Birth story - Amanda and baby boy

*Trigger warning* - Induction, suspected large baby, epidural, Pitocin IV, anxiety, vomit, discussion of cesarean birth.

I am beyond ecstatic to finally be adding my amazing birth experience to this page! It is long so buckle up.

Admittedly, birthing our baby boy by way of attempted induction and then a belly birth was certainly not what we had envisioned for ourselves. However, the experience was so beyond positive that I have to write about it!

At 35 weeks, we had a growth scan as I was measuring quite large. The scan showed that baby boy was >97th percentile. Our OB said it was nothing overly concerning, but wanted to keep a close eye in his size. We scheduled another growth scan for 38 weeks.

At our 38 week scan baby boy was >99th percentile. He was estimated to be 8 lbs 11 oz. It was at this time our OB advised this would make us candidates to induce at 39weeks if we were interested. She also did tell us that growth scans are not always the most accurate and offered to do a cervical check that day and a membrane sweep if my cervix was sufficiently dilated. I felt overwhelmed! I accepted the cervical check as I was curious to know where I was at. I was just a fingertip dilated. The OB said she could still try and do the sweep and/or get us in the induction list for the next week when I would be 39 weeks. My partner and I asked for some time alone to discuss that and the possible scheduling of an induction. We both were feeling overwhelmed and emotional. We agreed we were not ready to schedule an induction and I was not interested in doing the sweep. We agreed we wanted time to process everything and to come back in and chat with our OB. When the OB came back, she was happy with what we said and we all agreed to have another appointment in a week’s time.

My husband and I went home and spent the next week enjoying so much time together! And trying several things to naturally induce labour (chiro, accupuncture, miles circuit, sex, dates, raspberry leaf tea, visualization meditations, etc.). However, I very consciously tried not to stress about or obsessively focus on labour and possible induction. I just wanted to be low stress and enjoy my final days of pregnancy. It was truly wonderful! We even spent a couple days at my parents’ cabin just the two of us relaxing and enjoying each other’s company.

We then went back to our OB for the appointment. She was wonderful. She did not pressure anything. She simply walked in, put her hand on my leg, gave me a very kind smile and said “how are we feeling?”. My husband and I had talked extensively and both agreed, we were very ready to schedule the induction. We told her so. We also asked her to do the membrane sweep to see if that would get things going. She did. The procedure was so manageable! I was pleasantly surprised. We requested to be added to the induction list for the next day (when I would be 39w1d).

We left the appointment so excited and feeling very good about our decision. We went out for a really nice lunch and then home to finish packing our hospital bags. We ordered in a delicious meal for dinner and crawled into bed, both nervous and eager for the next day!

The next morning, we got a call asking what time we would like to come into the hospital to start the induction. I loved this as it yet again gave us some control. We asked to come in around noon and they were more than happy to accommodate. We went out and got breakfast, watched some tv and slowly got ready to head out. At noon we packed up our car, picked up our favourite smoothies and headed to the hospital! We were absolutely giddy with excitement.

We arrived at the hospital and got checked in and shown to our room. The beautiful new hospital in our city is amazing. This room stayed our room (completely private) for the our whole stay! The entire induction process would occur there, as would all labour, delivery, and recovery. There was a bathroom with a shower, a tv, and a pull out couch for my husband. It’s such a wonderful setup!

We settled into our room, my husband strung up our Christmas lights, we did a 30 minute NST and waited for the on call OB to come discuss the induction. We started with the 24 hour foley balloon. The on call OB was lovely. The procedure was very manageable. I focused on my breathing and it was over in a jiff. Such an odd sensation having the tubes hang out between your legs! But nothing unbearable. We then had to do a 30 minute NST.

We were thrilled that after it was inserted and a 30 minute NST performed with no issues, we were told we could leave for a few hours! We called my mom who came and picked us up. She took us back to her house where we hung out with my parents and brother, ate some supper and watched TV. I had some discomfort and cramping the whole time. My parents had a heating pad which felt amazing! Just before leaving my parents’, I became intensely nauseous and was sick! I was a bit surprised but felt much better after I had been sick.

We went back to the hospital and got settled in our room. Our nurse brought me some ginger ale and crackers when I told her I had been sick. Unfortunately, I ended up getting sick again right after consuming them! The nurse then brought me some gravol, which I also threw up. At this point they offered to start an IV line and give me some hydration and meds that way. I asked if we could wait a bit and see. Thankfully, after some apple juice and rest my bouts of nausea seemed to resolve!

We spent the night dozing in and out of sleep and watching Netflix. At one point, a woman down the hall was screaming bloody murder which I found very anxiety inducing I popped my headphones in and started listening to the Freya app which was amazing.

We walked down to get coffee and breakfast at the hospital cafe the next morning and then played more of the waiting game.

The foley never fell out.

At the 24 hour mark, the on call OB resident came and checked me. The foley was still tightly in there. They deflated and removed it. I had hardly progressed at all! Was ever so slightly more effaced (she said 75%) and not quite 1 more centimeter dilated (I had been between a 1 and 2 when the bulb was inserted and was a 2 when they removed it). I was absolutely dreading the thought of another 24 hour foley. Thankfully, the residents approved my starting a low dose of pitocin rather than another foley. I was so relieved! After some coaxing from our amazing nurse, they also agreed to my having a couple hours to nap before starting the drip. I had a great snooze and then they placed the IV and started the Pitocin.

When they started the drip, I got very anxious. My sweet hubby and nurses helped me settle back down and my hubby and I settled in with some card games. The Pitocin was steadily increased every 30 minutes. Contractions started but were very manageable. I spent a lot of time bouncing on the ball and sitting up with the hospital bed throne style. I LOVED this position.

I had to have continuous monitoring while on the drip which I honestly didn’t mind! The nurses were great at accommodating whatever positions I wanted to be in as long as baby was happy, which he was the whole time!

I had another cervical check after 4 hours on the drip. I was 3 cm but the OB did not agree with the residents previous assertion that I was 75% effaced. She said it was about 25%.

At this point, I was tired. I hadn’t slept the night before due to the foley bulb discomfort and screaming woman. I talked to my wonderful night nurse and asked about slowing the Pitocin so I could get some rest. This plan was approved.

Later that night, we hit 25ml/hr of Pitocin which was the stopping point where we needed to be reassessed by the OB before proceeding. The hospital was VERY chaotic that night so we ended up waiting a bit. I was fine with that!

At 2 am the on-call resident came to check us. I was still at 3cm, 30% effaced and my cervix was still quite high. She was not prepared to rupture my membranes at this point and wanted us to wait a bit longer and have more Pitocin. She also recommended we hold off on the epidural for a bit if I could manage it. I agreed to wait a bit longer.

At 3:45 am the attending OB came to do her own check. I was 4 cm dilated and she asked if she could break my waters. We discussed the pros and cons and my husband and I agreed to proceed. What a wild sensation (and noise hahah)! They were surprised at the amount of fluid I had as this had not been noted on any of the scans. She told us to increase the Pitocin and expected things to ramp up from here.

At this point, I was quite exhausted and asked for an epidural. I had been so incredibly anxious at the thought of getting an epidural; but in the moment I absolutely knew it was the right choice. We were able to snag the resident anesthesiologist quite quickly to do the epidural. Leading up to our birth, I was always adamant I did not want to be treated by any residents, especially not if I chose to get the epidural. However, the nurse that came in during this time (our actual nurse was on break) was truly an angel sent from heaven. She talked to me about the on-call resident and her experiences with her, versus the attending who was on-call. I was very honest about my feelings of anxiety. She told me she was very convinced the on-call resident would give me a much better experience than the attending as she was kind and gentle and he tended to be a bit gruff. I asked if we could use the gas & air to try and relax me for the procedure. After some discussion, the amazing nurse got an order for a very low dose of Ativan as we weren’t sure I would be able to use the gas effectively and sit still for the epidural placement. The Ativan worked wonders!!! And I was convinced the on-call resident would be great for the epidural, so we agreed to proceed. The epidural procedure was completely manageable - so much better than I expected. The resident who placed it was incredible. So kind and gentle and walked me through each step. It turned out we had a mutual friend! So we chatted about her throughout the process. My sweet hubby held my hands and the whole thing was over so quickly.

The epidural was placed at 4 am. Once everything was checked out and confirmed to be working, my husband and I got some rest!

At 5:45 am, the OB and resident came by again. I asked for another check and was found to be almost 5cm. We rested again until the morning shift change. An angel nurse named Colleen came and introduced herself. She was the oldest nurse we had during our whole stay and was so maternal. I instantly felt comfortable with her.

They did blood work as they needed to check on things after my having been on Pitocin so long.

The new on-call resident came and I asked for another cervical check. At this point I was feeling that things simply weren’t progressing as they should and I had been on the Pitocin for 18 hours. When she checked, I was 4 cm dilated, my cervix was high and there was quite a bit of swelling. My husband later told me that for the first time, there was quite a bit of blood that came out during the cervical check which really started to concern him.

I asked the resident what our options were. We discussed the benefits and risks of continuing on Pitocin for an even more extended period of time. I hated the sound of this. I asked what the alternatives were. She said we can take the wait and see approach with Pitocin or we could elect to proceed with a cesarean birth at this stage. She advised that if we chose to continue in the Pitocin and things continued to not progress by that evening, I would need to have a cesarean given the length of time I had been on the drip and how long my waters had been broken. My husband and I asked for some time alone to discuss. However, we both looked at each other and instantly knew: we were ready to meet our baby and we wanted him to come into this world as calmly and peacefully as possible. We were going to elect to have the cesarean. We did some research about the doctors on call who would be our OR team. I could cry thinking about what a wonderful team we ended up having! The morning was strangely quiet so we were able to have all attendings at the birth and get into the OR as soon as we were ready. The team came in one by one and introduced themselves. They were so fresh having just arrived to start their shifts. The timing was perfect! My husband and I both agreed we got really wonderful feelings from everyone.

My husband then went and got his scrubs on. He told me afterwards that this was quite emotional for him and that the decision to have the cesarean was harder for him than it was for me as he was terrified to watch me go through it, but that he could see how exhausted I was and how sure I was if the decision, so he fully supported it. The lovely nurse talked to me through this time as I started to feel a bit nervous. She told me she had a very similar experience with her first born and reassured me I was making the right decision for our family. She was so comforting!

The anesthesiologist then came in and had a conversation with us about the procedure. I talked with him about the epidural and asked if Ativan was an option for the cesarean as I was scared I would get very anxious in the OR. He was so kind, but advised me he strongly urged me not to have any Ativan as he was confident I would want to be fully present for the birth of my son. He assured me he and my husband would be right there with me and would not let me spiral into an anxious heap. I was initially upset that he was not on board with the Ativan, but in hindsight I am SO grateful to him for this.

I ended up vomiting while sitting up in bed talking to the anesthesiologist. My sweet husband caught my vomit and helped me clean up. While I was sick, the anesthesiologist reviewed my epidural and IVs and fluids and kept chatting with me. He was completely unphased and simply made a comment that this was why they didn’t feed labour patients Big Macs

I was then wheeled in my hospital bed down to the OR. My husband followed us and the nurse showed him where he would have to wait while they prepped me for the surgery. We said I love you and briefly parted ways. This part was hard. Harder for my husband as he was left alone and I was in the OR with a ton of people happily chatting away!

I was wheeled in and lifted onto the operating table. Each member of the team came into the OR and greeted me with huge smiles. There were a lot of laughs. The OB came up and rubbed my arm and gave me the most reassuring, maternal smile. I was very calm and very excited. When my husband joined me, I was ecstatic. We held hands and smiled and in only a few short minutes, they lowered the drape so we could watch our son emerge into the world. My husband immediately began sobbing. A sweet nurse had taken my husband’s phone and was taking pictures the whole time.

The doctors held our son up to us and we got to touch him through the plastic barrier. I will never forget this moment. The doctors and nurses all commented on how big he was and how much hair he had! They also all individually came up to us afterwards and said we had absolutely made the right decision proceeding with the cesarean birth. The way he was wedged in there would have certainly resulted in an instrument delivery, if not an emergency c-section. This was very comforting and validating to hear.

They then took him to the warmer to get him cleaned up and breathing on his own. A kind nurse came over and asked my husband if he wanted to come meet his son. He of course said yes! And was able to go cut the cord and be with our son while they continued my surgery. Once our son was done being checked over, he and my husband came back to be with me while the surgery was completed. The anesthesiologist snapped our first family photo together. It is still very surreal.

My husband then took our son into the recovery room and I was wheeled in shortly after. We had skin to skin and our first feed. It was magical. Once we were confirmed to be well on our way to recover we were taken back to our room and given time as a family of 3. I quickly was able to get up and use the washroom with some assistance.

We stayed 48 hours in hospital as is standard protocol and brought our sweet boy home on September 25th - 2 days before his due date and 2 days after his birth date.

Our experience overall was so incredibly positive. Everything truly felt like it fell into place exactly as it was meant to and I would not change a thing! At no point did my husband or I ever feel pressured or forced into doing anything. Every decision made was made confidently by us after being fully informed of the risks and benefits. I felt so in control the entire time. Admittedly, I had a hard time recalling all the details of the birth. I highly recommend jotting notes throughout the process and having your partner do the same thing! Whenever I thought of it I would note what was happening in my phone. My partner did the same and we sat down and pieced together our birth story afterwards I loved doing this with him!

Our baby boy is now a month old and over 11 lbs. He’s feeding like a champ and we are so in love.