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Sunday, October 18, 2009

My Birth Story





My Birth Story


Baby: Byllee Lynne

When: Thursday May 21 2009 at 1754

Weight: 7lbs 8oz


I will start off by saying that at my 20 week ultrasound we were told we were having a Boy.


On Wednesday May 20th around 4pm I felt what was later identified as finally a “real” contraction. I was lying on my lounger in my backyard reading my “Lats and Atts” magazine (sailing mag) and enjoying the beautiful afternoon. I had experienced so many so called “false” labour contractions that I didn’t get too excited. By 7pm they were still coming and between 16-26 minutes apart. They started off at around a 4 out of 10 on the pain scale even from 4pm. Scott and I decided that this may be it so we might as well go for a walk to help things along. We drove to our nearest park and walked along the grounds stopping every 20 minutes while I put my arms around his shoulders and leaned off him to breath through them, it was around 6 out of 10 on the pain scale at this point.


Once we returned home I decided I had a few more things I could clean (lol) and did my MAKEUP! (gotta look good for those birth pictures, right ladies??!! LOL ) I used my birthing ball, took a couple baths and walked around. I was only feeling my contractions at the bottom of my uterus in the front and in my back, with very intense pressure. When my pain developed into a 7 out of 10 things start to get fuzzy. I decided to call the hospital and let them know I was 11 minutes apart and would be coming in soon. The nurse on the phone said “oh honey, you have a LONG way to go”…… gee just what every woman wants to hear when shes in intense pain. Scott and I decided to walk around the block a few times stopping now every 6 minutes and I was no longer in what they call the “smiley face phase”.


So off to the hospital we go….0230amBy the time we arrived at the hospital my makeup was all over my face and running down my neck, my hair was pulled out of the ponytail and I was in 9 out of 10 pain….oh did I mention it was only a 5 minute drive? I told Scott to park across the street at the free parking lot for the pharmacy so we could save 7 bucks and I would walk across the road. That sounded like a good idea for all of 2 minutes when the next contraction started “oh F^&*$ &^%&^%&^% DRIVE INTO EMERG!!” What was I thinking??lol


We came crashing through the door in the typical movie scene with me in the wheelchair except I wasn’t looking like any movie star I tell ya! They took me into a room hooked me up to the fetal heart monitor and the contraction monitor and off I went every 5 minutes. I’m not sure when the pain moved into the 10 out of 10 range but it was somewhere around here. I was like a caged animal, everytime they came, I would role onto my hands and knees or crawl off the bed onto the floor (?) hang off scott a few times. I was clawing at the bedsheets, biting the mattress, pillow, once Scott (!) by accident. Tried to rip the bed sheet….yes it wasn’t pretty and not my finest hour (or as it turned out HOURS). The nurses were quite confused by my behaviour and trying to simply take in …What just walked in the door here?? During one of these contractions the nurse ran over and felt the top of my uterus and said “stop stop Wendy, its not even a contraction”………..!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (the worst nightmare ever) Of course I couldn’t “stop” and after it finished I said in a horrible nasty tone “Are you saying what I am feeling is not REAL pain???” she was confused and they all left the room, apparently my contractions weren’t even registering on the monitor either!


Meltdown Number 1:

As I clung to Scott from the floor (unsure how I ended up here) I was bawling and terrified they were going to send me home thinking it is only “ligament pain” as I heard them say. 10 out of 10 pain people!! Next I remember she said she talked to the doctor and shot morphine in my side. The monitors weren’t on me anymore as I was too wild for them to stay on, and according to them, there wasn’t anything to monitor anyway. They apparently timed my contractions from the nurses station across the hall by my screams (4 minutes apart). Unfortunately, all the morphine did was make me soo looped I had to keep my eyes closed. My pain never even dulled a little. My labour stayed like this for the rest of the time, it never changed in intensity as there was no where to go and only got closer together. Somehow I ended up in the largest labour room at the end of the hall as I was making too much noise and probably scaring everyone. It was 730 by the time I remember the nurse telling me the anastegeologist was coming in and it should be another half hour. Mentally that is what I set the goal for, just one more half hour. I should mention I never wanted to have a natural birth, I always planned on taking meds and having an epidural, I did not want to be some super hero strong woman! This was going on 15 hours now.

After an hour (!) the new nurse walks in and says the anastegeologst hasn’t even been called and doesn’t know when he’ll be here.


Meltdown #2
Not that I was being quiet by any means, but I decided that if I was going through another hour of this then I was letting it all out. I screamed and moaned like I have never done in my life. I couldn’t understand how any human could possibly watch someone else in this much pain, and NOT help them. I was begging on the floor for help to Scott. This was actually extremely traumatizing for me. The doctor finally arrived and started the process of the epidural at 930am. I remember how it looked like the heavens opened up, and the angels were singing when he stepped through the door, I was SAVED. I found some super human strength (like when a lady lifts a car off her child) for only one contraction to not move as I did NOT want to mess this up!!!!!!!!!!! The relief was almost immediate and I have never been so relieved. My contractions stopped of course after this, but I honestly could care less at this point, I was no longer feeling like my hips were breaking apart every 4 minutes.


They broke my water after this and I had a relaxing afternoon sleeping and listening to ocean waves on my IPOD until 4pm. The doctor decided to check me, and I knew something was up as I started to feel a strange feeling with some pressure. She said “oh look the babys head is right there ready to come out” ! For some reason I wasn’t prepared for this and got a little scared. The nurse asked me if I wanted to start pushing or let my body do the work for a little longer. I was happy to wait, this pressure wasn’t nearly as bad as what I had before. When pushing finally started I realized how difficult it actually was. I’ll spare the details and say after an hour and a half, out came the baby. I heard the doctor say “look what it is!!” somewhere in there I heard someone say “girl” WHAT???????? I looked at my husband and said “ It’s a girl????????? We have a daughter???????????” OMG we don’t even have a name!! There we were wearing matching bracelets with our “son’s” name on it LOL. What a complete shock!!!!!!! They took our baby girl over to get weighed as we slinked off our bracelets hehe. She was perfect, pink, 7lbs 8oz and the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life. While the first 17 hours of labour was WAY worse then I EVER imagined, the birth and expierence was beautiful and positive in my memories now.Becoming a mother has been the best expierence of my life and I would do it all over again for her, even without the epidural!

2 comments:

  1. Wow, Wendy - you have done an amazing job of describing everything that happened to you before and during your labour and delivery AND all your feelings that went along with them. I am sure lots of people will be able to relate to this. I am so proud of you! Love mom xoxoxoxxxo

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  2. LOL This is me! But I knew mine was a girl! And it is amazing how after all that pain we are ready to do it all over again!

    Congrats on your little girl :)

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