Bathtime #1: Much stress, much screaming, 2,374 washcloths and 117 towels used.
Bathtime #2: Some stress, much screaming, 1,324 washcloths and 59 towels used.
Bathtime #3: Little stress, no screaming, 843 washcloths and 4 towels used.
I think we’re getting the hang of it.
We have many people to thank for all the support we’ve received over the past few months. I’m going to attempt to thank everyone in one post.
The biggest thankyou has to go to Jen’s Mum Elisabeth who has done everything she can to help us through our pregnancy and birth. She helped organise our surprise shower, she was here with us when Jen was going into labour, she was with us at the hospital throughout the birth and afterwards. She fetched and carried for us and made us delicious sandwiches. Thank you Grandma!
Elisabeth didn’t organise our shower alone, she had the cunning help of our good friend Cara, who has also helped us in many ways. She’s gone shopping for us, helped us buy Xmas trees and helped us out with hospital visits. Thanks Cara (and Tyler of course).
Throughout the pregnancy, during the delivery and since we’ve had Aidan, we probably would’ve been nervous wrecks if it hadn’t been for the calming affect of the DoulaDudes. Sharon and Sarah have been incredible, teaching us about pregnancy and delivery, helping us through the worrisome delivery and being there whenever we needed someone to call for expert advice. They sooth Jen’s nerves and calm her worries. They potentially saved our baby’s life by the speed with which they responded to the fetal monitor alarm. We recommend them to any future parents. Thank you DoulaDudes!
Next up is Grandpa Richard and Auntie Nina who both cooked up a storm while we were in hospital so we came home to a fridge and freezer full of delicious food. So far we’ve had cookies, flax bread, beef stew, chicken curry and jammy squares. Thanks Richard and Nina!
During the last 3 months of the pregnancy we paid regular visits to the G.A.R.E clinic at LaSalle hospital for checkups. The staff there were amazingly caring and supportive. We especially have to thank our doctor, Dr Lalande and our favourite nurses, Lise, Natalie and Josee.
When we finally got admitted to LaSalle for the delivery, we were again treated incredibly well by the nursing staff. Special thanks go to nurses Sylvie, France, Genevieve, Margolene , Je Lee, Graczena and Suzanne. We also have to thank Dr Fortin and resident Alex for looking after Jen so well in the operating room.
Finally, a big thank you goes out to everyone who has sent us gifts, cards and well wishes; we feel very loved.
P.S. Cara and Tyler just came over with more food for our freezer, so thanks again you guys!
As the last few posts documented, Jen went into “latent” labour on Monday 5th and was 1cm dilated by Wednesday. I was convinced the boy was going to come shooting out that night, but Thursday morning arrived and not much had changed.
After three days of painful contractions, Jen had had enough; “I want drugs, give me drugs now” was a common exclamation throughout the day. We made an appointment to see Dr Lalande the next morning.
Friday morning arrived and Jen, her mum and I headed to the hospital. I drove as carefully as I could and slowed down for each contraction. I didn’t get yelled at once. Dr Lalande was surprised to see us and wanted to know why we hadn’t had the baby yet. She pronounced Jen to be 3cm dilated and in active labour. We were admitted.
Anybody in active labour gets admitted to a private room at LaSalle. The rooms are comfortable, with a bed for the mother, a chair/pull-out bed for the dad, a rocking chair and a bathroom with a whirlpool tub. We settled in and were soon joined by the DoulaDudes who brought a funky flower, nightlights and a hot water bottle.
Jen was soon hooked up to an IV of oxytocin (which Jen dubbed the Contractor Factor) to speed up her contractions, closely followed by her long desired epidural. She spent the rest of the afternoon grinning like an idiot and saying things like “ha ha ha, a contraction, I don’t feel a thing”. Things were progressing very slowly though, so we hunkered down for the night and tried to get some sleep.
I woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of an alarm from the fetal monitor. DoulaDude Sarah had leapt into action and soon had the weeble’s heart rate back to normal. The nurse decided it was a monitor glitch, and we went back to sleep.
A couple of hours later the alarm went off again, and then again within minutes. It was time to call the doctor. Dr Fortin came to see us and told us that because it seemed like the baby was in some distress it would be best to have a cesarean section.
Things moved fast now. Jen and I were both very scared as I went with her down to the operating rooms. She was taken into the OR to get prepped while I changed into my fetching new outfit of hospital scrubs. After what seemed like hours of waiting I was finally called into the OR. A screen was in place so we didn’t see the icky stuff. I sat by Jen’s head and held onto her hand.
Within minutes we were shown our new baby boy and I was cutting the umbilical cord. I was a little shell-shocked, but it was still an amazing feeling to finally meet our son. It was 12 minutes past five in the morning on the tenth of December.
The anesthesiologist grabbed my camera and started snapping photos of us as I held Aidan. Jen wasn’t in a very good position to see Aidan, but she got glimpses and managed to steal a kiss. She also shed a few happy tears and had a huge grin on her face. Soon I had to leave Jen and go with Aidan up to the nursery for his APGAR test (he scored 9/10, smart boy) and then back to our room.
In the room he was weighed (8 pounds 14 ounces) and measured (21 2/3 inches) and I was told to strip. LaSalle have a wonderful policy of getting the baby some skin-on-skin time as soon as possible, so if Mum isn’t available he gets to lay on Dad’s chest instead. Soon I was sitting in the rocking chair with Aidan on my chest as the DoulaDudes and Grandma snapped photos of me from all angles.
I was still sitting there twenty minutes later when Jen was wheeled into the room. She was very groggy but she still managed to hold Aidan and breast-feed him for the first time while more photos were snapped.
The next few days had their ups and downs. We had all the amazing experiences of having a newborn son, but we were stuck in a hospital room being prodded and poked by doctors and nurses. It was decided that Aidan was a little dehydrated, so we had to stay an extra day to make sure he didn’t need medical assistance. Finally though we were allowed to take our new son home on the night of Wednesday 14th December.
Five days of labour followed by five days of hospital-induced stress took its toll, but Jen was incredible throughout. She stayed positive the whole time and was in good humour almost all the time. She coped amazingly well with four days of painful contractions, stayed relatively calm throughout the alarms and the operation and handled the post-natal stress and tiredness with very few tears.
The Weeble finally made his debut on Saturday, December 10 at 5:12 am. He weighed in at 8 pounds, 14 ounces and was 21 and 2/3 inches long.
Birth story coming in the next little while.
Our visit to the doctor today revealed that Jen is 1cm dilated. The doctor stripped her membranes, which sounds very exciting but isn’t really, and was pretty sure we would be back at the hospital before the end of the day.
Since then Jen’s been having contractions all day. After 4pm they started getting regular at 5-7 minutes intervals and getting closer together and more painful. Her mum and I have been taking care of her and making sure all is quiet during the contractions
Sarah the DoulaDude arrived at about midnight and we’re now sitting around chatting and occasionally shutting up while Jen contracts.
I’m guessing we’ll be at the hospital before the night is over, but who knows?!
Jen started having contractions on Monday night. All day yesterday they were coming every 5-10 minutes and were intense. Then 24 hours after they started, they more or less stopped again.
They started again not long after Jen got to sleep and are still happening now, although not as regularly as yesterday.
Jen’s mum is here and we’re all waiting to see what happens. Jen is fed up, but her spirits are as high as can be expected and she’s handling the contractions well.
That’s the news, but what does it all mean?
Doctor’s appointment week 40 plus one day:
BP: good
Urine: good
Weeble ready to come out: computer says….noooooooo.
Next appointment: December 7 and will involve an ultrasound to check fluid levels and guesstimate the size of the boy.
Induction may be discussed.