Birthing Story - Pinxit

Originally posted April 16th 2010

Here is my birthing story - I didn’t get around to writing it till she was 2 months old, so I very well may have left out some information.

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My due date was April 1st, and I went over due. I wasn’t even dilated on my due date and one week later, I was only at a half cm, and no effacement if I remember correctly. The weekend coming up was Easter, and my doctor was going on vacation, so I had three choices, be induced before the weekend, wait it out and see if she comes naturally, or the next week be induced by some other doctor. I switched doctors half way through my pregnancy because I was very uncomfortable with my doctor, and I didn’t want to end up having her or someone else deliver my child, so I was booked for my induction on the 9th.

We arrived at the hospital at 6:45am, where I was taken up to labour and delivery. I tested positive for GBS, so I had to have an IV(which was a pain to put in because I have small, rolling veins). At around 7:30am I was administered pitocin, and around 8am my doctor stopped in to rupture my membranes, but the baby was so far down that nothing came out, so because of this she tried a few times just to make sure - which was pretty uncomfortable.

I started experiencing contractions very soon after this, and they came on very strong. It was a bit of a surprise to me - I was expecting a much more gradual build up. Because of this, I stayed in bed for the first hour or so, I did try to walk around, but I was in a very small room and hooked up to the IV so I really could only sway back and forth. I also felt very naucious. I think because the baby didn’t come naturally, I wasn’t given the opportunity to learn to cope with the pain on my own, and when offered the nitrous oxide, I gladly accepted it.

After they cleared out the main delivery room, I was then moved. I still couldn’t cope with the pain enough to stand or walk, so I sat in a chair for another few hours. At some point I vomited, but afterwards I felt so much better. I then had to be checked, so I went to the bed. I found the nitrous oxide wasn’t really helping, so I was then given the ‘happy pump’(no one ever called it it’s medical name, so I don’t really know what it was).

Side note - the night before at 11:30pm we decided to finally get around to doing our belly cast, so with cleaning up and finishing packing the last few things for the hospital, we didn’t get to bed till 1am I think it was… Because of the lack of sleep, I decided to take a nap knowing I’d need my strength.

Around 3pm my friend Mae’s train got in from London, Ontario and by that point I was feeling a lot better, and for the next half hour we walked the halls. I think I really annoyed the other women in labour, because they could see me walking the hall at an average walking pace, joking around with my friend, and I made a comment how they should make the IV into a back pack because the IV pole was really annoying and slowed me down, which Mae found hilarious.

While walking my doctor showed up after finishing her day at the office - so it was around 4 or 5pm at that point, she asked how I was feeling, and then asked the nurse how dilated I was at my last check up, to which she answered 7cm, so she told me to get back in bed - I’m not sure if she was shocked that I was walking around the way I was, or that the nurse had forced me to walk when I was that dilated…

Soon after she checked me, and I think I hadn’t dilated anymore… I had asked the nurse to get the birthing ball for me because my contractions were getting closer, but I decided to stay in bed because I was feeling sick, and ended up throwing up again. I really don’t remember much after this point, especially in terms of time.

I remember that at 7pm my nurse has finished her shift, and my new nurse soon after told me to sit on the toilet. All I remember is blinding pain, and sitting on the toilet sobbing while my husband and friend were having a conversation and joking around which seemed to last forever. Around 9pm the nurse came in and told me to get back in bed to check me. Apparently it took 20 minutes to actually get me back in bed because I was in so much pain and my leg had fallen asleep, and the bathroom was so small no one could get in there to get me out(it literally was a closet that had a toilet in it, you couldn’t close the door without the door hitting your knees, or being forced up against the toilet) so I had to do it on my own. Not a good choice to put me in there if you ask me… I didn’t like that nurse at all.

Well I was fully dilated at that point, and she told me to start pushing and took away the nitrous oxide to switch it for oxygen. My doctor was at home and had to be called in, and almost didn’t make it in time. I really didn’t want to push because it felt like my butt was going to turn inside out, and I was scared more about that, than anything else. I would only give them two pushes, but once my doctor got there, I felt a bit more comfortable. She told me that I was going to tear, and because I previously told her I didn’t want an episiotomy, she then asked if I still didn’t want one, or if it was ok. My vaginal opening was already burning from her crowning that I decided to let her cut to take away the pressure. A few more pushes, and she pulled out her arm to show me, and she was out.

At 9:44pm Pinxit Leigh Lynn Trouble White was born. Her first Apgar was 8, and her second was 9. She was 7lbs 9oz, and 21 1/2 inches. It felt like I was in active labour for no more than 20 minutes, my husband says a half hour, and Mae says 45 minutes, so I really don’t know how long it was… Pinxit really didn’t want to cry - she was breathing, but kind of just looked pissed off because she really wasn’t ready to come out.

Around 1am my husband and Mae left. The night wasn’t too bad, I was so scared to be alone with her. She was very good though, fed a few times through the night, but otherwise was silent and let me get enough sleep. I woke up around 8am and while she slept I cleaned up my ‘room’, got changed, did my makeup, ate breakfast, did stuff with the nurses, and it still wasn’t visiting hours. Mae updated my blog for me - and stated that I was ready to go for a jog after completely rearranging my room. I still find this amusing.

I stayed that night as well because my doctor wanted me to, which was a lot harder because the girl in the bed beside me had a boy and they chose to circumcise him that day, so he shrieked all day and night, so when Pinxit wasn’t having cluster feedings, he was crying and woke me or Pinxit up. The next morning we both had blood taken, I was giving a suppository  and she had her hearing test(but the nurse took her to be tested while she was screaming so she ended up with a ‘referral’ result). I decided after lunch that day that we would go home(though I did miss the food believe it or not - their vegetarian meals were really good!).

Though I had a good hospital experience, and my doctor was amazing, I really wish we had gone with a midwife. I think my labour would have been shorter(not that it was really that long), and much more comfortable. We’ve already decided for our next child that’s the route we’re going to go.