Tessa's Birth Story

After many years of discussion about having another child my husband and I couldn’t come to an agreement. He was adamant we were done, while I always hoped for another baby. Fate intervened, and we found out I was pregnant in January of 2021.  My original due date was Sept 11th. We found out we were going to have a baby girl in May and were so excited! Molly was thrilled to become a big sister. My pregnancy was uneventful, I was able to continue teaching my fitness classes throughout. I was nervous to give birth again after my traumatic emergency c-section with Molly. I had to make a choice whether to try for a VBAC or a planned c-section. My OB and I decided to plan for a VBAC but I would be closely monitored throughout my pregnancy.
 
The morning of Wednesday August 4th I taught Stroller Strong at 10am outside – it was a hot day and I was not feeling great. After getting home from class I relied on screen time to entertain Molly and just relaxed on the couch. I actually posted an insta story that the baby was kicking my butt with cramps at around 2pm. Cramps – which I think were actually contractions were consistently 5 minutes apart all afternoon. My husband got home from work around 5:30pm and I told him I thought we should go to the hospital just to check out the cramps and make sure everything was okay. I wasn’t due for 5 more weeks and we thought it was likely pre-term labour. We did not have anything ready for baby #2, so we just assumed this was a minor thing to deal with, and we would likely be home soon. I called Erin, my good friend and neighbour to see if Molly could stay there while we went to hospital, as with Covid restrictions kids were not allowed.  I was supposed to be teaching a Bootcamp class at 7:30pm so had to email my class last minute to cancel, as I wasn’t sure what exactly was happening! I made a quick breakfast wrap to eat before we went to hospital, as this mama had to eat! We dropped Molly off at Erin’s on the way, and it was emotional! I just did not feel ready and did not know what was happening. We packed an overnight bag for Moll just in case as we weren’t sure how long we would be and it was 6:30pm when we dropped her off.  After we arrived at the hospital I was sent to assessment. They put a monitor on baby and we just hung out for ages while I contracted. Our baby’s heartbeat was good, we just weren’t sure if I was in pre-term labour or active labour. Eventually my cervix was checked and I was 2-3cm dilated and 75% effaced. I was still having contractions 5 mins apart so I got admitted to the hospital overnight. They gave me IV fluids to help slow down contractions, which didn’t seem to help much. Baby’s heart rate was really good, the nurses would always comment how good she was doing which was nice to know. Richard decided to head home for the night so at least one of us got some sleep. I had painful contractions all night 5 mins apart so got no sleep. Thankfully the Summer Olympics were on to keep me entertained! J
 
 
Thursday August 5th rolled around and I was not a happy camper. I was tired, in pain and to top it off they wouldn’t let me eat all night and morning– I was extremely hangry to say the least!! I eventually got my cervix checked again and was still only 2-3 cm dilated. Eventually they gave me morphine and let me eat which was a lifesaver, and also helped with the pain so I could nap a bit which I desperately needed. Richard picked up Molly from Erin’s that morning and my mom was on the road from Manitoba to come and watch Molly. When my mom arrived that afternoon Richard brought me some toiletries and snacks. He hung out for a bit and then went home as nothing seemed to be changing. Then my contractions picked up, they tried to give me Tylenol but my contractions were getting stronger and the Tylenol wasn’t cutting it. The doctor checked me again and I was dilated 7/8 cm so baby was on its way!  Dr. Tyson was on call , and was really nice. She knew about my previous traumatic birth experience so was very reassuring. I broke down into tears when I realized this was it – baby was coming! I was scared after my last birth and also that my baby was 5 weeks early so I didn’t feel ready. She told me I was going to have a nice little VBAC, with a small baby J and that definitely helped me feel better.  We also had an amazing nurse named Haley. Once I realized babe was coming I called Richard to come back around 10pm – he was gaming and like “so, what do you want me to do?”? ? “Hello! Get your butt over here man!”. They moved me to a delivery room, and when Richard came all he brought was a hoody which I thought was pretty funny – nothing for me or baby :p.   I thankfully got an epidural around midnight which helped with most of the pain. We thought I might get some rest so we both tried to sleep. Didn’t happen.  Contractions weren’t going any faster and they were going to give me something to get labour moving more quickly.  Then I stood up to go to the bathroom and water broke – contractions picked up and things were happening!  This random med student (male) came in to ask if he could attend the birth. We said yes, but after he left our nurse said we didn’t have to let him, and that she would tell him. When he came back Richard said we didn’t want him there. (After our last birth having a resident there did not feel right. Especially this random dude who just showed up.) Contractions kept coming but I didn’t feel the pressure to push and was nervous after what happened with Molly – pushing when I wasn’t ready. Since baby’s heart rate was doing great they let me wait it out. Every time someone came in to check heart rate they were amazed at how great she was doing J  Dr. Tyson & Dr. Martel both came back periodically to check in. I was in Dr. Martel’s section but she was super busy with lots of babies being born. Eventually I started feeling pressure and felt the need to push, around 4:40am. Dr. Tyson had a female resident with her, we told her we preferred no residents but she said she needed the hands as they were so busy so she stayed. I pushed like a bastard, legs up, everyone cheering me on. It was hard and also strange with the epidural because I couldn’t really feel it. Finally, at 4:59am, with my last push I pushed so hard Tessa shot out and all the fluids gushed out. Dr. Tyson had to catch her and said that never happened to her before! Strong mom right here! They put Tessa on me straight away which never happened with Molly so we knew she was okay. Then the NICU team took her to check her out and wrap her up, after which got to hold her again. Baby T was 5 lbs, 7oz, exactly 1 pound smaller than Molly! I needed to get stitched up which took quite a while and needed both Dr. Martel & Dr. Tyson. They had a bit of trouble but eventually got it done. I was able to have a shower after which felt amazing. We went down to see Tessa in NICU and she was doing well and breathing on her own as of 10am that morning. I was discharged that evening and started the pumping every 3 hours regime. Tessa needed to gain some weight and get her bilirubin levels up. She needed the bili blanket a few times but recovered quickly. It was tough for Molly not getting to see her sister, as we went to see T twice a day every day. She was able to come home after 6 days. Now she’s a giant thriving baby who is SO loved.