Alex's Birth Story - Part 2

There was always a debate over when Alex was due thanks to our finding out about him in the second trimester. My due date moved around by a few weeks over the course of my pregnancy. Eventually I think it was settled on March 5, his actual birthday but I was induced on March 3, a Monday morning. The doctor was getting anxious about my blood pressure and since we weren't firm on the due date, he was worried about an overly late baby. The boy was always measuring quite large but did that mean he was older than we thought or just a big baby. Rob and his sister, after all, came in at 9lbs5oz and 9lb12oz respectively. To a very tiny mother no less.

Monday morning at 8am I walked into my doctor's office where he took one look at me and grunted something about hoping I had already gone into labour. He told me not to take my coat off, that he was calling the hospital and sending me in asap. I called a cab, went home to collect Rob and my hospital bag and we set off immediately for the hospital.

By 10am I was hooked up to an IV and then the wait was on. I wasn't dilated at all. It was going to take a long time. A really long time. A whopping 41 hours in the end.

We started off in a recovery room with a mom that was being sent for a c-section. We checked in before her but she had her surgery and new baby long before I was even a few centimetres dilated.

Once a birthing suite became available, I was moved. The drugs kept coming. Around 2 centimeters I had an epidural. This was well over 20 hours of labour at that point. I was exhausted and had no idea what was in store.

I went through several shift changes. At one point I sent Rob home to change, shower and nap. They filled the epidural machine three times! Finally, not long after midnight on March 5th a doctor came in to assess me, again, and get the ball rolling for a c-section. He had paperwork for us to sign, a gown for Rob to change in to. Unfortunately, they had just topped up my epidural and not very happy doctor was going to have to wait for the medicine to wear off before they could take me upstairs for surgery. I remember feeling relieved. Though I wanted what was best for the baby I remember feeling quite upset at the idea of going through 30+ hours of labour just to get cut open in the end.

Well, Alex had timing. A few hours later I half-woke to the nurses clucking with disapproving tones because I started pushing. On a lark, one checked me to see I was fully dilated and the baby was on his or her way. I was fully wakened by a glaring white light and tons of new activity in the room. About 2 minutes into pushing I gave up. I wasn't exactly coherent, time was some abstract idea and I felt like I had been at it for hours. I was completely convinced the baby was stuck and told everyone so. I am sure it was a funny thing at the time. Finally I was cajoled (by what seemed like 20 people) into trying again and he was born about 3 minutes later.

Next, I remember one of the doctors holding up a scrunchy-face baby, then the alarms went off and the babe was shuffled away. Poor Rob was beside himself. With the alarm came more doctors and much more activity. It may have been the drugs but I was very calm and had complete faith our son was going to be just fine. Rob struggled with wanting to stay with me and heading over to the crew working on Alex. I remember taking his hand and telling him I was okay, just go be with our baby.

There was one funny moment we'll never forget! Alex's labour took so long (and his blood pressure was diving near then end of his birth) that they were already worried before he came out. I think he pooped on his way out so meconium was a concern too. His colouring was just awful. Yet his vitals were fine. They kept looking at him, checking his vitals (which were perfect) and shaking their heads in confusion. Eventually a nurse turned towards me and the next words heard were, "well look at the mom...she is gray too..." Poor pasty little man.

After all the fuss with his birth, everything had turned out just perfectly. Sadly I was one of the last people to hold my boy but his dad was by his side the whole time. He was taken, as a precaution, to the neonatal room for observation. It took more than five hours to have him in my arms. In that time I relaxed, chatted with the nursed and ate a little. Eventually I got to shower, visitors came and went...the whole day passed quickly. Just before midnight, still on March 5th, I passed my little Alex to Rob and complained about feeling quite ill. While settling back into the bed we realized that I had been up and about, without so much as a nap, since I had given birth more than 20 hours earlier! I got a little sleep that night and was finally discharged around lunch on Thursday March 6th.

The boy came into this world at 7lbs 15oz. A crabby nurse who was upset that I wasn't breast feeding him and must not have realized we were feeding him with formula we brought from home took him after chastising me for not feeding him enough. She told us he was going to get weighed and if he lost too much weight than we wouldn't be going home that day. Well, she sheepishly brought back our boy who had actually gone up to 8lbs 2oz. Seven years later, I can say this growth trajectory hasn't slowed one bit.

So that is how our boy came to be with us. It was an adventure. I haven't forgotten very much about that day. Hard to believe so much time has passed.