If you have not heard by now..we had Baby B on December 25th 2011 at 5:07am in the wee hours of the morning. Baby B now stands for Beautiful Baby Girl..
Evie Rae Brant was a very unexpected Christmas present!!! I have had a lot of ppl requesting that Doug and Myself share our birth story on our blog. I believe that my last post before this one was almost 2 weeks ago..due to it was right after our 37 week appointment..right before our 38th week was to begin. After all baby Evie was born quite literally the 2nd day into our 38th week. I have not so far had much time to write this blog and may have to save and keep adding to it..to complete it.
On December 25th we were just going to sit still in Peterborough. We had family coming up for the day. I had woke up at 4:30am...went to the washroom and tried to go back to sleep as usual..it was not happening I was having a lot of lower back pain..I just could not really get comfortable at all. So I let Doug sleep in..or so I had thought as he lay there awake for awhile and then joined me downstairs shortly.
Earlier that week after our last doctors appointment we had gotten things to make for Christmas Eve day and night. We had forgotten a couple of things so Doug had ventured out to the grocery store to pick up some chocolate milk, shrimp, appetizers and a couple other odds and ends. We had decided it would be nice to have some chocolate milk for the niece and nephew to have at lunchtime. Doug's parents and sister's family were going to be coming up around lunchtime for a couple of hours and we were to be expecting my parents for a couple nights stay later Christmas eve. All day I was getting back spasms that were in my lower back..kinda like a target zone..that was most in the area of tailbone and sciatic nerve area.
I have had a lot of lower back pain lately due to what I had thought was the babies position..being later in pregnancy..the head being dropped ect. I am not a very tall girl in the first place so this also happens when my boobs are getting larger and posture is affected by my on growing pregnant tummy.
Most of the day I was just breathing through them..they were random and not constant. I remember cutting up some veggies, meat, cheese and fruit swinging back in forth in the computer chair sitting at the table to help with the pain that I was trying to get through randomly. This was nothing for me to take super notice of..seeing as I had heard that ppl can have braxton hicks contractions for quite some time spaced out with large amounts of pain and I was not feeling any downward pressure kinda contraction pain from the top of my uterus..it was more just lower back pain which I had been dealing with for most of my 3rd trimester. Some mild crampy feelings had happened as well..which I remember asking the dear doctor about when I was asking about my plug going as well. He told me it was all completely normal and I believe he thought I was no where near labour at that point in time. He was going to be away for the entire week anyway..in Mexico..our appointment was not to be until December 31st.
So here I was going through the motions of labour all day thinking that nothing was happening that was not abnormal..just back pain...and occasional painful braxton hicks contractions. Doug's family showed up around 12:30pm. We all had some food and munchies..had our nephew open his belated b-day prezzies..since his birthday was the day before. We all opened each other's presents and had a nice visit. Most of the day I was not able to sit comfortably for very long and kept switching where I was sitting or standing to get comfortable again.
A couple hours later around 5pm my parents arrived at our house. We threw some appetizers into the oven and hung out for a little bit. Around 6pm according to my dear husband my "demeanour" as he kindly put it started to change. I was not sure if it was something I had eaten that I was not supposed to or the lack of sleep or labour moving along in the next week or so. Doug had assumed since I was already losing my plug for a couple of days that I was not going to be in labour till at least the middle of the next week or so.
Throughout the night things were seeming to get worse but not making me think anything different was actually happening. We had some munchies and put on the movie "The Help". Throughout the duration of the evening I was making multiples of trips to the washroom. It was all I could do to make it through the movie without switching positions. I was breathing through the so called braxton hicks and apparently stopping mid-sentence due to the pain I was going through that was seeming to get worse and randomly.
I had downloaded a contraction app on the ipod touch when I had make my labour play list. Now you are probably laughing. I know Doug does not wear a watch for 1 and wanted music to distract me in the middle section of labour. Keep me calm and relaxed and work through the pain before I had the epidural. Doug had been timing what I was having to see if they were really contractions. Still having them randomly one could be 10 minutes apart and last for 30 seconds the next could be 7 or 4 mins apart and last for a minute. Needless to say they were still all over the place for an hour or so.
I had decided after the movie was over that it might be a good idea to go to bed and get some rest so that he pains would go away. When I went up to bed and laid down..the pain did not stop and I felt massive back spasms for a period of 5 minutes. I went to go the bathroom feeling dizzy and quite nautious and as soon as I sat down to pee I had to turn around to power puke into the toilet. Doug came upstairs quite quickly asking if I was okay..and then said maybe it would be a good idea to come downstairs and re-time the so called braxton hicks contractions. I changed out of the my pj's once again and came back downstairs. We sat and talked some more and decided we were all going to try and go to bed and if something happened to let my parents know.
Doug and I went to bed and they kept coming. He would rub my back to help with the pain and was laying with me. He then asked if maybe we should call labour and delivery at the hospital and see what they thought. I did not want to go in and get sent back home. I know sometimes if you are not far along enough they will make you wait or send you back home until you are good and ready. Doug had called and told them about the random times and intensity levels of each one. They asked to talk to me and said that I should come in just to be sure that it was nothing or possibly something. Doug went and got my parents up and I gathered the bags we would need just to be sure if it was the real deal.
We drove across town to PRHC and arrived there around 12:30am Christmas day. When we got to emerge we got sent straight up to labour and delivery and was sent to the assessment room and put on the monitor for 20 minutes. At this point it was all I could do to breathe through the pain and intensity of what was happening. Almost feeling like I could cry and scream at the same time. The nurse came back after 20 minutes which seemed like it was taking forever and said she was going to check me to see if I was dilated at all. She then told us all that I was 4cm already. Little did we know that Baby B was going to come 2 weeks early. There was no one in the labour and delivery floor at that time..about 5 minutes after we came in..another couple arrived.
After being checked out in the observation room we were sent to the labour and delivery rooms. They hooked me up to an IV knowing that I was strep B positive and was planning on getting an epidural when the time arrived for pain. The nurse then continued to ask me a million questions. I don't know if you know this..but when you are in that much pain and trying to breathe and I mean breathe because I was apparently sounding like I was hyperventilating...it is very difficult. They want to know what you want to have done and not done..pass history of illness ect..allergies..height...whole kit and kaboodle.
I was told that the anesthesiologist and the doctor who are on call both had to be called into the hospital. Apparently this Christmas day night was a night where it very slow and quiet. I was asked at one point if I wanted anything other than the epidural for pain in the mean time..I had said yes..but it never ended up making it back to the room. It seemed like the anesthesiologist was taking forever to get there...my contractions were getting so bad that I was throwing up and keeling over. I do not care what they tell you about breathing and trying not to hyperventilate..when you are in that much back labour and pain..it is impossible to take huge deep breaths and blow them out slowly. The sounds they tell you to make do not help with the pain either..lol.
Apparently besides the fact that the anesthesiologist and the doctor on call had to be called in..they not only forgot to bring me the other pain meds ahead of time..but they also sent the anesthesiologist into the other girl who had followed me in due to she has had a baby before and they believed that she would be the first person to go into labour between the two of us. Little did they know that Evie and my body had other plans that were discussed ahead of time. The anesthesiologist came in around 3-3:30ish it was all I could do to make it through him doing the procedure..at that point my contractions were between 2-4mins apart sometimes less and were starting when the other one was ending. It took Doug holding a tin for me to throw up into..help hold me up with my mom on the other side..the contractions at this point were so bad that my whole lower half of my body was shaking uncontrollably. Now I do not know if you know any of this but when they ask you to not move while you are having very bad contractions..bent over in a c-shape arch for them to get the right spot in your back..is a very difficult task. Oh and do not forget to BREATH!!!
On the bright side...I made it through my very long labouring day mostly without any meds..dealt with both sides of our family being at our house...entertaining...trying to ignore what I had thought were not real birthing contractions...and only got the epidural when it was really needed....overdue more or less. After about a half an hour the epidural was kicked right in..Doug said"It was night and day difference". Now when you are on an IV and Epidural..you have to have a catheter in..I was told that they are painful..well my epidural worked so well I could not feel a damn thing..and was quite fine with it. I guess in the mean time since I have been lacking in the sleep department..my body was relaxing a little and was dozing in and out temporarily..woke up at one point to make everyone including the nurse laugh. Out of nowhere I said " No mom, that's a spring coat". Now in my head I remember dreaming that she asked me for a coat and she picked out a spring coat and it was cold out and I told her she wanted a winter one not a spring coat. Who knows what goes on in your mind when you are that out of it.
Did I mention that this was not the doctor who was supposed to deliver Evie..lol.
During this whole process I was told that if I had her before 7am I would have the doctor who was in..if not I would have Dr. Kramer..now when you tell someone on no sleep and on an epidural that Dr.Kramer is coming in..its histarical..or so I had thought it was. It is funny how things work..I remember when I could still feel the contractions and was being sick..thinking I had peed myself..and then asking later on when did my water break..finally putting two and two together that it was not me peeing myself..my body was playing dominoes...one reaction of pain..leading another natural release to occur.
Shortly..well it seemed not that long then..the nurse came back down to check my dilation..she said OMG..you are already 10..fully dilated. So she sat me up moved my legs into a position to make gravity work its way down. She could already feel the head and Evie's full head of hair at that point. Within 10-15 mins or so she came back in and said we are going to get you to push and see how this is going to go. We waited for a contraction..which by the way I could A not tell I was having or B feel it at all. Then the pre-pushing began. Mom and Doug had to hold my legs in the stir ups and pretty much half way hand them to me..I do not believe I was much help in the dead weight of it all. So Here comes the 3 big breathes part with some hard purple faced pushing. The nurse was quite impressed. Apparently I pushed out where she could see Evie's head in 3 minutes and 3 pushes where it usually takes a person normally around a hour to get to. And to think I never gave Evie her eviction notice..I thought she was going to wait until the actual week of her due date.
I had mentioned to the nurse jokingly about a dream I had had a couple of months back about pushing the baby out in 12mins and it being a girl..I was right on the second part. They all thought it was hilarious...they told me they would give it to me if I got her out in 20 minutes. After the majority of pushing was done they had called the doctor in with a small team of other nurses. He was not expecting to come into my room first and was very surprised. The nurses are amazing and really do most of the work. The one we had was super nice and talked to us about everything that was going on..well mostly when I was actually able to answer or was alert to what was happening. I do not recommend being a hero..get an epidural if you are in that much pain.. I mostly remember me not being able to feel or tell when I was having a contraction..one nurse was supposed to feel and watch the monitors. The others were helping the doctor down below..getting supplies ready..ect. I honestly believe that Evie would have been out a lot faster if the one nurse would have remembered that I could not tell when I was having a contraction to let the doctors know.
I remember taking deep breaths and my legs feeling like dead weight and full of really bad tingly pins and needles. Hanging on to your legs to help you push down at that point seems like an impossible task. The doctor kept saying " Now if you have an extra push in there..now would be a time to do it". Hilarious right!!! Well if I had any more adrenaline pushes in there I would do it..but last time I checked my face is purple..I am holding my breath and need to get some more air. I do not believe he knew how long I had been up for. By the time I had Evie..actually when I was pushing at that point. I had already been up for over 24hrs. I pushed out Evie in 27mins...and no I am not bragging..impressed tho. It is not always the safest thing to have a fast paced pushing session in labour. You can tare more and be in for a lot longer of a recovery. I had to have an small episiotomy due to Evie's nose was going to rip me. Now if you have not seen a picture of my adorable daughter...her nose is freaking tiny..hard to believe that is why the doctor had to make a small cut. While I was in labour..I was apparently laughing at certain things we were talking about...Doug said when I laughed you could see the head bob in and out. I could have laughed her out.
When she came out the doctor had asked Doug "Well dad what is it"..Doug in total lack of sleep says " a baby?" They had to fill him in on what they were actually asking him...then he said "Oh! it's a girl".
Evie was Born at 5:07am.. Christmas Day..19 inches long...weighing 6lbs 2 oz. She had a very large cone head from birth..tons of dark hair which looked very wavy at the time. She was the first Christmas Day baby in Peterborough ON. The hospital provided us with a couple of toys..knit blanket and hat..christmas stuffies...and more goodies once we moved to the after labour room. She truly was the best unexpected Christmas present ever!!
Now Evie and I had a longer stay in the hospital than most..due to us being strep b positive we had to get watched a little longer than most for certain symptoms. The first couple of days she was very mucous filled. She had to have a saline rinse done and was throwing up some of what she had in her stomach still from birth. Due to her feeding like a preemie..since she is so small she was having trouble latching to me..plus she is tongue tied. The one night we had a fever and she was borderline jaundice. After we had all of that looked after we were let out on Wednesday December 28th 2011.
It was a very long week for all of us. My parents had stayed and cooked the turkey for us that was left out, We met our nephews for the first time Boxing Day. We all met our new niece and nephews for the first time together. Holly had to work through it all but understandably so..Evie had other plans than the dates Aunt Holla had set and discussed with my tummy buddy!! Some Nurses we had were great in the hospital and some were like drill sargent's. I had to start using a shield to feed Evie so she would latch to me properly and pump to top her up to make sure she is getting what she needs..makes for long nights. I will have to use the shield for a while until her muscles are more formed to latch properly.
We had some nice visits in the hospital and got harassed by the media the entire week. By 9am Christmas day the Examiner was phoning the nurses at the desk. We have heard of them making a big deal out of the New Year's babies..but not on Christmas day. Next was Chex...we did the piece for The Examiner..Chex would not take no for an answer. After that came calls from 2 radio stations and then a note on the door that Doug had found when he had gotten home. Needless to say our daughter is already famous for her birthday. We made the front page!!!
Our jaundice levels are continuing to drop...We had our tongue clipped on the 5th Jan 2012...after seeing not one but two lactation specialists..one in the hospital and another that is a nurse for our family doctor. Evie had the classic tongue tie and is getting better at feeding each day. As of Jan 4th, 2012 she had surpassed her birth weight and was 6lb 5 oz...which is great due to when we left the hospital and had our check the following day we were still under. Nice to know all of our long hour feedings and pumping to top her up was working.
There is a lot more to tell you about how our days and weeks are going..we are now 2 weeks old already....how much we have grown and how we are all doing..I will be sure to update you all shortly..and with some pics..but for now..this is mostly all of our birth story..
xoxo
Doug, Mom and Evie
