Birth Part 3, Friday

AAAHHHH!!!! God bless who ever invented the epidural.
I was high from the Nubain and feeling nothing from my boobs down from the epidural. I was human again. I told Fang I loved her.
7:30 I was checked and found to be 5cm! Yea!!!!
8am My contractions started to slow down. From every 2 minutes to 4, to 7... So they decided to start pitocin to get things going again.
Something was wrong with the pump. Finally the 3rd pump they brought in worked and we got the pitocin started at 10am.
Lena was coming in and I got some ice chips as my mouth was like the desert. Sooo dry and I was exhuasted from the last few hours.
The nurse, Yu May said she would be back to check me in a bit. At 11:30 I told her I was feeling pressure, so she checked and I was fully dilated!!! I couldn't believe it! In 4 or so hours I had dilated 5 cm!! Go Erin!
She told me they were going to let the contractions bring his head down a little more before trying to do any pushing. I agreed and had to breath through the pressure and the urge to push.
At 12:13 we started pushing to see how I would do. I was not a good pusher at this point. I just wasn't sure how hard, how long and where to be pushing at. You think you just push, but you don't. It's a very targeted area that you need to be pushing into.
I was feeling a lot of pain on one side, so we rolled me over again and tried pushing that way. No good. So we breathed through another few contractions until I just couldn't not push. I HAD to push.
I kept saying I had to poop! They were like, that is what it feels like, but you really don't. It's the babies head putting pressure.
I pushed, and pushed and pushed. It would bring his head down, then go back up, down, up. Lena was there and was saying, I SEE HIS HEAD!!!! Jay was peeking too. He was on my left side holding my leg for me as I pushed, and Yu May was on my right.
Husnia at some point snuck in and was fanning me trying to encourage me.
We asked the nurse when we thought he would be born, she said 1:30. Well, 1:30 came and went. I was pressing my epi button and breathing, pushing, breathing pushing.. ice chips.
Finally he crowned and they called in Fang and the on call OB. I was pushing and they were yelling at me to do it harder, better. I felt I couldn't concentrate so I asked for quiet. That did it!
I was in a zone at that point. I know they kicked Husnia out at some point but I have no idea who was in the room.  I think there was the on call OB, the resident, Yu May, and two other nurses, plus Jay and Lena.
Husnia managed to hide behind the curtain and kept peeking.
I was so tired from pushing for 2 hours that I asked for a vacuum assist. They got it on and I gave one HUGE push and out popped his head!!! WOW, what a relief that was! They twisted him a little, PUSHED again and out came his shoulders and body!!!!!! 2:20p, THE BURNING!!! I had torn down there. Everyone was like, OMG he is HUGE!!! No wonder you were in such pain! Jay cut the cord and they took him off to my right to clean him up and suction. He swallowed a lot of fluid and blood. But he was ok!
I delivered the placenta, and they stitched me up. I was still in shock over the fact that I actually did it!!
A lot went on that I wasn't that aware of. 20 minutes later they placed him on my chest, He was very alert! We tried to nurse but he just wasn't interested, so we just cuddled. They got me decent and everyone came in to see him.
8lbs 8oz, 19 3/4" long 14.5" head 2:20pm on August 20th, 2010.
Lena was soo proud that she got to see the whole thing!!
We got to see the placenta and Fang gave us a really cool informational session on it.
I got some food from home, and they also gave me hospital food. I swear I drank 3 or more bottles of water, 2 things of apple juice and couldn't wait to get more!
We were allowed to go home 4 hours after the birth. They made sure I could walk, and that everything was ok. I got home, hopped in the shower, got into bed and slept, ate, nursed...

Birth Part 2, Friday

Fang called back and asked me some questions, was the fluid clear, how was I feeling... It was clear, I felt fine, just excited. She told me to try to rest, eat lightly and if she doesn't hear from me, she would see me at 9am to check me.
We called Alaa and told him to be on stand by. Holy cow, they were soooo excited! So we wandered down the hall to let them know what was going on.
I kept having gushes of fluid and slowly but surely, it was turning colored. CRAP.
at midnight I called Fang back to let her know that the fluid was turning colored. She said she would be right over. So I walked around and around trying to keep myself busy. Doing a few things like making sure my bag was packed, Lena's was full of snacks and her i-Pod was in there as well as her DSi.
12:30 Fang showed up and so did my contractions. Every 5 minutes already! From nothing to HELLO labour! She examined me and found that I was 1cm dilated and sure enough, there was meconium. She said we needed to get to the hospital ASAP to get me hooked up to the monitors. I asked if I could shower, she said, sorry no. We needed to go now. So Jay gathered up Lena, took her down the hall to Alaa and Khuloods house, I got dressed and texted my parents. Made sure that the guys got all my stuff and headed down stairs to the waiting car. Had to breath through more contractions, still 5 minutes apart.
Called my dad to say we were on our way to the hospital. It was 1:20am.
Having contractions in the car is not fun. It's just plain uncomfortable. We pulled up to the emergency entrance and they helped me out. Fang met us and got us up to the maternity ward. 2am I had to stop at the reception to breath though another contraction. The anaesthesiologist was right there and asked if I would be getting an epidural. I told him I had to wait for my blood test results as I had a low platelet count.
We got into our room and undressed, into bed, got things hooked up, IV, baby monitors. Blood pressure... all that. Still contracting. Bloody show, more fluid..
 The Vampire showed up and took my blood and said it should only be about 30 minutes. WHEW I thought! She was wrong. Very wrong.
Lena was getting anxious to come to the hospital and it wasn't long before Alaa, Khulood and Lena were in the hospital room. I was still able to breath through the contractions and was talking to them.
With in an hour, things got bad. My contractions started getting much closer together, about 2-3 minutes apart and very very strong. We tried breathing through them, but I couldn't. I kept asking where the blood results were and Fang kept running out to check on them. She was getting irritated that they were taking so long.
I couldn't handle the pain much more. She got some laughing gas to try to help me though them. I was on the edge of the bed barely making it, trying to breath the gas in. Deep breath in, slow breath out. Deep in, slow out. Then, I started to throw up. Plus, I kept having to get up to pee!
About 3:30 am I was in so much pain in my back and my bladder area we were worried that my c/s scar might be tearing. Fang ran to check the blood results and to consult the on call OB.
I was begging at this point to get the c/s. Screw the VBAC! I didn't care any more! Just kill me. I was groaning through each contraction. They were 2 minutes apart and off the charts strong. Finally Fang came in with 2 shots. One of Nubain and another for the vomiting. The Nubain ONLY helped me to relax in between the contractions, but did nothing for the contraction pain. Still more yelling, groaning...
Poor Jay. He stood by my side the whole time encouraging me, letting me break his fingers off.
Lena came in a few times but I asked her to please leave. I couldn't handle her seeing me like that. At some point I was checked and I was 3-4 cm. I was sooo freaking happy to hear that. Finally the blood test results came in! Fang ran to get the anaesthesiologist. He was on his way to an emergency C/S and it would be a while.
6am he showed up. An hour after the blood tests came in. He got me sitting up and got the blessed thing in. Instantly my legs went all warm and tingly. He showed me the control button, to give myself more if I needed it, and to not me shy about pressing it. I was still feeling pain on my left side, so they had me roll over to help the drugs flow to that side better.

Birth Part 1, Thursday

I am going to have to back track to give everyone a full idea of how things began labour wise.
Thursday I decided to make sure things were in order around the house. I knew I would be induced on Saturday and just wanted the house clean, and the cupboards stocked.
I was in pain pretty much all day. Those Braxton Hicks were a killer. They were not regular at all, going from mildly irritating to OMG!! BREATHE! I had to pee every 10 minutes through out the day. The pressure was getting really bad and I was just plain uncomfortable. At one point during the day Lena and I went to Foodland to do the shopping. I was walking really really REALLY slow and just taking my time. I got the food and lugged my shopping buggy home. The BH's were really bad by the time I got home. I abandoned the food and hopped in the shower hoping to ease things up a little. It helped some. I got things put away and rested.
We finally headed off to bed at 10:30. I slept for about 30 minutes when I had to pee once again and just could not get comfortable. I got up and came out to the living room and sat on the couch thinking, Ugh, I can't wait for my tests tomorrow. Maybe they will keep me and I can get this over with!
Turned on the TV, complained to Jay about how much bladder pressure there was. I moved to the other side of the couch thinking a change in sides might help. Well.... at 11:30 there was a weird "CLICK" feeling down below and GUSH!
I said OH!!!!! grabbed my crotch and made a bee line for the bathroom.
Jay was like WHAT!!!??? WHAT IS WRONG!! He thought I fell or something.
I said, MY WATER JUST BROKE!!!!
I sat there for a bit, got some fresh panties and just kind of pondered the fact that things were really happening!
I called my midwife, explained that my water just broke and to call and let me know what to do.

4am and Starving

Well, I am now 6 days past my due date. Never thought I would still be pregnant at this point. Especially with all the false labour I have been having these last weeks.
First, I want to say thank you to Umpti Husnia for sending over the container of Maklube. When one very pregnant woman (Me! Hi!(waving)) wakes up in pain again at 4am, sometimes the tummy starts to grumble. I opened the fridge and what do I find waiting. AAHHHH, Maklube! I just finished my second bowl. Baby Boy is now happily "munching" away on it.
I saw my midwife today. I am up another 1.5 lbs. Sigh. I should be glad that I have gained a total of 17 1/2 lbs this entire pregnancy right? I just feel HUGE. Like every other pregnant woman out there. My feet were sooo swollen the other day, the jiggled when I walked. It was gross. It seems to have gone down though, for the time being.
My blood pressure is a little elevated, but nothing to be concerned with. Baby Boy's HB was good as well.
I am not dilated, but very soft, like the rest of me. I am beginning to wonder if my body just doesn't know what the heck to do!
Friday morning I am scheduled for a Non-Stress Test an Ultra-sound and an OB consult. I will be 41 weeks. It's all to make sure Bub is doing ok and isn't too stressed out in there. I am sure they will freak me out with his estimated weight, but I have to remind myself that my 6lbs15oz daughter was said to be over 9lbs at birth.
Tomorrow I am going to get things in order in the house. My parents are arriving on Sunday after a nice journey across the States. I need to clean the house, wash the dog if I can... and grab some groceries. I already did my laundry, and my bags are packed! Not much else to do but sit around and wait. =P

40 weeks

Well, today is D day. My due date is here.
I have spent most of the week in false labour. It's getting really really old. I remember having maybe 2 episode of it with Lena, but it lasted an hour. This, this is all day, all night type of stuff. Just when I think they are getting regular, they start spacing out again.
We went out to dinner last night to Red Lobster. I am so glad we did. I have been wanting to get out for one final dinner. We went with the family. Service wasn't that great, begging for water and cheddar rolls shouldn't have to be done. Baby Boy put on a show for everyone. We laughed that he could smell the food and was excited. I had 3 braxton hicks while eating. We even pulled a mean trick on Alaa. At the end of dinner we girls got up to use the washroom. I told Khulood it would be funny to trick Alaa and tell him my water broke. So they went running out of the washroom and told him, Erin!! Her water broke!!!! He came running! I came out laughing! I couldn't believe they did that. I was just kidding!
I came home, drank my Raspberry Leaf Tea, took my Evening Primrose Oil, and eventually went to bed. Once again about 2:30am I was woken up by more braxton hicks. One was super painful. Jay was snoring like no tomorrow, so I ended up getting up for a little, drank some water and went back to bed only for things to start all over again. What is with them coming when I need to sleep!
Now, on the good side of things, Lena has become addicted to swimming. We found out that our sister building next door has the only outdoor pool left in the neighbourhood. We have been going every day when possible. The water is way too cold for me. But you know kids. They don't seem to care! Yesterday we were there for 2 1/2 HOURS! Some of her friends were there and they were just having way too much fun together. I have a feeling we will be back again today! Unless Baby Boy finally gives up for a more spacious area...

38/39 week appointment

After my fiasco last week, I got a phone call yesterday saying another lady was in labour and they had to move my appointment to today. Dumb babies!
I didn't gain anything, in fact I lost a few ounces, but they don't count that or care really. =) My blood pressure what slightly up, 120/ 76 but still in the normal range. It's common for your blood pressure to rise at the end of the pregnancy anyway. I am measuring about 40 weeks, which doesn't surprise me in the least. The ultrasound date said my due date is on Monday after all.
His heart rate sounded good as well.
Now, the excellent news. My platelet count went up! It's now 104 and hopefully will continue to increase! It is a HUGE relief to know this.
We talked about the Vitamin K shot given and the eye goop to prevent infections. And the Newborn screening done on day 3. It screens for 27 different rare diseases.
We also discussed what will happen if I go over my due date. Laurie, the midwife, said next week if we want we can check my cervix and do a membrane sweep. I will play that by ear. I lost some of my mucus plug at the beginning of the week, so I believe the Evening Primrose Oil I have been taking has been doing it's job.

She said that typically the hospital wont do inductions before 41w3d. BUT given my circumstances they might allow me to do it earlier. IF it comes to that. I told her I would be coming home to do jumping jacks. She goes off on call on the 16th, so I MUST deliver before then!!! Do you hear that Baby Boy!!!! Get out of me!!!