It's been too long since the birth of our baby for a blog entry, i agree. I am mostly guilty of this fact for those of you who havent heard yet of the big news for various reasons (you arent my facebook friend or we dont have your email address, or the address we have for you doesnt work [the wollmans for one! can you send me your address again because every time i email you it gets sent back]). Alors, without further ado, may i first announce the birth of our second BOY, Asher Jon R. Plett. He was born this last Sunday, November 22 at 12:47. 10.3 lbs, 22inches/56?cm long. At this time i'm just starting to see the light at the end of a very long tunnel Of course, any mom will agree that the first 2 weeks are exhausting and challenging, especially if you're breastfeeding. <sigh>

The baby is sleeping just now though, CAke Boss Marathon is on in the background (if i could somehow tape it for you Rhonda i would!) and my mom, Judah and Josh are probably just on their way home from Steinbach where they were swimming/picking up the last Christmas present on our list. I reckon i can get a bit of the birth story down and hopefully the rest of the story will follow without further delay. Some notes, however: this is an explicit account of our birth story. If you're squeamish, dont read further. It's also long. And i cant seem to upload photos right now. I'll try again tomorrow.

Saturday (21st) Josh and i spent the evening watching Matthew MacConnahay movies on tv We were both verbalizing, by that time, our impatience at the waiting game we were playing by this point. The longer the baby took to come, the shorter time we had thereafter to get stuff done and, worse for Josh i think, the longer the baby took to arrive the more cabin fever he developed. (now he has a lot more to do at home, so he's less itchy with furlough-fever) My parents were on holiday in the States for the weekend and we were taking advantage of having the whole house (ie. the upper floor) to ourselves. My doula was also on vacation in the STates, unfortunately, so I was pessimistically sure that the baby would surely arrive that weekend.

At 2am (just like last time) my water broke. For real this time. (not like last time). My midwife had told me that if my water broke i didnt have to call unless certain factors were present (a big gush, smelly/coloured water...) and that i should just get as much rest as i could until the contractions were big enough that i was ready to go to the hospital. I tried that, but then realized i couldnt really make the call on whether it had been a big gush or not and i knew i wouldnt be able to sleep not knowing if something was wrong or not. So i got up again and called to her. She agreed with me on this and decided to come over. I teased her later that she had also stopped by Tim Hortons to pick up a coffee on the way. By the time Veronica arrived my contractions had started. Although she had come prepared to stay for a while and sleep on the couch, we never actually got that far: we made her a bed, i had a cup of tea, i washed the few dishes there was in the upstairs sink and cleaned up the bits and bobs i had left in the upstairs knowing that i wanted the house clean for my parents' return from their trip that day. By 3-ish my contractions were coming quite regularly 5 minutes apart and they were 30 seconds long. Josh was still sleeping at this point, but Veronica told me, when i asked when she thought we should bring Judah away to Josh's parents' house, that perhaps now was a good time to do so. So i woke Josh up, we got Judah bundled into the car with his overnight bag and they went off. Apparently when Judah arrived at the Plett's he was awake enough, and probably unsettled as well, to spend some time asking a sleepy grandma Plett how babies get into mommies tummies... then he wanted a bowl of cereal and finally climbed into grandma's bed. Poor little dude.

Josh got back and we began to slowly get our things packed into the car for when we were ready to go to the hospital. It was around this time when Josh went to the garage to put some stuff in the car that he encountered the burglar in the garage going through the freezer... I kid you not. The guy, according to Josh was in the garage with a pellet gun sifting through the frozen section after going through both cars. He had come in the back garage door i guess and, when Josh came into the garage and turned on the light he said "oh... hi...", pulled up his kercheif over his mouth and left through the back door, leaving the gun behind. Josh was so startled - it was almost 4am after all - that he initially thought that the guy was with Veronica. I am just glad that the 18 year old punk wasnt a meaner type with more malicious intent to hurt someone who surprised him in the act. Veronica and i saw, while we were oblivious in the living room of what Josh was encountering in the garage, a blinking blue light out front. I guess the guy left out back and ran around to the front to get away? Whatever the case, it was a bizarre addition to our birth story Josh called to the RCMP, and reported the break in and the left-behind gun, letting them know that we werent sticking around to make a report just now because we were on our way to the hospital shortly. On our way out we locked the garage doors and hoped my parents had brought with them a key so they could get in another way. Driving up to the Arena Road we met up with a 1/2 ton truck with it's lights turned off who drove straight in front of Veronica's car, essentially blocking her way, peering into her window, presumably trying to see if she was one of the burglars since when he drove up to Josh's window and Josh rolled the window down the guy confessed to us that he had found somebody burglaring his garage and was trying to track them down. When we told him we had called the RCMP he said, "Oh, well i guess i can turn my lights on now"

We got to the hospital and the labour was going really well. Veronica had checked me just prior to leaving the house and i was at 5 cm. We were beginning to feel as though the labour was going so tickity-boo that we'd be done before church started! One of my concerns about birthing in a small town is that everyone seems to know what you're doing as soon as you do it and i didnt like the notion of being caught in the act of going to the hospital. Since Judah was going to the Plett's for night and would presumably be attending church with them alone, Josh pointed out that i should resign myself to everyone assuming that we were in hospital. I found out later that a friend of mine (cheeky girl!! ) had asked Judah in children's church where his parents were and he, quite innocently, told her that his mom was in the hospital pushing the baby out. Anyway, so at the hospital everything continued to go well for the first few hours. I felt like i was managing the contractions well. I used the ball. I squatted and did all sorts of different positions. And, i was very conscious of what was going on around me the whole time. Last time we were in labour i remember only very vaguely what was going on around me because i was so caught up inside myself and the pain. This time i wanted to do things differently and to pay attention to Josh, to watch how he was doing and interact more with him and my surroundings so i would have a more coherent memory of the whole experience. I felt as though i could do that this time around. I payed attention to the pain, but also to how i could manage through it, i payed attention to Josh and told him repeatedly that he was doing a good job We tried to listen to CBC radio but the room didnt get 98.3fm, so we resigned to the am station which ended up only being talking... I watched the sunrise in those gloriously large windows (closed, mind you). And i sucked on the entenox gas. (oh i love that stuff!). By the way things were going Veronica assured me that i should be done the birth in another 2 hours. After 7am Veronica checked me again and told me that i was almost fully dilated, except for a small lip on one side. She tried a few times to edge the lip up and around the head, but to no avail... and that's when the labouring started to go bad.

By 8or 9am i was getting, understandably, tired, having been up since 2 and having contractions since then. I asked and was so thankful that my midwife obliged to giving me fentenol as a pain reliever to get somewhat of a break and thus a short rest from the constant contractions. I managed, together with the entenox gas, to doze off between contractions and rest up for what was to come. I think the midwife still thought that once the pushing started it would be a quick delivery. <sigh> I remember that by 11am i was coherent enough to see the clock and tell myself that in half an hour it would be all over. I pushed. I used the squat bar. I did all kinds of different postiions again... and nothing happened. It was so discouraging, i tell you. By 11:30 i told myself that i could feasibly be done by lunch time and we could call our families at the lunch table... but by then i couldnt manage anymore, the head was very firmly in the birth canal, but not seeming to move much at all despite my best efforts at pushing. I began to ask fervently for Veronica to get the doctor in to pull the baby out. And. Thank the Lord, she did it! The last time i was in labour my midwives were very firm on getting me to do everything without assistance. They refused my requests for anything stronger than entenox. This time Veronica was remarkably obliging to my requests. I found out later that she had been at an earlier birth that taught her that easy labours that turn south dont necessarily mean the mom needs to work harder, but that help may be needed. She also confessed that she still thought the baby was turned face up, which she thought was the reason for the longer than expected labouring. Whatever the case, i remember the doctor arriving in a Sunday suit, telling us the risks of the vacuum extraction and, after my fervent acceptance of the risks and another repeated plea to "just pull it out!" he acquiesced. Josh tells me later that the rest took about 5 minutes. I remember that part taking about another 2 hours! ACK! Asher's head was so huge, we found out later, that it was a mission for both me and the doctor in our combined effort, to get it out, and then, although last time i remember being home-free after the head was out, i had to push just as hard to get the body out. Asher's chest was as round about as his head, plus his beefy arms!! Egad. I tell you, once that child was out i was gasping praises to God like nobodies business!! That was at 12:47pm on Sunday afternoon. Asher was born 10.3 lbs/4625gms, 56cm long and 38cm head circumference. The placenta also received much remarking from the nurses and midwife, weighing in just under a kilo! 

Anyway, after that I began again to concentrate on my surroundings and what Josh was doing. I watched him cut the cord, which i didnt do last time. Then we began the process of putting me back together. There was some concern about a hemmorage and the doctor was called in again to make an assessment. But otherwise everything seemed normal... until about 6pm when my blood pressure became unstable, i was totally colourless and the doctor, midwife and nurses all didnt know what was going on with me. Josh was sleeping at the time, but i remember a lot of hovering faces and concerned looks in their eyes. I remember feeling terrible and, by that time, when they asked me if i felt tight in the chest and was i having difficulty breathing, i said that i was. I was starting to feel very bad and i reckon their concern and confusion added to my dis-ease. I really thought that i was going to die of blood loss or something, although no one was telling me what was going on. Veronica prayed with me and was crying, the nurses were crying, and the doctor confessed to me that he didnt know what was causing my unstable condition and whether he could also pray with us. And then he recommended that we get sent to St.Boniface hospital in Winnipeg where the doctors there could make a better assessment of my condition and i could get a CT Scan to rule out the possibility of a pulminary embelism due to a blood clot somewhere in my body.

I'm getting a bit tired of typing by now, actually, so the ending to this story will be a bit more pointed (perhaps for the better ). The ambulance drivers came and, if i may say, those rides in the ambulance were probably the highlight of my birthing experience. The guys were so nice and happy and we joked back and forth quite a bit, despite the tension of the situation. The doctor and a nurse came along in the truck and he held my hand the whole way because Josh couldnt come along in the truck. Veronica made him call someone to come to pick him up and bring him and Asher to the hospital behind us. By this time Josh was somewhat... stressed, shall we say. Poor guy. But once we got to St.B and were wheeled into that closet of a room in the older section of the L&D ward it became apparent that the situation wasnt as rushed as it seemed to be in STeinbach. I guess because they are more used to crisis situations there or seomthing. Anyway, by that time i'm on so many tubes and IVs and they jab me again to test my blood to ensure my kidneys are working well enough to handle the dye they'll use for the CT Scan. We waited 2 hours to get in, which apparently is quite quick for such a test and, by 1am they gave me the preliminary news that i was most likely in the clear.

During the night i'm also freaking out because my parents arent answering their home or cell phone and we had expected them home by that time. That caused some stress on my part.  

 

Aynway, after somewhat of a rest through the night and the morning talk with the doctor indicating that we were good to return to STeinbach because the specialist had found no indication of clots, we were happy to see the same ambulance drivers arrive to escort us back to Steinbach where we were happy to get back to a nicer bigger room with more staff and a shower. The rest of the time we spent in hospital was uneventful. My parents finally got back home Monday afternoon and came in with Judah for a visit. We left the hospital the next day and were home for lunch. The past few days have been full of sleeping and the absence of sleep. Of eating and the struggle to eat. Of being with Judah and helping him to make the adjustment to non-only-child. He loves Asher and loves to hold him, he's quite bossy to others about Asher's care and who can hold him when. But i think he'll pull through this without too much trauma... i hope. My mother has been a huge help holding Asher when i take naps, as has Josh. I dont have anything to do but take care of myself and feed Asher, which is much more than many women have when they have a child, i know! I am very thankful for that. At this point we're trying to get Asher's weight back up, get him latching well and feeding better, get my swelling feet down and my sore arms feeling better. My hormonal brain is going a bit haywire, but i guess that's normal.

Asher brought along a gift for his big brother's first visit face to face: a Transformer. Judah was pretty impressed with it.