It's been almost three weeks since little Krew was born so it's about time I post the birth story.
The Monday before my due date I had my weekly appointment for my baby check up. The doctor told me I was now a 5cm dilated ( I had been a 4cm dilated for the last 4 weeks) and that once again, the baby was very low. He suggested that I went in to be induced to cut the chances of not making it to the hospital or just to have a more controlled environment rather than chaotic
i'm having the baby in the car kind of thing. This sounded very appealing to me having a set time and date but my goal for this labor was to go without any pain medication ( no epidural, etc.) and I knew I didn't want to deal with Pitocin if I didn't
have to. I heard that it is amazing to feel your body give the natural urges of child birth so I thought, why not try at least once to have a baby without an epidural. So at the appointment, I agreed to the inducing but I asked for the doctor to break my water and give my body a few hours to see if it will naturally go into labor on its own which is exactly what it did.
Wednesday morning Cameron and I headed to the hospital with our empty car seat to go be induced. We arrived at Queen's hospital and headed up to the delivery rooms. The sounds coming from one woman's room were outrageous and I looked at Cameron with wide eyes and started to laugh... it sounded like the wailing and gnashing of teeth. Little did I know, I would be making similar sounds very shortly. Our room was nice, we actually had stayed in that one once before when I had had some complications weeks before. Before I put the gown on, I had Cameron take one last picture of my belly.
Last belly shotIt took the doctor a while to get there so we watched a movie and played games while we waited. When the doctor finally showed up, he checked me and I came in at a 6cm dilated and 90% effaced which I was really happy about.
At 2:30 pm he broke my water which was kind of a strange feeling-- kind of like peeing your pants. I sat around for a bit feeling odd but thought I better start helping this baby come out. I asked if I could go walk around the maternity ward and the nurse allowed me 20 minutes to be off the baby monitors. Cameron and I went walking with my fluids IV in one hand and my capri sun in the other. Cameron even had me doing squats down the hall. During the walk, I mostly felt fatigue from not eating all day since the hospital doesn't let you eat. We returned to the room after my 20 minute walk/ squats and literally 10 minutes later about
4:00 pm, the contractions really kicked in. They were 2-3 minutes apart and they were pretty intense. I just sat at the end of my bed in a preztel/indian position so that gravity could help work the baby down and I held onto one of the rails of the bed. It felt good to do a low hum during contractions and Cameron lightly rubbed the sides of my belly with my breathing. Cameron was awesome during the labor... I brought lavender oil with me and Cameron rubbed it on my temples in between contractions which felt awesome (like they do in my yoga class).
At
5:00 pm, I told the nurse my contractions were really hurting and so she checked me and I was an 8 cm. The next hour got pretty intense and the low hums turned in loader moans (that I kept apologizing to the nurse about worried that I would scare the other women in the delivery rooms). The pain was like nothing I had felt before but I was glad to have it come in intervals so I could rest in between. I kept thinking,
Man, I can't wait to sleep. This is exhausting.I started to feel a strange urge (similar to going to the bathroom) so I told the nurse, "I think I want to push now". The nurse checked me and I was at a 9.5 cm dilated so she told me to keep the breathing light and not to push to avoid swelling. So I did light breathing as the delivery equipment was brought in and the doctor arrived.
At
6:15 pm they allowed me to push which was really exhausting. It actually felt better to push and the pain was overcome by my body wanting to push the baby out. While pushing I thought,
There is no way that there are women in distant countries who do this out in the fields, squat down and have a baby and go back to work. That is a bunch of bologna. Thirty minutes of pushing actually felt really quick. I had a great cheering team: Cameron to the left, Dr.Foley in front and nurse to my right. I even chewed on ice which is my pet peeve but it felt really good in between pushes. I closed my eyes during pushes and at
6:37 pm, Krew Cameron Rondo was born! I opened my eyes, saw my beautiful baby, and thought
Oh my gosh... Relief! It's over. I'm so tired. They placed Krew on my stomach and I couldn't believe I just pushed out this baby! It was amazing and I couldn't believe how big he was, 8 lbs. 6ounces! I couldn't believe he was mine and I couldn't believe I just had a baby!!! It was so incredible holding him for the first time and to see Cameron holding him as well. We had our little family now and how sweet it was.
I love the chub.
My great doctor, Dr. Foley and usThe next few days of recovery were hard because I could hardly walk (Krew had a 15 inch circumference head... that's big.). Cameron was such a great help. He changed all the diapers and would bring the baby to and from me all day and night long and then help me as well. I always knew he would be a great dad. The nurses at Queen's were excellent--so nice and caring.
Enjoying food!! The hospital food was great!
Going home!
I was so grateful for a labor that went smoothly and exactly how I wished it to be. I am grateful for great nurses, a great doctor, and such a nice hospital. I am grateful for a wonderful husband to help me. I am so grateful for our healthy little baby and what a blessing he is!
