Many of you already know the details surrounding our baby's birth. Yet, I feel compelled to write it all down if not for posterity then for myself as part of the healing process. His actual birth was easy and a blessing. I'm still processing through the events before and after - not all pleasant memories. I invite you to read or not. There aren't too many gory details, but be forewarned nonetheless.
On Wednesday, December 6, we had a regular weekly appointment with our midwife. My blood pressure had spiked to 160/100 and she recommended we go directly to the hospital for a non-stress test on the baby. They hook you to a fetal monitor and give you a button to press every time you feel the baby move. The baby performed well, but the OB on duty felt that my health was in jeopardy due to the risk of preeclampsia which can develop rapidly. He wanted to admit me immediately to start inducing labor. We begged for the opportunity to go home and pack some things and eat supper, promising to return by 7 p.m. He relented unhappily.
We sped home in a flurry of emotion. I was alternately happy that we'd get to meet the baby two weeks earlier than we had thought and broken-hearted that the birth of my child would take place in a hospital with some pretty serious medical interventions.
As promised, we returned to the hospital that evening. Upon learning that they wouldn't start the induction until Thursday morning, we left the hospital to sleep at home. They wouldn't have let Mark stay with me and I couldn't face the prospect of sleeping alone in the hospital. Victoria General is far from charming - it's a large cement box with cheap pastel decorations. The overall feel is one of being in an institution in a former communist country.
Thursday morning, we were back at 7 for the first phase of the induction - the use of Cervidil to soften the cervix. However, the midwives wanted the attending OB to examine me first. We waited for him until 1 p.m. He finally arrived to authorize the induction, but it was too late to start that day. We would have to wait. We headed home again for the night.
On Friday, they actually did start the Cervidil at 8 a.m. Nothing really happened. I continued to have fairly regular Braxton-Hicks contractions, but no more progress was made. We stayed in the hospital Friday night. I didn't mind since I was pretty sure we'd have the baby by the next night and a kind nurse found a place for Mark to sleep
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