Labor & Delivery

Friday October 7th - Due Date: This morning while I was sleeping I felt my first painful contraction, it felt much like a menstrual cramp, very sharp and low. Prior to this I had been feeling contractions but they had not hurt like this one. I also noticed very light brown discharge which was definitely a new symptom. I had a massage today which was nice, Suzanne worked on my ankles and my lower back since that was starting to hurt more since I was cramping. We saw Sachiko for our last prenatal check, I told her I was having discharge and painful contractions but that they were about 45 mins to an hour apart and only mildly painful, she thought maybe I'd be back at the hospital that night. After our appointment we had lunch with Ba Me, Anh Tuyen, Chi Kim, Jacob and Addison at Blazing Onion Burger at Alderwood Mall and then walked around for awhile. That night I was feeling very tired and starting to feel more uncomfortable, I took a warm bath and then went to bed. 

Saturday October 8th: Contractions were definitely starting to come closer together this morning, we went to breakfast at McDonalds with Anh Tuyen and Chi Kim before they headed to Bellingham for the day. Afterwards, Hunnie really wanted me to walk and keep things going so we went to Barnes & Noble and he had me walk all the way up to Best Buy. We bought some pants for baby at Old Navy. I started timing the contractions and they were now about 10-15 minutes apart. I was getting so uncomfortable but definitely wanted things to start progressing more. We debated going to the mall and walking more but I was really getting tired so we went home instead. By that evening the contractions were definitely stronger, so much so that the most comfortable position for me was on my hands and knees during the contractions. Anh Tuyen and Chi Kim were going to Anh Dang's house to visit that night and wondered if we wanted to go as well, I had wanted to go but now I was so uncomfortable that I thought I should stay home, especially since I was having to get into different positions to stay comfortable as possible. Took another bath this night and went to bed, the contractions were still roughly 10 minutes apart the entire night, I did nap in between the contractions because I was so exhausted, rough night...

Sunday October 9th: I was so exhausted from not sleeping the night before, the contractions were every 10 minutes the entire night and starting to become quite painful, I was in the fetal position for most the night, very uncomfortable. Could not imagine having to go through another night like that! The contractions were now about 7-10 minutes apart. Hunnie was busy watching football because it was Sunday. I was so uncomfortable and the contractions were so frequent and painful that I did not want to leave the house. I was bracing myself on the counters, our dresser, over the bed. They hurt so badly I was moaning and yelling/crying (not full force and not tearful crying but crying out in pain). I was doing hip circles and walking to try and help the pain but also because I wanted things to continue to progress. By late afternoon (maybe 5pm?) the contractions were 5 minutes apart and still very painful, Hunnie wanted to call the midwife but I thought we should wait. He said he would call just to check and see if this was what we were supposed to be doing. Sharon was on-call, she was one of the midwives we had only seen twice during the entire pregnancy. She asked how I was doing, at this point I was still able to talk and explain everything pretty calmly. She suggested I try the bath again, she said it wouldn't slow things down, which was what I had been afraid of. I listened to her advice and got into the bath, it helped a lot with the pain, I still felt the contractions but they were less severe and I could somewhat relax and rest a bit, I thought maybe I can make it until the next morning. I got out of the bath and was still having contractions, now they were closer together, about 4 minutes apart. About 8pm we called Sharon again, this time on the phone it was much more obvious that I was not comfortable. She asked me what my birth plans were and I said I had wanted to go natural but now I was not sure. She advised that I try the bath again. This time it did not help as much but I tried to stay in as long as I could. I had the window in the bathroom cracked and was scared the neighbors might here me moaning in pain. It was now 11pm, contractions were 3 minutes apart, I knew I could not last through the night, I was scared I would not be able to make it out of the house...that Hunnie would have to carry me or we would have to call 911. I called Sharon and she said she would meet us at the hospital. We grabbed our bags and last minute stuff like pillows and blankets. I remember opening the car door and before I could sit down I had a contraction and was on the floor of the garage. Thankfully the car ride to Evergreen was only about 10 or so minutes, I had about 3-4 contractions before we got to the hospital, I told Hunnie that if I was not at least half way I was not sure if I could do it anymore and I might just get the epidural. 

At the hospital: We got to the maternity ward at 11:30pm and started checking in, Sharon got there not too shortly afterwards. The nurse wanted her to check me in the triage area before they would put me in a room even though Sharon already knew I was far along enough to be admitted. We went to triage and when she checked I was 8 cm! We were so happy, I wanted to cry. Sharon asked if we wanted to continue with our natural birth plan and since we were so close I wanted to try. We got to my room and they worked on admitting me (asking lots of questions, hooking up monitors). They helped massage me while I was having contractions. My mom arrived and let me squeeze her hands during my contractions. They raised the bed up high so I could lean over and do hip circles. Then they wanted me to get into the bed, it hurt so much to lay on my back, I flipped over to my stomach and held onto the head of the bed. Sharon wanted to check me again and see about breaking my water. They found I had thin meconium so she called for NICU nurses to be present for delivery. Baby's heart rate dropped so they placed an IV in case I needed to be taken to OR for emergent C-section. At times the heart rate would increase as well, they place an internal scalp monitor so they could more accurately monitor the heart rate. We finally found that being on my left side (which was the side baby laid on and the side I had been most comfortable sleeping on for most of the third trimester) kept baby's heart rate happy. At 2am I started pushing, it was hard, it was amazing how much adrenaline was pumping through my body, especially after having been up for pretty much over 24 hours without real sleep/rest. Hunnie was so great, he held my head to my chin for me while I pushed. Everyone kept saying they saw a lot of black hair! I wasn't convince, I had doubts I was doing it right and that things were actually progressing but everyone was very encouraging. All the nurses came in and Sharon got prepared for the delivery. They told me that if baby did not cry right away they would not be able to put him on my chest. Baby was born at 3:28am, he did cry right away so Sharon cut the cord and he was immediately taken by the nurses to the warmer for suctioning. Couldn't believe how big baby was! The contractions stopped immediately and the pain was gone, Sharon stitched me up and I was pretty much still numb but just so distracted by this beautiful baby that was now here. My mom and Hunnie got to hold him first while Sharon finished up with me. Baby was already suckling and hungry and looking for food! I finally got to hold him and it was love at first sight! 
 

Week 40 - Happy Due Date Meepers!

How far along: 40 Weeks
Weight gain: Roughly 30-35 lbs for this pregnancy
How big is baby:  Pumpkin
Maternity clothes: Thinking about how this will probably be the last week where I'm proudly displaying my beautiful belly (versus hiding it post-delivery...). I've really loved how comfy all my maternity clothes have been!
This week: Feeling very tired, enormous, slow, waddling like a giant penguin, I'm thinking it's getting close because I'm feeling super uncomfortable which I consider a good sign since I had been feeling so great up until very recently...like too well to be going into labor anytime soon. Hunnie has been making me walk like crazy, we went to the mall and he purposefully parked at one end when the store we were going to was on the opposite end. We've been walking around there and at Costco and Fred Meyer and he makes me walk fast LOL I've been doing a lot of hip circles, lunges, squats, child's pose that I learned at prenatal yoga class. When I do want to sit down Hunnie makes me sit and bounce on the exercise ball. It's pretty cute, he has been googling ways to induce labor. In addition to the walking, bouncing, and yoga he has been massaging my ankles/hands, we went to eat spicy thai food (4 and 5 stars, haven't had anything that hot since before I got pregnant, man did it make us feel horrible after we finished eating), drank a ton of milk (to mimic the effect of castor oil, everyone was telling me to try this but I heard it tastes horrible). We also tested out the breast pump which was hilarious, we laughed so hard!
Movement: It seems to have slowed down a bit, probably because there is hardly any room left in there to move around
Food Cravings: Being so uncomfortable actually has decreased my appetite...
Belly button in or out: Innie
Pregnancy symptoms: Feeling twinges down below, things are definitely shifting around and preparing for baby's arrival YAY!
What I miss: I know I'm going to miss being pregnant and having baby in my belly so I'm just trying to cherish and enjoy this last week... (and if I knew what I know now that Caleb is almost 5 weeks old is that I would miss sleep and devoting time to the doggies...)
What I'm looking forward to: Finally meeting our baby boy!

Week 39

How far along: 39 weeks, home stretch baby!!
Weight gain: Holding steady since last week...
How big is baby:  Mini watermelon
Maternity clothes: Busting out of my maternity clothes now LOL
This week: Recovering from my cold last week, have been feeling really tired and achy especially at work, hoping this is a good sign though!
Movement: Still moving around, I can tell it's getting tight on space in there!
Food Cravings: I'm post-journaling (Caleb is actually 5 weeks right now) so honestly I can't remember what I craved this week LOL...yes, that's how crazy the past 7 weeks have been!
Belly button in or out: Innie
What I miss:  I'm already thinking about how I will miss having baby in belly, taking him everywhere with me, feeling his kicks/punches
What I'm looking forward to: So excited to meet baby! Can't believe it's only a week or so away!