Tuesday, October 13, 2009

A Birth Story...

When I first tried to post this blog, there was a very lengthy birth story that went along with it. After posting, I noticed that all my text had been deleted. Thanks, blogger.com!

Now I'm finding some time to rewrite, I want to save all the details for Jasper when he's old enough to want to know all the details...

Well, the main thing to start with is the fact that Jasper was late. Ethan and Xavier were 10 days early and Graeme was 5 days early. So I was a little eager to meet the little guy. We did EVERYTHING the day/night of August 31st to speed the process up, including thinning the membranes, loads of walking, etc. I wanted his birthday to be his own and not land too close to Graeme's. Sometimes I wonder when he would've actually come if we just let it all be. The way it all worked out though was just perfect.

August 31st was the first day of school for Ethan (going in to the 6th grade) and Graeme (going in to kindergarten), both of them going to new schools, and we didn't want to miss that so it was good that Jasper didn't come anytime before that date. His cousin, Jack, was born on August 31 (sharing a birthday with Uncle Luigi and his great-grandfather Manuel dos Santos) so these two boys have the closest birthdays among all the cousins.

So, during our evening walk around the neighbourhood, I could feel contactions, but they were really not bad and felt more like Braxton Hicks ones more than anything else. When we went to bed (late!) that night, nothing had changed so I had pretty much resolved myself to going to work the next day. But at around 2am or so, I was actually starting to feel uncomfortable and slightly painful contractions. I kinda was thinking at first that it was just me and wishful thinking so I didn't bug Rodney at first. When I finally woke him up, he helped me start timing the contractions and they were coming pretty steady and I was starting to feel really uncomfortable so we knew stuff was happening. We called Manolete to come by close to 6am so that he'd be here when the boys got up. I was pretty excited heading to the hospital, but still kind of dreading that they'd still tell me I wasn't ready and send me home (it's always a possibility!).

At the hospital, when they heard that this was my fourth pregnancy, they worked pretty fast. I get they just think that all fourth babies just fall out like it was nothing - hahahaha! By the time they checked me, I was already 4cm dilated so there was no turning back. For me, I was pretty surprised I was so far along; it had felt like an eternity getting to this point with the other boys. I had considered not getting the epidural for this one, but when they told me that both anesthesiologists would be in surgery for at least an hour and that I wouldn't get a chance to change my mind, I just went ahead and got one. Why suffer when technology can help, right?

The best part about the epidural was getting nap in. The contractions slowed down a bit after that and the nurse worried that I had stopped progressing so she got the pitocin (evil drug!) ready. Thankfully, I didn't actually need it. :)

Once I was ready to push, the nurse and Rodney helped me. It always feels like the pushing is not getting you anywhere, but this was the quickest experience yet. I think I only pushed for 15 minutes and there he was...our little Jasper. So perfect and just perfectly perfect.

And I can say it now, too. I KNEW he was going to be a boy. Hahahaha! I always wished to get old surrounded by men and now I am seeing my wish come true. Oh joy.










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