On January 7, I had an appointment with my OB and decided that it was time to try more than walking to induce labour. My OB checked me and I was 1.5 cm dilated!! Woohoo! No effort or pain and I had already made some progress. I decided to have my membranes swept in hopes that we could see a little more action. After having this done I was little uncomfortable and experiencing a little bit of cramping. I went home and attempted to take a nap and just relaxed for the rest of the afternoon.
That evening Tim and I went out for dinner with his parents and then to the Hobbit. I had a hard time eating as I was still having periodic cramping. During the movie I accidentally spilled my popcorn seasoning all over Tim because I was trying to get comfortable during a contraction. When we got home I once again attempted to go to sleep. I was not having any success. My mom happened to call me which was a nice distraction. She suggested taking a bath and said that would for sure get my labour started. I was fairly skeptical but decided to give it a try as I wasn't going to be falling asleep any time soon. The bath felt lovely but my contractions seemed to stop. I eventually got out and once again tried to go to sleep. About 10 minutes after getting out of the tub the contractions started again and were much more intense. I soon gave up on sleep and had Tim run me another bath. It was scalding but I didn't care because I was able to relax. Tim sat on the couch watching Friends. I would call out every contraction and he would holler back telling me that my contractions were 3-5 minutes apart. Around 2 AM my water broke but I wasn't certain because I was still in the in the tub. Tim finally convinced me that indeed I was in labour and it was time to go to the hospital. I was in a fair amount of pain and had a hard time getting out of the tub. Tim was slightly stressed and asked if he was going to have to call an ambulance. Once I got out I just sat and had Tim bring me everything that I would need to leave the house. At this point I also started throwing up. I cannot describe to you how done with being pregnant I was. Once dressed I realized that indeed my water had broken. With every contraction I had a large gush go down my leg. This is truly disgusting but on the upside I knew that I would be admitted to the hospital because I was group B strep+ and needed antibiotics. We finally managed to make it out to the car. It was super cold, windy and snowy. Of course I had a contraction right before I made it to the car and just had to stand there freezing until it passed. I looked extremely homeless when I made showed up L&D dressed in a Tim's winter jacket, pants soaking wet and a brightly coloured toque. Somehow they still managed to recognize that I was an NICU RT. Maybe I am a memorable person?? They moved me to triage to check me. I was very insistent that I needed antibiotics which meant I would be admitted and could get an epidural. They checked me and I was 4cm dilated! Woohoo! I was moved to a delivery room around 4:30 AM where I was finally given the glorious epidural. I was so relaxed that I couldn't even hold the medicine clicker in my hand. I was finally able to fall asleep. After a snooze I was able to function and felt so great. I called the NICU to let them know what room I was in. I had to be in control. I had a lot of anxiety around the delivery because I have seen one to many go wrong. It just so happened to be the team that I work with on. Around 6 AM and was checked again. I was 6 cm dilated! Woohoo! I couldn't feel anything. Tim was able to sleep in a chair while I listened to my favourite audio book- Harry Potter and texted my family.
When the day staff came on at 7 AM I told them that I could feel a light pressure low in my bum. They told me the doctor would be coming by to check me soon. I told Tim that things would probably take quite a while so he should go get some breakfast. The doctor eventually came and when she pulled back the blanket she was shocked to see that I was crowning!!! Crazy! Epidurals are amazing as I couldn't feel anything. I had to call Tim to tell him to come back as things were going faster than I had anticipated. Once he arrived I was able to start pushing. After 26 minutes he was here. He was perfect and he was all mine! I feel truly blessed because everything had gone perfect and I had stressed for nothing.
Tim also did great during the delivery. We had an Asian OB and in true Tim fashion before I started pushing he had to find out where she was from and how Asian she is. Tim loves to ask all Asians he meets these questions! It is these quirks that make me love him.
I love Tim as a dad! I seriously couldn't be anymore in love with these two.
I had a nice healthy placenta :)
We got super lucky because L&D was empty and postpartum was packed. We hung out for most of the day with our awesome nurses. They found me puddings and brought me lots of drinks. They were seriously so fabulous! It was strange being able to eat and not throw up. It was crazy that instantaneously my body had changed and I was no longer sick. This was truly magical. I have never been so hungry in my entire life. I ate all the hospital food I was given!! Logically I could tell that it was fairly disgusting but I didn't care. I was just happy to be eating.
Birth is hard work!
Tim left late that night. Right after he left I decided I would check Jack's diaper one last time and found this. I was tempted to call Tim and make him come back to change the first diaper. I thought it was mandatory for the Dad to change the first diaper! Oh well he can make up for it with all the stinky ones!
All squeaky clean after his first bath.
Jack we love you!
