my pregnancy labour and delivery story, sorry long
posted 8th Sep
The Pregnancy and Birth Story for Quinnton Anthony van Wiltenburg
*Warning very graphic*
To be able to tell the story I have to go back a bit and re-cap the pregnancy as I was induced due to hypertension and possible growth restriction.
On December 25, 2011 I found out I was pregnant; my last period had been on November 4, 2011. I woke up Adrian and said “Merry Christmas Daddy” before heading to work, his response was “you FINALLY got a positive test?!?!?!” Apparently I had been quite moody and not so pleasant. I was approximately 3.5 weeks pregnant (going by LMP 7 weeks, 2 days). Told my Mom that night via a Christmas card for grandma, and she too had already figured it out.
December 27, 2011 went to properties medical clinic to confirm my pregnancy, get blood work and a dating ultrasound as I knew my dates were off as all through November I never got a positive test.
At 4 weeks I woke up and had a lung infection, was put on anti-biotics for that.
On January 7, 2012 (5 weeks 2 days, LMP 9 weeks 3 day, I had spotting and was passing clots. Adrian and I headed to the hospital. The doctor in Emergency tried to do an abdominal ultrasound and said the sac looked to be 5-6 weeks, nothing near 9 weeks. I thought I was having another miscarriage. The emerg doctor ordered a proper ultrasound for the next day, which Adrian couldn’t come to as he had tech at church, so my Mom took me. The doctor told me again that I was between 5-6 weeks and that my dating ultrasound should help, and that I was having a threatened miscarriage.
On January 16, 2012 at 3:20pm Adrian and I went to CML for my ultrasound, Adrian wasn’t allowed to come inside during this. The tech found baby without a problem and a heartbeat!!!!!!!!!!! I was told I was 6 weeks and 3 days, due September 6, 2012, heartbeat of 126.
My first prenatal appt with Dr. Lasaleta was on January 18, 2012 at 6 weeks 5 days.
On February 23, 2012 I went to beddington EFW for my nuchal translucency ultrasound, 12 week and baby was doing good and viable, Daddy got to see this one!!!!!!
I had spotting again on February 25, 2012 and went back to emergency as per the doctors orders. The dr grabbed the ultrasound machine and baby was doing summersaults, and just fine.
February 27, 2012 went to the doctor for a weird pain I was getting in my right foot, was put on antibiotics again for a cellulitis infection. Thankfully they worked and I didn’t end up in emergency again.
April 12, 2012 at 19 weeks we found out we were having a BOY!
March 21, 2012 I was so excited I got on with the Calgary Midwives cooperative!
May 2, 2012 had a bad appointment with the midwives and my blood pressure was 140/80. I went back to Dr. Lasaleta after this one.
May 4, 2012 my ankles swelled rapidly.
May 5, 2012 my ankles and legs swelled very much, bp was 140/92 then 151/96 an hour apart. I called health link and they got me in to the mosaic after hours clinic on May 6, 2012. Had to do a 24 hour urinalysis.
May 9, 2012 saw Dr. Lasaleta and was encouraged to go on bed rest, explained my job wasn’t stressful and I felt fine.
May 10, 2012 swelling and BP 140/91.
May 15, 2012 I had to go to labour and delivery as my bp was 136/103. Put on bed rest and antenatal care.
June 18, 2012 was going to be taken off home care and my bp spiked 150/93.
June 28, 2012 I got on with the high risk ob/gyns, 30 weeks pregnant.
July started going really well, my bp came down to optimal levels, I was release from home care and able to go on vacation to BC with Adrian from July 15-22, 2012 (32-33 weeks pregnant.) I saw the internal specialist on the 12th as my pulse was so high.
July 24, 2012 had an ultrasound and baby was measuring 6lbs 3.3 oz, 95%!!!!!! BIG BABY. 33 weeks and 5 days.
August 7, 2012 I saw the ob/gyn my bp was super high again, blood work and an ultrasound was ordered. Baby hadn’t grown in 2 weeks, measuring 6lbs 4oz, 50%. I knew something was wrong, and movements had slowed way down.
August 12, 2012 my bp went to 160/99, and we were heading to labour and delivery again! We saw Dr. Lamb and after talking we decided I was going to be induced, at first on August 16, 2012 when I was 37 weeks, but I expressed all my concern and we agreed to do it on August 14, 2012 at 11:00am!!!!!!!!
Labour Story
Tuesday August 14, 2012 (36 weeks and 5 days) Adrian and I headed to the Peter Lougheed Centre at 10:15am, stopped at 7’11 for Daddy to get some coffee, a smoothie for me and some Gatorade.
We parked and were at the hospital by 10:45am. We went straight to admitting like we were told to, and they told us to come back once I was for sure being admitted, this news made us both nervous that something had come up and this was all going to be delayed.
So we check in at labour and delivery triage, I get all hooked up to the monitors and we wait.
At about 12:00PM the resident came to speak to us. She kept saying that I was so early to be induced (36 weeks and 5 days,) that induction wasn’t taken lightly and that maybe they should just send me home for another ultrasound to see if baby had grown at all. She then said she would be speaking to my ob/gyn who had ordered the induction to find out all the details. We were ticked and choked at this news but ready to fight for our little guy.
At 12:55pm blood work was drawn.
At 1:25pm the resident finally comes back, I get my first check. I’m a little finger tip and super soft. I get my first dose of prostin gel, which I’m told can be repeated up to 3 times, 6 hours apart when I would also be checked. It starts to BURN! I’m also put on the monitors for an hour and a half after each dose to make sure baby can tolerate it.
At 2:45pm we’re finally admitted for sure, Adrian goes down to admitting and gets me a private room to labour in thankfully!
I get into my room 3220 at 3:00pm it has bed, the non stress test monitor, a reclining chair, a regular chair, a tiny closet, a sink, a little side table (stores medical stuff,) a bathroom with a sink, shower, toilet, lotion, mouth sterilizer, and other such things. The nurse we have right now is named Wendy and she is quite nice. We get told I will be monitored for a minimum of 30 mins every 4 hours.
At 3:50pm Adrian and I go for a walk hoping to help my labour progress (I was getting contractions called doubles and triples when you get two or three in a row without a break, it was also during this time that baby flipped so I was in back labour) and to get some food. I had fruit, chocolate milk, I grabbed a bag of hickory sticks and had a few of them (finished them a week and a bit later when I was pumping milk,) Adrian had a burger and fries. We stopped at the gift shop and picked up a peoples magazine.
4:30pm back in the room waiting for some hospital dinner, we’ll see if it’s any good…..it wasn’t great. Ever tried a stale rice cake, not good at all. The chicken shockingly was good.
7:30pm waiting to be check and get 2nd dose of prostin gel, getting contractions every 2-4 mins apart, still doubling and tripling, Adrian was able to help me breathe through them.
August 15, 2012
1:44am still waiting for a doctor and my second dose of prostin, contractions have stalled out at this time. Adrian and I are tired and cranky.
3:15am monitored on the NST machine, still waiting as the residents and doctors keep having to do deliveries and c-sections. We walk the hall of the ward often to help keep things going as I can’t sleep and we’re trying to get the contractions going again. The joys of being induced during a baby boom!
3:37am We’re both trying to sleep, Adrian’s ticked feeling like I’ve been forgotten about, I’m just feeling despair and like I’m never going to have this baby and very very warm.
4:20am the same resident came back (she was pulling a 24 hour shift) I finally get my second dose of prostin, I’m finally 1cm but my cervix is still super far back and checks really hurt. Contractions start up within 20mins of this dose. I’m on the monitors for an hour and half- two hours after this dose. I had to lie on my back for this monitoring which is why baby flipped back to back.
* Contractions get so bad that once I’m off the monitors I have to stand up and lean over the sink and do pelvic rocking and swinging my hips for each one (now always triples) to relieve some pressure on my back, and I stop being able to update or note what’s going on. I’m fully focused on getting through each contraction. Adrian helps me to breathe by making me watch his face and telling me to breathe in slowly and deeply. I’m so thirsty and drink after each contraction stops, happening every 2 mins and lasting between 3-5 mins sometimes longer because of the tripling. Adrian is also doing some counter pressure on my lower back with his fist I make him push with all his strength, this helps a lot! I get really bad full body shakes starting that seem to happen in between each contraction*
11:05am 3rd and final dose of prostin is administered, I’m still only 1cm but my cervix has moved a little more forward. I ask for some gravol as I’m feeling really sick and like throwing up. I get encouraged to take a shot of gravol and morphine together as they help each other work, it would help my body relax a bit to stop the extreme shaking and to get a little rest. I say ok as I’m desperate at this point for a little rest. After getting the shot (from the most amazing nurse Leslie) the shakes soon stop, I don’t feel like throwing up and I’m able to sleep in between contractions.
11:45am morphine has fully kicked in and I’m now able to get some rest.
1:00pm My Mom arrives and relieves Adrian so he can go home, get some food, a nap and a shower.
3:17pm contractions start getting so intense that every time I try to lie down or sit I have to stand up and lean over the sink.
4:30pm re-checked by Dr. Ekwalanga (dr who originally put me on bed rest) still only 1cm and my cervix is in the middle but she was able to pull it forward more.
4:45pm started throwing up all liquids that I had gotten down all day, no food as I hadn’t eaten.
5:00pm Adrian comes back, my Mom goes to leave and I broke down asking her not to leave.
*I keep throwing up to the point its stomach vile. I kick Adrian out at some point as he doesn’t deal well with throw up. At some point I go to the washroom and see I’ve started bleeding with large clots, my mom called for Adrian to get a nurse fast. They keep telling me it could be my cervix thinning out (later found out my placenta had started to detach.) I’m now continuously monitored in the bed unless I have to use the washroom.*
Approximately 9:00pm I’m checked again and between 2.5-3cm and the doctor decides they’re going to get me into a labouring room and break my water. Got another dose of morphine and gravol at some point during this, I’m also taking the laughing gas at this point and it’s really helping with the back labour. I became delirious to the point that I was verbally responded to text messages without my cell phone, and mentally awake that I was talking out loud doing this and having no control over it.
August 16, 2012
My labouring nurse comes to help get us moved over and get the IV started, the first one in my left wrist didn’t work and the nurse Brittany feels really bad as she made my vein burst, she got someone else to get the second one in. My contractions are so bad by this point I am physically unable to walk to the delivery room and they take me in a wheel chair.
1:00am we are finally in a delivery room, the doctor comes and breaks my water, it was at this time he stated I needed an internal monitor, when I asked why he said that I had to have it for the baby (I guess baby’s heart had started to decel with the bleeding hence the continuous monitoring previously.) Adrian asked about the risks, I knew something was up as we weren’t really given a choice as it was fairly urgent or I’d need a c-section. I was offered an epidural at this point and was able to decline.
Around 2:00am I asked for the epidural as I was at my breaking point, I was about 7-8cm and not able to relax enough to get further along, and the contractions got so much worse after my water was broken. The anesthesiologist came in, took my gas away L then said he couldn’t find the spot he needed in my spine, he continued to feel around, and said he was going to try and get it, I told him I was having a contraction hoping he’s wait but he didn’t!
The nurses continue to check my numbness and we find out that I could feel everything and I wasn’t numb at all. The anesthesiologist comes back and asks if I want to try again, I say not really, I’m feeling everything and how do we know the next one will take or do anything, and just to give me another shot of morphine, which I’m told I can no longer get. I at some point consent to trying again, this time he tries with the needle about 4 times before he decided it was in a decent spot. This did help a fair bit with the pain and numbing it but it still didn’t take the way it should have as I could still feel cold on my tummy. During this I feel baby flip back over into the right way as I was more relaxed. I was able to sleep a bit and get some ice chips now and then depending on the nurse. The ob didn’t want me having anything as he was certain I was going to end up in a c-section.
3:45am called the nurse saying I feel so much pressure and wanting to push, the ob dr.Castilo came and checked me after the nurse checked me I was between 7-8cm and not progressing.
4:04am I continue to get checked and make no changes, the nurse decides to go ask the dr about starting me on oxytocin.
At 5:00am I was put on the oxytocin drip, I continue to not progress the way I should with the drip pretty much maxed out.
I get a foley catheter put it at some point rather then them using the regular catheter.
Check at 9:30am and the lip of my cervix is all that is left, figured in about an hour I would be ready to push.
At 10:45am I was checked again without any change, heart rate kept dropping every contraction and the nurse had to rub baby’s head to keep it level or steadier. At 11:00am we did a practice push with her pushing my cervix back and the nurses we’re shocked they said I was doing very very well (because of this I was able to prevent a c-section.) Due to the heart rate dropping so much the nurse called for the ob and the nicu, I was so focused on pushing I didn’t realize how dangerous this situation was until I saw my mom crying, I told Adrian to go be with her. I kept telling Adrian not to look and to stop looking. According to Adrian I had 6 contractions total before baby was born; the ob was there for the last two. I would push 3 times within a contraction for a long ten seconds. The ob rushed in, quickly shook my hand and said we’re going to need the vacuum now. I felt baby’s head come out and then his shoulders, I know the epidural wasn’t in full affect as I could feel myself tear. I was so thankful for him to have been out that I looked down and was shocked by the amount of dark hair he had.
He didn’t cry when he was born at 11; 24am, and I said something along the lines of “I guess we can’t do delayed cord clamping can we?’ as they rushed him over to the waiting team. When he finally cried I realized I could feel myself being stitched up from my second and third degree tear, I tore all the way down and a bit upwards.
I had no recollection of delivering the placenta, I guess Adrian was over with baby and my mom was up by me rubbing my forehead and I was told to give a little push.
Quinnton finally cried after about a minute, he came out grey and purple with the cord wrapped around his neck tightly twice. He did this when he first flipped around and then when he flipped back. Shockingly enough both his apgar scores were 9 and 9. My placenta was so severely calcified it was pretty much dead, hence why Quinnton had stopped growing. I got my placenta encapsulated and I am so thankful for that. The only two things I got from my birth plan were no episiotomy and my placenta encapsulated.
Quinnton Anthony van Wiltenburg was born at 11:24am on August 16, 2012 weighing 6 pounds 7.8 ounces, 20.5 inches long.
The first week was rough with Quinnton having jaundice due to the cephalahematoma caused by the vacuum, and not being fed for his first 8 hours as I was unable to nurse him and he was given a bottle of formula at 7:35pm. Amongst other things.
quoteI have 1 child & 5 angel babies & live in
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