The Birth Story: Labour

Sunday, May 20/18

Now this is a biggie, the actual labour and delivery story! It's going to be quite a long one, so get comfy and maybe pour yourself a drink/grab a snack/both. I want to preface this story by saying my labour did not go as planned, and I'm all for sharing positive stories (particularly regarding pregnancy), so if you are expecting and want to read this I'd like to say that despite my delivery not going as planned and being a little traumatic, overall the whole experience was very positive and I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. I hope that's a good enough disclaimer! Let's get on with it.

GETTING THE CALL/DRIVING TO THE HOSPITAL
I knew I was going to be induced at 37+3 due to the size of my baby and the fact that my insulin needs had severely decreased before delivery (about an 80% reduction!). I had gone in the day prior for a Foley Catheter and my second steroid injection, and anticipated getting the call anytime after 6am. I had barely slept, and finally at 5am I just got out of bed and sat in the living room waiting for the call. Eventually by about 9am I realized it wasn't coming anytime soon, and that I should just get back into bed and try and rest as I was already feeling quite tired. Then, at 10:45 they called and told me they were ready! I hadn't eaten anything (because I was nervous- also a big regret of mine!) but we jumped in the car and hit the road! The drive was intense, I insisted on only listening to powerful females en route, so we listened to Beyonce, Florence and the Machine, Lady GaGa, and almost hit Aretha Franklin before pulling up to the hospital. There's something very strange about visiting the hospital you've been to almost every day for the past week, and every week prior to that, and knowing that this was it- I would be going in and having my baby. Today. March 21st (or more likely March 22nd we had thought).

En route to hospital- playing it cool and trying not to get overly excited

EARLY LABOUR

We arrived at about 11:30, checked in and were immediately brought to our room on the labour and delivery ward. It was a really nice, private room with huge windows, a couch, a nurses station and the crib! Of course it had a bed for me and a private bathroom with a tub which looked amazing, and I had highly anticipated getting in as labour progressed. We met our nurse, and she was going to be with us until the shift change at 7pm. I had all my IV's hooked up, fluids, an insulin tube, and another one for Pitocin to get labour started. For those who don't know, Pitocin is a synthetic version of Oxytocin which is the hormone your body naturally makes your uterus contract during labour. It took about an hour for all of this to get started, and I was hooked up to an NST throughout my entire labour which meant that I once I had gotten into the bed it wasn't likely I'd be getting out. This was a bit of a bummer for me because I had hoped I'd be able to walk around through contractions and even get into the bathtub if they were getting really painful, but because I was attached to so many tubes it didn't seem all that likely, which I quickly got over and got on with labour. 

The first few hours were very slow. The Pitocin is introduced slowly, but because I had had the Foley Catheter the day before, I was already 3cm dilated and things were supposed to move a little more quickly. The original plan was to have my water's broken upon arrival, but when I had my first cervical check my cervix was still too long and thin, and they wouldn't be able to do it until later in the day. I wasn't too upset about this, but it felt like the whole thing was going to take a while to get going. I was getting minor contractions, but nothing painful. My nurse told me to describe everything on a 1-10 scale: 10 being "your arms is being ripped off". These first contractions were a 2 at best. 

CERVICAL CHECKS

Something I really hadn't anticipated was the pain of a cervical check. Well, not pain as much, but certainly uncomfortable. It feels very much like the doctor checking you is elbow deep and there's quite a lot of pressure as they feel around to see how dilated you are. I had one check when I'd arrived, I was 3cm and wasn't ready for my waters to be broken. About 4 hours later (5pm or so) I was checked again and I was 4cm and still not ready for my water to be broken. My nurses switched at 7pm, and my new nurse Brenda arranged another cervical check for about 8pm, and when I was checked they saw I was 5cm and decided I was ready to have my waters broken! I was feeling the contractions a little more at this point, but still only about a 4 on the scale of pain. And that was my last cervical check of this labour!

BREAKING YOUR WATER

Having my water's broken was something I hadn't given much thought to, and I sort of guessed it would be a trickle like something I'd seen in the movies. I had heard that having them broken by a doctor meant a tool like a crochet hook was inserted and gently broke the membrane allowing your water to be broken. My experience was a little bit different. Being diabetic I was told I had a lot of fluid, which is why I had grown so rapidly in the last trimester and also why I got such wonderful, clear ultrasound pictures! It wasn't the most comfortable experience, I won't lie, but it didn't take too long. I basically laid flat on the bed, my husband and my nurse held my legs up and the doctor went for it. It took a bit of poking and prodding, but there was no mistaking when it had worked. I could have never expected the amount of liquid that left my body. They had to use the little vacuum, change the bed pads 3 times, and eventually they just sat me on the toilet because it wouldn't stop coming. Unfortunately I laughed through the whole thing which meant even more liquid left my body, it gushed out each time I laughed and once I'd started I couldn't stop. I did apologize to the doctor but she said it was an effective way to get the water out so she didn't mind. I was told it was almost a record amount. Not the most glamorous 10 minutes of my life, but definitely some of the most memorable.

CONTRACTIONS

After my water had broken I was informed that I was on the highest dose of Pitocin before they needed special permission to give me more. At that point I thought I might need it, but over the next couple of hours the contractions really ramped up. On the pain scale I would say I had gotten to an 8 or 9, but I think it was mainly because they were coming so quickly. I was having contractions about every 2 minutes and they were lasting 45 seconds or so, so it really didn't give me much of a break. I couldn't speak through them, and I just took really deep breaths in and out until it ebbed away, and then in the time between contractions I felt quite good. My nurse said that if I was thinking of getting an epidural I should just get one because there were some other mothers thinking of signing up for one and they came on a first-come-first-served basis. After a particularly tough contraction I decided I would get an epidural, but by the time she had gone out to put my name down another mother had also signed up for one. I was told I'd have to wait half an hour before it arrived and I thought in my head "okay, about 12 more contractions to go".

THE EPIDURAL

When the anesthesiologist came in I was sooo ready for the pain of the contractions to stop. My nurse, Brenda, even promised me an hour nap when it was finished and frankly, I couldn't have been more excited. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I sat with my legs over the edge of the bed and hunched my back over while holding my husbands hands. Every time I felt a contraction coming on I told the anesthesiologist and he waited until it was over to administer the injection. Honestly, it wasn't very painful at all, the freezing needles hurt a little but it wasn't too bad at all. When it was done he told me I was a 'model patient' which obviously went right to my head because I still remember it and tell everyone who will listen, and he said he'd be back in 15-20 minutes to check and see that things were getting numb. My toes began to feel tingly and my contractions were still as painful for maybe one or two, but by the time I could lay back flat again I could barely notice them at all.

That's the very last part of my labour story- next post will be all about delivery!