Going to the hospital

10th I started to feel contractions here and there.  By 11pm at night I had irregular contractions every 15 minutes or so.  Since you only go to the hospital when you are getting regular contractions 3-5 minutes apart lasting about 1 minute I wasn’t going anywhere for a bit.  I spoke to one of the nurses at the Lakeshore General Hospital and she said to try to get some rest if I could.  So from 11pm I told Jason that I would try to sleep between contractions and get through the night.  I figured by lying down things would slow down anyway.  I went through the night with contractions but nothing horrible, got some sleep in the meantime.  By 8am in the morning I was getting regular contractions about 6 minute apart.

Jason and I decided to go for a walk around the block and use my exercise ball at home to just get moving so that gravity would help get things going.  Since I already had to go to the hospital for a non-stress test I would be going there either way.  Once at the hospital I was happy to see my favorite amazing head nurse, Mimi.  She decided not to take my blood yet since I was getting strong contractions.  She wanted to do an internal exam to see how far along I was to get an idea if I would be going home or staying.  At 10:30 am or so Mimi told me that I was between 4.5cm and 5cm and they would be checking me in.

It was really happening!  I was having my little baby girl!!!! Jason went to

Labour Time...5cm and being admitted

do all the paperwork and check us in and I went to my room and worked through the next few contractions standing, walking and then eventually on the ball.  I was very fortunate to stay in my own clothes for a while and have a yummy pasta lunch!  Once my water was broken things really started moving.  That is when I moved into the whirlpool.  I went in for an initial 20 minutes and worked through some major contractions….By the time we came to start it again for another 5 minutes my contractions were REALLLLLY getting hard and coming fast.

Nurse Mimi came back and got me out of the bath to get back to the room.  By the time we got back to the room I was 9.5cm dilated and ready to start some initial pushes!

By 2:36pm August 11th, my little Bella Maria was born!!  What a miracle!

2:36pm Bella makes her arrival

And for those of you that I have been hounding about epidural… I ended up not having any medication.  No epidural and no iv.  Was it hard?  Yes.  Was it amazing?  YES.  It was the most amazing experience!!

Baby Bella's first day!

Now Bella is 3 weeks old today and we are both learning so so so much!  Lots to chat about, ask about, complain about and thank God about.  We have been getting so many calls, visits and notes here and there.  Thank you all!  I promise that I will eventually catch up with everything!

More to come….

~Nadia

Picture taken by Didier Kaade http://facebook.com/didierkaade

I am 39 Weeks and 3 Days and I am waiting for my little daughter to come into this world!  In the meantime I had a doctors appointment yesterday to see where I am at.  I am 1.5 cm dilated and my cervix is soft and ready to go.  She is right down there.  It is a matter of time now.  So the question is how long will it take for my water to break or for contractions to start?

My bag is packed and sitting at the door ready to go to the hospital.  What should I be doing now?  Shopping?  Relaxing?  Exercising?  What did you do in the days before you were due?

~Nadia

Picture taken by Didier Kaade http://facebook.com/didierkaade

Hello All!

So it’s official.  I am 39 weeks pregnant and one of the big questions on my mind is whether I should take an epidural or not during childbirth!  It feels like everyone I speak to says that it will make my experience so much calmer and more enjoyable.

What did you do?  Take the epidural?  Or have as natural a childbirth as possible… as long as everything goes well.

I had a great conversation on the radio with Kim Fraser on CJAD.  We had some great callers and some interesting advice.  We also chatted with Dr William Camann, author of the book ‘Easy Labor- Every Woman’s Guide to Choosing Less Pain and More Joy During Childbirth’.   You can listen to the interviews here and tell me what you think!

Epidural or No Epidural Part 1-Thu Jul 14, 2011

Epidural or No Epidural Part 2 – Thu Jul 14, 2011

Epidural or no Epidural interview with Dr. William Camann M.D

Time is ticking…… so Epidural or Natural!!!!???????

Thanks!

~Nadia

Between the tons of water and orange juice to the salt rinsing and using a Nedi-Pot I am trying to kill this cold naturally!

Positive side- last night I slept my first full night in bed this week!!!!  Things are looking up!

Any great summer cough/cold advice for a pregnant woman?

~Nadia

As promised I have decided to start blogging again…  So I am 37 weeks pregnant and life has been changing a lot!  My hubby and I are getting ready to be parents…. so many new things to think about.  Sorry I didn’t blog throughout this whole process.  It was a little overwhelming at first.  I will keep you posted from now on.

In the meantime I am going to take a nice 37 week pregnant nap…

Talk soon!!

~Nadia