So for about the last three weeks of pregnancy I’d have Braxton’s in the evening and get all excited that ‘tonight would be the night’ only my hopes would be dashed once I got into bed and woke up the next morning with no twinges in sight. It seems that the evening was the twinge time and I have since found out (thanks Jo Robertson) that because of the oxetosin released when it’s dark you are more relaxed and it’s more likely that things happen then.
Anyway, my due date came and went and that feeling of ‘I don’t think it’s ever going to happen’ started to kick in. Although I was encouraged when the Dr said at 40 weeks that I was already 2cms dilated.
The night before the baby arrived I was almost 41 weeks pregnant and I had the strongest Braxton’s that evening and they continued every hour throughout the night but they were not strong enough to be a contraction (well not in my experience of contractions) but at least it was more than I had had before. But alas I woke the next morning and they disappeared so I decided to go to ER and get checked out just to determine whether we should head off to Saint John.
Just to give you in idea of the hospital set up here, we live two blocks for our local hospital but the delivery ward closed years ago and now they only deliver in absolute emergencies but in most cases people have to either drive to Saint John (1.5 hours away or if they are too advanced in labour they get sent across the board to Maine (5 minutes away) to the hospital there but they try and avoid that as much as they can).
Living in these remote parts you have to be pretty on the ball and jump in the car at the first contraction to head up to Saint John.
So I should up at our local ER to get myself asses and basically I was 3 cms dilated and ready to go but with no contractions in sight the Dr suggested I go home and wait for them to start before coming back to be assisted and then heading to Saint John.
I went home thinking this could be a long day of waiting around for something to happen so Joseph headed for work and that was that.
Other than a few Braxton’s nothing else happen until 1.45pm when I lay down for a nap while Missy slept and I had my first contraction quickly followed by another one and then they jut started rolling (and the memories of my first labour came flooding back… ouch). Within 45 minutes there was no way of timing the space between them they rolled in one after the other and although there was peaks and troughs the constant pain never left so it didn’t take long before I really wanted to had to the local hospital and get checked out.
By 3.15pm we were at ER and I was getting assisted (this was by far the worst part of the labour) I had to lie on my back while the Dr checked me out and the contractions were so intense it was really had to just stay there. She told me that I was 9.5 cms dilated and ready to have the baby. One of the nurses started setting up an IV but I asked her not to bother as I wanted to stay as natural as possible; at that point the head nurse came in and said I had to be transferred to the Maine hospital because they were not equipped to handle the delivery esp if anything went wrong. I said I really didn’t want to go (I could already feel the babies head right there and was half pushing when I had contractions). The Dr and other nurses really wanted me to stay and I kept shouting out that I wanted to stay (in between trying to breathe, pushing and nearly hyperventilating) so this dispute went on with the head nurse insisting that I go. In the middle of the dispute the USA paramedics show up and had a stretcher with them that they ask me to get onto and lay on my side! I kept saying ‘you got to be kidding me’ I just couldn’t think of anything worse than laying on my side and going for a drive in an ambulance, the babies head was right there and I knew I would never make it across the border although when I questioned that I was told that the border had been cleared for me and they could get me there in 5 minutes (I couldn’t help think ‘how cool, the border has been cleared. for me!) anyone who’s been St.Stephen knows that the line ups to get over the bridge can take forever.
Anyway, I knew that the only way I was going to be able to stay was if I pushed the baby out so although I didn’t really know what I was doing I started pushing (keeping in mind that these two paramedic men where just standing there waiting for a decision there was about half a dozen nurses in the room and the door to the room was wide open with the people passing by! (Not the most private birth).
Anyway much to my relief one of the nurse told me to get back on their bed and I just felt so relieved (I have no idea what happened to the head nurse? But I think she washed her hands of the whole thing and walked off).
The Dr said to me if I could turn round (I was on all fours) she could deliver the baby in three pushes (sounded great to me) so I turned round and before I knew it I was in full swing and the babies head was out (the cord round her neck and her fist on her cheek) the Dr then told be to push, push, push (later I found out that she was very blue) and when I opened my eyes there she was! (3.45pm exactly 2 hours from the first contraction and 30 minutes after arriving at the hospital)
She was very blue had done a poo on the way out, she also had a lot of fluid in her lungs so they all worked really hard to get her going and put her on my chest to get her warmed up. After about 5 minutes she was crying more and sounding clearer so that was a relief.
I think all the nurses got such a kick out of the whole thing because although they are trained to do emergency births some of them have never been at one so there was such a buzz in the place and we were all on a high.
What I loved about giving birth in st.Stephen was that within the hour friends showed up to see us and there was just a great feeling of excitement about the whole thing.
I guess because it’s very rare for a birth to happen there (about 3 times a year) the nurses were wonderfully attentive and helpful and the whole experience was a good one.
Right after giving birth they said I would go to saint John by ambulance ( and the baby would have to go in a seperate ambulance than me)to stay for 24 hour assessment but I begged not to go, it seemed like such a waste of time so they then said ok, but I should stay at st.stpehen hospital for 12 hours and again I asked them to let me go, I live 2 blocks away and promised to come right back if anything went wrong, so in the end I was let out 4 hours later and was able to come home around 9pm.
So that’s it in a nut shell. I wouldn’t changed a thing about it (apart from eliminating the pain) it was so different from my first labour which was very private (at home in a birthing pool) this was not a relaxing birth it was quite frantic and high drama but I got a kick out of it and was on a high all night, I didn’t sleep a wink.
I feel really grateful to God that it went so well and was such an amazing experience for me and everyone else there was lots of little blessings along the way like the fact that Joseph was able to pop home to put Missy to bed before collecting me from hospital and that friends turned up to celebrate with us within an hour of the birth. No tearing (big bonus). And that although like many births there were so many things that could of gone wrong, nothing did. Were all safe and sound and living somewhere between euphoria and exhaustion.
