the jellyball family blog

On Thursday, September 22rd, we went to the hospital's obstetrics clinic for my usual weekly checkup. I was scheduled for an ultrasound on the following Monday, another checkup on the Wednesday, and they would induce me on the Thursday if labour had not yet commenced. However, the next day, on the morning of Friday, September 23rd, towards the end of my 41st week of pregnancy, I discovered one of the warning signs of impending labour. This was the last belly picture that I took that afternoon.

Luc came home a little early from work that day, even though I had yet to experience a contraction. We had dinner with my parents and went to bed knowing that any second now - the big event would take place. I had barely fallen asleep when I woke up at around 12:30am to a big contraction.

Everything after that happened fairly quickly. Like a well-oiled machine, we kicked into gear with all the labour coping strategies we'd learned. I walked laps around the house to stay active, I nibbled on snacks to keep my energy up, and as Luc timed the contractions, he'd occasionally call out "Ok, you should be having one right about... Now!"

Within a few hours, the contractions had started getting closer together and were almost 3-4 minutes apart. We called the hospital, they said to come on in, and so in the dead of the night at around 4 in the morning, we drove to the hospital. I was still in really good spirits and told Luc that it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Luc immediately told me that I had probably just jinxed myself.

Our experience at the labour and delivery unit's triage center was disappointing. They were booked to capacity with women in labour and after they checked me out, they sent us home as the labour had not progressed far enough for me to be admitted. We headed home, deflated from the news that we weren't as far along as we thought and troubled by our bad experience the short-tempered nurses.

Once we got home, it was almost 6:30am and my contractions had slowed down significantly. We had a bite to eat, and Luc put me in the bath to relax. I started falling asleep in the tub, so we decided to try to get some rest. I woke up with a jolt a few hours later, panicking that I couldn't remember when I'd last felt a contraction. My first instinct was that something was wrong with the baby.

But the baby was fine, and the contractions would kick in sometimes every half hour, sometimes almost an hour between contractions. I was completely discouraged. In the early afternoon, Luc put in a call to some close friends who had recently had a baby and I was reassured that what I was experiencing was completely normal.

The rest of the day was spent in a waiting mode. Luc and I walked around the neighbourhood doing laps on our street, as walking seemed to cause the contractions to speed up again. The neighbours must have though we were crazy - a waddling pregnant woman stopping every five to ten minutes to tough out a contraction, followed by a nervous-looking guy with a stopwatch. Once we decided to head home, the contractions would slow down again, and we finally resolved that we would just wait for nature to take its course.

It had been almost a full 24 hours that we had been in labour when the contractions started picking up again both in speed and intensity. Luc was doing an amazing job at helping me cope with the contractions. He was applying counter pressure on my back, giving me massages, making me snacks, and providing tons of moral support and encouragement.

We called the hospital at about 3 in the morning, and the nurse on the phone told me that they had just been talking about me - wondering what had happened to me since yesterday. They told us to head on in, as it sounded as though things were progressing well.

The second car ride to the hospital was much, much different than the first. The first time, I'd been fairly relaxed and the contractions hadn't been bothering me too much. This time, I was completely panicked as we left the house, because the contractions had become so intense that I didn't know if I would be able to deal with one without Luc's help. We waited at the door for a contraction to hit, and as soon as it subsided, we hopped in the car and sped off.

Thankfully the hospital was only a quick 10 minute drive away, and I dealt with only one contraction in the car on the way there. We were taking our bags out of the car when I felt another one coming on. Luc saw the panic on my face as I leaned up against the cold cement walls of the parking garage. He dropped everything he had in his hands ran to my side to apply pressure to my back.

When we arrived at triage, it was about 4:30am and there was no one at the desk. A sign indicated for us to go to the labour and delivery unit, where the nurses were sitting around with not much to do - in contrast with the previous night. There was only one other woman in labour.

One of the nurses, a hefty-looking older woman with a friendly manner, told us to go on in to one of the delivery rooms. She checked me out and she said that I was far along enough for them to admit me. Luc and I let out a huge sigh of relief.

She smiled at me and said, "You know, the nurses and I had a bet going. We were saying that there was no way you were dilated enough to be admitted based on how well you're handling things. Smiling and all."

And it was true - between contractions, I felt great. I was in high spirits and all smiles. Then, a contraction would hit and it would be 2 minutes or so of pain, after which we'd go back to whatever it was we were talking about.

One of the first things we were asked about was how we wanted to approach pain medication. There were plenty of options available, but we declined them and told the nurses that we wanted to go as far as we could without drugs. This seemed to confuse the nurses a little, as they must have been used to seeing the two extremes - someone who wanted to have a natural birth, or someone who wanted drugs as soon as they walked through the door. Every time I heard one nurse say to another "She wants to go natural," I would correct them. I surely didn't want them taking away my option to have the drugs!

All the nurses were super nice to us - which was a huge relief to us considering our first encounter with them the previous night had been bad. They came in to check on us every 20 minutes or so, offering plenty of encouragement, all the while double-checking with me if I'd changed my mind on the drugs. One of the nurses must have taken pity on me and she came in to tell us that she was going to move us into a different room - one with a Jacuzzi tub. I was relieved and excited to try a different method of coping with the contractions, which were progressively getting more intense in pain.

At around 7am, there was a nursing shift change. Just before the shift change, we had a funny encounter with an eager medical student, who came in with an air of authority and told me that she was going to examine me to see how far along I'd progressed. Our nurse looked a little skeptical but told me that it was up to me if I wanted to allow it. It had been hours since we'd been there, so I was curious to see how far along we'd come.

The medical student announced that I was almost 9 cm dilated (10 being the magic number). Luc and I were stunned. Our nurse sighed and said, "No, she's not." She checked me and it turns out that I was only 5 cm dilated, and she proceeded to explain to the student what it was that she was feeling and why her initial exam had been incorrect. After the student left, our nurse apologized for the student having gotten our hopes up, but we laughed it off - we too had been a little skeptical considering we knew at 9 cm, I should have been climbing the walls.

Our new nurse, Jen, was even greater than the previous nurse and she was our partner in crime until the birth. At around 8am, over 30 hours into my labour, the doctor on duty and the chief resident paid us another visit and this time, they told me that something would have to be done to move my labour along. They broke my water but nothing really happened as the baby was already so low. I asked them to check the baby's position and they discovered that I was in back labour - the most painful kind due to the baby being head down but facing towards my abdomen instead of my spine.

This news had the dual effect of making me feel both relieved and discouraged. Somewhere along the line, the contractions had gotten very painful, and our coping methods weren't working anymore. I was relieved to know that it hadn't just been my imagination. I was, however, completely discouraged as I knew that things would only get harder and more painful from there.

Over the next 30 minutes - the longest 30 minutes of the entire labour experience - we worked through three or four more contractions before I broke down in tears and told Luc I didn't think I was going to be able to do it. I was exhausted, sleep-deprived, and it went from feeling like I was having pain to feeling like the pain was having me. We decided that we'd hit our goal to get halfway there - 5 cm - without the epidural, and that it would be best for me to conserve my energy for the pushing stage - which, given that it was back labour, could be very long.

And so, after 32 hours of labour, I decided to have the epidural. I hadn't been sure what to expect - I was able to feel pressure but not pain. I was able to wiggle my toes, move one of my legs, but I felt none of the pain from before. In my head, I praised the inventor of the epidural and thought that if he or she wanted my firstborn as payment, it seemed like a pretty reasonable request.

The next few hours were a bit of a blur as Luc and I both tried to get a bit of sleep. I was so pumped on adrenalin that I barely slept. I was lying on my side in order to try to encourage the baby to turn. Jen came in every 20 minutes to check on me, but she was monitoring my vitals and the fetal monitor from outside the room. She came in twice to administer doses of oxytocin, which was used to speed up and regulate my contractions.

Before I knew it, it was close to 1:30pm and I was fully dilated. Jen asked Luc if he was squeamish - to which he responded no - and she showed him that the baby's head and a tuft of his hair was already visible. The baby had almost fully turned to face my spine!

The pushing stage went faster than any of us anticipated - just 20 minutes - Jen and Luc both cheered me on and I watched with amazement at the progress I was making with every push from a mirror at my feet. Before long, Jen was asking me if I could "hold it" and used the buzzer by the bed to ask for the doctor to come - and fast! After they arrived, they told me I could give a "little" push, but all I heard was "push" and push I did!

It was 1:59pm when Caleb was born. He let out a big cry and a big poop as soon as he was born. It wasn't the sight of him - but the sound of him - that made me cry. After a quick cleanup, Caleb was in my arms. Luc and I could hardly believe he was finally there with us - he was absolutely adorable. Once he was in my arms, I didn't pay much attention to anything else that was happening around me, but the doctors were doing their thing and only occasionally interrupting our first moments with Caleb to ask me to participate with whatever it was they were doing.

This was a video I took about an hour after Caleb was born.

We were in the hospital for the next 48 hours. My recovery was fast - I was walking within hours of the birth and had very little pain or discomfort. I was so filled with excitement and adrenalin that I barely felt tired during those 48 hours, but Luc was completely wrecked.

The nursing staff at the hospital were great - we had nothing but good things to say about their support and kindness in the first two days of Caleb's life. Both our parents came to visit us the following day. On September 27th, we took Caleb home.

And so, the adventure with Caleb began.

Thinking back at the experience, I can say that it was in some ways easier than I thought and in others, harder. There is no greater reward than parenthood, and there is no way that I would have made it without Luc's love and support. I can think of no better partner in life than my partner in labour.