Jordan's Birth

I thought I should write about when Jordan came into the world before I forget. It's been 9 weeks now.

When I was a week over-due I went to the hospital for a routine ultrasound; they do this with all women as they go past their date to make sure the baby is still thriving. I wasn't worried because I was feeling a lot of movement and I was told that the biggest concern would be how much water was left. I figured if there was enough water he would have enough space to move. I was wrong about that. He was moving enough and his muscle tone seemed great, but there wasn't enough amniotic fluid. The lady doing the ultrasound told me I would have to be admitted. I was really surprised. I hadn't brought anything with me and I had the car, which meant that Scott would have to find a way to get Brianna to my brother's and then find his way to the hospital. I fought back tears at this point because aside from the technicalities, the doctors would want to induce me and I was determined not to go down that road this time.

I walked down the hall and was told to wait for a doctor to assess me. I called Scott and my midwife (Karen) while I waited and Scott made arrangements to come see me and bring everything I needed. After a few hours of being in the hospital I was finally told that they'd like to induce me with oxytocin, but they didn't have enough staff so they sent me home. Karen was frustrated because she knew she could safely deliver the baby at the hospital and that staff would then not be an issue. The attending doctor that was on-call that evening, though, was not going to let her take care of me. She sent me home after doing a membrane sweep and gave me a list of other things that may help me go into labour on my own. So I went, and anticipated the call the next day to say they could take me in labour and delivery.

After calling the hospital a few times myself, I finally heard from them the next afternoon. It was about 2:00 in the afternoon when we took Brianna back to my brothers and I mentioned to Scott that I thought my contractions were becoming more regular; about 7 minutes apart, but not too strong. We arrived at the hospital and waited again to be assessed. Once again, though, I was told that they couldn't do anything that night. They said I could stay the night and wait to be induced in the morning or go home and come back. We were getting frustrated and I decided to just stay there. Scott was surprised that I wanted to sleep there if I didn't have to, but I was so tired of going back and forth and I had a feeling that I was going to go into labour on my own. The OB on duty that night was different and we explained to her that it was really important that our midwife do the delivery. She was very understanding, but she said that if I was induced then the care would be transferred to a doctor. I asked if I could still have Karen do the delivery if I went on my own and she said that she would be okay with it. That gave me hope, but I knew it had to happen before 7am the next morning when the other doctor that wouldn't allow it would be back. I called Karen to give her an update and hung out with Scott until 10pm. My contractions were getting stronger when he left so I'm not sure why I sent him away, but I told him to expect a call. I tried to sleep after and then around midnight I woke up with some pretty serious contractions about 3 minutes apart. I couldn't find the page button on my bed so I got up and hobbled to the nurse's station to get a doctor. The resident came to check me and said I wasn't in true labour, but I called Karen and Scott because I knew it was real and I didn't want to be alone. Karen suggested I get in the shower to help the pain. I got in there to wait until Scott came and let the hot water wash over me. I found the spray really irritating on my stomach during contractions, but it felt good on my back where I was also really feeling them. I just put a hot wash cloth on my stomach during contractions. When Scott arrived they decided to take me to a delivery room. Karen had just arrived then too and we were all glad that she would be the one doing the delivery if the baby seemed fine. I just had to have a fetal monitor strapped to me the whole time.

I was having a really hard time with the back labour so Karen had me get on all fours and drape my arms over the back of the bed to take the pressure off. During each contraction either she or Scott would put counter-pressure on my hips to help alleviate some of the pain. It helped a little, but only if they put their hands on me at the beginning of the contraction. If they touched me after it started to rise I couldn't stand it.

The hours went by slowly after that, but things were progressing pretty well. Every once in a while my contractions would slow down and we'd have to change positions for a while. Jordan was facing the wrong way and wasn't putting enough pressure on my cervix so the last few centimetres were difficult. We talked about breaking my water. It was going to have to be done so they could check for meconium in the fluid (something that would require a transfer to a doctor), but I was apprehensive because when my water was broken with Brianna my coping skills went out the window and I didn't want that to happen again. I knew that I was prolonging the inevitable though. I think it was around 7 in the morning that I finally let her break my water. I was happy that the pain didn't increase dramatically right away, but the contractions deifinitely got stronger. But still, the last 2 cm were just not getting there. Karen even tried to manually turn Jordan around, but he didn't stay. After Karen broke my water she called Mico, the midwife for Jordan, and my contractions continued to get stronger and more intense. They convinced me to move into the bathroom and sit on the toilet to open up my pelvis. I sat there for a few contractions and was having a really hard time. I kept breathing through each one, but I said I didn't think I could do it anymore. Karen said that's what women say just before they deliver their babies. I was scared, though, and even though I had a slight urge to push I didn't want to continue. I got back to the bed on my hands and knees and pushed a little. Karen didn't know that I was pushing yet, but with that little push I couldn't control it after that. She hadn't had a chance to check my dilation yet, but my body was ready. It was intense, scary and painful and could only look inside myself for the strength because nobody could do it except me. I was determined to get through the next phase quickly, though, so I gave it all that I had. After 15 minutes Jordan was born at 9:42am and I was exhausted. Everyone was proud of me because I finally had the birth I wanted and I did really well, apparently. I was just glad it was over.

Jordan Rain was a beautiful, healthy, chubby 9 lb 6 oz little boy and it felt wonderful to finally hold him and nurse him. I am proud of myself for having the natural birth I wanted. It took me a while to feel that way, though, since it was obviously more intense than Brianna's birth. Right afterward I said I wasn't sure if I would go naturally again because I really didn't like the pushing phase like most women do, but I've gotten to the point now that I can appreciate it more. I'm just glad it wasn't 2 hours again this time!