Here is Noah's birth story...
I hit 40 weeks on "Squish's" due date - February 8, 2014 and that morning at 6:30am, my water broke! This photo was actually taken on our way to the hospital that morning.
The night prior, I was having some pretty bad cramping through the night and it had crossed my mind that things may have been progressing, but I didn't think much of it.
February 8, 2014
6:30am
I woke up to go to the washroom (no big surprise there), and felt a lot of fluid trickle down my leg when I stood up. I wasn't 100% sure that it was my water breaking (um, kind of embarrassing if it wasn't, but you never know!), so I went back to bed and laid down for an hour. When I got up the next time, the same thing happened - and it didn't stop. When I went to the washroom this time, there were more "signs" that I was for sure in labour - I'll spare you the gory details.
I woke Trey up and said "Guess what? I'm in labour!" He sat up straight, wide-eyed, and said "WHAT? REALLY?!"... it was pretty cute. We were both calm, but excited. We couldn't believe we were about to have our baby! We were going to meet little Squishy so soon and find out if baby was a boy or a girl.
I was having contractions, but nothing so strong that I couldn't speak or catch my breath - it was mostly just really bad menstrual cramps. I told Trey that I wanted to shower before going to the hospital, so he packed the car up with our bags and I took a shower. We then called the hospital to let them know we were coming in (and to make sure we SHOULD come in, since I wasn't having any major contractions just yet), and they said to come and get checked out and that they might send me home, depending on how things were looking.
Trey laughed at me when he caught me curling my hair and doing my makeup... but he knows me well!
8:30am
We called our "emergency contacts" to let them know what was happening and to make sure someone was able to come and pick up the dogs. Then we were off to the hospital! I recall saying to Trey that it was "a beautiful day to have a baby".. and it was.
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| "Smile, Trey - we are about to have a baby!" |
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| Yes, this is February in Vancouver - can you believe it? |
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| Lions Gate Hospital |
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| Hospital main entrance |
When we arrived it was all very calm and peaceful since my contractions were manageable. We checked in, they saw us to a room, and I was hooked up to the monitoring devices and given the initial check. I was not dilated at all, and since I had tested negative for Strep B, after a couple of hours of monitoring, I was sent home and told to return either (a) when the contractions became unbearable or (b) at 7am the next morning, whichever came first.
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| Baby's heart rate and a print out of my contractions |
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| Contractions were pretty mild at this point |
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| Doing great so far (little did I know how much longer it would be)! |
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| Selfie of the proud parents-to-be |
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| This is where Squishy would have been taken right after birth, had I delivered as planned. |
11:00 am
The next part of the day was the best part. We decided to go and have brunch with Anita, Jeff and Linden at the Pinnacle Hotel. It was lovely - although I was wearing basically a giant old lady diaper (and was convinced everyone would be able to see its bulk through my pants). Once your water breaks it is a constant leak of amniotic fluid and feels like you are peeing your pants. Gross. Too much info?
Anita and Jeff met us at the hotel where we had a really nice brunch and then we all decided to walk around the Village at Park Royal to get my contractions going and to pass the time while we waited for labour to progress. They brought us a beautiful bouquet of flowers, too!
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| Thoughtful Anita put Linden in the "I heart my auntie" T-shirt I had bought for him. |
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| Snuggles with my favourite little one at brunch. |
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| Uncle Trey and Linden, both looking very serious. |
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| The beautiful flowers Anita and Jeff brought for us. |
After that, my contractions were getting a little more intense, so Trey and I spent the rest of the afternoon resting at home and watching movies. We went to bed that evening, still so excited that we would be meeting Squishy soon.
February 9, 2014
4:00am
The contractions were bad enough that we decided to head back to the hospital. I was again hooked up to the monitors and checked out. Still no dilation. I was monitored for a couple of hours before the doctor decided to take the next step.
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| The stove clock as we left the house (again) |
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| 5:05 am we were officially checked in. |
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| Monitoring contractions and heart rate again. |
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| More monitors. |
6:45am
I was now given the option for an epidural since I was in a lot of pain and the nurses said the anesthesiologist was available (and may not be available again until it was too late for an epidural). It was time. This was one of the scariest moments for me. I was literally quivering and shaking and Trey had to hold my hands and legs while the anesthesiologist prepped my back for the epidural.
I'm not kidding when I say that I barely even felt it. The IV in my hand hurt a hell of a lot more than the epidural did. Plus, once the medication started to kick in, I'm pretty sure I told the anesthesiologist that I was in love with him. Trey laughed for hours over that and told all of the nurses what I had said.
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| Happier now with some pain meds |
7:30am
At this point, I still had not progressed at all and it was time to start inducing labour. My water had been broken at this point for 25 hours so they needed to get things moving and get baby out! I was hooked up with oxytocin and told that things should get going pretty soon (ha!).
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| My IV machine, delivering Oxytocin |
8:30am
Now it was time for resting and napping for a few hours. Trey went to get ice chips for me and ran into our friend, Kyle at the ice machine! He and Nicole had JUST met their baby girl, Ella (literally about 15 minutes prior)! Pretty cool to run into friends in the labour ward. By the way, Ella is SO cute!
10:30am
Trey went to get some food and asked Anita to come and stay with me while he left. We are so lucky to have such great friends.
11:00am
Doctor visits and checks me out. My cervix was thinning but still not dilated.
11:30am-1:30pm
Both Trey and I napped on and off.
2:00pm
My pain had been coming back on and off but by 2pm it had intensified quite a lot and the nurse came in to show me how to give myself bolus doses when I needed it.
I haven't mentioned this but I was not allowed to eat or drink anything (besides ice chips) the ENTIRE day. I was absolutely starving and dying of thirst. One of the things I remember most about the day was asking constantly if I could have some food or water and telling Trey I thought I was going to die of starvation and dehydration (maybe a bit dramatic, but I was seriously feeling that way).
2:10pm
With an extra does of epidural, my pain was back under control and the nurse kindly allowed me to eat two saltine crackers with my ice chips.
2:30pm
Trey delivered a little gift and card to Kyle and Nicole's daughter, Ella in their room down the hall.
3:30pm
The nurse checked me again and I was at 3cm dilated. This was progress, but definitely slower than anyone expected. I was hungry, thirsty, and we were both tired. Once the nurse left I wanted to "freshen up". We knew we were in it for the long haul.
For the next 5 hours, I was constantly turned from side to side to encourage baby to make his way downward. We slept on and off and the nurses were constantly adjusting my oxytocin level to get things going.
During this time, my epidural was wearing off. I was in quite a bit of pain on one side of my body or the other, depending on which way I was laying.
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| We had to pass the time... here we are goofing around! |
8:30pm
The doctor returned to check things out and I was only at 4-5cm dilated. At this point we were also told that baby Squish was in the posterior position. He was no longer breach and was now head-down, but was facing my abdomen as opposed to my back. This causes complications - mothers who deliver babies in this position are at higher risk of requiring a c-section or assisted vaginal delivery, greater risk of postpartum haemorrhage, and more likely to have an episiotomy or severe perineal tears. Yikes.
We were given two options: (1) We could give it two more hours to see if anything changed and to hope that baby turned to face backwards, or (2) We could opt for a C-section. I had been in labour for so long and we weren't able to get into surgery until close to midnight anyway, so we had nothing to lose in waiting two more hours.
At this point I was pretty exhausted, scared, and ready for it all to be over, but I wanted to give it my best shot.
9:30pm
Baby's heart rate spiked, causing alarms to go off on the monitors (and causing Mommy to completely panic). Daddy remained very calm as the nurses rushed in. They decided to reduce the oxytocin and baby responded pretty quickly. By this point I was in tears, begging them to get baby out so he wouldn't be stressed. They told me he was fine and that it was just baby trying really hard to get out. They told us he was a strong baby and not to worry; however, now that my oxytocin was reduced, it was unlikely I would progress without the induction meds.
The same thing happened one more time before the doctor returned an hour later. By the time she arrived, we were ready for the next step for SURE. This was the scariest thing to happen throughout my labour.
10:30pm
The doctor returned and let us know that nothing had changed. My c-section was scheduled for around midnight. We were soon told that we were being "bumped" for a more serious case and that the c-section would be closer to 1am.
February 10, 2014
12:45am
I was prepped for surgery while Trey was given some scrubs. Since my epidural was no longer effective, they had to remove the epidural needle and give me a spinal block instead. This was just as scary but again I didn't feel it. The spinal is one shot of medication so they don't have to leave a needle in your back, but numbs you so much that you can't even wiggle your toes. I was happy to be fully "frozen" for the c-section, especially given the fact that my epidural was failing.
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| My hubby in scrubs = hot! |
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| We kept the scrubs to bring home - they were super comfy and Trey can use them to lounge around the house - which again, is super hot! ;) |
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| Off I go to surgery... I was happy and excited to meet baby, but so scared. |
1:30am
Our big boy arrived! The procedure was very fast and he was with us before we knew it! Trey was able to bring the camera into the operating room and was able to sit with me during the procedure (thank goodness - I was terrified).
When they handed baby to Trey (still unnamed), he was breathing very rapidly and his breathing was shallow. Trey was able to hold him and show him to me. It felt so surreal and we were so worried about him. Within about 5 minutes, they whisked him off to the NICU. It all happened so quickly. Trey went with him and I was left on the table as they stapled me up.
There were three things the doctors wanted to keep an eye on with baby, and for those reasons he was going to be kept in the NICU for the night. Firstly, his breathing wasn't quite right. It was quick and shallow and he didn't seem to be able to take a proper breath. Second, he had a bit of a fever. They wanted to make sure he didn't have any infection, since my water had been broken for so long and he was susceptible to infection. Lastly, because he was so big (9 lbs 1 oz), they wanted to check on his blood sugar levels.
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| The paediatrician, tending to Noah right after he was born. |
Trey and I were so devastated that he couldn't come back to our room with us that night. Since I had to recover for at least an hour under nurse supervision, I was also not able to go and see him in the NICU for what felt like forever. Trey went back and forth between Noah and I - which was when we decided on his name. We had about 5 girls' names and 5 boys' names ready and we had narrowed the boys' names down to our top 2: Ethan and Noah.
I wanted to wait until I saw him to decide. It sounds crazy, but as soon as I saw him I just "knew" his name. Trey wasn't as convinced that baby's face had to "match" his name, but he also preferred Noah at the time. We had always intended on giving him Henry as a middle name (same as Trey).
4:00am
I was finally allowed to see Noah and the nurse wheeled me into the NICU. I still couldn't feel my toes (or anything below my breasts, which was a very weird sensation). We weren't allowed to hold him because he was strapped up to monitors and in an incubator. That was so heartbreaking for us.
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| Baby Noah in the NICU |
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| Our swollen little angel in the incubator. |
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| The heart rate monitor on his tiny foot. |
They let us sit with him and talk to him for a little while, but were then encouraged to get some sleep before the special care nursery reopened at 8am (when we were going to be allowed to return to see him).
I hated, hated, hated leaving him. We didn't know if any of his issues would be resolved and although nobody seemed overly worried about him, we weren't given any answers before we were sent off. It was too soon to know.
The paediatrician came by to check on him and to speak with us. The nurses had hinted that Noah might have to stay in the NICU for a few more days, but they couldn't tell us why. Thankfully, the paediatrician said that all of the issues he had the night prior had resolved themselves in the past 4 hours and he was a very healthy boy who was able to come back to our room with us!
We went to our room (well, I was wheeled there on my stretcher) and they transferred me onto my other hospital bed - very roughly, I might say! Good thing I couldn't feel anything. Then we slept for a few hours. Trey says I fell asleep within minutes. I'm not surprised, as we had been awake for nearly 40-something hours almost straight (aside from a few light naps), 37 hours of which I had been labouring.
February 11, 2014
7:30am
I woke promptly at 7:30, almost like I knew the nursery would be opening soon. Trey woke up a few minutes later when the nurse came in to check on me. When she left, we looked at each other and all of the emotion and exhaustion of the last three days set in. One of us said "We have a son" (can't remember which one said that), and we both burst into tears. We held each other and cried for a good 10 minutes.
We were instantly so in love with this tiny human being and I couldn't wait another minute to see him. I was dying to breast feed and to be able to hold him. I still didn't have all of the feeling in my legs so I had to be put into a wheelchair. This was the most painful thing I can ever remember experiencing. The nurse told me to wait - that I could see him as soon as the pain subsided a bit - but I wouldn't wait another moment. In tears, wanting to scream from the pain, I lowered myself into the wheelchair and off we went.
When we arrived at the NICU, they handed Noah to me and let me try nursing him. He latched on right away and fed like a champ. I was so overwhelmed with emotion. I think on and off, I basically cried that whole day (and the next three) out of love, happiness, and exhaustion. Trey was still in his scrubs and he also got to hold Noah. This was also the first time I was allowed to eat anything, so I was very happily sipping on some apple juice and eating a banana.
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| First photo of Daddy and Noah! |
We were overjoyed!
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| Back in our room with Noah - as you can see, he is hungry already. |
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| The cutest little peanut I have ever seen. |
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| Mommy's name on his ankle.. and that cute foot! |
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| My angel. |
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| In his alien onesie - the biggest one the nursery had! |
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| Perfect, beautiful baby. |
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| Noah's first bath! |
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| Nursing. Peach fuzz all over. I absolutely love it. This fuzz is gone now and I miss it! |
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| Holding hands. |
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| A sleepy little smile. |
Little Noah Henry Geiger, your Mommy and Daddy love you more than you could ever imagine. You were such a brave little guy, trying so hard to get out for so long. You were so strong in the special care nursery, and we are so proud of you. You are different from what we imagined - and yet you're everything we ever could have dreamed of. We love your button nose, your big lips, and your blue eyes.. We love your tiny ears, your pudgy hands, your chubby cheeks and your soft blond hair... We love when you hold our fingers in your tiny hands... We love when you keep us up all night so you can eat and eat and eat... You're a little miracle. You're a perfect blend of your Mommy and Daddy. You're a big, healthy boy and we know you're going to have such a fun personality. We want every minute of every day to pass slowly so we can drink it all in. You're a little piece of heaven that we have somehow been blessed enough to be a part of. We can't believe you are "ours" and that we get to spend the rest of our lives being your Mommy and Daddy. Thank you for making our lives so much fuller, happier, and richer. We can't picture a day without you in it. We love you so, so much.
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