Rowan's story {part two}

{in case you missed it, you can read part one of Rowan's birth story here}

When we left off, I had just been taken off the monitor after only having been hooked up for a few minutes, since I was already dilated 6cm and was well on my way to 7cm, according to the obstetrician on the unit that night. The nurse in the room, Liz, handed me a hospital gown as the obstetrician told me to get changed and head two doors down to the delivery room -- I was going to have my baby that night, there was no doubt about it.

Joey and I took a moment as I changed to try to absorb what was finally happening. At a week past my due date, I had pretty much come to the conclusion that this would never happen, but here we were! We headed to the other room, me in just my bra and a johnny shirt, and met Nicole, the labour + delivery nurse who would be with us that night. She was just finishing up a chart for the previous delivery [there were only two of us that night, and we had heard the other baby's first cry from the labour room just a very short while before], and then she began to prepare the room for our baby's birth. She was fantastic, explaining the use of each little tool as she got everything ready, and treating us as friends instead of patients. [It was at this point that I realized Nicole was our friend Tiffany's preceptor the year before during her co-op at the hospital, which was a nice little connection!]

We got settled in the room around eleven o'clock, I in the bed + Joey between a chair + my bedside. I had thought going into labour that I would want to move as much as possible through my contractions, but quickly discovered that I was much more comfortable lying down. I certainly had the option to move about -- I was only hooked up to the monitor for a very short while once we got to the delivery room, and only because I had been sick to my stomach a few times and was a bit dehydrated. At this point, Marie, my midwife showed up, having just settled into bed when she received the call that I was in labour + asking if she wanted to join the party. I was so happy to see her -- I had thought the obstetrician would be delivering my baby, which of course wasn't a bad thing either, but had really wanted to go through the whole experience with one of the midwives, and especially Marie. [The hospital where I gave birth has a shared care practice, and so I saw three obstetricians and two midwives throughout my pregnancy. The obstetrician on call that night was the one I had seen most often and the one with whom I was most comfortable, and I was happy she was there in case an emergency situation were to arise!]

For a long while, I just laid in the bed, quietly breathing through the contractions on my own. They became increasingly painful, but still weren't anything to complain about, to be honest. The only trouble I had was dehydration. Because I had vomited a few times that evening + since arriving at the hospital, and also hadn't eaten dinner that night or been drinking very much, my heart rate as well as the baby's were slightly elevated. I tried for awhile just drinking water to try and solve the problem, but wasn't able to keep enough down to really make a difference. They inserted an IV and pumped me full of fluids, which made me feel quite a bit better and worked to lower both of our heart rates. I was also very warm in the room, which posed a bit of a problem because I tend to faint when my temperature changes quickly. Joey and Nicole were constantly going between the bed and the sink, soaking cloths in cold water and putting them on my face and neck, keeping me at a comfortable temperature.

I was checked several times, seemingly by everyone on the unit, and had made it to 7cm, but wasn't really getting much further than that. At midnight, Marie came to me and said I wasn't progressing as quickly as they would like, which is typically half a centimeter each hour. She then spoke the words I dreaded, telling me that the OB would suggest Pitocin if I didn't get much further within the next little while. I asked if they could break my water instead, to avoid needing to artificially induce contractions, and Marie agreed to wait an hour to see if I progressed on my own before breaking my water, and then revisiting the oxytocin option after that, if necessary.


One o'clock came, and I still hadn't made it far enough to rule anything out. The obstetrician had come into the room and was talking to Marie. I had a silent moment of disappointment as the doctor turned to me and suggested we start an oxytocin drip …

{read part three here}