had been warned about 2 very important things - I would probably poop while pushing, and I would probably tear (I was more scared about tearing than anything else, which seems so silly now). As I pushed (which actually hurt) I kept asking "Did I poop?" I knew I probably would, but I was still ashamed.

Finally, the pushing was over and Aidan was out! He was being weighed and measured, etc while Mike took videos and pictures. My first question "Did I tear?" Yes, I did, but I only needed 2 stitches. Apparently pretty much all first time moms tear (this is a warning to all of you women without children, because I didn't know this before I was pregnant). A nurse came to me, "You're allowed to eat now. Would you like a sandwich?" At first I said no, but then two seconds later - "What kinds of sandwiches do you have?" I chowed down while Mike played the role of proud parent. I honestly did not feel whatever it is you're supposed to feel - overwhelmed, overjoyed? I just felt hungry. I don't think I really clued in to what was going on.

So that's my birth story. Aidan was born at about 3:15pm so I had about 5 hours of contractions/pushing. Honestly, it was not bad at all. I think God did this so that I would be willing to have another child. I'm sure the next time won't be so easy. Or maybe it will. I can only hope.