It's A Girl!

Whew. What a weekend!

Friday was a long and miserable day. I was hot, pregnant, miserable and I just wasn't feeling right. By time Ian got home from work I was incredibly crabby, and shortly after he got home I started feeling crampy in my belly. I was pretty sure that I was constipated, so aside from complaining about it to Ian, I didn't do much except suffer. That night was long, I was crampy and sore all night long, and I only slept for about an hour or so. By time morning came I was still pretty certain it was my bowels, but Ian convinced me to call a nurse to ask, just in case.

So, Saturday morning I called the nurse, and she recommended that we go in to the hospital because it sounded like I was in labour. We were supposed to go look at houses, so we called our agent and let him know we would need to reschedule, and would likely go out in the afternoon instead of the morning. We got to the hospital and after taking my history, they decided to check things out down there. I was 4 cm dilated! I really was in labour. The nurses wanted to send me home, they figured I was too happy to be a concern, but when the Dr. came and checked me out he told them to admit me.

So, I paced around for a few hours as the contractions got more intense, and at 4:30 in the afternoon the Dr came and broke my waters. I was still only 4 cm dilated, but my contractions were very regular and more painful. After my waters were broken it got even more painful, and I tried out the nitrous oxide. It helped a little, but as things progressed it just didn't cut it. At 7:30 I was still at 4 cm, but they gave me an epidural anyways. By 8:30 I was at 6 cm, and while the I was still feeling the contractions, the pain medication made it tolerable for the time being. By 9:30 I was shaking, and the pain was incredible. The nurse checked and said that I was just about at 10 cm, and that she would go out and get things ready for the delivery. The minute she left another contraction hit, and I felt myself pushing. I told Ian (shrieked at him) and he tried to tell me not too push. The next contraction I felt the baby's head move down, and an awful burn. The nurse and the doctor hurried in, and after 15 more minutes of pushing, the baby was born! It was amazingly quick and while incredibly painful, it was worth it.

It's amazing how different this experience was from Marys birth. With Mary I was exhausted and overwhelmed. Nothing seemed to go right, for the delivery itself there were 8 other people in the room and I didn't get to hold Mary for almost 24 hours after she was born. This time it was easy, my body did everything it needed too, it was just Ian, the Dr and the nurse in the room, and I was able to cuddle Frances right away. From the minute she was born she was never out of my sight. With Mary, even though there were tonnes of complications they discharged me from the hospital less than 24 hours after she was born, but with Frances they kept me for two full days.

The only real problem I had this time around was that I was in isolation for the whole time because I had been in the hospital in Edmonton, and everyone is paranoid about an antibiotic resistant bacteria (I think it's called MRSV) that has been found in Alberta hospitals. I told them that I was tested in Edmonton and was negative, but they weren't taking any risks. So I was trapped in my room, and anyone who came to see me had to wear a gown, mask and gloves. It was pretty ridiculous, but I did get a private room for free out of the whole deal.

Things are still going surprisingly well now that we are home. Mary has taken the new baby in stride and enjoys giving her kisses and sharing her stuffed animals with her. We'll see how long it is till the novelty of a baby around wears off, but for now I'm just enjoying watching my girls together.