Nuzzled into the crook of my arm is the latest addition to the Five Blondes family, Audrey. Seeing as she’s been part of the family for over two months now, I’m horribly behind on sharing info and, of course, pictures! I’m going to kick things off with the birth story and a few pictures.
Audrey’s Birth Story (warning, may be TMI for some. I tried to be modest but it’s a birth story. Modesty is an afterthought while in labour.) (Also, it’s long. 2000+ words long. Want a TL;DR? Audrey was born.)
My birth “experience” and Audrey’s introduction to the world was…long (60 hours long, though I was not in labour that entire time)…but of course very rewarding. After suffering a small seizure in my sleep the night before my due date, at my next appointment my OB decided that scheduling an induction would be the best way to get the ball rolling. I had been hoping to go into labour naturally, but we didn’t want to risk her health if I were to have another seizure. My induction was scheduled for 41w1d. Little did we know she wouldn’t be born until 41w3d!
Tuesday - We were told to expect to be called in to the hospital the evening before the induction so that a foley bulb (or foley catheter) could be inserted to help dilate my cervix (it was barely 1 cm dilated at my last OB appointment). However, I was never called…so that never happened. This confused us…
Wednesday – After a sleepless night, the phone rang at 6:30AM on the dot. It was really strange to be receiving a call telling me that it was time to have my baby. We got up, had breakfast, loaded up the car and headed to the hospital. I was admitted at around 8AM. We met our nurse and I was hooked up to an IV. The hospital staff were confused as to why we didn’t get a call the night before – just as confused as we were, I think! Apparently it had been a very busy day. They checked to see if I was any further dilated (nope) and went ahead with the foley bulb. At this point they also began administering oxytocin to try to start contractions. And then we waited. I had to be hooked up to the monitors to measure contractions…if I had any.
Approximately 2 hours later, with no progression, the OB on-call came in to discuss our ‘options’ with us. Basically, he told us that continuing to receive oxytocin intravenously might bring on contractions at an unmanageable pace and lead to the need for a c-section. If that wasn’t a risk we wanted to take, we could go home and they would put me on the induction list for Thursday. I don’t think this happens very often as everyone I tell this to is very surprised that they sent me home! We took a moment to mull it over and decided that we would both be much more comfortable at home – not to mention that a natural (or at least, vaginal) birth was my goal. The nurse (who was very friendly and I was sad to leave her) unhooked me from the various monitors and removed the IV (phew – I hate IVs). The foley bulb remained in place (awkward…) as it was intended to fall out on its own once I was dilated to 2 or 3 cm. We spent the afternoon and evening visiting my parents and Micaela to try and keep our minds off of the fact that we were going to be waiting even longer to meet Audrey. I was having contractions on and off but they were never frequent or long enough to warrant us going back to the hospital.
Thursday – Another sleepless night! I was staring at the clock radio when it turned to 6:30AM, fully expecting the phone to ring. It didn’t ring. The foley bulb came out as intended (I threw it in the garbage as instructed). It was good to know that my body was starting to get ready to let her out! All morning we would jump whenever the phone rang, anxious to drive out. We would (lovingly) tell whomever was calling not to call us again as it was causing unneeded stress (OMG the phone! is it time??). We waited all afternoon and into the evening. I bounced on the exercise ball and walked around the house. Contractions came and went. After we ate dinner, I called the hospital to confirm that I was definitely on the ‘induction list’ for the day as we were starting to doubt if they would ever call. Yup, I was on the list and would get a call when they were ready for me. Finally it was around 9:30PM and I decided that I had better get some sleep! I guess that was the key because the hospital called not 15 minutes after I decided that. So much for my sleep. I was admitted (again) around 11PM and while waiting to be shown to our labour room I realized that I would be giving birth on my half-birthday (exactly 6 months from my birthday)! It was a silly thought but fun to think that we would always share this. It will be hard for her to forget when her mommy’s birthday is 
Friday – Finally, the real action started. Around midnight the doctor came in and broke my water. I was having mild contractions so we decided that walking around the hospital might get them going so that I could avoid needing oxytocin. Nearly two hours were spent walking (though you might have called my walk an awkward shuffle) through the nearly-deserted hospital. My contractions began to get a little stronger. We headed back to our room because I was getting too tired to keep walking. Despite my contractions, I hadn’t progressed much further along and so they began an oxytocin drip again. I spent a few hours alternating between bouncing on an exercise ball, pacing in our hospital room, and resting as contractions picked up slowly but surely.
Around noon I was dilated to 5cm and was having consistent and strong contractions. Our nurse was noting that they were beginning to “double” and “triple” – meaning that I was having multiple contractions very close together – which was caused by the oxytocin. It began to get to be a little too much for me to handle – not to mention that I was going on only a few hours of sleep over the past few days and no food, save for the hospital jello and popsicles (sidenote: these foods are not entirely unpleasant when they come back up). After some consideration, I decided to ask for an epidural. It had been offered several times at this point but I was really hoping for a natural delivery and had turned it down. The nurse told me it would be a little while before the anesthesiologist would arrive and then the procedure would be in blocks of 15 minutes: 15 minutes to go over the procedure and the risks, 15 to insert, 15 for it to really start to take effect.
This is where things get a little…interesting.
The resident anesthesiologist arrived after about 30 minutes and went over the risks. Next, they wheeled over a high tabletop for me to lean over onto a pillow and had Denis stand on the other side to support me and hold on to me. Finally, the anesthesiologist got set up and began to locate the spot on my back to insert the needle. However, he couldn’t quite find the correct spot. So he tried again. Nope. He had me push my lower back out further…adjust this way…that way…keep in mind that my contractions were now quite strong! I did my best to stay as relaxed as possible. I remember being quite shaky at this point and later on the nurse remarked that she thought I might have been in transition as the epidural was being inserted. The resident eventually gave up and called the anesthesiologist on-call to our room to complete the procedure. After a few minutes of her trying to find the right angle, she asked me if I had ever been diagnosed with scoliosis, because she was pretty convinced that I had it, which was why they could not insert the needle very easily.
Wow. What a time to find out that you (probably) have scoliosis…
It took about an hour to get the epi in place (after the 15 minutes for the risks). My back was later described as a ‘dartboard’ due to the multiple attempts to insert the needle into my spine. In addition, the epidural never fully took effect. What is did do, however, was allow me to sleep for about 4 or 5 hours! My body managed to do a lot of the work while I was sleeping – after a quick check, the nurse told me that I was fully dilated and would be ready to push soon! Whoa! I was overwhelmed at the prospect that we would soon be meeting our little girl.
Less than an hour later, I was starting to feel the urge to push. Now, I have read a lot of birth stories that describe how just ‘a few pushes’ were needed…or that the labouring mom pushed for ‘twenty minutes’. Then again, I knew of moms who pushed for much longer, or pushed for some time only to end up having a c-section. I didn’t know what to expect but maintained a positive outlook. The nurse told us that the general practice at the hospital was to let you push for about 2 hours (if needed) before taking any measures to help the baby out – most often the OBs would use forceps and there was one who might use a vacuum. I kept all of this in the back of my mind.
You’ll have to excuse the fact that I don’t have much of a concept of time from this point on. All I know is that I started pushing around 5PM and was still pushing approximately two hours later. Our nurse was coaching me through pushing and Denis was supporting me, making sure that I was breathing and staying relaxed in between contractions. Yes, I was forgetting to breathe. When I realized that two hours had gone by I started silently worrying – I had met the 2 hour mark, now what? She was incredibly close to being born – I had already seen the top of her head (yes, I looked in the mirror) and confirmed that she had hair! I didn’t go through all of this to have a c-section. Naturally, I was going to do whatever was necessary to have a healthy baby, but I felt sure I could keep going for a little while. The worst pain I was feeling was just under my ribs. It felt like the worst ‘stitch’ in my side (although it radiated across my entire torso) that I had ever felt.
7PM meant the nursing shift change. I didn’t love the nurse we had during the day on Friday – she did her job just fine but didn’t have a lot of energy. The instant the new nurse took over, there was a shift in the energy of the room! She was excited – upbeat – made me want to push even harder! I feel so bad that I can’t remember her name. I don’t think she ever really introduced herself seeing as I was mid-push when she joined us, so I guess it’s forgivable.
At some point the OB joined us as well. I felt like I had been pushing for.ev.er. and not really getting anywhere so it was great to hear her say that I was pushing ‘really well’. I was starting to doubt myself so I asked her, “you’re not just saying that to make me feel good, right?” She wasn’t 
After about another 30 minutes, the OB told us that her head was soooo close to being out but was getting stuck by my ‘pelvic ridge’. She presented us with two options: either keep pushing which could take 45-60 minutes, or she could help me with a small vacuum and have Audrey out in 5 minutes. I pondered this offer for a few minutes and decided to take their help. The instant I said “yes” all systems were go!
It seemed like a whirlwind of action as the doctor and nurse (and resident…and student…lots of observers!) quickly set up and got ready for the delivery. I caught a glimpse of the vacuum – it wasn’t what I expected, which was a bell-shaped cup. Rather, it was the size and shape of a saucer – quite flat. I didn’t have much time to dwell on what it looked like because with my next contraction Audrey was born! I pushed as the doctor guided her head under my pelvic ridge. I cried. Denis cried. Finally, Audrey cried. Our new family was born!
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