I'd been having contractions off and on since they had induced me with the cervadil the week before, but never that strong or that frequent. I wasn't sure if they were doing anything or not, but knew there was no point in getting checked out until they had some frequency to them.
On Tuesday (May 1st) I felt a bit productive. I got Willow into the groomers to get her haircut, picked up a few groceries from Sobeys because it was 15% off day, picked Willow up and ran a few more errands before collapsing at home. I was exhausted but that was nothing new. Around 6:00pm I started to notice that my contractions were coming more frequently, though they still weren't very strong. I told Dan about them but we ate dinner because I felt like they would be stronger if I was really in labor. I took a warm bath and the contractions continued to get closer together, so I told Dan to take Willow for a walk and then we would go to L and D to get them checked out, mostly because they had been about 3 minutes apart for over an hour and I felt like even though it was likely false labor, it warranted a check. Dan took willow for a walk and then we packed up the car (just in case) and headed into the hospital around 8:30pm.
I was hooked up to the monitors for about 20 minutes with a happy baby and the nurse said she had to check to see how dialated I was. I don't remember the nurses name, but she was very relaxed and kept things pretty funny, lightening the mood. As she was checking my cervix, she got this weird expression on her face. I asked how dialated I was and she said she couldn't tell, and that she felt something and she couldn't be sure if it was Peanut's cord, or a hand, or something else. She remarked on how she had been doing this for years, and had never encountered this before. Luckily she kept it so light that we weren't worried, we were just curious and laughing along with her. She apologized and said that she would have to go and get the charge nurse to help her out. The charge nurse came in, and when she went to check my cervix she said this little surprised "oh" sound. Never something you want to hear when someone's hand is all up in your business. When I asked how dialated I was, all they would say was that I was a good...(pause) and then look at each other. they called the clinic that has been handling my case (because, of course, nothing was in writing regarding my transfer to doctor cassis, and my doctor said that I was no longer their case. Since it was not written that I was a patient of Dr. Cassis, they consulted with the on call OB. in the meantime they brought in a doctor who was on call for those who don't have a GP, and she came in with a low tech ultrasound machine to try to see what was between Peanut's head and the opening. The ultrasound made it look like he might be coming out face first, so the nurses were likely picking his nose. they said we could blame them if he ended up with a nose picking condition later in life.
the on call OB came and asked about my contractions and conferred with the nurses for a bit. He then checked me and said that he felt the head, though it was REALLY high up, and that I was a good 6 cms dialated. MUSIC TO MY EARS. The nurses started prepping me for a c section since his head was so high and told me I wasn't leaving the hospital without my boy (I wish). A catheter was inserted and they attempted three times to get an IV in at that time without success and then my water was broken. Dr. Young was hoping that with the contractions I was having if I just laid there he might come down further and a vaginal birth would be possible. I was wheeled into a birthing room where nurses tried another FOUR times to get an IV in my hand. Since I was GBS positive it was critical that I get one in, regardless of the C section possibility. It was super painful and they had me in tears, poking around in my veins. They finally decided to wait and let an anesthesiologist (sp?) insert the IV. a little over an hour later Dr. Young came to check on me and Peanut had moved further back up into the birth canal and I had gone from being dialated at 6 to dialated at 3, which is a big step back, so we decided to go ahead with the c section. we always knew it was a possibility, and I would rather have had one at that point than try to labour for hours and hours and then end up with one anyways. About an hour later they wheeled me down to the OR and started to get me set up while Dan changed into his scrubs. It took the anasthesiologist another two tries and finally, on the 11th attempt, they got an IV in my hand. Then he tried to insert the spinal, and poked it in SEVEN times before he reached for the ultrasound machine to see where my spine is and got it in on the 8th try. I was screaming and crying in pain so much that Dan, who was in a waiting room down the hall, could hear me and got a little freaked out. they started me on oxygen, laid me down and brought Dan into the room.
A C section is the weirdest feeling I've ever experienced, with the tugging and the pulling, and then at 2:06am on May 2nd my little Peanut was born. he was 5lbs 11 oz and since he was small he was taken to the NICU with Dan while they stitched me up. He sure came out screaming though, and they brought him over to me to be kissed. I started crying, it was the best sound in the world.
When I was in recovery the nurse was somewhat concerned because I was bleeding more than normal, and they said I had already lost around 1.5 litres of blood during the operation, but she kept me there for the standard half an hour and then I was wheeled back upstairs.
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