Sofia Arrives!
It was in the early morning hours of September 2nd that everything started to happen. I was up at 2am for my usual bathroom break when I noticed things were starting to change. I crawled back into bed and wondered if today was going to be the day. A few hours later I was up with some small rhythmic cramps and I sat and pondered if these were the beginnings of the contractions. After resting for an hour, I woke up Akis and said that I thought I was having contractions and we may be in for a long day. Making my way to the tub, I sat for the next few hours in the tub while Akis wandered in and out with his paper, pencil and a watch with a second hand.
With contractions coming at regular intervals, we called the midwife. Speaking with Thea, she said asked how the contractions were on a scale from 1 to 10. I said that it was about a 7, but that I really didn't know what a 10 was, so maybe it was really a 3. In hindsight, I would definitely say it was only a 2.5! We left things that we would call her in the afternoon and let her know how things were going.
I continued to labour at home and by 9:30, the contractions were more intense and closer together. I suggested that Akis call the Doula ~ Vanessa ~ and the midwife. Things then started to happen very quickly as Aislynn and Neva came to pick up Hugo. Kudos to him ~ depsite my labour, he wasn't freaking out and was leaving me to moan and do what I needed to do. Vanessa and Thea arrived shortly after 11am. Thea sat through a few contractions and then suggested she check how far along I was. I was surprised to hear that my cervix was completely thinned out and dialated to 4 cm already. My water hadn't broken, but it was quite clear that today was going to be the day!
With the option of staying at home or heading to the hospital, I opted for the hospital as they have drugs! We got into the car, 4 contractions later we made the 7km drive to the hospital. In true Akis fashion, I had to give directions on how to get there ~ 'Ela, where do I turn???'
Once I arrived, Thea asked for the epidural, however they would not administer this until I had blood work done to check my clotting levels. I was disappointed to know that relief would be longer in coming and tried to figure out a game plan to get through the next half hour. I started to labour in the shower as water seemed to be very soothing and had the support of Vanessa. Akis had a hard time seeing my labour and the pain that was occurring ~ he spent most of the time in the room but wasn't actively involved until the drugs came. After almost 2 hours of waiting, labouring and being somewhat cranky to both Vanessa and the nurse, I was worried that the baby was going to be coming before the drugs would. The contractions were like nothing I had ever felt before and I have a great appreciation for those folks who do this drug free ~ I also realized that this much pain is not for me.
I was really happy to see the 'drug' lady and once the epidural came, things were looking much better. The nurse even commented that I was quite humourous. It is amazing what can happen when you have drugs to numb some of the pain.
I had been 7cm until Thea broke my water and then receeded to 4cm. It would seem that the water had been stretching things out and without that pressure, we had a bit more work to do. It took about 2 hrs to get to the full 10cm and Akis and I spent some time resting.
It was around 5:30 or so when we started to push. I was pretty numb but was getting the hang of what needed to be done. We had pushed maybe half a dozen times when the heart rate dropped and didn't come back up after the contraction. There was also some challenges in reading the heart rate, so they put a probe on the baby's head. With the problems with the heart rate, the OB was called in to evaluate the situation. She arrived with someone in tow, and the next thing I know the room went from being 3 excluding Akis and I to 12. The was a lot of rushing, a lot of talk about heart rates, some attempts to resolve things by rolling me back and forth, and a final decision that we are looking at getting the baby out ASAP. The options were to try forceps and failing that it would be an emergency C-section. I received a LOT more drugs in anticipation of the C-section. I was quite concerned about how things were with the baby as there was a lot of discussion about the heart rate. Randal had replaced Vanessa as our Doula and she was fantastic ~ she stood next to me and let me know what was happening, what the plan was and that the baby was OK. Akis was also quite distressed during this time as he wasn't sure what was happening or what to expect.
I was rolled into the OR ~ Thea and Akis were there with me and there was a lot of prep. Being numb from the chest down, I can't actually tell you what they did, but I do know that there was some prep work done and then a request that I push. I'm not sure how effective I was but it was with about 3 pushes and the baby had arrived. She was placed on my lower belly with her back to me and the thing I noticed was her huge head of dark hair. She was taken away quite quickly to be checked out ~ and ironically enough no one told us if it was a boy or a girl. Thea asked Akis if he wanted to see the baby while I was being 'repaired' and it was then that I asked what we had ~ seems even the midwife didn't know.
The following moments were quite overwhelming with emotion and relief that Sofia had arrived, that she was safe and by all accounts healthy.
And this was our introduction to parenthood!
Our Midwife Thea
Back in our room
With contractions coming at regular intervals, we called the midwife. Speaking with Thea, she said asked how the contractions were on a scale from 1 to 10. I said that it was about a 7, but that I really didn't know what a 10 was, so maybe it was really a 3. In hindsight, I would definitely say it was only a 2.5! We left things that we would call her in the afternoon and let her know how things were going.
I continued to labour at home and by 9:30, the contractions were more intense and closer together. I suggested that Akis call the Doula ~ Vanessa ~ and the midwife. Things then started to happen very quickly as Aislynn and Neva came to pick up Hugo. Kudos to him ~ depsite my labour, he wasn't freaking out and was leaving me to moan and do what I needed to do. Vanessa and Thea arrived shortly after 11am. Thea sat through a few contractions and then suggested she check how far along I was. I was surprised to hear that my cervix was completely thinned out and dialated to 4 cm already. My water hadn't broken, but it was quite clear that today was going to be the day!
With the option of staying at home or heading to the hospital, I opted for the hospital as they have drugs! We got into the car, 4 contractions later we made the 7km drive to the hospital. In true Akis fashion, I had to give directions on how to get there ~ 'Ela, where do I turn???'
Once I arrived, Thea asked for the epidural, however they would not administer this until I had blood work done to check my clotting levels. I was disappointed to know that relief would be longer in coming and tried to figure out a game plan to get through the next half hour. I started to labour in the shower as water seemed to be very soothing and had the support of Vanessa. Akis had a hard time seeing my labour and the pain that was occurring ~ he spent most of the time in the room but wasn't actively involved until the drugs came. After almost 2 hours of waiting, labouring and being somewhat cranky to both Vanessa and the nurse, I was worried that the baby was going to be coming before the drugs would. The contractions were like nothing I had ever felt before and I have a great appreciation for those folks who do this drug free ~ I also realized that this much pain is not for me.
I was really happy to see the 'drug' lady and once the epidural came, things were looking much better. The nurse even commented that I was quite humourous. It is amazing what can happen when you have drugs to numb some of the pain.
I had been 7cm until Thea broke my water and then receeded to 4cm. It would seem that the water had been stretching things out and without that pressure, we had a bit more work to do. It took about 2 hrs to get to the full 10cm and Akis and I spent some time resting.
It was around 5:30 or so when we started to push. I was pretty numb but was getting the hang of what needed to be done. We had pushed maybe half a dozen times when the heart rate dropped and didn't come back up after the contraction. There was also some challenges in reading the heart rate, so they put a probe on the baby's head. With the problems with the heart rate, the OB was called in to evaluate the situation. She arrived with someone in tow, and the next thing I know the room went from being 3 excluding Akis and I to 12. The was a lot of rushing, a lot of talk about heart rates, some attempts to resolve things by rolling me back and forth, and a final decision that we are looking at getting the baby out ASAP. The options were to try forceps and failing that it would be an emergency C-section. I received a LOT more drugs in anticipation of the C-section. I was quite concerned about how things were with the baby as there was a lot of discussion about the heart rate. Randal had replaced Vanessa as our Doula and she was fantastic ~ she stood next to me and let me know what was happening, what the plan was and that the baby was OK. Akis was also quite distressed during this time as he wasn't sure what was happening or what to expect.
I was rolled into the OR ~ Thea and Akis were there with me and there was a lot of prep. Being numb from the chest down, I can't actually tell you what they did, but I do know that there was some prep work done and then a request that I push. I'm not sure how effective I was but it was with about 3 pushes and the baby had arrived. She was placed on my lower belly with her back to me and the thing I noticed was her huge head of dark hair. She was taken away quite quickly to be checked out ~ and ironically enough no one told us if it was a boy or a girl. Thea asked Akis if he wanted to see the baby while I was being 'repaired' and it was then that I asked what we had ~ seems even the midwife didn't know.
The following moments were quite overwhelming with emotion and relief that Sofia had arrived, that she was safe and by all accounts healthy.
And this was our introduction to parenthood!
Our Midwife Thea
Back in our room
posted by Carrie @ 10:18 PM
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