2005 - A Birth Story

I have been meaning to do a post on Sonny's birth for a while now. But somehow, it didnt happen. And so I thought before Soni (thats what I've decided to call baby 2 on this blog) arrives and by some sheer weird-ity, I manage to get both births mixed up(yeah like thats gonna happen) I must put it down.

So rewind to 2005 June.

Sonny is scheduled to arrive on June 25.

June 1, my gynec tells me - your cervix has begun to dilate - a bit now. What??? Isint it meant to dilate a few days before the birth? Well, he says each pregnancy is different. Maybe your body wants to take its own sweet time at this stage. O dear!! I'm shitting bricks.

June 2 - parents in law arrive. Ma in law takes one look at me and says - o dear you are weeks away. Your baby is still up. It has to move down a lot more before you can deliver. She's had 3 kids of her own, seen countless other pregnancies and delivered 5 grand-children, if she says its weeks away, who am I to argue.

June 7 - Is that my imagination or did I just see a blood stained mucus-y thingy flush away?

June 9 - We're watching a police car chase a run-away car in the US (reality TV doesnt get better than this) when I feel a funny crampy sensation. Its 10 in the night, I mention it to my ma-in-law. We conclude it must be Braxton Hicks. And everyone turns in for the night.

But its not. They are the begining of contractions. I start timing them. At first they are coming 15 mins apart, for 5 sec. As the night progresses, they get stronger. By 7am the next day they are coming at 10 mins apart, for 25 secs each.

June 10 - We call the hospital in the morning. The nurse on duty asks me if this is my first baby. Yes, I confirm. O then it'll take a while.Stay home. Dont come in till its 5 mins apart, 45 secs each, she says.

A slight digression here. Canada has public health care for all.So there is no concept of private health care. So everyone uses the same system. As you can imagine - the system is fairly over-loaded, as are the nurses and doctors. As much as possible, they advise you to stay at home and not clog the system. A lady who delivered a few months before me - reached the hospital much earlier and was asked to wait till she was sufficiently dilated to be admitted. I remembered that instance vividly and decided to take the nurse's advice.

By 3pm - the contractions are coming stronger. Now they are about 7 mins apart coming in for 35 sec. I call hubby (who has merrily left for work) and ask him to come back and take me to the hospital.

By 4pm I decide the contractions have touched the 5 min barrier and are coming for 40 sec each. Time to head to the hospital. Hubby and I take off for the hospital.

Hubby decides to go park his precious Passat in the parking lot (instead of leaving it in the Emergency Parking Only area) while I would go and check myself in. I remember getting a contraction as I waited for the lift and I put my head against the wall and winced through it.

The nurses at the station lazily look up as I approach them. I tell them, I am in labor. How long, they ask? I tell them 45 sec now - every 5 mins. Suddenly, the station bursts into activity. They take my Health Card, Hospital Card, someone tags me. I am taken into a delivery room, weighed, checked and asked to wait for the doctor. Hubby rushes in a few mins later. And we wait for the doc on call(didnt I tell you the system was overloaded).

Doc arrives a good 45 mins later. By this time I have gone through many contractions. She conducts an internal exam. Good, she says, you are 7 cm dilated.
7cm? All by myself? At home? yahoo!!! I'm a lil proud of myself now.
She has a bored expression on her face. Do you need an epidural, she asks. Oh yes, please, I say. Ok, we'll let the anesthesian know, she says and walks away.

The anesthesian comes an hour later. In the meanwhile the nurses take a detailed history. When did the contractions start, bloody show, the works. The nurses look at each other when I begin telling them. So I ask, is there an issue? Oh no - they say, your symptoms you describe - are all text-bookish, almost like we're reading our manual. O thats good to know, we're going by the book.

The anesthesian jokes and chats with me as he does his job. Everyone seems happy-clappy and once the drug starts working in, I'm happy clappy too.

9.20pm - The doc checks on me again. 9 cm dilated she tells me. We're going to artificially break your waters, she informs me. Like I'm going to object - go ahead lady - do your job. I dont feel a thing. Am I going to deliver before the bewitching hour, I ask her? I dont know - she says, lets see. Weird this doctor. So stand-offish. Where the hell is my regular doc?

The night stretches on endlessly. Hubby tries to get comfortable in the arm-chair they hospital has thoughtfully provided. I must be the first woman in recorded history, who actually falls asleep after having been 9 cm dilated with her waters broken. But no sign of baby arriving. All through the night the nurses check on me, fetal heartbeat. No signs for worry - and no sign of Sonny either. I've technically been in labor for over 28 hours now.

June 11, 5.30am. The nurses inform me - they are cutting back on the epidural. WTF??? Now that its just a couple of cms away and I have to push they are cutting back on my drugs? C'mom sweetie the nurse on duty tells me - my shift ends at 6.30 - let me see your baby before I leave. Slowly, i begin to feel the contractions, the pain. I push when they ask me to. But I just cant take the pain. No position gives me comfort. My back hurts like hell - partly due to the epidural in the spine, mostly due to the contractions. I want to stand up - the drug still has its effect on my legs(and not in the region where its meant to work). WTF!! WTF!!WTF!!

Oh man, the pain was unbearable. 6.30 comes and goes. So does the nurse. New nurse on duty. In the mirror on the ceiling, I can see my first glimpse of sonny's head. Its a head full of black hair. Nurse takes my hand down to touch Sonny's head. All I feel is something slimy and I pull my hand back.

The room is abuzz with activity. The senior doc on call comes and checks in regularly. How're u doing he asks me. What do you think, I want to yell? I'm walking on air? Oh God - I tell him, I cant take this pain. Cant take the pain, wanna get out of it fast, push harder, he tells me. I lunge wildly to get my hands on some instrument - so I can stab him. No that was my imagination - I just stare hard at him and yell real hard.

What happened after this - is pain tinged so I cant vouch for its accuracy. I remember a slicing kinda feeling and with a gush Sonny comes out. I think I heard a wail. Blood and gore all over. They put him on my bare tummy. I put my hand out to touch him. Yikes - more slime. I pull back. I feel hands inside me, the nurse pushes my tummy from outside. My baby is out, why do I feel the contractions now - i yell. You feel contractions, the senior doc tells me, good, keep pushing. Seriously, where is that knife? This man needs to die, right now.

They hand hubby the scissor. C'mon daddy the nurse tells him, cut the cord. No, No hubby shrinks back. C'mon dad, they urge him on, its your privilege. I turn to look at hubby, he has tears in his eyes. He cuts half the cord at first try. On the second try he cuts it clean. They whisk sonny off. He is weighed and who knows what they are doing. I dont know. I dont care. I've pushed for 3 hours - where the hell are the painkillers.

I'm stitched up. Sonny is wrapped and put in the warm bassinet. Suddenly the room is all quiet. Oh God, I hear hubby mutter. We dont have batteries in the camera. I'll go get some. Just for the records, he clicks some pics on his mobile and rushes off to make all the calls. Sonny and I lie quietly. I take a sneak peek at sonny. Big eyes, huge eye lashes and he's quickly taking in the place - eyes are flashing all over. He manages to wrestle his hand out. He's pink all over - blue tinged finger nails.

About an hour later, they move us out to our room.

And so thats how sonny arrived. Not much drama - except the one created in my head.
And now that its time foe Soni to arrive,I am beginning to dread going through this entire rigmarole again. Am I weird to dread it, second time round?