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The end of pregnancy, the beginning of a new life...

There are no words to explain what Jesse and I felt when we first saw our baby girl.  I’m even tearing up now remembering that moment.  I will end this blog with the story of Sofia Elizabeth Ward’s birth.

Saturday February 19, 2011

2:00am: I woke up to some cramping in my pelvic area and especially in my back.  I couldn’t get back to sleep so I decided to walk around a bit to see if it would either get worse or go away.  I went to the bathroom and there it was... the bloody show (or mucous plug).   It was my first sign of impending labour.

3:30am: The cramping worsened and started to feel more like contractions.  They were about 5 to 6 minutes apart and lasted about 30 to 45 seconds long.  So I called Milton Hospital to see if I should be coming in.  They said to try and sleep it off and if I can go back to sleep it’s not real labour.  So back into bed I go.

4:00am: I could not fall asleep whatsoever.  My gut told me to go to the hospital as the pains continued to worsen.  Jesse packed us up and off we went into the dark.

4:30am: We arrived at the Milton hospital and I was hooked up to the monitor.  The nurse checked me and to my disappointment I wasn’t at all dilated.  My cervix was apparently not far down enough and they were going to send me home.  This news was devastating to me because I was in soooo much pain with each contraction.  They advised that the baby’s face was in a position that was causing me to have back labour.  So they gave me a shot of morphine and gravol and sent me home with a sleeping pill.  The contractions were a bit more bearable with the meds.

12:00pm: By this time I was having intense contractions.  The morphine/gravol/sleeping pill just allowed me to sleep in between the contractions.  But otherwise I was awake and on all fours with each contraction (hoping that by being on all fours the baby was not pressing so much on my back).  Jesse was massaging my back for each contraction which seemed to help also.  I wasn’t sure how much more of this I could take.  I didn’t want to go to the hospital to only be told to go home again.

2:00pm: Jesse had made me a hot bath in hopes that it would help with the pain.  Unfortunately the bath didn’t take the pain away and the contractions were increasingly intense and frequent.  I had then started to bleed quite a bit so we started getting ready to go back to the hospital.  There was no way they were going to send me home this time!  That car ride was so painful!   Going over bumps while having contractions is not fun.  I think Jess ran at least one red light on the way there too.  Haha.

2:30pm: I arrive at the hospital and told the nurse (my saviour – Jackie) that my contractions are 1-3 minutes apart and that I was bleeding.  Instead of taking me to the maternity ward I notice they take me into a birthing room.  I knew then that this could be it.  When the nurse checked me my water instantly broke and she told us I was 8-10 cm’s dilated.  Later Jackie told us that I was more like 9cm’s.  I was going to deliver this baby any second!  I asked Jackie for the epidural but she didn’t give me a yes or no.  She kind of skipped around the question, which sent me the message that it was too late for one.  I couldn’t panic; I had to get through this no matter what.  She rolled over this nitrous oxide and said I could this to take the edge off.

4:00pm: I’m about one hour into pushing and apparently making good progress.  They had rolled away the nitrous oxide because I had taken way too much.  There were times were I was just staring into space and not responding.  Haha.  Each time I would try to push her out the back pains were insanely painful.  I asked for everything possible to make the labour quicker: the epidural, the vacuum, a c-section, etc...  Of course they kept refusing, she was almost here and I was just desperate to end the pain.  Jesse was so comforting, he would take my hand and say: its okay Em you’re almost there you can do it.  If Jess wasn’t holding my leg I would see him looking out the window probably trying to take a mental brake so he doesn’t pass out.  Having him there with me definitely helped and I’m glad that he was able to see her being delivered.

4:27pm: After one and a half hours of pushing Sofia was born.  It was like a dream seeing her in front of me.  No words can explain it. Jesse and I were so happy and relieved that she was okay.  She cried right away and was healthy.

Thank you so much for reading this blog and for your support.  This was such an incredible journey and I wanted something that I could share with Sofia when she’s older; to show her how excited we were for her to join our little family.

Love,

Em

39 weeks... and how much longer?

I am finally off work which is not as bad as I thought it would be.  I thought I would be bored and lonely, but that doesn't seem to be the case.  I definitely miss my colleagues, but they’re good at keeping me in the loop of their shenanigans.   I think I’m right smack in the middle of that nesting stage.  I am cleaning the house and organizing like crazy.  I get tired pretty quick and have to stop, and I also noticed I’m a super klutz so I end up breaking things... and then getting angry.  Haha.

I have enjoyed my pregnancy as much as possible, but I’m really ready to meet Baby Wardette.  Her movements totally feel like a humans movements now because she's so big.  Limbs are sticking out everywhere at times.  I can’t deal with all the aches and pains that make my body feel 90 years old.  Plus, I’m getting next to no sleep these past few nights now.  I’m glad to see my body can handle it, but still not fun.  TV at night totally stinks.  Other than that, there's no other signs of baby coming.  No belly drop, no bloody show, no contractions, nothing!  I think I'm going to wash my floor by hand tomorrow. :)

I wanted to give a BIG THANK YOU to Grandma Gonyea.  Thank you for your amazing help this past weekend getting the nursery ready.  You should’ve seen her, she was on fire.   Lol.  But it gives me so much joy to see her so excited; I think Baby Wardette is going to be very lucky having her as a Grandma.  I will make sure she knows how much she’s done to help with her arrival and not to mention spoil her.  Thanks Mom for making my pregnancy fun and exciting!

I’ve finally loaded a picture of my belly, on the Side Profile Pictures page; it’s interesting to see how much it’s grown in 10 weeks.  I’ve also loaded pictures of the nursery, on the Building a Nursery page, to show the progress we’ve made.  I think we’re about 95% done.  Jesse just needs to figure out some electrical thing for the chandelier and put the crib together.   I need to finish putting away her millions of clothes (thanks Sherry!)  The room is quite big and her furniture is quite small.  But with mat leave on the brink I don’t think I can go out and buy anything... can I Jess?  Pretty please?  Just that one recliner?  You love it when you watch hockey later, I promise!

I think this will be one of my last posts if Baby Wardette decides to join us this next week.  I decided that I won’t create or continue this blog to capture her first year; Facebook is good for that stuff anyway.  I will definitely post about her arrival and add some pictures though.  I thought I’d give the blog thing a whirl.  I like it... but I think I’ll be too busy to continue and you are busy people too.  I appreciate all of you who have been reading my blog throughout the pregnancy.  Your time and interest is greatly appreciated.

Em

xo

37 weeks... bag is packed!

I’m not sure how some women are pregnant and don’t have a husband or partner to support them through the pregnancy.  Especially when these women already have kids!  There are days where you’re so frustrated, achy and tired that you need someone to help make dinner, do the laundry, shovel the driveway, run errands or just give you compliments to make you feel better.   Thankfully I have Jesse.  He has been magnificent through this whole pregnancy.  He makes each the battle each day a lot easier.  Thank you Jesse Wardo! :)

I’m 37 weeks and considered now full term so I can pop any day now.  A couple friends think I’m going to go early, but I have a feeling that I’ll be pregnant this entire month.  We’ll have to see!  My hospital bag is packed, minus a few items that will be thrown in last minute.  It feels like I’m going on a vacation, but labour & delivery is not a vacation.  Haha.

Work has been really great in celebrating my pregnancy and making things a lot easier on me.  They threw me a really sweet baby shower.  There was yummy cake and a very generous gift!  Thank you amazing colleagues!  My boss has been really accommodating with allowing me to work from home a few days a week.  It has actually made a huge difference in how I’m feeling.  I’m not as achy so I feel better throughout the day and can actually sleep at night!  Having a supportive and understanding boss when you’re pregnant is soooo important.  Thank goodness I have one. :)

My last day at work is February 11^th!  I’ll miss my friends for sure, but I’m definitely ready to be off.

More progress has been made to the nursery.  Don’t forget to check out the Building a Nursery page to see Daddy Wardo's hard work.

Em

xo

9 months... thank you!

I cannot believe I’m 9 months today!  I definitely feel it!  I’m not going to go on about how I’m feeling because it’s not that great.  But all I’ll say is that I’m counting down the days until my due date.

In this post I want to thank a bunch of people for all they did for my shower last Sunday.

Mom: thank you so much for hosting my baby shower.  Your excitement for the new baby was clearly evident.  You did a wonderful job with everything.  I am truly lucky to have you as mom because I know that my little one will have one of the best Grandmas she could ever wish for. :)  I’m so very grateful for everything.

Dad: thank you for supplying the delicious food and wine. It’s too bad you’re a boy and couldn’t be there to enjoy it.  But I know Jesse and I are thoroughly enjoying the leftovers. Also I want to thank to Karen, my dad’s girlfriend, for helping out, taking lots of pictures, and for your lovely gift.  You guys are great!

And thank you to both my mom and dad; it’s takes great parents to be able to work together after a divorce.  It means the world to me that you worked so well together to make the shower possible. :)

Anna & Zia Venera: thank you both for coming early to help my mom get everything ready.  Thanks to Anna, my awesome cousin, for organizing all the games.  The games were a great way for our guests to have fun and to meet other people at the shower.  Zia Zia Zia… you are just awesome.  Thank you for helping to serve all the food.  That was a big help to my mom and I.  We truly appreciate it. :)

Friends & Family:  Last but definitely not least thank you to all the friends and family who showered us with gifts.  Without all of you it wouldn’t be possible to be ready for this little one.  I know showers aren’t they way we want to spend a weekend, but it means a lot to Jesse and I that you took the time out of your busy lives to shower us with gifts.


Em
xo