And Here She Is :)
I'm sure from me not posting this week, you've guessed what happened!
It all started last Friday (can't believe it's been a week already) when we were visiting Amanda and Dan for one last dinner before they leave for Edmonton on Saturday afternoon. We've kinda given up that the baby would come before they leave.
But then at 8 pm, it all changed. The first contraction started. I wasn't sure what it was at first. But when it felt the same 30 minutes later, I knew it had started.
So when we left dinner, I said, "I'm not going to say goodbye. The baby will probably come tomorrow before you guys leave. The contractions are now 8 minutes apart". With that, we drove home.
With a bit of excitement and nervousness, we went to bed around midnight hoping I could catch some rest before baby comes. Well an hour later, the contractions were about 7 minutes apart and hurt enough that I couldn't sleep. My sister came home around 2 and I hung out with her watching TV until 4 in the morning. By 5:30, my contractions were 5 minutes apart. Surely, baby will be coming by 2 pm that day right? (That was when Amanda and Dan were leaving)
Got to the hospital. It hurt quite a bit, Bryan was rubbing my back. But I was still pretty laid back and excited about what was to come. When the doctor came and said, "just incase the baby doesn't come til Tuesday, we'll have to book some tests..." I was like, what?! Tuesday? No way, I can take the pain now, but not until Tuesday! By the time she checked me, she said, "ok, you're 2-3 cm dialated. Yeah, maybe baby will come today. Go home though. Come back when your contractions are 3-5 minutes apart for one minute each."
So back home we went. Pain only got more intense from there. We kept timing them but they just kept getting stronger but less frequent and shorter duration. At this rate, we were never going to the hospital!
Noon came, I texted Amanda - there was no way baby was coming by 2 pm. Even though I was in a lot of pain, I knew that this little one was taking her sweet time.
By 5 pm, I couldn't take it anymore. We decided to lie to the hospital and told them that the contractions are 4 minutes apart lasting a minute each. We went in, they examined me, and I was still only 4-5 cm dialated.
I needed drugs. I needed pain relief really badly. The doctor suggested morphine at first. Then she suggested the hot shower first. And since I was hoping that at this point, the baby would come soon, I could endure the pain just a little bit longer in the shower. Our doctor told us that our nurse will be Mackenzie. Both Bryan and I laughed out loud, because we were naming our daughter Mackenzie!
Got to the room, settled down. And Mackenzie told us that she was going on a dinner break and the nurse looking after us will be Jenny. If I wasn't having a contraction at that point, my jaw would've dropped with Bryan's. We were naming our daughter Mackenzie Jenny - after Bryan's mom and my mom. What are the chances?!?!?!
The hot shower certainly helped with the pain. In between contractions (and by now, they are 2-3 minutes apart), I was falling asleep on Bryan's chest. I was in there for 2 hours (completely prunely) when Bryan finally suggested that I go with some kind of drugs.
That's when I lost it. I became completely illogical. I balled and said, "but the needles will hurt so much! I can't do it! I know I'm being so ridiculous because the needle will hurt way less than contractions, but I can't do it!"
The doctor on call and the nurses were awesome. They all told me that it was completely normal. When I said, "I'm sorry I suck!" They just kept encouraging me and said, "you're a trooper. You're at 6 cm and only getting drugs now!"
So yup, I went with an epidural. And let me tell you - somehow, the world was right again after that. Even though I balled for 30 minutes while they did the IV and stuff, it was well worth losing my dignity in front of everyone. I needed sleep mostly and got an hour of sleep. Caught the end of the Canucks hockey game and when the doctor came to check on me at 10 pm, she said, "ok, the baby's head is right there. You can push anytime now."
At 10:30 pm on April 30, 2011, after 27 hours of labor, Mackenzie Jenny Nickel was born weighing at merely 5 lbs 12 oz. Yup, she was a mini! Everyone around me was telling me how beautiful she was. I looked over and said, "are you sure? She looks really pink and wrinkly." Turned out, I wasn't one of those women that got emotional and thought she was the most beautiful kid in the world.
Amanda and Dan stayed an extra day just to catch this munchkin. So yup - Mackenzie did well! She held in for the move and the wedding and came out so Aunty Amanda and Uncle Dan could see her!
It's been a week and it's as surreal now as it was a week ago. It's been a very adventurous week so far and I will update soon with more stuff with this little one. In the meantime, enjoy one of the cutest pics we captured when we took her to an outing on her third day:
Just like that! It's over! That was the slowest and the quickest 41 weeks of my life! Will write again soon :)
It all started last Friday (can't believe it's been a week already) when we were visiting Amanda and Dan for one last dinner before they leave for Edmonton on Saturday afternoon. We've kinda given up that the baby would come before they leave.
But then at 8 pm, it all changed. The first contraction started. I wasn't sure what it was at first. But when it felt the same 30 minutes later, I knew it had started.
So when we left dinner, I said, "I'm not going to say goodbye. The baby will probably come tomorrow before you guys leave. The contractions are now 8 minutes apart". With that, we drove home.
With a bit of excitement and nervousness, we went to bed around midnight hoping I could catch some rest before baby comes. Well an hour later, the contractions were about 7 minutes apart and hurt enough that I couldn't sleep. My sister came home around 2 and I hung out with her watching TV until 4 in the morning. By 5:30, my contractions were 5 minutes apart. Surely, baby will be coming by 2 pm that day right? (That was when Amanda and Dan were leaving)
Got to the hospital. It hurt quite a bit, Bryan was rubbing my back. But I was still pretty laid back and excited about what was to come. When the doctor came and said, "just incase the baby doesn't come til Tuesday, we'll have to book some tests..." I was like, what?! Tuesday? No way, I can take the pain now, but not until Tuesday! By the time she checked me, she said, "ok, you're 2-3 cm dialated. Yeah, maybe baby will come today. Go home though. Come back when your contractions are 3-5 minutes apart for one minute each."
So back home we went. Pain only got more intense from there. We kept timing them but they just kept getting stronger but less frequent and shorter duration. At this rate, we were never going to the hospital!
Noon came, I texted Amanda - there was no way baby was coming by 2 pm. Even though I was in a lot of pain, I knew that this little one was taking her sweet time.
By 5 pm, I couldn't take it anymore. We decided to lie to the hospital and told them that the contractions are 4 minutes apart lasting a minute each. We went in, they examined me, and I was still only 4-5 cm dialated.
I needed drugs. I needed pain relief really badly. The doctor suggested morphine at first. Then she suggested the hot shower first. And since I was hoping that at this point, the baby would come soon, I could endure the pain just a little bit longer in the shower. Our doctor told us that our nurse will be Mackenzie. Both Bryan and I laughed out loud, because we were naming our daughter Mackenzie!
Got to the room, settled down. And Mackenzie told us that she was going on a dinner break and the nurse looking after us will be Jenny. If I wasn't having a contraction at that point, my jaw would've dropped with Bryan's. We were naming our daughter Mackenzie Jenny - after Bryan's mom and my mom. What are the chances?!?!?!
The hot shower certainly helped with the pain. In between contractions (and by now, they are 2-3 minutes apart), I was falling asleep on Bryan's chest. I was in there for 2 hours (completely prunely) when Bryan finally suggested that I go with some kind of drugs.
That's when I lost it. I became completely illogical. I balled and said, "but the needles will hurt so much! I can't do it! I know I'm being so ridiculous because the needle will hurt way less than contractions, but I can't do it!"
The doctor on call and the nurses were awesome. They all told me that it was completely normal. When I said, "I'm sorry I suck!" They just kept encouraging me and said, "you're a trooper. You're at 6 cm and only getting drugs now!"
So yup, I went with an epidural. And let me tell you - somehow, the world was right again after that. Even though I balled for 30 minutes while they did the IV and stuff, it was well worth losing my dignity in front of everyone. I needed sleep mostly and got an hour of sleep. Caught the end of the Canucks hockey game and when the doctor came to check on me at 10 pm, she said, "ok, the baby's head is right there. You can push anytime now."
At 10:30 pm on April 30, 2011, after 27 hours of labor, Mackenzie Jenny Nickel was born weighing at merely 5 lbs 12 oz. Yup, she was a mini! Everyone around me was telling me how beautiful she was. I looked over and said, "are you sure? She looks really pink and wrinkly." Turned out, I wasn't one of those women that got emotional and thought she was the most beautiful kid in the world.
Amanda and Dan stayed an extra day just to catch this munchkin. So yup - Mackenzie did well! She held in for the move and the wedding and came out so Aunty Amanda and Uncle Dan could see her!
It's been a week and it's as surreal now as it was a week ago. It's been a very adventurous week so far and I will update soon with more stuff with this little one. In the meantime, enjoy one of the cutest pics we captured when we took her to an outing on her third day:
She's gorgeous!!
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