Emerson's Birth Story

So...it's been three months, I guess I should write it before I forget!


June 5/13: 


I had an appt. with my OB at McMaster to get checked. She did an internal exam (ouch!) and determined that my body had not even begun to prepare for delivery. She told me that I would need to come the following day to get two doses of cervadil (gel which softens your cervix for delivery). 


June.6/12:


Andrew and I went to McMaster first thing Thursday morning (I think it was 7 or 8am). The nurse took us back to a room, and informed us that they needed to perform a non-stress test before inserting the gel. They hooked me up to the monitor and checked on us a few times, then no one came back for an hour. 

Also, during this time, the nurse took blood and it was soooo painful! She couldn't get a vein, and kept trying over and over again. I developed a terrible bruise that all the nurses commented on throughout my stay at the hospital.


(One week later)

Anyway, after waiting for a long time, the nurse finally came back with an OB to insert the gel. He also performed an internal exam (ouch!) and put the gel in. They told us to come back around 6pm for the second dose. The gel itself was fine, I just felt kind of a burning sensation. 


We drove all the way home, I napped for an hour, and then we headed back to Hamilton for the second dose. This time there was a new OB and a new nurse, and it was the same process. They told us to call at 7am before coming to the hospital the next morning to ensure they would be able to admit us. 


This time on the drive home, I began having cramping. At first it was fairly mild, but by the time we got home, I was getting pretty uncomfortable. I knew I wouldn't be able to eat anything after being admitted to the hospital, so we ordered takeout from our favourite Italian restaurant and picked it up on our way home. I barely ended up eating any of it because the cramping was making me miserable. After we ate, we got everything ready for the hospital. Andrew went out and grabbed some magazines, snacks, etc. We packed everything, and put everything we could into the car. I think we went to bed around 10 or 11pm. I didn't sleep at all, because I was having minor contractions all night. They weren't really painful, but uncomfortable enough that I couldn't sleep. My lack of sleep might have also been due to the fact that I knew I was going to have a baby the following day....eeeek! 


June.7/13


At 7am, I called the hospital and they said they had a busy evening. They asked us to come at 9am instead of 8am. I was sooo exhausted because I hadn't slept at all. I got ready to go, and we were off. 

(Andrew took this pic right before we left)

I said bye to Casey and felt sad for her that she had no idea her doggy life would never be the same. We stopped at Tim Hortons, but again I didn't really eat. On the way to the hospital, I began to cry a bit because I was getting nervous, and I was also overwhelmed with emotions thinking that we would be having our baby girl today! 


We arrived at the hospital and went to Labour and Delivery. We weren't admitted yet, and were taken to a bed in the same section where we had been the day before. A nurse hooked us up to the monitor for another non-stress test. Afterwards, a resident OB came in to see us. She checked me, and gave the most disappointing news - I was 0cm dilated and my cervix was still long. She said that they would likely give me another gel and send me home again - to which I replied that I did not want to do that. I reminded them that we had already travelled to Hamilton four times in the past 48 hours, and we weren't going to do it again. I said I didn't mind if they did another gel, but I wanted to stay in the hospital. 

The resident was snarky with us, and said that the only other option was to have a "foley" (to which she made a face as though it was the worst thing in the world). I said I didn't care, I just wasn't going home again. (Also - the day before, two separate nurses told us they almost never did a third gel, and if you get a third gel you almost always have a c-section). The resident said she would consult with the OB on call and come back.

Finally, almost an hour later, she came back and said that if I "refused to have another gel", then the OB said I could have the foley done. I reminded her that I wasn't refusing the gel, I was refusing to go home. She said they couldn't admit me unless I had the foley, so I agreed.


After that, everything moved quite quickly. They immediately moved us into a private room which is where I was told I would deliver the baby. We were happy to be in this room because it was much larger, there was a comfy chair for Andrew and it was private. There was also a private bathroom in the room which was nice. We met our nurse Rita who would be looking after us until 7pm. 
Rita did some blood work and put in my IV and a med student came in to do some paperwork. 


By this time it was already 12 noon. We called my mom to let her know what was happening, and she said she would arrive in a few hours. The OB came in to insert the Foley. Now I knew this wasn't going to be fun from what the resident had said but I wasn't expecting it to be quite so painful. Long story short, they insert a catheter into your cervix and blow it up to force your cervix to expand. I think this was more painful than any of my contractions. It just felt like an insane amount of pressure. Pretty sure I was moaning like some kind of wild animal!


They told me that when my cervix had expanded enough the balloon would fall out, and that it would take roughly 3 hours. They taped the other end of the catheter to my thigh and it was so uncomfortable. Every time I move at all it would pull on the catheter. I remember looking at Andrew and questioning if I had made the wrong decision, maybe I should've just had another gel. However the OB who did the procedure told me she wasn't aware I had already had three doses of gel the day before. She said that knowing that, she was even more confident in the decision to do the foley. They also started the pitocin at this point to start the contractions. 


About 2 1/2 hours later I got up to use the washroom. When I sat down the catheter fell out! Andrew paged Rita who came in and helped me. The OB came in and checked me and determined that I was 3 cm dilated! 
At this point, Rita told me that she wanted me walking as much as possible because once my water broke I'd likely stay in the room. Andrew and I must've walked 20 laps of the 4th floor until my mom arrived around 4:30. We had to keep returning to the room every hour so Rita could increase the pitocin. When my mom arrived, we continued to walk around as instructed by Rita. Rita was an older nurse, she seemed nice but was also quite firm and wasn't much for small talk. By this point, my contractions were getting much stronger, and I kept stopping in the hallway to breathe through them. Andrew was great, and he would massage my lower back during the contractions. 


Around 7pm, there was a shift change and we got a new nurse whose name I can't remember. She was so nice and comforting, she was a wonderful nurse. My OB had also arrived, and she saw my mom and I walking. She said she heard I had the foley done and that she would come in to check on me shortly. 


Between 7 and 8pm, Dr. Winsor came in to break my water. It didn't hurt at all, but my word I had no idea just how much fluid there would be. I can see how having your water break in public would be mortifying because it is more like a river!!! Anyway, I believe at this point my cervix was still long and I was only 3 and a half cm dilated. After they broke my water, the contractions got much stronger, very quickly! Dr. Winsor encouraged me to get an epidural as soon as I felt I needed one, and not to try to be a hero because it wouldn't make a difference.

I stayed in the room from this point on, but stood back up and walked around the room. I would lean over the bed and breathe through my contractions, which worked quite well. I remember that sometime around this point I found out that I could have popsicles, and I was so excited because I hadn't eaten in 24 hours! 


Around 11pm - The next chunk of time is a huge blur already because I was soooo completely exhausted! I remember that the contractions got quite strong, and I was no longer able to breathe through them. Also, by this point they had the pitocin as high as it could go. When I finally felt like the contractions were coming every couple of minutes, and were lasting at least a minute, and were no longer tolerable...I asked for the epidural. I remember that they must  have gotten bad very fast because our nurse asked if I needed anything before she went on her break and I said no. Then I asked for the epidural before she had even returned. Also, my mom had to go to the desk to tell them I wanted the epidural, so the contractions must've been quite bad.


I was really terrified of getting the epidural, but when the time came I was in so much pain that I didn't really care. They asked my mom to leave, and got me ready for the procedure. The anesthesiologist came in and I had to explain about the blood clot. She was concerned about the blood thinners and had to consult with another doctor before giving me the epidural. Finally she came back, and explained the procedure. She told me that I would have to stay perfectly still, and to tell her if I was having a contraction as she would need to stop. I did feel the needle with the freezing, and I felt some pressure, but it wasn't bad at all compared to the foley procedure. Somehow, I managed not to have a contraction during it, so it was actually fairly fast. 


The epidural took about 30 mins. to an hour to really kick in, but once it did, I was in heaven!!!!! Epidurals are amazing....it's true! I know they increase other risks, etc, but if you decide to have one, the anesthesiologist will be your best friend! Once it kicked in, I was finally able to get some rest. My mom went out the car to sleep, and Andrew went to sleep in the chair. I tried to sleep, and faded in and out for the next several hours.


(post-epidural)

June 8/13:


In the middle of the night, I developed a fever which they were concerned about as they we concerned about the baby getting an infection. They took my temperature several times overnight, and eventually started giving me antibiotics through my IV. I know that I was also checked a couple of times, and that each time there had been very little progress. My fever broke and I remember being completely drenched in sweat...it was gross. I also couldn't stop my teeth from chattering, and they had to keep bringing me warm blankets.


7am - Dr. Winsor came in and I believe I was 5cm dilated, but I was still not completely effaced. She said that we would probably have to start thinking about c-section, however, there was one last thing they could try. She said that my body had stopped responding to the pitocin and my contractions were still not coming regularly. She said they would stop the pitocin for an hour, then restart it and increase it every 30 mins. to try and jump start labour again. So that's what they did, and when 11-11:30am came, I still had not progressed. A weird male resident came in and told me that it was time to do a c-section. Also, my nurse from the day before, Rita had returned and was my nurse again.


I knew that this was coming, so I wasn't even upset. I said to the resident that I was totally fine with it, and my only fear was that I would be able to feel the operation - he assured me this would not happen. They asked my mom to wait in the waiting room, and Andrew got into scrubs.


Around noon, they wheeled me into the operating room and moved me to the operating table. They prepped me, and tons of doctors/residents started coming into the room. Then, out of the blue, a nurse ran in and said they had a "code something or other", and everyone except for Rita rushed out. Rita left the room briefly, and returned to explain that there was an emergency across the hall and my delivery had to wait. The resident came in and assured me they would perform the other surgery as quickly as possibly and return to deliver my baby asap. 
My fever began to return, and again I couldn't stop my teeth from chattering. I asked Rita if Andrew could come in and sit with me, and she went and got him. 

I ended up being on that table for almost three hours before they came back to do the c-section. During this time, my fever came back and I was feeling nauseas from laying flat on my back. I was feeling just completely awful. The anesthesiologist resident came in and got everything going. They checked my belly to ensure I couldn't feel anything, and I couldn't, so they began. I could feel waaay more pressure than I was expecting to, and I think they had difficulty getting her out. It was actually painful, and I was confused because everyone had told me that c-sections weren't painful. 


3:27pm - They finally delivered our baby girl, and I was overcome with emotion and began to sob. They told me she had lots of hair, long fingers, and weighed 8lbs. 6oz (the same as me at birth). Andrew went over to see her as they cleaned her up, and finally a nurse brought her over and I saw our beautiful baby girl.
 

From here on...everything went downhill very fast. I began feeling a lot of pain and immense pressure in my belly, and the pain kept getting worse. I was moaning in pain, and eventually was crying out in pain. I swear that I could literally feel them putting the needle in to stitch me closed. The anesthesiologist asked the doctor to be more gentle, and the doctor responded that he needed to do his job. My heart rate began to skyrocket and the anesthesiologist had to tell the OB to stop until I was more stable. The anesthesiologist added something to my IV and got me to take slow deep breaths to bring my heart rate down. He told the doctor he could continue, but I could still feel everything and again I began to moan and cry out in pain again. I guess my heart rate was going up again because at this point the anesthesiologist told me he was going to give me something to put me to sleep for a few minutes. They administered propofol, and the next thing I knew I woke up just as they were finishing. 

When I woke up, I began to sob and I couldn't stop. The surgery had been excrutiating and terrifying, and I was just so upset and out of it from the drugs. They wheeled me into recovery, and brought Emerson to me but I was so upset and out of it that I could barely hold her.
 About an hour later they wheeled us over to the recovery ward and I held Emerson in my arms.

They took Emerson to check her vitals, etc., and Andrew and I got settled in our room. The paediatrician came in and said they were concerned about Emerson's colour and that she seemed limp, and they wanted to take her to the NICU, we agreed obviously. I was still so upset and out of it from the surgery that I couldn't really process what was happening.

(Our poor little peanut in the NICU)

A few hours later a paediatrician came to see us and said that Emerson was doing very well, and they were no longer concerned. They brought her back to our room that evening, and said that she was doing great!

(Back in the room with us where she belonged!)


The next few days were pretty rough. I couldn't get out of bed at all for the rest of the day, and on Sunday I could barely get up, I needed the help of Andrew and the nurse. It was also hard that I wasn't able to pick Emerson up and Andrew always had to bring her to me when she cried. Andrew really took care of her those first 2 days because I wasn't able to do anything but try to nurse her - he really did an amazing job throughout the entire delivery and our time in recovery. On Monday I began to feel a bit better and managed to have a shower. And by Tuesday I was feeling a lot better and was able to get out of bed on my own. 

When I think back, I am still quite upset about the experience because no one ever explained what had happened during the surgery or why it happened. I am also upset that whenever I think about Emerson's birth, I will always remember how upsetting and scary it was. But at the end of the day, we have a beautiful, healthy baby girl, and that's all that really matters.