Rowan’s Birth Story

This is the story of Rowan Adia. It is written for her baby book but we have included it here for those that are interested. It is long, so get comfy if you want to read it all. Anita has written in pink; Wes has written in blue.

On the Monday morning of Aug 18^th, I woke up with a small amount of show and was excited to start my labour. I felt contractions, similar to menstrual cramps, coming in waves. I thought right away, “This is it! This isn’t so bad.” I phoned my midwife and told her my symptoms. She reassured me that this was early labour and there was no rush to get to the hospital. We had an appointment at the hospital for a NST (non-stress test) at 1pm and decided we would see how things were progressing at that time. I was 10 days overdue which is why the NST was ordered. The NST would tell us if our baby was feeling stressed due to lack of nutrients and oxygen that the placenta may no longer be providing efficiently.

Wes and I went for a walk along a trail in Nakusp to look for his lost necklace and to encourage labour to progress. No necklace was found after our 40 minute walk. Contractions seem to be 7 minutes apart and were not increasing in intensity. I was feeling very comfortable. We began our trek to Nelson, a two hour drive away. We stopped for a bite to eat and continued onto Nelson. Contractions were subsiding and seemed to nearly stop once we arrived at the hospital.

We met up with Tanya Baker, our midwife, to begin the NST. The test measured the baby’s heartbeat, her movements, and my contractions. It was clear that I was having contractions; however they were not arriving with any regularity. My cervix was checked and I had only begun to dilate slightly. We discussed the options: wait and see, induce with prostaglandin gel, or induce with the midwife’s natural soft induction recipe. We went ‘oh natural’ as I wanted my whole labour to be that way. We were given the ‘secret’ concoction made of: 2 Tbsp Almond Butter, 2 Tbsp Castor Oil, 5-6 drops of Lemon Verbena, Apricot Juice to taste. We agreed to meet up again at 7pm at the hospital. Meanwhile, we had decided that it would be most comfortable for me to sleep at the hospital that night and therefore I was admitted. Wes and my mom planned to sleep in the camper.

I relaxed on my bed for about 20 minutes and then decided that maybe a walk on the waterfront would help induce my labour and get my mind away from just waiting around for things to progress. It was a hot and sunny day. The beach was full of families, children playing, kayakers learning how to roll, swimmers and even adult sand castle / inukshuk builders.

(Kootenay Lake Inukshuks)

I was feeling pretty queasy from the secret induction formula and also was feeling the heat. I waded into the lake up to my knees for relief. I wish I had my suit so I could jump in. The lake was cold and refreshing. My contractions were feeling stronger and I had to start breathing through them. I felt ridiculous as we continued to walk along the beach walkway, stopping every 4 or 5 minutes to get through a contraction. The benches along the walkway were full of people, as was the beach. I didn’t notice if anyone was paying attention to the pregnant woman breathing through contractions. I started to go into my own world.

By about 4pm, we headed uptown for some dinner. We sat down at the Red Fish Grill on the patio. It was so hot! My contractions were painful and I was very uncomfortable. We had waited for menus for about 5 minutes when I decided I couldn’t sit there any longer. My contractions were very painful and I wanted to go back to the hospital.

I laboured in my room for an hour or so with my mom rubbing and pushing against my back. I was still feeling very hot and my contractions continued to grow stronger. The nurses offered that move to the birthing room which was much cooler. I felt immediate relief which lasted probably an hour. Then, I started to shiver as my body went into shock. I threw up, barely making it to the garbage can. Uggg.

Wes came in around 6 pm. He had been resting up in the camper, getting ready for the real labour to begin. Well, things were heating up now! My contractions were becoming closer together and more intense. Tanya, my midwife came back to the hospital at 7pm. She was happy to see progress and agreed that I didn’t need a second dose of the secret induction formula, especially since I was sick to my stomach. At this point my cervix was a little more than 2 cm dilated. “What? That’s it?” I thought. This considered Tanya went home and said she’d be back around 9pm.

I continued to labour with Wes pushing on my back. He had figured out all the right pressure points by now and his strong but gentile hands were a blessing from above. He also helped me into the shower at this point. The shower felt great and warmed me. Sometimes I was still shaking like a leaf even though I wasn’t cold. It was shock I guess. It made things a bit more uncomfortable since I could tell that I was losing control of relaxing my muscles.

(In the birthing room with Wes and Ruth, notice the Olympics on the TV. We actually were able to watch some of the events during our hospital stay)

At around 8:30 or so, I started to cave in. I told the nurse (Tracy) that I needed some pain relief. She offered that I try some new positions while she called Tanya to come back. It was so difficult to find relief, or any way to relax my muscles. Tracy put me into the child’s pose to try to encourage baby to shift her back away from my back. It was only at this point that we knew this was the dreaded back labour. Rowan had shifted sometime since 1pm and I think it was too late to encourage her to shift away. My muscles were so tight!

Knowing what we know now, we probably would have been trying various labour positions earlier on which would have helped avoid baby from ending up in the back labour position. We had tried this but perhaps it was too late. Another thing which we might have done ahead of time would be getting Anita well fed and hydrated before taking the magic potion. It seemed like the castor oil upset Anita’s stomach to the point where she could not keep down liquids or food, thereby rendering her shaky and in a state of metabolic shock. BAD!

Around 9 pm, our very special friend, Erin Penner entered stage right. She was an intrical part in the birth as she drew on her experiences from her own births of her two sons, Keegan and 6 month old Everett. Erin was comforting not only to Anita but also to myself, who had felt up to this point disconcerted and helpless. Erin was in charge of hydration/photos and probably many other things including comforting and reassurance.

Another cornerstone to the foundation of our birthing team was Ruth (Mom Vibe) whose presence no doubt helped Anita get through the clutches of pain that she was being ravaged by. There is nothing in times of hardship such as these as sweet as a mother’s touch. Ruth also brought with her a brigade of medical experience as she has been a nurse for most of her life. Ruth also persevered through 4 births of her own in times of less technical endowment indeed.

Yet another team member who cannot be forgotten nor replaced was Melanie, a midwife from Australia, along for the proverbial ride. She was helpful in particular to me as she helped find my niche in counter pressure, keeping me sharp by changing positions and giving some step by step commentary on the side of the main action. Melanie really came in handy when the going got tough with the post birth clean up and keeping an eye on things like the IV getting kinked or Anita’s shivering necessitating hot blankets. Her cool demeanor certainly did not go unnoticed. Alongside our main midwife Tanya we feel that a better team could nay be found. They were thorough, calm, professional and personable.

And so; on went the painful contractions of back labour into the night. Progress was slow. Dilation was not evolving with any leaps or bounds. Anita was exhausted and her back muscles were as tight as an old man’s on a cold winter’s night. Even my arms and hands were sore as a result of pushing to create counter pressure. (Woe is me!) It was time for intervention. Tanya checked Anita and determined that it was indeed the time and place for an epidural.

(Trying to be patient while waiting for the epidural. Anesthesiologist with flip flops, Tanya in the brown dress, Melanie in the black shirt.)

The blessed spinal tap came only after the anesthesiologist (wearing flips flops and John Lennon glasses) rambled through his percentile risks and warnings of worst case scenarios. I remember one scenario of 1 in 20,000 chance of being paralyzed. He tried to put this in perspective by reassuring me that there is a 1 in 6000 chance of being hit by a car on any given day. His spiel could not be said fast enough, I was craving relief. This was done while Anita was puking and having excruciating contractions. My back was prepared with freezing before the needle went into my spine. The epidural, once injected into my spine, felt like cold water running down my back. In about 15 minutes, my body was partially numb from my chest down to my knees. Tanya decided that my body needed some help in order to dilate to 10 cm. I was given oxytocin to induce more intense contractions, since I would not be feeling them. And at some point around this time, Tanya broke my water. Tracy, the nurse attending me, checked me over with an ice block to see where I could sense the cold feeling. I was so relieved to have relief from the intense contractions, although I was now restricted to stay in bed. So much for labouring in the tub!

Outside, a violent wind storm accompanied by lightning and thunder grew. As Anita was beginning to experience relief, I rushed to the camper to close the windows. The rain and wind was refreshing and things seemed to be coming around.

It was now around midnight and time for some R & R. Ruth and Erin found beds in another room as did the midwives. I lay back on the lazy boy in the birthing room. This chair deserves some recognition as it was very pink. But most interesting was how the armrests were torn to shreds where one would lay their hands. These open wounds were remedied by patches of duct tape. This tape I am certain would be replaces at regular intervals as this chair was obviously a participant in many gripping experiences.

(The epidural is working!)

Peace at long last. Anita rested as the wonders of modern medicine performed their merciful magic. The midwives were to come back at 4 am. From midnight until about 2 am, my contractions did grow stronger as I could start to feel them again. I knew that I could press a button beside my bed to increase the amount of epidural to relieve more pain, but I was encouraged not to. I was also given the minimal dose of epidural in hopes that I could still ‘feel’ enough during the pushing stage. I started to breathe my way through contractions and finally tried out the button. This button soon became my favorite thing! The nurse checked Anita at 2 am and found Anita to be dilated to 10 cm and she could feel Rowan’s head. Showtime!

The events that followed are hard to describe. The long and short of it is that in 45 minutes of good pushing by Anita … well… there she was! The not yet named baby Rowan was at long last out in the world with us. (2:44 am, Aug 19, 2008) Pink. Screaming. Beautiful. Wondrous. Miraculous.

I was given the option of picking up my newborn baby myself and finding out the sex on my own. Things were chaotic to me as I was working so hard to push out my baby and yet a second later she was born and I was asked to pick up my baby. She was lively, screaming and yes, pink. She was beautiful. Words cannot describe the emotions that I felt. I was holding my baby. A new life. A miracle. Rowan looked so healthy, so amazing, so magical. I did it. I made it. And now I have a daughter! Wow! It’s amazing how fast my world changed in a matter of seconds.

Within the first hour of Rowan’s debut, I learned to hold a newborn, swaddle a baby, change a diaper and love a person I did not even know yet. Rowan also showed great aptitude for breast feeding. I guess she gets her appetite from her old man. Tee Hee!

(Wes' first diaper change!)

As I watched Wes become a father, emotions continued to pour over me and I cried with joy. It was so beautiful to see Wes as a father. He looked so proud, relieved and also quite at ease.

I had the distinct pleasure of waking up our loved ones in the wee hours by phone to expedite delivery of the good news forthwith and Godspeed! I was fuzzy headed and probably quite annoying. Thems the breaks suckers.

(Mormor meeting Rowan. Thanks for all your help!)

(Auntie Erin meeting Rowan. Thanks for all your help!)

(Rowan Adia. Born at 2:44am, August 19th, 2008, 8 pounds 1 ounce, 53 cm)

The following 3 days in hospital were sweet and rejuvenating. The rain continued bringing with it a feeling of renewal and replenishment. Rowan’s first experience of the outdoors was the cool kiss of raindrops and the smell of trees. She is bound to be a great spirit.

We were glad to be home to friends and family on Thursday the 21^st, although Rowan mostly slept through her first party. It was a cozy evening, celebrating Rowan’s arrival. We were and are so touched by everyone’s love and generosity.

(WELCOME HOME ROWAN!)