Adventure and Joy of Our Boy

So you might have heard that Ty Russell has decided to make his way into this world. I know Eric sent around a great email, but of course I have been discoursing in my head our birth story since he was born. So here it goes...

Around 12am Thursday February 19, 2009 I woke up from sleeping with a startling sharp cramp. By 3am dozing was not an option - they were uncomfortable enough where I felt the need to move around. So I went into the living room to allow Eric to get some rest while I was switching between sleeping on the couch and standing swaying my hips. This lasted until 9am but they never seemed to be close enough to be worth timing. We did time a few but they were so sporadic - 8 minutes here, 18 minutes there - we went on with life. Although I knew it would be soon so Eric did call into emergency medical leave for work. By 9am they were sharper but very far apart. Being a little upset I went for a walk around our block, complaining to Chrissy on the phone that Ty was never planning on coming. I had two birth waves after I got off the phone which were intense enough to make me stop and not be able to walk through them. OK good.

When I got home I decided that - hey!- eating might be a good thing. So I ate lunch and laid down in bed to listen to my Hypnobabies CD. I did that for an hour and on the latter half of that time I got a few very strong birth waves that caused me to be very vocal - birthing opera if you will. I then got up to help Eric finish putting Noel down for her nap. In the short time of singing songs to her I got two more which I had to AHHHH and wiggle through. After she was down I suggested that we might want to start timing them. They finally seemed close enough to make it worth it.

After timing them for the next hour and a half, they went from 4 minutes apart to 2-3 minutes apart. We called the midwife and she said - come on in. So we called Sarah Gagnon who came as another support, packed the car, and gave the baby monitor to the girls upstairs. Of course once we got into the car I didn't have another birth wave for 8 minutes and when I did have one - holy moly!! It felt different but of course it did come while we were rounding a very sharp off ramp - of course. We arrived at St. Mary's Hospital around 2:45pm. I only had mild discomfort walking in. I signed some paper work and got into the room. Then another one came while I was trying to change into my gown. Of course not being shy in this situation I was doing my birthing - AHHHHH. Apparently that got the midwife coming ASAP. By this point I thought nothing of it - just my way of handling the sensations. I was still laughing and feeling great in between.

I finished getting changed, had another wave, and got hooked up to the fetal monitor for an initial 20 minutes assessment. I told the midwife I'd really like the pool and was hoping for a water birth. She said OK and then checked my progression. A funny look came over her face and she said, "I thought so. Honey you're not getting the pool today because you are completely dilated and effaced. It takes over an hour to set up the pool. You are ready to push whenever you feel the urge." I was shocked. I had in so many ways been so apprehensive about transition (the time right before the pushing waves comes. It is the most dynamic part of dilating and the point where many women feel the most discomfort - ya know, just when you think it can't get any worse it is over) I hadn't prepared myself to be ready to push after only being in the hospital an hour. My water hadn't even broken. I got in the shower, thought my water broke, so had to get out again.

It turns out it didn't break but I was on to pushing by that point. I felt most comfortable squatting on the floor to be honest. So the midwife made her "station" down below. She said, pop that water and this baby is going to slide right on out. That sounded good to me! So I pushed and pushed... Hummm, something was up.

So she checked me and I had two minor problems going on. I had a minimal piece of cervix that kept getting in the way but was only there when I pushed, and he was stuck on the front of my pelvis. He had plenty of room behind his head to move so she had me get into the bed so that gravity would help get him around the bone. I pushed and pushed but that water just didn't want to break. So my midwife broke it, hoping it would help get him around that bone! I had also been trying to breath him down which just means I wasn't holding my breath when I pushed and I was pushing as long and hard as I wanted/felt like I could. She looked me in the eye and said, "I know it isn't comfortable, but you are going to have to bare down and push this kid around that bone. Push into where it hurts." Joy. Talk about exhausting. But he did eventually move around my pelvis and from there it went very quickly. The last part was the most challenging though I must say. I felt so tired and the pressure was soooo intense! I didn't want to stop pushing! But I was starting to hyperventilate so I had to take time to breath a little bit. He came out nice and slow. I did tear a little tiny bit along the scar tissue from my episiotomy I had with Noel, but very minimal.

Once his shoulders were out, I got to reach down and pull him up to my chest where he was covered with blankets. The cord was short and didn't feel that comfortable against all those parts that had just been stretched beyond reason. Sarah was taping by this point and I look very disgruntled - but that is why. But the placenta soon followed, Eric cut the cord, and little baby Ty was here at last. His presence helped comfort me as I got a stitch and dealt with the pain in the lower half of my worn out body. What a joy he is to us. A little while later he was weighed and measured right in our room - 7lbs 11oz, 20 inches long and perfect as a peach.

A few hours later after phone calls had been made and Ty was off for his circumcision (poor guy). Eric and I were vegging in the room. He was talking with Chad and I was in bed when all of a sudden I felt tunnel vision coming on. "Eric, I am going to pass out." And I did. I hemorrhaged. It was not a pleasant sight. So I got the joy of pitocin and some clotting drug shot into my thigh, a saline drip, and 3 nurses and my midwife in the bathroom at once trying to hold me up, clean me up including removing blood clots, and massaging my uterus. Joy, again. So we thought all was fine until this morning when I almost passed out in the shower. Back to saline and bed rest. However I have been feeling better. I avoided a transfusion by a slim margin but have to take iron supplements.

All in all an exciting experience to say the least. Ty is a great nurser; it also helps that I know what I'm doing this time around. Eric is doing well. He is also very tired but really alot of help. Noel is with Dave and Chrissy until tomorrow so I am hoping Eric will be able to get some good sleep so that once we're back home I can rest. Ta ta for now.