A Wee-Bean Story (Part 2)*

On Tuesday, February 14th my alarm went off at 6am, though I was awake long before I heard it. When I finally rolled out bed, I realized that I had slept maybe 2 – 3 hours.

And still no contractions.

The Hubster and I got ready, made plans to have my parents meet us later, then it was off to the hospital. We walked in together, very aware that the next time we left our little family would have grown from two to three.

We arrived at the maternity ward at 7:30am. We were shown to our room by our nurse (whom I came to love), then sent to another wing to register and be officially admitted. Twenty minutes later we walked back and I was relieved to see Olivia (my midwife) waiting for us. At this point the OB was no where in sight.

Olivia began explaining how the day would unfold. Before the OB could begin the induction, they wanted to make sure that all was well with the baby and I. I changed into a stylish hospital gown and she and the Hubster helped me get comfortable in bed. The next hour was spent hooked up to a fetal monitor listening to the wee-bean’s heart beat. She was still dancing away in my belly, so we kept having to move it around to try and find her. When Olivia was assured that the wee-bean’s heart rate was strong, she called in the OB to begin the induction.

At 9am he arrived with a slew of nurses. My little room was suddenly full of people, and everyone seemed busy with a different task. My nurse explained a little about what was happening, but before I knew it the OB wanted to examine me and get things going.

It was at this moment that I began “affectionately” calling him Dr. Evil.

The 9am examination was extremely uncomfortable. I lay on the bed with my eyes squeezed shut chanting my mantra for the day over and over in my head: “It’s just one day. It’s just one day. It’s just one day.” He let me know that I was still not dialating, and that the baby was actually sitting at -3cm… 3cm further back than where she should be. He then did a “Search and Sweep” (ow.) and inserted the prostaglandin gel to try and stimulate my body and get things moving. He let me know that he’d be back in 6 hours to check my progress.

After he finished and the whirlwind of nurses left the room, I was again hooked up to a fetal monitor and had to lay still for another hour while they monitored the baby’s reaction to the gel. My contractions during that first hour were very painful, but they were still sporadic and I could talk through them. The Hubster and my mom kept me company while Big Dad camped out in the waiting room with Suduko and a book. I don’t know what I would have done if they hadn’t been there–sadly my little hospital room did not have a TV so there was precious little to pass the time and help distract me from the contractions.

Shortly after 10am I was finally allowed to leave my bed and my little hospital room. The nurses encouraged me to walk as much as I could as it would help bring on contractions and ease their pain. The Hubster and I established a little route around the hospital and began doing laps. I had to return each hour to check on the baby’s heart rate, then we’d be off again. Shortly before lunch I decided to try and rest a little as I had barely slept the night before.

My contractions at this point hadn’t really increased in frequency or strength, but it was still difficult to try and sleep through. Laying quietly for a few moments helped me finally accept that even though this wasn’t how I had imagined having our baby, she was finally on her way. Something inside me switched, and I was able to let go of a lot of the negativity I had been harboring since I realized that the induction was actually happening the day before.

We decided to walk to the cafeteria to see my mom and dad, and as I paraded into Tim Horton’s I realized that I was the only one in the entire cafeteria who was wearing a hospital gown. haha! What can I say, I like to make a statement. I picked at a few things for lunch, then we headed back to our room. The nurses had suggested that I try taking a jacuzzi bath to help relax, so after a few more laps around our route I decided to give it a whirl. Even though the tub was in the bathroom in my private room, it felt weird to have a bath in such a public place. Everyone told me that you let go of your modesty when you give birth–I wasn’t there yet.

Just before 3pm I made my way back to bed, ready for my next visit with Dr. Evil. The six hours had finally passed and I was beyond ready to see if I had progressed at all. My contractions were still irregular, but it felt like they were getting a bit stronger.

Well, 3pm came and went, and there was no sign of the OB. The Hubster and I chatted with my mom to try and make the waiting seem a bit more bearable, but I felt like I was watching the clock constantly.

As 4pm ticked ever closer, I felt my frustration level go through the roof. The Hubs went off to find our nurse to see if she knew where he was, and we found out that he had been called for some emergency in the ER but would be with us very shortly.

At 5pm he finally arrived with another tornado of nurses… and that’s when my labor really began.