Bronwen Elaine Claus- January 9, 2012, 2:21 pm

My heart is so full of things to write about our beautiful new daughter that I don't even know where to start. So, I guess I'll start at the beginning- her birth!!

This is long, but there is a lot to say ;).

Last Sunday, January 8, I was feeling exceptionally restless and irritable. Looking back, I don't know if this was just impatience, feeling cooped up because of the Newfoundland January weather, boredom (everything can start to seem boring after a while when you are waiting for something!)... or some sort of pre-labour sign! We went to our friends Alex and Adrienne's house for supper. They made delicious spicy Mexican lasgana (spicy foods can trigger labour, so say the old wives tales?) and we also had mulled wine (I indulged with about a cm of it).

We walked home and went to bed.

I woke up at 0130 with contractions. At first I was kind of sleeping through them, because they felt like the same ones that I had been getting previously with all the false labour. But after about half an hour,or so, I realized that they were definitely stronger than anything I had had before and quite close together. I got up around 0230 cause I was too restless to stay in bed and didn't want to wake up Brian yet.

Mum, with her mother's ears, heard me get up and joined me at around 0300. She timed some contractions for me and they were definitely around 3 minutes apart already, and were strong. The uterus is a VERY strong muscle, I have discovered! I was still in denial that I might actually be in labour, but Mum said she thought that this was it. She was right. I had some pineapple and a bit of water but I didn't really feel like eating anything already by this point. The contractions were really intense by around 0400 and I couldn't do much when I was having one except breathe... no talking and not much moving. It is amazing how the uterus just takes over. I thought it might be time to start going to the hospital, which surprised me because I had always said I wanted to labour at home for as long as possible. Looking back, I was a lot more comfortable in the hospital than at home and it was a very good idea to go in when we did. I tried to have a shower at home but it was kind of chilly and not really all that soothing.

At around 0430 I woke Brian up- had decided to let him sleep as long as possible because he would be much needed later! He sprang into action- got up, showered and shaved (must be clean shaven to welcome a new baby! :). Then he shoveled the driveway.. it was lightly snowing out. After stopping several times for contractions between getting off the couch, getting dressed, gathering up stuff, putting on my boots, and making it out the door, we were in the car and on our way. We got to the hospital at about 0530 on January 9.

We went in through the ER entrance. I told Brian that I wanted to walk in myself from the parking lot and didn't need to be dropped off (stubborn! haha). I thought gravity might help the baby to keep moving down.. that's what I had read so much about already. I leaned on Mum and Brian through the halls as we made our way up to the case room (note: In Newfoundland, Labour and Delivery is called the Case Room- not sure why!). Mum waited outside while Brian came in with me to be triaged.

The nurse got my info, did a quick heartbeat on the baby (strong and regular!), and checked me- I was 6-7 cm dilated already! And my water hadn't broken yet. After about half an hour they got us into a 'birthing room' at about 0630 or so. The first thing I did was go into the bathtub... mmmmm, nothing like warm water. The nurse, Rayna, was great and would just check the baby's heart rate with the Doppler (portable little thing to check the heart rate) so I never even had to get out. No IV, no fetal monitoring with the belts across my belly, this was great. I had given them a sheet in triage with my preferences for the birth and I never saw it again, but the nurses followed it to the letter, for which I am very thankful.

At 0730 a new nurse came on. Her name was Robyn and she was AWESOME!! 30 years of experience, and she was also trained as midwife! So that was a real answer to prayer. She said that she was assigned to me today because they knew I wanted a natural birth and she loves being present at these births, it is kind of her 'specialty' and she gets only a few a year. She never left the room until after Bronwen was born. We said she should go get a coffee or something at some point, but she said, "I don't want them to pump you full of drugs when I'm gone!" or something like that. I thought that was cute. Not that that would've actually happened, but I could tell she really cared about being there for me and she was really looking out for what I was hoping for in the birth. That was so special because I had been worried about going into the hospital and having all sorts of things done to me.... but she made it seem like we were at home with a midwife!

By this time I was starting to be more and more uncomfortable. Robyn checked me and I was 9 cm dilated already. It was probably 0830... maybe. Not really sure on the times. I tried all sorts of interesting different positions for labour.. in the shower, on the bed, over the table. Robin's coaching really helped, and it was great to have Mum and Brian there too. They were very patient. I don't think I was too awful to them though! ;)

My water broke on its own when I was lying on the bed-- what a huge, warm gush!! Thankfully it was nice and clear-- no meconium-staining which can mean that the baby is in distress. Something else to be thankful for.

After a while it was time to push. This was a very interesting, intense experience. I have heard people say it is a relief to push, and I don't know if that was necessarily true (SUCH hard work!) but it at least feels like you are making progress. Dr. Duggan was here by this point. She was so awesome and I couldn't have had a better doctor at my delivery. It was really special because the room was by no means full of people- just me, Brian, Mum, Dr Duggan, and Robyn. There was a 'baby nurse' right at the very end but she was only there in case of trouble and just stood off to the side.

I ended up pushing for 3 hours, I didnt know this until afterwards. Time just sort of blurred together. It was a slow process to get that baby out, as my contractions weren't super close together. Robyn was checking the baby's heart rate every 5 minutes or less, and it was good and strong the whole time. Some doctors might be looking to speed things up after 3 hours of pushing, but Dr Duggan was content to let things keep going at our own speed.

Finally, our baby was almost here. They told me just a few more pushes. It seemed so surreal. Most intense moment of my life really. And then she was out!! Such a relief. "It's a girl!!!" said Dr Duggan. They put her up on my chest right away, and there was our brand new baby daughter, looking at me wide eyed, with a head full of hair and covered with vernix and all warm and goopy and squishy... she was beautiful. We all cried. Bronwen Elaine Claus was here!! 2:21 pm, January 9, 2012. We were overjoyed.

 We looked Bronwen over everywhere, and she looked at us. Brian cut the cord, and she was on my chest for the next 2 hours. She even nursed beautifully, someone was hungry! ;) Dr Duggan even examined her right with me in the bed.... everything looked great and she was perfectly healthy.

yup, good looking bum! ;)

Finally after we had all that solid bonding time, Robyn took Bronwen and weighed her- 8 lbs 4 oz! Measured her head (36 cm) and length (21 inches) and put her in a little sleeper.

Brian got to hold Bronwen for the first time, and I got all washed up and ate some toast. It was the best toast I've ever had ;).

What an experience. We are so thankful for a healthy baby daughter, a good delivery, an excellent doctor and nurse.... praise God from whom all blessings flow....