Eggs, shots and rock n roll

Late and happy

Last time I was here, I was wondering if my body would be failing me once again and if I would need to be induced, once again. It was with no suprise that my dr told me, on March 11, that everything was still firm and closed. He told me he would let me go past 41 weeks, but we would need to consider induction on the 19th. I was disappointed, but ok with the idea. I would meet my son soon, whatever the way he came out.

On March 13, in the afternoon, I noticed some of my mucus plug on the toilet paper. I knew it didn't exactly mean I would go into labor right then and there, but at least I knew my cervix was doing "something". The next day, I lost more gummy stuff. What had been ordinary Braxton Hicks contractions became gradually a little bit more unconfortable. Nothing much, and not regular, but still, something was changing.

By the end of that evening, I had more contractions. They still didn't realy hurt. I just had to breathe them through. They still were not regular, going from every 6 minutes to every 12 minutes. They even stopped when I took a bath or when I laid on my left side. So I went to bed, thinking I might be giving birth this weekend after all.

While I was sleeping, I had some contractions, even though I was still laying on my left side. I almost didn't wake up, only breathing them through and going back to sleep every time. But the contractions became more and more unconfortable and frequent. I woke P up around 1 a.m. and asked him to time them. They were regular, 4 minutes apart. After 20 minutes like that, I took a hot bath, but it became worse. They became 3 minutes apart and soon, 2 minutes. They hurt like hell. I tried many positions, but the one I found more confortable (and still...) was standing up, hanging from my man's neck, on my tiptoes. My legs really hurt, my back was killing me. The contractions were coming every 2 minutes and lasting almost a minute each. Not much time left to catch my breath!

Around 2 a.m., we called the hospital. The nurse told me that since it took me a long time for my first son (12 hours of contractions, 3 hours of pushing) and that since my dr told me I had no progress done last Tuesday, I should keep breathing through my contractions at home for another hour. I understood that it would not change anything if I were at the hospital, but I still wanted to go. We waited 15 minutes and called my dad so he could come watch Félix while we were gone. He arrived 20 minutes later.

I was in so much pain, and just couldn't imagine what it would be like when my water broke. I had hoped to go natural, but right then, I had only one thing in mind: epidural. Sooner we got to the hospital, sonner I would be free from the pain.

It took us quite some time just to get to the car, having to stop walking every time I had a contraction. The ride to the hospital was horrible. The road was very slipery, the weather was bad and every bump made my scream in agony. It felt as if my belly was full of water and went up and down with every bump (and anybody's who's been to Montreal knows there are lots of bumps in the roads). And since I was sitting down, I was unable to control the pain. The contractions changed. It now really, really hurt my back and legs. I felt like pushing, I couldn't breathe, I just sat there, screaming, holding the door handle and praying we would get there fast.

P drove quite fast for the weather and passed a few red lights (made a quick stop) and we were finally at the hospital. Last time I checked the clock in the car, it was 3:05 a.m. We had to walk a long way before actually getting inside. It was freezing. We had to stop every 2 minutes because of the contractions. It must have taken at least 20 minutes before we arrived and I was directed to a bed and asked to put on a hospital gown. It was so hard to do, the contractions never seeming to stop anymore. The nurse was very impatient with me. When she finally checked me, she said "well, you're complete!" I was so surprised, I was sure I was only 4 or 5 centimeters. She said I couldn't stand up anymore because my water wasn't broken and the baby was still high. They rushed me to the delivery room. The dr ruptured my waters and asked me to push. In a way, I did not want to push. I thought it would take 3 hours as it did for Félix. I thought I would never be able to get that baby out, it hurt too much. But in another way, I just had to push. It felt good to push. So I did. And heard "the head is almost out!" Once again, I was so surprised. It burned, but nothing like I imagined it would. I felt my baby coming out of me. I felt it all and it felt very empowering, so very full of life. Three more pushes and my second son was placed on my chest, breathing, beautiful.

My son Laurent was born at 3:47 a.m on March 15. Very big and healthy. He weighed 9 pounds 12 ounces!



It went so fast, so well, I just couldn't believe it. I kept saying to P I couldn't believe the baby was already there, that I had never hoped I could live such a wonderful delivery. Such a dream come true.

Its been two weeks already, time flies by! Things are going well at home. Of course I am tired and missing a little bit the times when I actually had time for myself. But we are so happy. So, so happy.

posted by Kiwi at 10:45 AM