I was 8 days overdue and I woke up on Thursday morning and my water had started leaking. I wasn't sure if that was what it was so I called my midwife. I needed to meet her at the hospital so she could check if it was amniotic fluid and sure enough it was. She said we could wait 24 hours-48 hours to see if I went into labor on my own before inducing me. Once your water breaks they don't recommend waiting longer than 24 hours since there is a chance for infection for mom and baby. I didn't want to take any chances so we scheduled the induction for the next morning. That evening I started getting really nervous about getting induced since I heard it is a much harder, more intense labor since it's not natural.
The next morning Mika and I enjoyed some of our last moments of just the two of us while we waited for our midwife to call. We headed to the hospital around 8:00 am. Once we arrived they let us know that they were short on nurses and that we might have to head to Chilliwack which I did not want to do! Our midwife worked some magic and we got a room in Abbotsford.
At 11:00 am I was hooked up to an IV that started pumping me with Pitocin to start contractions. So then we waited....and waited....for the contractions to start. The charts showed I was having contractions but I really wasn't feeling anything intense. More just braxton hicks contractions. Finally at 6:00 pm my midwife checked me to see if I had dilated any more. She checked me and I was still at 3 cm which I had been at the morning before. So the induction hadn't done anything so far. She then proceeded to break my water more since it hadn't fully broken just had been leaking. As soon as she did that the contractions came and boy were they intense! I lasted through about 2 or 3 of them and then wanted pain relief right away. So much for my "natural" birth! Ha! We asked for an epidural since the pain was so intense and I was only at 3 cm and had a long way to go. Lucky for us the anesthesiologist was right down the hall and it took about 20 minutes for her to get there. While we waited the nurse encouraged me to try laughing gas. I said no since I heard it makes you sick. She said just try one puff so I did and yes it made me sick! Yuck!
Finally the anesthesiologist arrived to give me my epidural. 20 minutes is a really long time to wait while you are in excruciating pain. I told Mika "I feel like I'm dying."
The pains were so bad because Sadie was posterior and I was on pitocin which makes for a very painful labor. I got my epidural and it gave me relief for about half and hour. During that time my midwife had left and said to rest and she would be back when I was progressing more into active labor. As soon as she left the epidural wore off. They say in some cases for back labor the epidural doesn't work. Lucky me! I went from 3-7 cm in about an hour. My midwife had to be called right back. I then progressed to 10 cm at about 9 pm. So this all happened in less than 3 hours. I started pushing around 10:00 or 11:00 pm. I don't really remember the time at all. I pushed for about an hour but was making no more progression, My midwife got an OB to come for a second opinion to see if we could use forceps or a vacuum extraction which sounded scary to me! He checked me and said that those options were too dangerous since she was too far up still. He recommended a c-section since her head was starting to swell and show early signs of distress. He said we could try another hour of pushing but no longer, but based on the last hour making no progression he said he thought a c-section was the best option. My midwife agreed since I didn't have any more energy left. Mika and I decided that it was the safest option and we just wanted our baby to arrive the safest way possible.
My mom and sister had been anxiously waiting at the hospital since about 9:00 pm when I was at 7 cm, Mika called them right away and let them know we had to have a c-section. Once my mom knew that she called my dad right away to get to the hospital since they were so worried. Before I went into the operating room I asked to see my parents and sister. I was still in some pain but not as much since they had turned the pitocin off. When my mom came in I asked if my sister could come put my hair in a ponytail and put on my headband. They laugh about it now because it was so silly of me to ask for that at the time. For some reason I was still concerned how my hair would look in all the photos..
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| Waiting for our baby girl to arrive. Mika was such an amazing supportive husband while I was in labor and during the surgery. |
Mika and I looked at each other and were shocked at the size they had said. My midwife then rushed to my side and said "You were right! It's a GIRL!"
That moment felt so right because I knew all along she was a girl. We then decided her name was going to be Sadie Rae Suominen. At that point we still hadn't seen her but Mika got to go with the pediatrician and cut the cord and weigh Sadie with him. She weighed 10lbs 4 ounces and was 22 inches long. The doctors were worried I had gestational diabetes but I didn't. My mom and Mika's mom both had big babies so I guess it was just genetics.
Sadie was brought over and put on my chest and I got my first glance of her. She was beautiful, perfect and I was so elated that she was finally here! My heart was instantly filled with SO much love.
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| Love at first sight. |
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| Such a proud Daddy. |
After we had been in recovery for about 30 minutes we were brought to my room where my mom, dad and sister were anxiously waiting for us. Mika then wheeled Sadie into the room and announced "it's a girl!"
He then picked my mom up and gave her a giant hug! We then told them her name and the story behind her name. Everyone was so happy and relieved she was finally here!
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| Auntie Jess is in love. |
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| Nana and her granddaughter. |
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| Proud Pops. |
We stared at her and fell in love.
That is the birth story of our Sadie Rae. The birth didn't necessarily go how I wanted it but looking back it doesn't matter since Sadie arrived safe and sound into our arms.
We are blessed. I thank God every day for her.
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| Our family. |
Mel
