The Arrival Of Dylan
I'll start off by saying, I got the natural birth I had planned on all along!! I was so sure I'd go overdue and end up being induced - I guess I scared him out of me!! Towards the end, it became quite rushed ;)
I'd been having regular bouts of contractions for weeks now, so Monday didn't start out any different. I began my morning with my Red Raspberry Leaf tea and then we went shopping at Walmart in the morning, getting the boys sand toys that I had been promising them for weeks and then to McD's for breakfast. We got home, had two more cups of tea and then did some cleaning. Around lunch, I realized these contractions were not only getting more regular, but were beginning to move down into my back - so I timed them and they were about 7-10 minutes apart lasting 30 seconds or so, not painful at all - very early labour. I called the midwife at 2pm and let her know, we agreed to me having a bath and seeing how I felt afterwards. We touched base again at about 3pm, when I told her things were about the same, still feeling them, but not breathing through or anything and I was going to head for a nap and try to get some sleep, Carolynn said she'd drop in at about 4pm or so - and we'd go from there.
She arrived at 4pm and checked the baby through a few contractions, his heart rate was great and my blood pressure was fine too. Contractions were about 5-6 minutes apart but still only 30 seconds long and still not painful at all. We decided to check my cervix, my guess was I was about 1-2cms - turned out to be 3-4cms and 50% effaced so we decided I'd be having a baby tonight! Gary left to go pick up his Mom to watch Ryan, and the Carolynn stayed with me - I talked to my Mom, and told her to take her time coming up to the house, as it was early yet to finish dinner and relax.
Carolynn decided to leave me at 5:30pm to meet with a client for her 6pm appointment and said she'd call afterwards - we planned to meet at the hospital once things picked up and really started moving. My plan was to order everyone pizza for dinner, bathe the boys and get Ryan into bed - then take a walk, before heading in to the hospital. Not long after I made my "plan", things DID start moving - I was pretty much laying in bed but contractions kept coming every 4-5 minutes lasting longer and longer each time, it was about 6:30pm when I finally had to start breathing through the contractions and concentrate. Gary, his Mom and the boys were massaging me through contractions - this should have been my first hint to GO!!! I kept trying to get up after every contraction to order dinner online but didn't get around to it. Just after 7pm I told Gary I had to go pee (again) and headed off to use the bathroom, except this time when I wiped there was bloody show (which I was told to watch for, a sign labour was progressing) and then I started to get the shakes, telling me I was in TRANSITION, eek! I knew I had to be about 7cms or so by then, so I yelled to Gary to call Carolynn and tell her to meet us there, pack up the car and to call my Mom back and say "Hurry Up!" Luckily for us, she was already on her way.
I still hadn't packed my bag, and the carseat was still in Dylan's room. It was a bit of a frenzy, with me trying to get stuff in between contractions, lol.
My Mom arrived just before 7:30pm, and then we had a quick discussion with Kevin weather he really wanted to come - at this point, I still believed we had a few more hours to go, lol. I think I worked through about 5 contractions (leaning on the counter) before making it from the boys bedroom and out the front door and into the car. Luckily for us, the hospital is only minutes away!! Gary dropped me off in front of the hospital at 7:40pm in a wheelchair and went to park the car - I had a few more contractions while sitting in front of complete strangers, until Gary made it back to me. Off to L&D we went, only to find out Carolynn wasn't there yet - but she walked in seconds behind us. We got into our room at 7:46pm, and I asked for a gown, so I wouldn't "bleed all over MY clothes" and said I had to pee and would change in there while the room was getting set up.
As soon as I went to sit down, I felt pressure, and knew the baby was coming - I told Carolynn it was time, as she opened the door to hand me a gown. I ran back into the room with my pants down around my knees... "he's coming... there's a head right there" The room wasn't ready, my back-up midwife hadn't arrived yet - there were no baby supplies, heck, they hadn't even processed my admission yet - and there he was. Carolynn checked me, and I was right, 10 cms and he was right there! The nurses answered my midwifes call, and came in to assist set up when the backup midwife Allisoun arrived. Finally, it was just us again in the room and they told me I could push with the next contraction, 2 pushes later at 7:58pm, Dylan Jacob Nathan MacLeod was born - still in his bag of waters which Carolynn broke after his head was out. He let out a little cry - but stopped as soon as he was placed on Mommy's chest. He was weighed at 6 pounds, 5 ounces and then later was measured 20.5 inches long. I then had to have blood drawn, sign some consent forms that I should have done prior to birth and was told by my Midwife "If you don't sign these, I have to put him back in! LOL" and my oxytocin shot for the short second labour stage. The placenta came out on it's own about 10 minutes later. I was checked out quick, no stitches or anything needed, not even any scratches!
It was so fast that it seems like a blur still! I'm shocked I did it naturally, especially when I was in the car screaming I was getting an epidural the second I got in the hospital!!! We were lucky enough that everything with the two of us was perfect and so we got to come home at 11pm on Monday night. Now that Gary and I have time to reflect, neither of us can figure out why we went with an OB for Kevin & Ryan's pregnancies - Dylan's pregnancy, labour and delivery was perfect in every sense of the word, Gary admits he's a Midwife convert! Real, active labour, lasted just under 2 hours - how is that for quick!
I'm a little upset that we didn't get birth photos or any of Kevin cutting the cord, as it went so fast it was about an hour after his birth before I remembered the camera. Also that I didn't pull him out, for some reason, I found it hard to focus and listen to Carolynn :( Now, I hear every word she said to me, but in the moment, I didn't.
You can see updated photos of him here http://www.picturetrail.com/Dylanjacobnathan
I'd been having regular bouts of contractions for weeks now, so Monday didn't start out any different. I began my morning with my Red Raspberry Leaf tea and then we went shopping at Walmart in the morning, getting the boys sand toys that I had been promising them for weeks and then to McD's for breakfast. We got home, had two more cups of tea and then did some cleaning. Around lunch, I realized these contractions were not only getting more regular, but were beginning to move down into my back - so I timed them and they were about 7-10 minutes apart lasting 30 seconds or so, not painful at all - very early labour. I called the midwife at 2pm and let her know, we agreed to me having a bath and seeing how I felt afterwards. We touched base again at about 3pm, when I told her things were about the same, still feeling them, but not breathing through or anything and I was going to head for a nap and try to get some sleep, Carolynn said she'd drop in at about 4pm or so - and we'd go from there.
She arrived at 4pm and checked the baby through a few contractions, his heart rate was great and my blood pressure was fine too. Contractions were about 5-6 minutes apart but still only 30 seconds long and still not painful at all. We decided to check my cervix, my guess was I was about 1-2cms - turned out to be 3-4cms and 50% effaced so we decided I'd be having a baby tonight! Gary left to go pick up his Mom to watch Ryan, and the Carolynn stayed with me - I talked to my Mom, and told her to take her time coming up to the house, as it was early yet to finish dinner and relax.
Carolynn decided to leave me at 5:30pm to meet with a client for her 6pm appointment and said she'd call afterwards - we planned to meet at the hospital once things picked up and really started moving. My plan was to order everyone pizza for dinner, bathe the boys and get Ryan into bed - then take a walk, before heading in to the hospital. Not long after I made my "plan", things DID start moving - I was pretty much laying in bed but contractions kept coming every 4-5 minutes lasting longer and longer each time, it was about 6:30pm when I finally had to start breathing through the contractions and concentrate. Gary, his Mom and the boys were massaging me through contractions - this should have been my first hint to GO!!! I kept trying to get up after every contraction to order dinner online but didn't get around to it. Just after 7pm I told Gary I had to go pee (again) and headed off to use the bathroom, except this time when I wiped there was bloody show (which I was told to watch for, a sign labour was progressing) and then I started to get the shakes, telling me I was in TRANSITION, eek! I knew I had to be about 7cms or so by then, so I yelled to Gary to call Carolynn and tell her to meet us there, pack up the car and to call my Mom back and say "Hurry Up!" Luckily for us, she was already on her way.
I still hadn't packed my bag, and the carseat was still in Dylan's room. It was a bit of a frenzy, with me trying to get stuff in between contractions, lol.
My Mom arrived just before 7:30pm, and then we had a quick discussion with Kevin weather he really wanted to come - at this point, I still believed we had a few more hours to go, lol. I think I worked through about 5 contractions (leaning on the counter) before making it from the boys bedroom and out the front door and into the car. Luckily for us, the hospital is only minutes away!! Gary dropped me off in front of the hospital at 7:40pm in a wheelchair and went to park the car - I had a few more contractions while sitting in front of complete strangers, until Gary made it back to me. Off to L&D we went, only to find out Carolynn wasn't there yet - but she walked in seconds behind us. We got into our room at 7:46pm, and I asked for a gown, so I wouldn't "bleed all over MY clothes" and said I had to pee and would change in there while the room was getting set up.
As soon as I went to sit down, I felt pressure, and knew the baby was coming - I told Carolynn it was time, as she opened the door to hand me a gown. I ran back into the room with my pants down around my knees... "he's coming... there's a head right there" The room wasn't ready, my back-up midwife hadn't arrived yet - there were no baby supplies, heck, they hadn't even processed my admission yet - and there he was. Carolynn checked me, and I was right, 10 cms and he was right there! The nurses answered my midwifes call, and came in to assist set up when the backup midwife Allisoun arrived. Finally, it was just us again in the room and they told me I could push with the next contraction, 2 pushes later at 7:58pm, Dylan Jacob Nathan MacLeod was born - still in his bag of waters which Carolynn broke after his head was out. He let out a little cry - but stopped as soon as he was placed on Mommy's chest. He was weighed at 6 pounds, 5 ounces and then later was measured 20.5 inches long. I then had to have blood drawn, sign some consent forms that I should have done prior to birth and was told by my Midwife "If you don't sign these, I have to put him back in! LOL" and my oxytocin shot for the short second labour stage. The placenta came out on it's own about 10 minutes later. I was checked out quick, no stitches or anything needed, not even any scratches!
It was so fast that it seems like a blur still! I'm shocked I did it naturally, especially when I was in the car screaming I was getting an epidural the second I got in the hospital!!! We were lucky enough that everything with the two of us was perfect and so we got to come home at 11pm on Monday night. Now that Gary and I have time to reflect, neither of us can figure out why we went with an OB for Kevin & Ryan's pregnancies - Dylan's pregnancy, labour and delivery was perfect in every sense of the word, Gary admits he's a Midwife convert! Real, active labour, lasted just under 2 hours - how is that for quick!
I'm a little upset that we didn't get birth photos or any of Kevin cutting the cord, as it went so fast it was about an hour after his birth before I remembered the camera. Also that I didn't pull him out, for some reason, I found it hard to focus and listen to Carolynn :( Now, I hear every word she said to me, but in the moment, I didn't.
You can see updated photos of him here http://www.picturetrail.com/Dylanjacobnathan
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