Welcome to the World Quintin Roy Dufour :)

On Sunday, July 28, 2013, at 10:11pm our family of three became at family of four....

I had a rough two weeks of on again and off again labour (also known as "fake" labour or "prodromal" labour).  Nothing is more of a let down than thinking "this is it" and then it just stops suddenly.

Saturday, the night before I had him, I was having some major "fake labour" going on.  I didn't get excited because I figured it would stop, and sure enough it did. I had a few contractions that woke me up every hour through the night but shook it off as being fake.  We went visiting in the morning, and then came home to put Ethan down for a nap.

I wasn't feeling great so I took a nap too - or tried to at least.  Every minute that passed I felt more and more sick to my stomach and just decided that I couldn't handle this "fake labour" anymore.  I took a shower and went on my hands and knees and wouldn't you know.... my water broke!!  The only issue was that it wasn't just amniotic fluid but dark red blood - a sure sign of placenta issues (later to be found to be a partial placental abruption).

We paged the Midwife and she met us at the hospital.  She did an internal check and said I was a good 4 cm dilated.  So we headed to the birthing suite.  From the time my water broke to the time we got to the hospital and set up in the room it had been an hour and this is when my contractions started to pick up.  My plan was for an unmedicated birth so I was breathing the best I could through every contraction up to the "peak" and then tried to relax until the next one came.  They came faster and faster and harder and stronger, but I stuck to it and I breathed while being coached by Ryan.

It came to a point where it was starting to become unbearable and I wanted some sort of relief.  Out came the Nitrous Oxide and even though the pain was still there I was able to relax and breathe again through each contraction.  And with the gas, it never crosses the placenta to the baby (bonus!).  At this point she checked me again (it was about 2 hours since contractions started) and I was 8 cm - I was in transition!  Oh boy was I ever!  I kept begging for relief so we tried different positions but hands and knees, leaning over a bean bag were the best for me.

My Midwife kept asking me to tell her when I felt change...she must know the signs because every time she asked, I felt it.  She looked at me skeptical a couple times but she decided to check me and I was past 8cm.  She asked again if things changed about 20 minutes later and again I said yes... sure enough it was time for my body to push.  I had no control over this and could not stop my body from doing this.

As I was pushing, Quinn's heartbeat was dipping down to 80/90 BPM.  This baby wanted and needed to come out as soon as possible.  We had to consult with the OB on call, so he came and assisted with the birth.  If you know me, you know my hips are small, which results in a pelvis that doesn't open much, which in turn, does not allow my babies to descent into the birth canal as they should!  So out came the vacuum to assist Quinn down.  I was pushing for about half hour to get him to crown and finally, with assistance he did.  And then a few more pushes and he was born.

He was born with Shoulder Dystocia but luckily no complications came out of it except for some soft tissue injury and muscle tightness which lifted the shoulder blade spine out a bit.  (Chiropractic care is treating this).  I also lost a lot of blood from the abruption of my placenta but nothing that required a blood transfusion.

Quintin Roy Dufour was born into this world at 10:11pm weighing 8lb 11oz and 20.5" long.  I had a 4 hour labour/delivery and had my planned unmedicated birth experience.  And I am so happy that I stuck with it because recovery is absolutely amazing.  I had a "skid mark" tear which did not require stitches and was able to walk around one hour (probably earlier) after the delivery.  I felt like a million bucks after delivery and even the next day was full of energy.  Post Partum healing and emotions, for the most part have been great and I can still chase my 1.5 year old Ethan around (if need be), although I have still been trying to rest as much as possible.

Breastfeeding is going great - my mature milk came in 2 days after delivery and he is one little piggy when it comes to milk.  Since I stayed an extra night in the hospital (due to observation for his shoulder and the fact that I had Group B Strep and wasn't in labour long enough to administer the proper dosage of antibiotics to him - he is fine though), I nursed around the clock - and I really mean it - like every 2 hours on the dot), so that most definitely helped my mature milk come in fast!! Breastfeeding for a year before with Ethan also contributed as well.  His latch was perfect from the get go and I am so thankful that we have not run into any issues.  That was a major "fear" of mine because of the trouble I had with Ethan, but no, not with Quinn.  He's a natural born nurser :D

I haven't decided yet if I'm going to change blog sites but if I do I will be sure to post a link.  I'll update soon with how the first week has been.