Silas Lorne has arrived!!!

I've been wanting to post my birth story for a few weeks but wanted to catch up on all of the old posts since I went into labour before doing so. I've done that now so here we go! Labour was a drawn-out process for me and I was put on morphine a few times throughout so some details are a bit fuzzy. :S

On Thursday, March 21st, I had an appointment to have an NST done at my OB's office (not by my OB or delivering doctor, but rather a delivery nurse). The nurse discovered that I was dilated 1cm and my cervix was quite thin. She asked if I wanted my membranes swept and I went for it after having heard of success stories from other women who had this procedure done.

A half hour later I started getting some cramps. I purchased an exercise ball after my appointment so, later on that evening, I started to do some bouncing on it. Sure enough, at 8pm that night, I started having some contractions. They started off about 8 to 10 minutes apart but by 2am they were 5 to 6 minutes apart for an hour. I called the hospital, which is an hour away, to see if we should head in to the city. I was told to hang tight for an hour and, if my contractions became even closer within that hour, to feel free to head toward the hospital. Since it was the middle of the night, I decided to just continue labouring at home so that we didn't have to call anyone to come watch my stepkids or drive on icy highways at the wee hours of the morning. My contractions were staying about the same so I waited until the kids were off to school in the morning before DH and I left for the city.

I was admitted to labour and delivery but was soon moved into a shared room in the prenatal ward due to a woman who was brought in by ambulance and was in heavy labour who needed the room I had previously been given. This began my day of very little progress. Between our arrival at the hospital and the following afternoon, numerous babies had been born while I hardly progressed at all. It was discouraging to say the least.

I laboured all day Friday. I swear I wore a path in the linoleum among the hallways as walking was the only thing that helped with my contractions. I was eventually given morphine and given a bit of a relief that afternoon. On Friday evening, I lost my mucous plug and my water eventually broke on its own. My OB checked me and found that I was 2-3 cm dilated. I continued to have contractions throughout the night however the intensity of my contractions had decreased quite a bit. I also found that I was "gushing" water with each contraction (something I had never heard of and didn't expect). Needless to say, I felt like quite a mess. I couldn't lay down so I sat up in a chair all night...with my water gushing out of me onto the floor. I was given more morphine which I guess is what may have caused my labour to stall.

After a second night without any sleep and no more progress, I was finally taken into a labour and delivery room on Saturday afternoon to be induced. I had been labouring for 43 hours and was only 4cm dilated. Basically my labour had stalled. I was still having contractions but the intensity and frequency of them had decreased. I was finally given oxytocin around noon on Saturday and my contractions increased once again. However, by this time, I was feeling incredibly spent. I felt like I could no longer go on. I also learned at this time that there was no chance that I would be able to get an epidural because the anesthesiologist that gives them only works Monday to Friday during regular hours (I had heard this from a friend who had delivered at the same hospital a few years ago but didn't want to believe it).

My delivering doctor put probes on my LO's head to see how his heart rate was. It was strong...except for when I had a contraction. His heart rate decelerated with every contraction, which were becoming more intense once again due to the oxytocin. Aside from that, my doctor discovered that my LO was sitting up much higher than they initially thought. At this point I knew that my LO's health was more important than my initial desire to deliver naturally. I came to accept that my body was not going to allow for this to happen on its own so I let the delivery team know that I was not against having a c-section. My delivering doctor consulted with my OB and they decided that a c-section was the only way LO was going to be delivered safely. Within minutes, I was prepped for surgery and taken to the OR. I was put under anesthetic for the surgery so DH could not be in the room with me (which is something that annoyed me...so there was an anesthesiologist who could knock me out for surgery but not one who could give me an epi? Anyways).

Our precious little guy, Silas Lorne, ended up arriving on his due date...March 23rd at 3:35pm...measuring 9lbs 5oz. and 22"! While I was saddened that DH and I didn't get the experience of holding our son as soon as he was delivered, DH DID get to hold him before he was cleaned up...within approx. 8 minutes of his birth. I was in recovery for a short time and got to meet up with DH and our son sooner than I expected.

I immediately fell in love with our son. It's so true what they say...the love you have for your own child is like no other. While Silas latched on right away and I've been able to breastfeed, my supply has been low. I admit that I felt defeated a few times over the last few weeks after not being able to deliver naturally and also not being able to provide my son with all of the food that he needs, I am dealing with my feelings. I can relate to what many of you have written about in regards to c-sections and breastfeeding on on this board over the last few weeks. However, I am trying my best to not get down about it and just enjoy every minute I have with the wonderful gift that is my son.

Sorry for the looooong story. I'm not known for my brevity! I just want to say thank you to all of you lovely ladies who have offered advice and support to me throughout my pregnancy journey. I look forward to continuing to get to know you and to give and receive support to and from you as our babies grow!