First thing ALL women are incredible whether you’ve given birth “naturally”, or by Caesarean section. No labour is the same, even if you’ve had multiple pregnancies. I know for sure none of my four birth stories, are the same. Each birth was different, especially the pain level. In fact the only thing they all had in common was the type of delivery.
My sister had a rough time, she was in labour for four days. Then she needed to have a Caesarean section due to complications. All different experiences, but in the end I believe we are all amazing warrior moms!
I started getting contractions the night of May 4th, at 4 pm. The contractions only hit me every 2-3 hours, but my back was starting to hurt. I was tossing and turning most of the night and sure enough, had to pee again for the 30th time around
When I finished I noticed, I had lost my mucus plug. I headed back to bed, and woke again at 4:11am because the cramping started to get worse.
By now I knew I was having labour contractions, despite having them hours apart.
Still yet again I went back to bed, till I woke up at 6:16 am with yet another painful contraction. The pain wasn’t going away, so I knew I should probably get ready to go to the hospital. I had a quick shower, and got myself ready to go.
The kids were already up, so we made them some toast for breakfast. I forced myself to have something small to eat. In the past, my experience has been when you get to the hospital if you’re in labour you don’t get to eat anything. Which makes sense, but it’s a horrible feeling being hungry while
At 6:42am I had another contraction, and told everyone it was time to head to the hospital. I gave my kids a kiss, then left them with my mom in the hospital waiting room.
Meanwhile, my mom made arrangements
Tracking the baby’s heartbeat, and seeing if I’m getting real contractions.
The hospital changed it’s rules in the last few years, kids are no longer allowed in the birthing ward.
Which is so bizarre to me, considering I had Keera in the delivery room when Zaden was born ( she was asleep on a couch type thing.)
The contractions are real, and strong!
I got my cervix checked by the nurse at 10:07
I told the nurse that I wanted to try a drug free birth. In the past with my other three, I had epidurals but they didn’t do anything for me pain-wise. With all of them the epidural didn’t take effect until after I had given birth, so this time I figured why not try it “all natural.”
The nurse suggested I go for a walk around the labour and delivery ward, to hopefully get labour moving quicker. So we wouldn’t prolong the pain, longer than it needs to be. She said when we returned to the room, she was going to break my water. So armed with a cup of ice chips at
My goal was to walk around the labour and delivery ward at least once. The ward is sort of like an oval, so it makes a good place for walking. We got a little further than down the hall, before I told my mom the pain was too much and we had to head back to the room.
At 12:05 pm my mom and I got back to the delivery room, and I paced around the room a little bit. The nurse came into the room, did a quick dilation check said I was 7cm and broke my water at 12:20pm.
The nurse came back 18 minutes later, and I was 8cm dilated.
At this point the pain was exhausting, I had gone 8cm without anything for pain. The positive mentality that I had started off labour with, was quickly fading out of sight. I started to doubt my ability to do this drug-free, and it spiraled from there. This was the time I started contemplate pain relief, which to me felt like I was disappointing myself.
I really wanted to do labour completely natural, not for anyone else but to prove to myself that I could do it. However in the end I caved, I asked the nurse what my options were. The only thing I was firm on was, that I didn’t want an epidural. The nurse suggested Fentanyl, and Nitrous Oxide (laughing gas.)
The nurse I had helping me was awesome, she was so encouraging and she kept telling me how amazing I was. It’s because of her and my mom, that I even made it that far without pain management. I was in so much pain because one part of my cervix wasn’t thinning out, and the other side was ready to go.
I got my first shot of Fentanyl by IV at 12:41pm, and I remember the nurse checking me for the last time. She said there was a bubble, but she wasn’t sure what it was, then she slipped her finger under it and something popped!
It was than that I knew I needed to push. I wanted her born, as quickly as possible.
I’ve been through labour before, three times…but for some reason this time the birth hurt more than all the others. The nurse gave me some “laughing gas.” I tried tuning everything out, and just focused on my breathing. Not too long after my beautiful third daughter was born.
Kennedy was born at 2:37pm, on May 5th, 2018. She came five days before her due date, she was 7 pounds 8 ounces and just under 21 inches long.
Something interesting, and slightly amusing: I sent my mom a text message on August 29th, 2017 telling her that I was pregnant. I then told her that I figured out the dates based on my pregnancy test, and my last period and that I was due May 5th, 2018. My doctors told me my due date was May 10th, 2018. Yet today she came. 🙂
My pregnancy with Kennedy was the hardest one, I honestly thought I was going to have a miscarriage. I had cramps, and bleeding the entire pregnancy. There were so many scares, and nights in the Emergency room. You can read about it HERE or if you’d like a more cheerful read click HERE for my pregnancy announcement.
Since I’ve had vaginal deliveries with all of my kids, I’ve always was curious about what it looked like you know… down there during labour. The doctor when I was giving birth to my oldest Keera, asked if I wanted to see. I said no, and was never asked again with any of my other kids. Yet it’s still one of those things that makes you wonder.
My surroundings after giving birth are a blur, I’m completely focused on my baby. So I usually miss out on getting to see the placenta, this time I asked to see the placenta. Yeah gross I know, but I really wanted to see it. I’m not sure if I’ll have any more kids, and this might be my last chance to see one up close and personal. Heck I even took pictures of it. No worries people I won’t be posting those online. 😛
Kennedy and I will not be leaving the hospital tonight, as the doctors have said they need to run some more blood tests on Kennedy. Honestly, it’s a blessing in disguise because I’m still not sure on the name for little miss yet.
***UPDATE: It’s been over 24 hours since this beauty was born. I finally decided on a name… Welcome Kennedy Inez, it took some time but the name just spoke to me. Kennedy’s middle name is named after her great-grandma.
