The Birth Story.

I don't really know where to begin. I guess I should first say that this birth was completely different from my son's and I can't really compare the two. Neither was "better" or "worse" than the other. They were both bitter and sweet. I gave birth, and a beautiful child entered my world. I have to say that I am extremely grateful that neither ended up in a c-section, for that is one of my greatest fears when I have children.

So lets start back at conception...
just kidding. Lets not.

During this pregnancy I was a little more pro-active in trying somethings, some "tricks". Like I drank Red Raspberry Leaf Tea from about 32-38 weeks. I stopped after 38 weeks only cause my body couldn't handle anymore of it and I was throwing it up after I drank it. I also used Evening Primrose Oil, and although I wasn't as active as I was with my first pregnancy I still went for lots of walks, did some awesome prenatal yoga, and I have a almost 2 year old that I had to try to keep up with on a daily basis...

The Monday before I gave birth I got an awesome massage gifted to me from a friend, at that point I was 5 days over due and needed one so desperately. Although she had nothing to do with me going into labour, she didn't rub any "special" pressure points to induce labour, I meant to ask her to and the time passed a lot quicker than I realized and she was done before I ever asked.

Wednesday I was 41 weeks and had a doctors appointment. 2 1/2cm dilated and 25% effaced, and she stripped my membranes. We also set my induction date for Saturday, Sept 1. Although she said that there was a good chance I wouldn't be called till Sunday or Monday because of the craziness of women having babies here (stayed tuned, its also the reason I practically got kicked out of the hospital).

That brings us to Thursday. I woke up around 3am, had to pee, but also felt something... I told myself it was nothing. Then another. I had about 4-5 "feelings" between 3am and 4:30am. I called them funny cramps with tightening... ya I was TOTALLY in denial that I could actually be experiencing contractions on my own.
Mr. Magoo and I went on a really long walk that morning, almost 2 hours. I was pooped. But the whole time I kept having contractions (at the time I was still not calling them that) and they were ranging between 8-13 minutes apart. Magoo and I would go on to take 2 more, much shorter, walks that day. When Jared got home he took us all for a walk to go get ice-cream, and my Mom arrived just as we got home from that!
Of course right around dinner time my contractions petered off, and that when I was convinced I was experiencing a whole lot of nothing all day and that I would definitely have to be induced. I just would not let my hopes get up, I totally had no faith in my own body although it was like the one thing I desired so dearly was to be able to experience labour how its meant to be, natural. Little did I know I had been experiencing the beginnings of it all day!
We went to bed at 9pm, my Mom sleeping on our couch, although I totally offered her an air mattress she turned it down. I had been having really light cramps and tightenings, but thought I would be able to sleep through them. Well Jared fell asleep in his normal fashion: 2 seconds flat. I kid you not, my husband is a pro when it comes to falling asleep.
So I lay there 41 weeks and 1 day pregnant, trying to get comfortable, thinking, willing my body to sleep. At 10 contractions picked up and I knew I wouldn't be able to fall to sleep after that, although believe it or not I STILL refused to believe that I could be in any type of labour that would make me have a baby before I had to be induced... haha.

Are you getting tired of the play-by-play yet? haha. Feel free to fast forward, or to just stop reading.

By 11pm I was bored and tired of not being able to sleep, so I went and got my ipad so that I could read some blogs I had been wanting to catch up on. Well I took me about an hour to get through just one post of my friend who had a baby this summer as well and had been having quite the time adjusting to having 3 boys (you know who you are...haha. ps I LOVE your blog) She is pretty awesome, but there I was typing out a comment to her post, all the while my contractions had been picking up. 4 mins apart, lasting a minute, and it was around midnight I thought "hmmm I could be in REAL labour!" these have been going on a whole hour when all of the sudden I HAD to go to the bathroom, nothing substantial happened, although I had a crazy intense contraction, like made my body shake and all I could think was "just get through this then go wake up Jared, it's time to get to the hospital. NOW!" My brain finally caught up with my body and I was now on the same page.

I woke up Jared around 12:20am on the Friday morning, we gathered my hospital stuff that was already pretty much together, woke my Mom and told her we were headed to the hospital. The drive to the hospital was pretty smooth going, I did have to remind Jared NOT to speed (and anyone who knows Jared knows that usually you are wishing he would speed up a little, he will not even go 10km over in town. Ever). I also had to ask him to stop driving at one point while we were in the residential areas while I was having a contraction, the roads here suck so bad, and are so bumpy I could not handle them while my body was having a contraction. Jared dropped me off at the Emergency door and meet me in there once the car was parked.

I was up in the assessment area and getting checked by 1am, we also had a doula join us for this birth, her name is Val Sali, and she was so great for me! I would not have changed that decision ever, and I hope that she forgives me for snapping at her a couple times in the last hour of my labour...
Anyways, assessment, the nurse told be I was dilated to a 4 1/2, but really a stretchy 5cm. Which was fine with me (remember I didn't think I was having contractions all day, so really I didn't expect a ton to have happened by the time I got to the hospital).

Once I was put into a labour room I went pretty much right into the bath, and Val sprayed my lower back with the shower head. And Jared played music from my phone, we started with a "hypno" playlist I had, mostly classical music I had meditated to during my pregnancy. But it wasn't cutting it for me, so I had him switch to my favourite artist these days "Purity Ring" (or this if you just wanna go and buy it for yourself...) that did it for me, at least while I was in the tub. I got out of the tub because thing were getting intense and I really couldn't take all the noise of the water, and music, and when anyone talked. I just needed to focus on getting through the next contraction.

I got out of the tub, Val says around 2:45am, but I feel it was more like 2:30am as it felt like the next phase lasted way longer than it actually did. It felt like it was never going to end... haha. Once I was out of the tub I knew I would NOT lay on my back, I was already experiencing back labour and I did NOT want it to get any worse! So I knelt on the bed and draped my chest over a birthing ball (that was also on the bed). Val wrapped her rebozo around my belly and crossed it around my back, then every time I would have a contractions (which felt like All The Time!) Val and Jared would each pull on an end, tightening it around my body, squeezing my hips and helping squeeze my belly. My contractions were so intense. There were many times I lost my focus, and Val would help me bring it back... mostly. Although not every time was I able to refocus and I really struggled. But luckily all contractions end at some point.

Around 3am I was checked again and was told I was 7cm, with bulging membranes. My only thought was "I need this to end soon, I cannot physically or mentally do this anymore. please" and all I said was "next time I wanna be a boy, okay!?" haha. seriously though.
Then things happened very fast, the nurse was by the door (out or in the room I'm not sure) and all of the sudden there was a loud "POP- Gush"and the nurse asking "was that her waters!?" and then a whole ton of commotion. At this point I go very much into my own world, my own body, only listening to a very few select voices. Immediately after my waters broke I had absolutely no control over what my body did next, the pressure, was so intense. I could feel my baby crowning instantly and my body bearing down without my thinking about it.
According to Jared the resident Doctor just barely made it on time, the OB-GYN on call was busy delivering someone elses baby.

I don't want to scare anyone, however I must say that when the baby crowns and you do not have an epidural there is a very real feeling to "the ring of fire", it is quick and at that point you can know that you are pretty well done.

Once that momnent was over I took a second to refocus and breath, listening only to my doctor "small pushes, your doing great, nice small pushes".  I remember feeling her moving through me thinking "is her head out?", "whoa, there is a lot of movement...", "was that her head?", and then there is was the sweet relief of her body moving through me, the end, 3:14am. She was here.

Apparently after the initial breaking of my water, with the following contractions more fluid came out, but it didn't just come out, it more like sprayed out. Jared described it as this "not like the stream of a super soaker, but more like a garden hose with a sprayer attachment, and about the length of my forearm". That length also happened to be enough to soak the delivering doctor. haha. ya I found it quite comical. He had to go change his scrubs they were so wet.

So I did tear a little, but not in the usual tear area, I wont specify to much other than that. The resident Doc said that he thought I needed stitches, but he wanted to check with the OB, so I had to lay there, waiting... for an hour! That's right not aloud to shower, or clean up in any way, with a sponge hanging out of me to soak up the blood. Totally not cool! And then once the OB finally got there (she was stitching up someone who had given birth about the same time I did) she said that while we waited the tear clotted and that she didn't think I needed stitches anymore.

During that hour I was able to bond and nurse my little girl, she latched like a champ. Jared and I fell in Love instantly.

Once clean and clothed we were informed that the Mother Baby unit was beyond full and that they would be keeping us in the very room I delivered in until they figured something out. We also found out that we were birth #358 of that month for that hospital! The baby born about the same time down the hall was #359... crazy right!?

So we hung out there, my Mom and Mr. Magoo came to visit around 8:30am, Magoo did really well. He gave her lots of kisses, and was mostly just curious about all the buttons on the bed. I really hadn't gotten much sleep in the past 24 hours so that visit didn't last long. We also had to go down to Mother-Baby to have her assessed and bathed. My regular OB-Gyn told us that we had two options we could either get a room at Mother-Baby at 9pm, or we could be discharged. We decided that since Magoo would be asleep that we would just go home. I was a little nervous not to have more time to get some sleep and "alone" time (as much as you can get in a hospital) before going back home. But I knew my Mom was there to help and that made me more confident. Funny thing about our discharge, we had to go down to the Mother-Baby Unit and sit in an empty room and get checked by nurses we had never meet before... so silly.

Our Baby Girl

20 1/2 inches long

8 pounds 7 ounces

Also in the birth announcement I sent out to family I totally put the wrong weight on it (I put Magoo's birth weight on it) the above weight is the correct one.