That's baby and me at 40 weeks, the day before my due date.
The past two weeks have been surreal.
My labour was ... good. As good as the act of labour could be, lol.
The contractions started around 9am, right when I woke up in the morning lasting about 30 seconds every 7-10 minutes. I knew that I wanted to stay at home for as long as possible. (Who wants to hang out in the hospital all day? So uncomfortable!) but I also knew that the side road drive to Credit Valley would take almost 1/2 an hour. That part made me most nervous. Around 3:00pm, my contractions were still lasting about 30 seconds but were coming faster, about every 5-7 minutes. I called the hospital again and the nurses advised us to make our way down and get assessed (especially because I had a pretty "short" labour with Aiden - approximately 5 1/2 hours) better safe than sorry. I called my Dad to come get Aiden, we packed his back pack and let him know that the next time he saw us, we could have our baby with us! Ryan and I cleaned up the house a bit and shortly left after Aiden was picked up. We arrived at the hospital around 4:30pm and was assessed once we got there. I was 3cm dilated and was being admitted! This was it! We were going to have our baby!! Oh shit.
I told them from the get go that I was going to attempt to do this naturally (again). The nurses were giving me straight kuddos for this decision. I've always told myself that if I was "dying" and truly felt like I wasn't going to make it (lol) - I wouldn't feel guilty asking for an epidural. But I've done it once naturally before, I can do it again ... right? Right? ... Right?
At 6:00pm, I was examined again & was 6cm dilated. My contractions were happening every 2-3 minutes at this point and they were getting pretty intense. I must say, breathing was beyond key during contractions. With each contraction, I placed myself in a serene world, a world of my own and focused heavily on getting through them. I wanted to scream, loud - but I controlled myself. I figured, what's screaming and kicking going to do besides make me look like a crazy person. The doctor then came in to break my water. He informed me that he was confident that we would have our baby no later than 9:00 this evening. Excited, thrilled, scared and nervous all at the same time - before the end of the day we were going to be a family of four!
I was shortly transferred to our birthing suite, which was the epitope of a suite. It was clean & spacious. Except the temperature was a bit off ... well maybe just for me. I was asking Ryan to fan me on second but then put extra blankets on me the next second. I was having some serious hot / cold sweat. Love Ryan for being such a trooper and just doing anything and everything to make me more comfortable.
(Insert thought of epidural right about now).
By 6:50pm I was feeling intense pressure on my behind and the need to push ... NOW. The nurse came back into my room to check me and I was 8cm dilated. She said, "you're just at 8cm, so not yet". I asked her if I was allowed to go to the washroom - she replied, "poop or pee?" ... I said I wasn't sure (lol). She said that I wasn't allowed - cause if I went to the washroom, my baby would be born in the toilet ... and of course, I didn't want that. She then left. I was still feeling INTENSE pressure and the need to PUSH. I kept my composure until this moment. I screamed at my lovely mom to get someone, anyone in here. It felt like beyond forever for someone to come into our room. (I later found out that the nurses were doing a shift change, which contributed to the lack of response to my request). Ryan and I were the only ones in the birthing suite for a moment & in this moment, with one big grunt and a loud scream - baby's head was out (ek!). I guess my scream finally caused some attention, because after that grunt a gazillion (ok, like six) nurses came to my rescue. Two seconds later and one more loud grunt, baby's body was out (yay!). I explain it like a "slip and slide" event. It literally felt as if she slipped right out of me - much less work & drama compared to my first birthing experience. My anxiety and nervousness was over - & it was all worth it.
My mind took a double take when they said, it's a girl.
Really? A baby girl? Really?! Our little family is complete (for now).
On her exact due date of July 2nd, we were blessed with a beautiful, happy and healthy baby girl. At 7:13pm, weighing 6 pounds, 3 ounces and measuring 19 inches, our little Sadie Quinn was here.
Fifteen minutes later, the doctor arrived, no where near in time for my labour, but ...
... to remove my placenta. Such an awkward, weird feeling.
I wasn't hooked up to an IV this time, which was nice because I felt more mobile and comfortable that I was able to use both my hands. I was feeling minimum pain post-labour, but was just quite hungry and TIRED.
Skin-to-skin is a big thing at the hospital. We spent the next half an hour just basking in the moment and feeling beyond blessed that we brought another life into this world. Then we nursed, they say that suckling and attentiveness is most evident during the first few minutes of birth. After we were settled in and "cleaned up", my mom went out to the waiting room to get Kuya A.
BEST MOMENT, ever.
The look on his face, I will never forget. He was finally a big brother & he was loving every moment of it.
& just like us, A was completely smitten over S.
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