Sweet Momma Birth Story

Worth Her "Wait" in Gold

Worth Her "Wait" in Gold', 'Here is my birth story. I''m sure it is like so many others, yet it is all my own - completely unique. Like pregnancies, no two births are alike. But every woman can relate to at least some aspects of the experience. So I''m happy to share my story, in the hopes that you will be able to glean something useful for your own unique and beautiful birth experience.

So you''re about to have a baby. If you''re a first-time mom be prepared for an experience unlike any other. I just realized how absurd that is. How can you prepare for something you''ve never experienced?

Yet I wish someone had been able to tell me what a contraction feels like so I could have known how to deal with the pain better. Maybe people feel it differently. After all, some women say it is impossible without completely numbing drugs and others don''t see what the fuss is all about. (I personally believe that whoever invented the epidural deserves a Nobel prize!)

But I am getting ahead of myself. Let me start at the beginning. First of all, I believe doctors should state a "due week" instead of a "due date" to avoid unnecessary anxiety and frustration.

Months before our due date, my husband, Slavko, and I hurried to prepare for our expected arrival. We moved to our new home, painted, renovated, unpacked, cleaned, bought all the baby necessities, etc, etc. I read every book on the subject of pregnancy and labour. I stopped working three weeks before the due date, knowing that it could be "any time now" since babies can be born any time two weeks before or after their due date. (Somehow I believed it would be the former and thought the latter a remote possibility. After all, I was ready - or so I thought).

And so we waited... and waited... and waited. And then we waited some more. Our due date came and went. Family and friends kept calling in anticipation - some even thought we might be keeping the birth a secret! I think the worst thing about being overdue is being constantly asked whether the baby has been born yet. Still, there was absolutely no sign of oncoming labour. None. Zip. Nada. No nesting, no early contractions or Braxton-Hicks, no sleeplessness or diarrhea...

Finally I agreed to my doctor''s recommendation to have an induction. So Slavko and I went to the hospital Monday morning to have the Cervidil inserted (it''s like a tampon). Then we went home to wait some more. After a restless night, with still no sign of labour, we headed back to the hospital early the next morning to have the Cervidil removed.

As we were walking from the car to the maternity ward at Royal Alexandra, I began to feel some mild lower back pain (like a menstrual cramp) at regular intervals. I told Slavko, "This is it! These must be contractions! Well, this isn''t so bad". Or so I thought...

Less than an hour later I was moaning and writhing in agonizing pain. The back pain was by then excruciating and with each contraction the pain shifted towards my abdomen. And this happened approximately every four or five minutes to boot! Sleep between contractions was impossible although I was completely exhausted. It did not help that I was at the peak of a cold that I had caught a few days before.

By noon I asked for an epidural, but I was still only 2.5 cm dilated (half a centimetre change from two weeks ago!). Since epidurals slow down labour progress, the nurses stalled. They suggested I go to the showers and run hot water on my back (since my water already broke they did not want me to use the bath). Surprisingly, the hot water helped. Being so weak and sleepy, I could barely stand and poor Slavko got wet as he stood nearby holding me.

Finally at around 3 pm, I was about three cm dilated and the nurses took me upstairs to the delivery room to get an epidural. With a tiny sharp pain in my back the needle was in. God bless anaesthesiologists!

Within 10 minutes I felt nothing below my waist, although I could move my legs if I wanted to. Without the monitor, I would have had no idea when my contractions came and went. I was confined to the bed, but I did not mind at all. The nurses hooked up an IV with oxytocin to keep the contractions going.

Finally, I fell asleep. After four hours I woke up, happy to find out that I was eight cm dilated! A whole five cm without feeling a thing!

Soon I reached 10 cm. My doctor arrived and found that the baby''s head was turned the wrong way. Her head was down in my pelvis but twisted to one side with one ear pointing towards my abdomen (a very difficult position for delivery since the presenting part of the head is larger). After waiting another hour, the doctor suggested I start pushing, hoping that it would help the baby turn around.

The epidural dosage was decreased so I could feel the contractions and push more effectively. Sure enough, soon after I started pushing she twisted her body around and her nose was now facing my back.

The doctor and resident guided me through when to push and for how long. Surprisingly, pushing wasn''t that bad - not nearly as bad as the contractions earlier that morning since the epidural was still taking the edge off my pain. Plus, I now had something to focus on: pushing and the excitement of getting closer to seeing my baby with every effort I made.

The doctor was constantly monitoring the baby''s and my life signs. Suddenly she said, "OK, let''s get her out now!" in a tone that sounded very serious and foreboding. Well, that scared me like crazy! I pushed as long as I possibly could, hell bent on getting her out! (Later on I found out that the baby''s heart beat was getting weaker. Perhaps the monitor was having more trouble picking it up, but the doctor did not want to take any risk of oxygen deficiency)

A couple more pushes and her head came out! Later on I found out that the cord was around her neck and the doctor gently pulled it around her head. It was relatively loose and posed no danger, but with the baby''s bluish complexion, the scene almost gave poor Slavko a heart attack!

Her body turned and with the next push the rest of her body suddenly slipped out! The doctors caught her and right away put her on a towel on my abdomen and started cleaning her up a bit from all the blood and vernix. By now she was crying loudly and I was simply in awe at finally seeing the face of the squirming and hiccupping "thing" that had been inside me for nine months.

She was beautiful! All I could think of saying was "hello" as we met for the first time! I tried to wrap my head around the fact that this was a completely new person in the world! Not just a part of me, but her own person! After 45 minutes of pushing, Sofia had finally arrived at 12:25 in the morning of October 5th - eleven days after her due date! Her eyes were very wide and alert and I just couldn''t believe what a perfect child she was!

Slavko cut the chord and after a little while of getting acquainted, the nurse took the baby to clean, weigh and measure her. My sisters came in to see their little niece for the first time. I tried breastfeeding her for the first time with modest success. The nurses were extremely helpful.

Slavko and I got to our room and I asked for food. I was starving! The last time I had eaten was almost 24 hours ago. Exhausted, we tried to get some shut eye. Slavko "slept" on a chair beside Sofia and me. All in all we both got very little sleep that night.

Sofia wouldn''t sleep for the longest time because she was hungry. Finally a nurse suggested giving her a bit of formula from a bottle. I was hesitant since I was determined to breastfeed and didn''t want the bottle to interfere. I gave her just a tiny bit and she went to sleep beside me on my bed. It was actually a great help. In fact, I kept supplementing with formula (an ounce or two a day) for a few weeks until my breast milk supply seemed to finally catch up to her demands.

The hardest part about the first few weeks after the birth was breastfeeding. For something so natural, it is incredibly difficult. On the first day, she had an improper latch for only a few seconds and that was enough to cause damage to the nipple that would hurt every time she sucked. It took at least a week to heal. But I was very stubborn. A full three weeks passed before it finally became second nature for both of us and I stopped supplementing.

(Some advice: if your milk supply is not up to par, it is worth investing in the electronic pumps rented at Safeway for a while. Afterwards a manual pump will do. I found mini-electric pumps disappointing).

So that is my story. I was very lucky to have had an uncomplicated labour and birth. Sofia is a perfect angel - definitely worth the wait! Congratulations and best of luck with your new bundle of joy!