Rowan's story

I realize Rowan is two weeks old + I am just now getting around to posting her birth story, but I've been busy enjoying my newborn! If that's not a good excuse, I don't know what is!

Two weeks ago, on Friday the 13th at 6:11am, I awoke knowing something was very different. My contractions had changed overnight from sharp twinges in my belly that came and went sometimes imperceptibly to more noticeable [although still not painful], definitely crampy pains. When Joey woke up about twenty minutes later, he almost jumped out of bed, he was so excited at the prospect of something finally happening, six days past my due date.

{these contractions were different enough that I knew I wouldn't want to actually be tweeting about them & what was really happening throughout the day, not wanting anyone to know I was on labour until after our baby was born. there was no way that I could have gone the entire time without somehow tweeting about it, so I used an app called Momento to record what was happening tweet-style without actually posting anything online.}

I had had my regular weekly appointment at the clinic the day before, and while everything looked good [dilated to 2cm + fetal heart rate sitting around 145bpm], they wanted to make sure the baby was still doing well and scheduled me in for a biophysical profile on Friday morning [including a non stress test + an ultrasound to check my fluid level]. Our NST wasn't technically scheduled until 9am, and the ultrasound at 10:30, but I knew they would just hook me up to the monitor as soon as I got there anyway. By 8:30 I was settled in the bed in a labour room, the baby was doing everything it was supposed to be doing, and they even noticed some pretty strong contractions on the monitor [which I couldn't really feel at all].

My midwife came in to check me at the end of the twenty minute strip and told me I was still about 2cm dilated, and asked if I would like my membranes stripped again while I was there. She knew I didn't want to be artificially induced [I had an induction date scheduled for Tuesday, July 17th], and this could very likely get things moving a bit faster. The OB/GYN I had also seen at intervals throughout my pregnancy came in to check me [she had been the one to check me the day before & thought it would be good to compare one day to the next] and do the stretch & sweep, and then we were off to the ultrasound portion of the day, although all I wanted to do was stay in that bed & sleep awhile! Fluid levels looked good on the ultrasound, and we got to see a good amount of hair on the back of baby's head as well as a little foot measuring 7cm long. The OB/GYN then told us to have a good weekend [I told her that was a terrible thing to say!] & we headed home to wait yet again.

By 3:30 that afternoon things had definitely become consistent, with contractions coming every 7-10 minutes. They still weren't at all painful -- I could easily talk through them and would miss them if I wasn't really paying attention. Joey and I went for a few little walks around the neighbourhood and around our yard, I ate an apple [I wasn't at all hungry for supper], and we grumbled a bit about the neighbour's pool, wishing we were spending the dreadfully hot day in a nice cool pool instead of our hot, air conditioning-less house.

We decided to watch Mean Girls shortly after 7. Supper obviously wasn't happening as I had been queasy, queasier, and sick. My stomach wasn't having even the lonely apple I had eaten in the afternoon. Contractions were now coming every 5-7 minutes, but I wanted to stay at home as long as possible, since we only had a three minute drive to the hospital.

When the movie finished around 8:30, I got Joey to run to the store for some gum and a few little things, and he put our bags into the car while we waited, just in case it all ended in a mad dash. By this time, contractions were coming every 3-5 minutes, and as much as I knew I had to go, I really just didn't want to leave my house. It was so strange thinking about leaving as two and coming back as three.

I finally managed to peel myself away from my nostalgia and get into the car. We drew a big, smiling face on the board in our kitchen to let Alyssa know when she arrived home that this was it, and stopped at not one but two grocery stores before actually getting to the hospital just before 9:30.

When we arrived at the nurse's station on the Women's & Children's unit, there wasn't anyone there. We stood around in the hallway for a few minutes before someone noticed us, and I meekly said, "I think I might be in labour." We ended up having to go back out to admitting to get some paperwork, and then they took me in to the same labour room I had been in that morning and hooked me up to the monitor once again. My OB/GYN came in a few minutes later, and I praised her handiwork at that morning's stretch + sweep.

I had only been on the monitor for a couple of minutes, but when the doctor checked me and noticed that I was already 6cm dilated, they didn't even bother to finish the strip. It was pretty obvious I would be having a baby at some point that night ...

{read part two here}   {read part three here}