Our Hospital Adventure

I suffered through a month or contractions leading up to Keira's birth. Finally, on the night of Mother's Day, they were right on top of each other and getting more intense, so we headed to the hospital. When we got there we were a little worried they'd send us home, we'd had our share of false alarms. But right away they started talking epidural. When I asked, they told me they kept us because I was having regular contractions -- 3-5 minutes apart and I was five days past my due date. Thank God! When first the nurse asked me, I told her I didn't want an epidural, Scott said, "Are you kidding??? Do you remember last time?" I guess I didn't. I told him that mothers don't remember, we can't, if we did we'd never have two.

Finally, I did decide to have an epidural, mainly because I was so tired of having contractions -- a month was plenty. I was so glad that I did! Once the epidural took effect, I felt the pain fog lift, and I realized just how badly I'd been feeling. I told my Mom later that night, that I felt better than I had in a long time. I didn't have to pee (I had a catheter) and for those of you who've been pregnant you know what a relief that is at this stage. I wasn't having contractions. Furthermore, I wasn't worried about Eli -- Dendi was at our house. My Mom, Scott and I stayed in the delivery room all night, trying to rest. They told me that since my doctors weren't on call, they'd wait until morning to think about kick starting me with pitossin. I wasn't fussed, as I said I was more comfortable than I'd been in recent memory. Finally, at about seven o'clock the next morning, they put me on pitossin. They slowly increased it until about eight o'clock.

At about nine o'clock I was feeling increasing pressure, I mentioned it to the nurse, she checked me and said, "Whoa, hang on, let me get Heather." My midwife, Heather, came in and exclaimed as well. She said, "Now that's how you have a baby!" She'd only been on duty for about two hours. They prepped me and the room as quickly as they could and then on my next contraction told me to start pushing. On my second push, they told told me to slow down. Huh? Slow down? This was only my second push. But, sure enough, that's all it took. Two pushes, and I had a new baby girl. Surprisingly, she had a head full of what appeared to be black hair! Interestingly, depending on where you look, the name Keira means "black" or "black hair". Later I told my Mom that labor was an enjoyable way to spend an evening. I'd had a restful evening, then after two pushes the next morning I had a baby. Epidurals are pretty amazing. I also realized after feeling the effects of a successful epidural, that mine never really took with Eli. I had suspected as much, but having a good one confirmed it.

Here's a picture of Keira immediately after birth, showing off her head of dark hair. In this picture, her face reminds me of Eli's upset expression.


Here's a shot of Scott and I bonding with our baby girl after she got cleaned up, weighed and measured.


Very quickly after Keira was born, Dendi and Eli arrived so that he could meet his new baby sister. He's proved to be an amazing big brother, and he still loves to cuddle, hold, and "love" her. He says, "I love my baby."



Unfortunately, Keira was born with a fever of 101, so we had to stay in the hospital for 48 hours while they did a culture of her blood. All of her tests came back fine, but it was a little bit of a bummer to have to stay for an extra night. It was especially hard because I missed Eli. He actually spent both nights with us, which helped to alleviate my guilt a bit. He spent his days with his Grandmas who were wonderful to take him, and allow us a little much needed rest. The upside of staying in the hospital for so long was there was plenty of time for visits from the family. Here are some pictures of Keira with Eli, his two Grandmas, Bapa, and Aunt Seana. Uncle Jason, Auntie Andrea, and Babo came to meet Keira at the hospital too, but unfortunately I didn't have my camera for their visits.







The only other drama in the hospital centered around breastfeeding. Keira was very hungry. The first day she nursed well, but by the second day she went on a feeding strike and was actually getting mad when I tried to feed her. I remember the same thing happened with Eli. I'm not sure if I produce less colostrum than other women, or if this is normal. Two nurses continued suggesting supplementing, which made me angry. I know from reading up on the subject and talking to friends who supplemented that this is a slippery slope. The more you supplement, the less milk you make, and before you know it you aren't nursing anymore. I just couldn't believe that the nurses were pushing me so hard, if I knew about breastfeeding and supplementing, didn't they? Finally, the lactation specialist spent some quality time with me, and we got over our hump. Despite the fact that she had returned to nursing normally, one of those nurses wouldn't let me go home without formula. I never used it, and my milk came in that night. I'm still a little peeved. I guess I'm militant about my breastfeeding opinions. Thankfully, now that my milk has come in we aren't having any problems with supply. Keira often coughs while nursing, and Scott chuckled saying something about standing at the bottom of Niagara Falls trying to get a glass of water. Fortunately, our nursing future looks bright.

In closing, here's one of the funniest pictures snapped of Keira in the hospital. Dendi caught her mid-yawn. When she yawns, it's as if her face is being possessed by the yawn, she's completely taken over by it.