Sunday July 8th
2012 – Baby was officially 11 days
overdue and still no consistent labour.
We had been hopeful and prayerful that I would go into labour on my own
over the weekend, but my induction was booked for Monday July 9th. When you are being induced, you go to
the hospital the night before for cervical gel to be applied. This softens the cervix and can often
cause you to go into labour and not need to be induced.
Our appointment for the gel
was at 4:30pm, but by the time we got into a room it was 5:15. They then monitor the baby’s heart rate
and my contractions for an hour before the doctor puts the gel in. The hospital was really busy that night
so we ended up waiting until after 7:30 before we finally saw the doctor. Then you have to stay for another 30
mins to make sure baby is ok before leaving. By the time we got out of there, it was almost 9pm and we
were starving! We had a nice
dinner, last one just the 2 of us, at Pickle Barrel and then headed home to
bed, praying I would go into labour!
Monday July 9th
2012 – I woke up Monday morning at
4:45 am with fairly strong contractions which lasted until we got in the car to
drive to the hospital, but of course they stopped on the way there! Our appointment was for 8:30 but the
hospital was busy that morning and didn’t have a room clean yet. So we went downstairs to the Tim
Horton’s to get something to eat.
Everything still seemed so surreal, such a weird feeling to have such a
‘planned’ labour and birth.
By 9:30 we were able to get
into our room so we settled in and Trish and Candice (our midwives) got to
work. They set up my IV and did
some bloodwork and then just before 10am got fluids and a bit of oxytocin pumping
and broke my waters. The contractions started almost immediately after my water
broke and for about an hour they got progressively stronger but were very
manageable. By 11 they started to
become quite strong and I tried to walk around to progress labour more quickly.
Unfortunately when you are induced you need to be hooked up to the IV as well
as the heart rate and contraction monitors at all times, so I couldn’t walk very
far. I felt very restricted and
tied down, and disappointed that I wasn’t going to be able to walk the halls or
use the Jacuzzi tub due to my situation. It was not helpful to see the midwives
consistently turning up the oxytocin…mentally I knew things were about to get
much worse very soon! By this
point my mom had also arrived at the hospital and was in the room with us.
12:00 pm – I started to feel
very sick to my stomach at this point, as well as incredibly hot. The drugs were really starting to take
a toll on my body and I was sweating like crazy. The contractions started to get very painful at this
point. I tried sitting on the
exercise ball and would lean into Marks side while breathing through each
contraction. He helped me by
rubbing my back and watching the contraction monitor. He could tell me when the contractions were starting to go
back down and that helped me get through each one. At this point they were very strong but only lasting about
30-45 seconds each.
1:15 pm – Candice checked me
and I was dilated to 4-5 cm.
Baby’s head had also moved down a bit more. The contractions got very intense around this time and they
also were coming 3-4 in a row with no breaks in between. I tried sitting on the edge of the bed,
and then Candice suggested putting the back of the bed up and having me kneel
facing it, with my arms hanging over the back. I stayed like this for the next hour while trying to
handle the multiple transactions.
Mark would rub my back and hips and my mom would remind me to keep
relaxed when all I wanted to do was tense up so tight and clench my fists. They were both so encouraging and so
was Candice; everyone was telling me I could do it, even though at this point I
was starting doubt that! I was so
incredibly hot and felt like I was going to throw up. Because I felt so rotten, it didn’t feel like I got a break in
between the multiple contractions at all.
My dad arrived around this time as well. He had been planning on staying at work until the baby was
close to arriving, but he couldn’t concentrate. What a rough time for him to come at…this was when the
contractions were at their worst, and he just hugged me and told me I was doing
a great job. He started crying
when he hugged me and couldn’t stay in the room after that…so sweet.
Around 2:00 I told Mark and
my mom that I didn’t think I could handle the pain anymore and was starting to
consider an epidural. I was so
torn but in so much pain. I didn’t
want to ‘give up’ as my birth plan and goal had been to go as natural as
possible. I asked Mark what he
thought I should do, which was so hard for him to answer. He could tell I really wanted the
epidural, but he also knew my goal and wanted to encourage me towards it. I was having such a hard time deciding,
I really wanted someone to tell me what to do. Candice then came in to talk to me about a few things. My blood pressure had been climbing
each week Kingston stayed inside me, and had been high that morning again. Also, my platelets had come back low
from my earlier bloodwork. This meant I may have trouble clotting and therefore
may need drugs to stop the bleeding as well as need to transfer my care to an
OB. Candice encouraged me that it
would probably be best for me to get the epidural. She explained that it would help to bring my blood pressure
down and that most women who are induced need to have the epidural because of
the number of consecutive contractions and their intensity. Right around this time as well the
anesthesiologist just happened to stop by room to see if I would be wanting an
epidural. This was my last chance
until he’d be back around 2 hrs later.
Both of these things made the decision for me, around 2:15 I said YES to
the epidural and by 2:30 it had been started and was beginning to take
effect. The anesthesiologist was so quick – I didn’t even know that he had started and
all of a sudden he said ‘ok, done’!
2:40 pm – A scary 10
minutes. Although I couldn’t see
the monitor and didn’t know what was going on, Kingston’s heart rate dropped
from the 150s to 84 suddenly. Trish
and Candice had me turning over onto my right, left, back, and then back again. They also called in a few other nurses
to help and put oxygen on me. I had
no idea what was happening, but everyone stayed so calm that I wasn’t
afraid. Mark was staring straight
at the monitor, but he didn’t give anything away to me. He just kept saying ‘its ok, its ok’
when I would look at him, and he totally kept me calm. Within a few minutes, Kingston’s heart
rate had climbed back up to normal, and they explained that this can often
happen post-epidural. The concern
of course is making sure that the heart rate goes back up again, otherwise an
emergency c-section may be necessary.
Praise God this ‘dip’ was just a result of the epidural and nothing was
wrong with our baby.
3:35pm – Trish checked me
and told me I was now 7cm dilated – from 4 to 7cm in 2 hrs – very rare and fast
for a first baby! I couldn’t
believe it. She also said that the
head had moved way, way down! By
now I was completely comfortable and not feeling any pain, just pressure during
the contractions. Dad, Mom, Mark
and I had such an enjoyable time hanging out in the room talking and joking
around. I felt so much better – no
longer sick to my stomach or sweaty.
The epidural did give me the shakes for about an hour, but apparently
that is just a side effect. I will
always remember that time that Mark and I were able to share with my parents
while they awaited the arrival of their grandchild. I felt like a completely different person after the epidural
– WOW. To go from that much pain
to hanging out with my family – amazing.
My dad would watch the contractions and tell me when they would be
‘record-setting’ – they were coming 4 in a row and were mostly off the charts,
and I could barely feel a thing! I
definitely understand why women choose to have epidurals!!
Around this time we also
found out that my second round of bloodwork had come back completely fine with
no need for concern at all – another blessing from the Lord!
By 4:45 pm I was feeling
quite a bit of pressure and Candice and Trish both checked me. Candice thought I was 9cm dilated and
that the head was quite close, and Trish said I was definitely a full
10cm! This means that from the
time of induction (10am) and being 2 cm dilated, to being a full 10 cm, was
only about 7 hours – almost unheard of for a first-time mom! Though I was ready to push at this
point, Trish and Candice asked me to wait to let the baby’s head come down even
further naturally.
6pm – My parents left the
room at this time and Trish and Candice sat up on the bed with me and explained
how I was going to need to push.
They mentioned that since Candice is still a student, they would need to
call another midwife to be there for the birth. This midwife would be Alison, who also had a student with
her, so I was going to have 4 midwives with me! I didn’t mind at all, the more the merrier!
Once I started pushing,
Candice and Trish started to look at each other in surprise, saying ‘is that
the head? I think that’s the
head’. They couldn’t believe it! Trish decided to call Alison right away!
Pushing was not at all what
I expected. I thought it would be
frenzied and somewhat chaotic, but it was so calm and relaxed. Mark sat beside the bed and the midwives
sat on the end of the bed holding my legs. With each push they would all encourage me to keep going,
keep going. My epidural had run
out but it didn’t hurt one bit to push – it was rewarding to feel like I was
doing something! The Lord
certainly gave me the strength – after the epidural and the numbness/weakness
in my body I had had no idea how I was going to be able to push! I did throw up at one point but it was
not much and I felt much better afterwards. I know it’s very common to vomit during this time too.
Kingston moved down the
birth canal very quickly and the back-up midwife Alison did not make it in time
for him to be born, but her student Claire did.
He wasn’t stuck coming out, but his body was a bit twisted, so it took
about 2 minutes for the rest of him to come out after his head was out. Mark watched the whole thing, I was so
proud of him. I will always
remember him saying ‘oh my gosh, oh my gosh’ when Kingston came completely
out. His eyes were full of tears
and he sounded so overwhelmed. He
was born exactly at 6:40pm. They
immediately placed him on my chest and started to clean him off. I had to ask Mark ‘what is it?!’ three
times because he was still so caught up in the moment. When they lifted Kingston’s legs I
could hardly believe what I saw in between them, and Mark yelled ‘It’s a
BOY?!”, which sounded more like a question than an announcement. It was such a relief to hear him cry
and to know that he was healthy and pinking up quickly. I also couldn’t believe
that he was so big – 8 lbs 10 oz and 22 inches long!
I am so overwhelmed by all
of the evidences of the Lord’s care and protection over us during the labour
and delivery. Though it was
nothing like I hoped or planned for, it was clearly His will for us. The following thoughts stand out
especially:
-
Though I did NOT want
to be induced, if I had gone into labour naturally prior to July 9, Trish and
Candice would not have been my midwives.
I had seen both of them more than any other midwife on my team and felt
the most comfortable with them.
They were honestly amazing and I truly feel like they made such a
difference for me
-
My blood results – from
being a worry to coming back the second time with no concerns at all – only can
be explained as an answer to the many prayers being offered up
-
The anesthesiologist
just ‘happening’ to stop by my room at just the right time, before being
unavailable for the next 2 hrs
-
Me being able to stay
calm during the dip in Kingston’s heart rate, and the fact that it was
temporary and climbed right back up again
- The quick progression of labour and delivery - all said and done I was only in labour for about 8 hours - very rare for a first baby and rare for having an epidural as well!
Here I am after the epidural...that's why I am smiling!
Here are a few of the first shots of Kingston Leonard Vincent Sylvester. Leonard is Mark's dad's middle name, and Vincent is my dad's middle name.
Love that this precious moment was captured:
Our incredible midwives - so, so thankful for their care, encouragement, and expertise
First family shot
