Addy's Story

I feel like this post has been a long time coming, however in actuality, it has only been 8 days since we brought Addy home.  Over the past week, we have introduced her to many family members and friends who have all loved on her like she deserves.

Addy's story started on Wednesday night of the 16th of May.  By that evening, I had been having irregular false labour for the past 4 days.  The day prior, while at the doctor, I was told that I was already 5cm dilated and therefore the doctor performed a procedure called a membrane sweep (a natural labour inducer) to see if we could get things really moving.  By that point, I was officially sick of being pregnant, but even more so of the guessing game of whether or not the contractions I was feeling were real or not.  I decided it was time to take measures in my own hands and see if I could convince our baby that it was time to deliver.  There was only one way I knew how to do this...and that was to have a bossy talk with it, make tacos, and have company for dinner.  That was the situation the night in which labour with Colin started.  And true to its promise, it worked again.  Mid way through the meal, I felt the first of what were actual regular, somewhat strong, increasing contractions.  It was time to go.

After some arranging for Colin, Jason and I made our way to St. Boniface and checked in at triage.  I was told that I was 6cm dilated at that point and that I needed to walk as much as I could to get the contractions to pick up in strength and to hopefully break my water.  So that is what I did - I walked.  I walked for about half an hour while Jason timed my laps and contractions and offered me water as I passed him by each and every time.  My contractions started to pick up, but my water stayed in tact.  Because it was a slow night and because it was clear that the baby would be coming sometime in the near future, we were then admitted to a room.  I was thrilled to see that we would be given a private room yet again.  For anyone that will be having a baby at St B anytime soon...when they ask if your insurance covers private rooms, you say yes...even if it doesn't.  Yes, you will have a $80 bill at the end of your stay, but I promise it is worth every penny. 

Once we were admitted into our room, I continued to walk, but mostly because I didn't know what else to do.  About half an hour later, the doctor on call (who was actually the same doctor who delivered Colin) came to check me and told me that I hadn't progressed...I was still 6cm.  I compleltely realize that for most people who have babies, not progressing in 2 hours of labour is par for the course.  Because when I delievered Colin I had progressed each and every time they checked me, I found the news that I hadn't this time tough to swallow.  I always assumed, and was told that it was extremly likely that not only would I deliever quickly again, but in fact it was more likely that I would be even quicker.  Hearing the news that things were stalled made me just a touch discouraged and definitely made me wonder what this baby had us in for.  The good news from the doctor was that my water was about to burst, and therefore he broke it for me to really get things going.

Over the course of the next hour, I felt extremely intense contractions every minute and a half to two minutes.  The hour was probably the toughest hour of my life.  Again, I realize that some women labour like that for hours on end and to them, I fully applaud.  At one point, I even asked about an epidural, something I swore I would never do, however decided against it once I heard how long it would take to fully receive relief from the drugs.  I still had faith that all would be over before the drugs could really kick in.  Thankfully, I was right.

After the hour or so of post-water-breaking contractions, I really felt the urge to push and when checked was told I was 8cm.  This was promising, but again, I was really hoping for the good old 10cm right there and then.  The nurse told me to tell her again when I felt the urge, even if it was with the next contraction and sure enough it came right away.  She checked me again and found that I was in fact ready to push and called the doctor.  About 30 seconds, 2 big pushes and lots of breathing later, our daughter was born.  All in all it totaled 5 hours of labour, 1 longer than I experienced with Colin.  Thankfully though, that one extra hour allowed me to not require stitches afterwards...a nice perk.

Seeing and meeting Addy for the first time is still extremely surreal in my memory.  As much as I wanted and loved her instantly, we really were just meeting for the first time.  I didn't know her and she didn't really know much about me except the sound of my voice and beating of my heart.  With Colin, I felt extremely guilty that I didn't have that instant bond that you hear so many people claim to have with their newly born babies.  This time, I decided that I was not going to rush either of us.  We could take our time, get to know each other and slowly grow the bond that mothers and daughters get to share.

Addy wasn't breathing all that clearly so after the cord was cut they took her to the side to suction her out and clean her up.  It was then that Jason and I got to breath, hug and pick her name.  To us, she just looked like an Addy and that was that.  Audrey is for Jason's maternal grandmother and my paternal grandmother and Clare is a family name on both our sides as well.

The next few hours were spent taking a close look at her, counting fingers and toes and trying to let things sink in.  She was here.  She was a she, and she was ours.  We were starting all over again with a brand new person.