Our dream come true, Part Two

The night before I gave birth was a night like this.  Snow, ice, slippery roads.  But I thought he was coming at Christmas time.  I was having irregular contractions, and a lot of braxton hicks, especially on Christmas Day.  I felt so big, so uncomfortable.  I could not wait to have him out, but I also knew I would miss being pregnant..

The night before Caleb entered our world was a stormy one...

Two more weeks passed, and so did a lot of contractions.  None enough to feel like I was in labour, but always to wonder if it was soon.  On January 6, 2012, I felt like it was time to be checked. They were every 5 minutes.  The drive to the hospital was interesting. It was so snowy.  Our doula was staying with us at the time, so she drove us and accompanied us to the IWK.  The RN checked me and said I was 1cm.  She recommended staying around and doing some walking, or going home and wait to see what would happened.  We stayed and walked 9 flights of stairs, pausing every once in a while to breath.  I decided to head home since the roads were so messy.  I sat on the exercise ball, and watched tv for a bit, and then went to bed, not knowing everything would soon change.

New Years Eve 2012, 38 weeks Pregnant

The New Riendeau!

January 7th, 2013. I had a good sleep. 6:30am, I woke up feeling like Niagara Falls was coming out of me.  I leaped up so fast I think I scared Josh, and I excitedly exclaimed "My water broke! My water broke!" He jumped out of bed just about as fast as I did and tried to find a towel for me, but ended up grabbing his shirt instead :-D I then hobbled to the shower, and cleaned up.  It was so exciting, and scary at the same time. But I was too excited to be scared.  I noticed though, that the fluid was not clear, and that is not good.  I called the IWK, and the RN told me to eat breakfast, take my time, even though it was not clear.  We ended up leaving around 8:00am, and got stuck in the rush hour traffic on a Monday morning...thankfully I was not in active labour.  I will never forget the beauty of that morning on the drive in...fresh snow on the trees with the sun just rising spreading a glittery shimmer on the roads.

We got to the IWK, and I didn't know that when your water breaks, it keeps flowing.  I got into admitting, and ran to the bathroom.  She explained then to me how the fluid keeps coming even after it breaks.  Once I got admitted, they tested the fluid and it was positive for meconium, which meant I had to be on constant monitoring as it could be a sign that the baby was in distress.  The resident came in and checked me, and mentioned that I would need to be induced to get labour going, as his little heart rate was decelerating.  This had happened six weeks before, when I was admitted to the IWK for early labour.  Our doula went back to our apartment to collect our belongings, as we had not planned well and forgot to bring everything! In that time, I was induced.  Labour was not bad at first...I thought "I can handle this".  I breathed through each contraction, and I felt when they peaked, and that reassured me that it was almost over.  Then I would be ok.  I even watched "Family Matters" on Josh's iPad :-)  As the morning went on, I felt the contractions becoming stronger, and it was becoming more difficult to breathe through them.  They gave me Fentanel, and it worked wonderful for me.  I still felt the pain, but it was more bearable. My RN later asked me if I wanted an epidural.  In my birth plan, I made it an option if I absolutely could not handle it.  I said maybe later, but she told me it had to be then, because it was about to get busy.  So I said yes.  Little did I know, I actually worked with the anaesthesiologist and his father! He was maybe a little older than me, and he put me at ease right away, joking about his dad (a Nephrologist on my unit).  I had such a fear of getting an epidural, but I have learned to not always believe the horror stories.  It was amazing, no lie.  And it also allowed me to get some sleep.

My Mom & Dad were in the birth unit with us, and it made the experience so much more relaxed for me!

Around 9:00pm, I was half asleep, but aware I was still about to have a baby.  The resident on call checked me, and told me I was 8cm.  I was so excited...that meant I would be pushing in probably an hour or two.  A little more time passed, when suddenly doctors and nurses filled the room, and put oxygen on me and told me to get on my hands and knees because the baby's heart rate had dropped to 20.  They said I had to go to the OR immediately.  I don't know why, but I didn't feel panicked. I even gave my Mom & Dad a "thumbs up" as they wheeled me out, because I saw the look of fear in their faces.  It was when I got to the OR doors that my lip started to quiver as I realized what was about to happen.

At 9:41 pm on January 7th, 2013 Caleb Michael was Born. 7lbs 9oz

Once we were in the OR, and they were prepping me for surgery, his heart rate stabilized.  The new anaesthesiologist on call was joking and trying to calm my nerves, and it worked.  I already had the epidural, so all they had to do was make sure I was numb and get started.  I remember saying "I feel pinching!" and then I heard my son cry for the first time...they had already started and there he was! It happened in minutes.  Josh went to see the baby, while our doula sat right by my head and told me what was happening.  I felt my body shake uncontrollably, and the RN's kept saying it was very normal.  The RN then put Caleb on my chest, and amazingly it helped to calm the shaking.  I cannot describe the rush of emotions I felt all at once...I was a Mommy! I delivered a baby! He is here! Is he ok? Am I ok?

About an hour after delivery, we were sent to recovery.  I started to feel quite sick, and developed a fever.  I started vomiting, which would continue all night.  I was still shivering a lot, and they placed Caleb on me skin to skin, and amazingly, it would stop the shaking.  I loved every second of having him on my chest, and the love I never thought I had before began.

As with breastfeeding, there are opinions when it comes to childbirth.  Posting my experience on here is a little scary, as I know people do have strong feelings.  But I also know, that if I did not go into it with an open mind that "anything can happen" I might not have handled it all as well.  I am in favour of natural childbirth.  I wanted that.  But things change.  I don't regret anything about my experience. I also would never expect anyone to ever do it one way.  I know people who are vehemently anti-caesarian sections, and only pro-natural..."Women are BUILT for having babies naturally!"....BUT every woman is different. We should not ever judge each other on our experiences and opinions on childbirth.  My son is alive and well, and that is what matters. I did not ask for a C-section, but it very well saved his life.  Someone even said maybe this would not have happened if I had of gotten out of bed more during labour and walked around.  But that person was not in my shoes (or bed!)

We were in the hospital for a total of five days, as Caleb had to have treatment under the lights for jaundice.  We paid for a private room (which I highly recommend!).  It turns out that on the same night I had Caleb, there were six other back to back C-Sections, including a set of twins.  The lack of sleep was mixed with the surge of adrenaline, and at one point I just broke down sobbing.  The RN was so incredibly nice, and offered to take Caleb and rock him for a bit so I could get some sleep.  Josh was amazing...and that seems like an understatement.  He changed all of the diapers while I was in bed, and even when I was up and about, he would do it.  Breastfeeding took some practice, but I am glad I kept trying. At one point Caleb's blood sugar dropped dangerously low, so we had to supplement with formula while I used the hospital breastpump to get my milk flowing.  He also lost almost two pounds.  By the time we had to go home, he was thriving again.

And so began our journey as the 3 Riendeau's

Because Caleb came so unexpectedly, we made a quick trip to Walmart on the way home from the hospital to get a few necessities.  It was so nice to be home! Home for a few months before our lives would change again.