He's here!!

After a long labour, my cervix still wasn't progressing and baby wasn't moving down, so I had to have a Caesarian.

At 4:29, they delivered Owen Alexander, who weighed a whopping 9lbs 8.5oz. He's a very healthy baby - no down syndrome thank god.

He was able to breastfeed and he loves being swaddled.

He has slightly low blood sugar and he's tongue tied (the tongue web is a little tight) but they said to worry about neither.

He's so beautiful! Ryan and I are so happy and proud.

Anyway, I have to stay in the hospital until Thursday.

More posts to come later :)

Yeah...

So nothing has really gone in our favour yet. The fever has broken and the doctor informed us that there's just a wisp of my cervix left but we just found out that the baby hasn't tucked his chin down and my pelvis is narrow. So there might not be a vaginal delivery after all. Le sigh...

So glad I got the epidural when I did.

Come on baby!

Update

Almost fully dilated. On antibiotics for fever. Baby is still doing well.

Update...

Well, I was induced at 2:30pm Sunday.

My cervix was still only 2cm by 10pm at which point the doctor broke my water. I escaped the crochet hook. It only took him poking the sac with his finger a few times to rupture it. Very disgusting.

After that the contraction pain got significantly worse, and some serious back pain started happening too. I was not expecting back labour and boy does it hurt.

After a ton of those uber painful contractions, and the realization that since I'm not progressing quickly, I decided to get an epidural.

I was upset with myself at first but I've been up since 7am. I haven't eaten since before noon. I'm already tired and I couldn't imagine back labour for potentially up to another 12 hours. It was right for me and I'm ok with it.

After having it I was immediately more comfortable and now Ryan and I can both get some rest so that I can push the baby out.

By almost 12:30 I was 3cm dilated. If it takes 1hr to dilate 1/2 centimeter, that puts pushing time around 2pm or so.

Next time I post we'll have a baby!

Back in the hospital

Baby was not moving as much as normal this morning, so I called Min and am now back in the hospital.

The baby didn't move too much for the first 1/2 hour, but now he's back to normal and I look like a paranoid worrier. Oh well...

Apparently I'm at the top of the induction list today, so I'm just waiting to see the on call doctor and then hopefully my oxytocin drip gets started.

No Crystal Ball, No Guarantees

I got a call around 1:30pm. I was hoping it was the nurse at the hospital. Instead, it was Min.

I guess the nurses are saying they have no idea when I'll be able to go in, could be today, could be tomorrow.

They told her they don't have a crystal ball, which I think sounds pretty unprofessional. Especially considering I called at 7:15 this morning and they said I was good to go to come in. Who schedules this stuff anyway? Shouldn't they know that there's someone ahead of me for induction? Argh.

Min thinks it's unlikely that it'll go past tomorrow, but again, no guarantees.

On a lighter note, I've been having lower back pain, which can indicate the start of early labour...

We'll see. I seem to be pretty incapable of getting into labour myself.

So instead of going for a walk in the cold, I'm baking. Lol

More waiting now. What luck I have...

Wow...

So I'm apparently 2cm dilated now and my cervix is softer but my induction was delayed since there was someone there to be induced 1 day further along.

So now we're headed home and have to wait for the hospital to call us back in.

The on call doctor did a stretch and sweep. Man did that hurt. Bloody and sore :(

Best Case Scenario Seems Unlikely

Well it's 7:30 and no labour so I'm assuming that it won't happen by the time my assessment rolls around at 10am.

I phoned into triage and they said to still come in at 10 for the assessment which I assume means I'm good to go for induction if my body responded to the Cervidil.

So now we wait more. Ryan's packing his "daddy backpack" this morning :)

I have to admit, I'm half expecting this to end in a c-section... It's very frustrating not having any of this work out as I had hoped..oh well. Ryan and I are at least very good at adapting to new situations.

Today's Update

Ryan and I made our way into the hospital this morning for 10am.  I was hooked up to the fetal monitor again until almost 11 at which point Min determined that I was good to go for the Cervidil.

She got the on-call doctor to come in to -ahem- insert it.  Let's just say I wish that the Cervidil was a little more, uh, smooth.  This thing looked like a normal capsule (like an omega-3 pill) but had paper on the sides and a paper tail.  So to sum up, this thing had edges, which means it didn't feel good going in at all.  Luckily it was only a few seconds, but I joked about having to get a baby out of there when that little thing hurt so much.  LOL.  Ryan comforted me by saying that a baby doesn't have sharp corners or edges.

Anyway, had to stay connected to the fetal monitor for another hour or so to make sure the drug didn't harm the baby, which it didn't, and then I got to go home.

Since Ryan had an appointment in London today for his contract extension (which I insisted he miss only if I went into labour), my mom and dad were nice enough to spend the afternoon with me until he got home around 5.  I didn't think it was a good idea to be alone, and neither did Ryan, my parents or Min.

We have to go back in for 10am again tomorrow morning to have the Cervidil taken out and be re-assessed.

Best case scenario: the Cervidil triggers labour sometime before 10am and labour starts naturally.

2nd best case scenario: the Cervidil doesn't trigger labour, but they find out during the re-assessment that my cervix is favourable and they administer a synthetic oxytocin in an IV to induce labour.  (Not to be confused with oxycontin, a narcotic)

Now, it's still possible that the Cervidil won't be 100% effective in helping my body along, in which case they won't administer the oxytocin.  There's also the possibility that the oxytocin won't work.  I don't know the nitty gritty details or how they determine everything, but either of those cases have the potential to end in a c-section.

At this point, I just want the safest route that's going to keep me and the baby healthy.  If that requires a c-section or pain medication, so be it.  Even Min was talking to me about pain meds, and she said not to feel bad if I decide to have the pain medication.

So that pretty much sums up my day...

Oh, I was talking to Min about the size of the baby, and I misheard her the other day.  The baby's not over 4400g, he's 4000g.  That equates to 9lbs instead of just shy of 10lbs.  WHEW.

I also asked if she sees a lot of women that are induced.  She said not really.  Provided the cervix dilates enough for a "stretch and sweep", that is enough to trigger labour most of the time.  So I guess I'm somewhat of an anomaly :(

Unsurprisingly, my mom had to be induced for both me and my brother, and Christine also had to be induced for Kordic, so maybe this just runs in the family.

Until tomorrow, folks...

41 Week Ultrasound/Midwife Appointment

My ultrasound today was super short - only about 15 minutes.  Apparently at 41 weeks, they only check for baby's activity.  Trying to establish weight at this point is also apparently inaccurate.

As for the midwife appointment, Min got the results from last week's ultrasound - baby was showing as 4500g or 9lbs 14oz.  She *did* say that the baby could weigh less or more (eep!) than that, though...  That is a very frightening number for me to think about.  Here's hoping he weighs less than that.

My BP this week was 104/60, fundal height was 40cm and baby's heart rate was strong.

Anyway, I had another internal exam and apparently my cervix is still closed.  So we did a non-stress test, which is just me hooked up to a fetal monitor for 25 minutes or so.  Everything looked good from that.

So anyway, since my placenta's already mature and we don't want the baby to have his first bowel movement (meconium) in the womb (it's dangerous for baby to breathe that in),  I have to go to the hospital Friday morning and have Cervidil inserted.  This is to help ripen my cervix.  Apparently about 50% of women will go into labour from this.  If I'm not in the 50% (which is just my luck), I'll get a shot of oxytocin to induce labour, most likely on Saturday.

Hopefully the doctor on call on Friday won't want to transfer care, but it is a possibility.  Min said that I can call her when I'm in labour, but I'd be assessed by a nurse in triage rather than her.

I'm frustrated that I have to go to those lengths, but at the same time, it's nice to not have to play the waiting game and know that I can go somewhere without the threat of going into labour.

So now I guess no one has to keep asking if the baby's here yet...

An eventful day

I had a busy morning today.  My 40 week ultrasound was scheduled for 10:30.  I made it to the parking lot down the street when I realized I forgot the requisition form from Min... I went in anyway and mentioned I had forgotten the form, so the receptionist had to call the midwifery for another requisition.  DOH!

There was some sort of mix-up with the list on the computer and I ended up waiting over 1/2 hour to get into an ultrasound room... I was assured it wasn't because of the forgotten form. :-/

Anyway.  I finally got called in to the hottest room in the whole building, and the ultrasound began.  I didn't get to see baby's face this time.  All I got to see was his spine, a pair of hands and his leg, which is up against my rib where I've been feeling pain (that explains a lot).  The good news is, instead of having his back down my left side, which is how he's done things for the last 2 months almost, he had his back facing my stomach, which is ideal for labour.  Yay!  Hopefully he stays like that.

After the ultrasound, I made my way around the block to the midwifery around 11:30 for my appointment.  I was 15 minutes early, but that gave me ample time for the pee test and weighing myself.  A very nice young woman chatted with me for a few minutes after I sat down.  Sadly she was also there to see Min, so I ended up waiting until 12:05 to see her.

My BP is up (yay!) - 104/70 and my fundal height is 40cm.  Baby's heart rate is strong and he was giving some nice big kicks while she was using the doppler machine.

We did another internal exam and there were some differences from last week.  My cervix is not in such a posterior position and has become softer (evening primrose oil to the rescue!).  Although I wasn't dilated enough for Min to do a "stretch and sweep", she did a little "massaging" of the cervix, which unfortunately caused some bleeding and cramping (both normal).

So to sum up, the baby seems ready to go, but I'm not quite there yet.  So I have another ultrasound scheduled for next Wednesday to check the growth of the baby and another midwife appointment the same day.  Hopefully the baby comes before then and those appointments can get cancelled.

One crappy thing is that Min wants me to record the baby's movements twice a day now.  I'm only irritated because he moves all day long pretty much (he's SUPER active today) and it'll be a pain to have to start recording those movements.

So Ryan and I are guessing the baby might make his appearance around the original due date of the 14th.

Midwife Appointment - 38 weeks

I had my 38 week appointment this morning.  My weight stayed the same (yay!), my BP is 100/60 and baby's heart rate is about 135.  His head is still engaged and his back down my left side.  My fundal height is between 39 and 40cm, which is perfect.

Some interesting news is that Min and I discussed changing my due date.  My 1st trimester ultrasound showed a due date of November 10, although the 1st day of my last period was Feb 7, which puts my due date to the 14th.  Since it was within 5 days, they kept the date at the 14th.

Now, since my placenta is mature and the baby's on the big side, she gave me the option of changing the due date to the 10th.  This does NOT mean that the baby will come early per se.  What it does mean is that I would be induced no later than the 20th if I don't go into labour, instead of the 24th.  I agreed to the change.

This now puts me at 38 weeks 6 days instead of 38 weeks 2 days, and next Wednesday is my due date!

Min also put in a requisition for 2 more ultrasounds - 1 next Wednesday and one on the 17th to check the baby's growth and whatnot.  Of course, if I deliver I won't have the ultrasounds.

We did an internal exam today too and found that although my cervix is partially softened, it is still rather tall, so now I'm taking evening primrose caplets and will drink more raspberry leaf tea.  Holly gave me some tea but it's almost gone now and I can't find it in regular stores here.  Will have to do some googling to find it.

UPDATE: I tried Zehrs, Shopper's Drug Mart, Sobeys and GNC, with no luck. I found it at Nutrition House in Fairview Park Mall, but decided on a hunch to go check Wal-Mart. Sure enough, they had it, and it was $1 cheaper per box.  Go figure.