I will warn anyone preparing to read this that there is quite a few descriptions of my induction, labour and delivery that you may not want to read.
We recently welcomed another new baby to our family. After the very different birth stories for my first two children, I felt like I knew what was coming. I had had a c-section as well as a vaginal delivery, how could this birth be hugely different from both the other two? It would certainly have to be similar to one of them. As the days went by I started losing hope of having another vaginal birth. The further past my due the more likely a c-section seemed, especially since I had gestational diabetes and was doomed to have a gigantic baby anyway. At five days past due we had an appointment at the induction clinic. We had no idea what would happen, if we would simply talk about our options and then have an appointment made for the induction or if they would just start the induction while we were there. I was done with this pregnancy well before this appointment, so I knew, if I were given the choice I would opt to be induced as soon as possible. Well, I was given that choice. The process was started while we were there. This was where this child’s story became very different from both my other children. Because my first child was delivered via c-section, the usual beginning point of induction was not an option. For anyone who has been through an induction, this would be Cervidil, which used to be a cream that was used to try to get dilation started, now it is an insert. For previous c-section mothers this is not an option because the medication can cause excessive irritation around the incision site, or something along those lines. So, instead, I was given a foley balloon catheter. It is exactly what it sounds like, and just as uncomfortable as it sounds. The put a tube with a deflated balloon up into the opening of my cervix, then they inflated the balloon with water. It put some extra pressure on the opening of my cervix in the hopes of getting my labour started. Contractions started almost immediately after they inserted the catheter, less than five minutes apart, fairly intense, but not unbearable. The nurse gave me the instructions of; if I cannot talk through the contractions to come back, as the instructions I was given prior to receiving the catheter was if the contractions are consistently five minutes apart to come back. Otherwise, if labour did not begin on its own, I was to return to the hospital 12 hours later – midnight. The contractions lasted for several hours, they even became more intense, then they stopped for a few hours before we were to head back into the hospital. When we returned to the hospital at midnight, we were taken straight to the birth units to be induced. The next step was Oxytocin. They began with small doses of Oxytocin and increased the dosage every 30 minutes. This began at one in the morning, and we spent the evening waiting for the balloon to fall out. At seven, when the shift changed, my day time nurse suggested tugging on the balloon a bit to see if it would fall out with a bit of help, and it did. Now, it was time for my water to be broken. The nurse went off in search of a doctor to break my water. Shortly after there was a doctor in the room ready to break my water. But, no such luck. She checked my cervix to see if she would be able to break my water, and she tells us that she can feel a little hand. The doctor explained that breaking my water was not an option at this point because of the hand, if she had broken my water I would have needed a c-section. I was not interested in another c-section, so I was sent out to walk the hallways some more. After walking the hallways for a bit, my doctor arrived to break my water. No little hand this time, so my water was broken. Now, with my first, my doctor broke my water as well, so I knew what to expect, but it did not go the same. It seemed to only partially break. Then, a little while later, when I got up to go to the bathroom, the rest gushed all over the floor, much like in the movies. Gross! Things picked up after this, the contractions became much more intense, and with little space between for a breath. It took a long time for my cervix to dilate past the three to four centimetres that it was at when the balloon fell out. I was asked to change how I was laying because the baby’s heart rate was dropping during contractions. Then, I was asked to change positions because the baby was not facing the right direction. Well, after the last change, which I was not keen on because it was painful and tiring, it did not take long to dilate. Then came the pushing. With my first I never made it to this point, while with my second I got to this point but was so terrified to push that I told them for two or three contractions that I didn’t feel like I needed to push even though I did. Well, with this one when the feeling came there was no stopping it. My body couldn’t seem to remember how to push properly, but I was pushing. Not even fifteen minutes later, Thomas was born. My gigantic gestational diabetes baby weighed only 7 lbs 14 oz and the nurse told us that he was was an early baby, not a post-dates baby, in spite of knowing the exact date of my last period and the conception date.