- Joined
- Apr 1, 2012
- Messages
- 3,189
- Reaction score
- 58
I had really hoped for a natural birth. But it ended up being as far from natural as can be. My daughter is almost 3 months old now and I love her more than words can say. She is a great baby and has brought so much joy into my life. Here is her story:
Background info, conception and pregnancy
First of all, I'm not using my baby's real name on this site, for privacy reasons. Her nickname here will be Emily, which is her middle name
So Emily's due date was Aug. 26th according to my last period date, but I always had a feeling she'd come sooner. My pregnancy had been easy - only the slightest bit of morning sickness, never threw up, never had cravings, I had always felt energetic and happy. Aside from some back pain, trouble breathing at the end, and how huge I got, it really wasn't that bad. Many people told me I was "glowing."
Emily was not planned - she was conceived in Australia by a Canadian mother (me) and an American father, both of us backpackers who had been travelling the world for years and did not have jobs back home where we were from.
I stayed in Australia until the end of my visa, and James - FOB - worked there for as long as he could to save money before returning to the U.S. to look for work. He flew to Canada to be there for the last month of my pregnancy, and for Emily's birth. Luckily, she was born on Aug. 24th, and his flight out wasn't until Sept. 10th, which also gave him 2 weeks to help care for her before he had to leave.
Since I also wasn't sure if we should be together anymore (thats another long story) I was now a single, jobless, homeless pregnant woman! But I wanted to do everything right for my baby to be. I ate healthy, strictly took vitamins, did prenatal yoga and read lots of books. I even ate chicken a few times after 13 years of being a vegetarian, as I felt guilty not putting all the nutrients that my baby needed into my body. I moved back with my mom and worked part time as an ESL tutor online, and a mystery shopper to save money for my little one.
Things start happening
Around 4pm on a Wednesday afternoon the 22nd my water broke at home. James and I had just picked up Vietnamese food and I began to feel slightly nauseous after eating it (it was my favourite dish, that I ordered from there every so often) so I had a feeling something was going to happen soon regarding Emily making her appearance. He lay me down and rubbed my back while calling the hospital to inform them that my water had broke to see what our course of action should be. They asked several questions, and concluded in the end that we should head into there to get checked out. So he drove me to the hospital, which was an hour away from my house. After two very painful cervical examinations once I got there (one from a real doctor and one from a trainee) they informed us that I was only 1cm dilated, which is not enough to be considered in "active labour." James took me home, we grabbed a late dinner, and went to bed.
The next morning at 6am, I woke up with contractions. They got worse as the day went on, but were never regular. James and I would write down the timing of each one and they were all over the map: 5 mins apart, then 10, 2, 7, and so on.
We were soon approaching the 24 hour mark since my water had broke, at which point we'd been told to head back to the hospital because it was unsafe for the baby to be unprotected by the water barrier for long. The drive there was difficult, and I hoped it would be my last pregnant drive. It felt like any pebble on the road gave me another contraction as we drove over it.
And the labour begins: day 1
When I was checked again, they informed me that I was still only 1 cm dilated, and that since my water had broken over 24 hours ago by that point, they would have to induce my labour for safety reasons for the baby. Although it was disappointing to not have gone into labour naturally, I preferred this option to having to drive all the way home again with contractions and making a trip back again. I obviously wanted what was best for my princess and was also very much looking forward to seeing her.
We were shown to our room, which was nicer than I expected and I was given the opportunity to relax and look around before being hooked up to an IV.
The contractions became increasingly horrible over the following hours. Painful is not a strong enough word. An epidural was a must. By this point, I'd been contracting for over 12 hours! From 6am - 4pm irregularly, and from 4 - 6:30pm with inducted contractions! My body felt extremely exhausted from the pain. I longed to rest, even for just 15 mins. I felt like I couldn't think, and was crankier than ever. After the needle (which I was careful not to look at) was jabbed in my back, I was good to go and James and I could finally rest, although it felt like every time I drifted off to sleep, a nurse would come in.
It was a looong night. Even though the doctors estimated that LO would be born in the early hours of the next morning, I turned out to not be dilated enough for that to happen. They came in every few hours to check my cervix and each time it was nowhere near as wide as they were expecting. At one point, I'd dilated only 1 cm in 3 hours! It was very frustrating.
Labour: day 2
The frustration continued on through the next day. I'd get checked ever 2-3 hours and was dilating a very slow pace. Since I'd been there nearly 2 days, I'd met too many different nurses and doctors and was growing tired of it. It felt like every time I'd get used to someone, their shift would end and I'd have to meet someone new. By day 2 in the hospital, whenever I was greeted with "Hi, my name is ___. I'll be your nurse" I just wanted to scream "How many of you ARE there?"
Most of day 2 was a blur. I remember throwing up at one point while James and the nurse held me, being very thirsty, having my bladder emptied artificially many times, and feeling overtired. I was worried that I wouldn't have the energy to push when the time came, so I hoped it would come soon.
My prenatal doctor arrived early in the afternoon (finally, someone I recognized) and upon checking my cervix, told me that my water had not broken completely and she was going to break the rest of it, which would help me dilate further. I wanted to strangle the night doctors who had checked me several times without noticing this!
Two hours after having the rest of my water broken however, there still was not enough dilation. Waited an additional two hours. Still nothing. I made it to a total of 8cm by the time 48 hours had come since my water had broken at 4pm on Wednesday. I had developed a fever to boot. Fever + water broken for too long means risk of infection. My doctor and I were both disappointed that a vaginal birth was not going to happen. But, the bottom line was that I wanted my daughter born healthy and happy, and I was excited that I was finally going to hold her soon.
And... a C-section it is. Emily (FINALLY) arrives
Into the operating room I was wheeled, things were explained to me and I was given a crapload more of anesthetics. James followed soon after and sat beside me.
I could feel the knife cutting into me. It didn't hurt, but I could definitely feel it. 10 seconds of a pressure feeling, and then, Emily was out!
The first cry was only brief; it was like she wailed for a moment and then calmed down. I was full emotion and my eyes filled with tears as soon as I heard that cry. The little angel who's little feet I'd felt kick me for months was finally here!
My first thought when I saw her was "wow!" She was even cuter than I'd ever imagined her. And she wasn't crying her head off, she looked bewildered and uncertain, probably from having her environment change so drastically within seconds. James cut the umbilical cord. I saw her be weighed and the doctor yelled "9 lbs!" And then James got to hold her, while I was stitched up.
Ill skip the details of being stitched up. All I can say was I was shaking and shivering like crazy. It felt like I was in the arctic. I longed for warmth, and to finally hold my baby.
Falling in love
I gazed at her in awe that she was my baby. Cute didn't describe her. She was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. I had no idea I was capable of making something so beautiful. Nurses and doctors who would visit me in the maternity ward always commented on how "big" she was. We could immediately tell she seemed calmer than some of the other babies. She was easily consolable and a good sleeper. I loved sleeping with her on my chest 'skin to skin' which was highly recommended. Nothing like the warmth of the bundle of your newborn baby on your chest... I was on cloud 9 An easy pregnancy had resulted in a difficult labour, but I was the happiest woman to be the mother to this special baby.
Background info, conception and pregnancy
First of all, I'm not using my baby's real name on this site, for privacy reasons. Her nickname here will be Emily, which is her middle name
So Emily's due date was Aug. 26th according to my last period date, but I always had a feeling she'd come sooner. My pregnancy had been easy - only the slightest bit of morning sickness, never threw up, never had cravings, I had always felt energetic and happy. Aside from some back pain, trouble breathing at the end, and how huge I got, it really wasn't that bad. Many people told me I was "glowing."
Emily was not planned - she was conceived in Australia by a Canadian mother (me) and an American father, both of us backpackers who had been travelling the world for years and did not have jobs back home where we were from.
I stayed in Australia until the end of my visa, and James - FOB - worked there for as long as he could to save money before returning to the U.S. to look for work. He flew to Canada to be there for the last month of my pregnancy, and for Emily's birth. Luckily, she was born on Aug. 24th, and his flight out wasn't until Sept. 10th, which also gave him 2 weeks to help care for her before he had to leave.Since I also wasn't sure if we should be together anymore (thats another long story) I was now a single, jobless, homeless pregnant woman! But I wanted to do everything right for my baby to be. I ate healthy, strictly took vitamins, did prenatal yoga and read lots of books. I even ate chicken a few times after 13 years of being a vegetarian, as I felt guilty not putting all the nutrients that my baby needed into my body. I moved back with my mom and worked part time as an ESL tutor online, and a mystery shopper to save money for my little one.
Things start happening
Around 4pm on a Wednesday afternoon the 22nd my water broke at home. James and I had just picked up Vietnamese food and I began to feel slightly nauseous after eating it (it was my favourite dish, that I ordered from there every so often) so I had a feeling something was going to happen soon regarding Emily making her appearance. He lay me down and rubbed my back while calling the hospital to inform them that my water had broke to see what our course of action should be. They asked several questions, and concluded in the end that we should head into there to get checked out. So he drove me to the hospital, which was an hour away from my house. After two very painful cervical examinations once I got there (one from a real doctor and one from a trainee) they informed us that I was only 1cm dilated, which is not enough to be considered in "active labour." James took me home, we grabbed a late dinner, and went to bed.
The next morning at 6am, I woke up with contractions. They got worse as the day went on, but were never regular. James and I would write down the timing of each one and they were all over the map: 5 mins apart, then 10, 2, 7, and so on.
We were soon approaching the 24 hour mark since my water had broke, at which point we'd been told to head back to the hospital because it was unsafe for the baby to be unprotected by the water barrier for long. The drive there was difficult, and I hoped it would be my last pregnant drive. It felt like any pebble on the road gave me another contraction as we drove over it.
And the labour begins: day 1
When I was checked again, they informed me that I was still only 1 cm dilated, and that since my water had broken over 24 hours ago by that point, they would have to induce my labour for safety reasons for the baby. Although it was disappointing to not have gone into labour naturally, I preferred this option to having to drive all the way home again with contractions and making a trip back again. I obviously wanted what was best for my princess and was also very much looking forward to seeing her.
We were shown to our room, which was nicer than I expected and I was given the opportunity to relax and look around before being hooked up to an IV.
The contractions became increasingly horrible over the following hours. Painful is not a strong enough word. An epidural was a must. By this point, I'd been contracting for over 12 hours! From 6am - 4pm irregularly, and from 4 - 6:30pm with inducted contractions! My body felt extremely exhausted from the pain. I longed to rest, even for just 15 mins. I felt like I couldn't think, and was crankier than ever. After the needle (which I was careful not to look at) was jabbed in my back, I was good to go and James and I could finally rest, although it felt like every time I drifted off to sleep, a nurse would come in.
It was a looong night. Even though the doctors estimated that LO would be born in the early hours of the next morning, I turned out to not be dilated enough for that to happen. They came in every few hours to check my cervix and each time it was nowhere near as wide as they were expecting. At one point, I'd dilated only 1 cm in 3 hours! It was very frustrating.
Labour: day 2
The frustration continued on through the next day. I'd get checked ever 2-3 hours and was dilating a very slow pace. Since I'd been there nearly 2 days, I'd met too many different nurses and doctors and was growing tired of it. It felt like every time I'd get used to someone, their shift would end and I'd have to meet someone new. By day 2 in the hospital, whenever I was greeted with "Hi, my name is ___. I'll be your nurse" I just wanted to scream "How many of you ARE there?"
Most of day 2 was a blur. I remember throwing up at one point while James and the nurse held me, being very thirsty, having my bladder emptied artificially many times, and feeling overtired. I was worried that I wouldn't have the energy to push when the time came, so I hoped it would come soon.
My prenatal doctor arrived early in the afternoon (finally, someone I recognized) and upon checking my cervix, told me that my water had not broken completely and she was going to break the rest of it, which would help me dilate further. I wanted to strangle the night doctors who had checked me several times without noticing this!
Two hours after having the rest of my water broken however, there still was not enough dilation. Waited an additional two hours. Still nothing. I made it to a total of 8cm by the time 48 hours had come since my water had broken at 4pm on Wednesday. I had developed a fever to boot. Fever + water broken for too long means risk of infection. My doctor and I were both disappointed that a vaginal birth was not going to happen. But, the bottom line was that I wanted my daughter born healthy and happy, and I was excited that I was finally going to hold her soon.And... a C-section it is. Emily (FINALLY) arrives
Into the operating room I was wheeled, things were explained to me and I was given a crapload more of anesthetics. James followed soon after and sat beside me.
I could feel the knife cutting into me. It didn't hurt, but I could definitely feel it. 10 seconds of a pressure feeling, and then, Emily was out!
The first cry was only brief; it was like she wailed for a moment and then calmed down. I was full emotion and my eyes filled with tears as soon as I heard that cry. The little angel who's little feet I'd felt kick me for months was finally here!
My first thought when I saw her was "wow!" She was even cuter than I'd ever imagined her. And she wasn't crying her head off, she looked bewildered and uncertain, probably from having her environment change so drastically within seconds. James cut the umbilical cord. I saw her be weighed and the doctor yelled "9 lbs!" And then James got to hold her, while I was stitched up.
Ill skip the details of being stitched up. All I can say was I was shaking and shivering like crazy. It felt like I was in the arctic. I longed for warmth, and to finally hold my baby.
Falling in love
I gazed at her in awe that she was my baby. Cute didn't describe her. She was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. I had no idea I was capable of making something so beautiful. Nurses and doctors who would visit me in the maternity ward always commented on how "big" she was. We could immediately tell she seemed calmer than some of the other babies. She was easily consolable and a good sleeper. I loved sleeping with her on my chest 'skin to skin' which was highly recommended. Nothing like the warmth of the bundle of your newborn baby on your chest... I was on cloud 9
An easy pregnancy had resulted in a difficult labour, but I was the happiest woman to be the mother to this special baby.
Last edited:
