Adelyne's Birth Story

Our newest addition to the family, Adelyne Quinn, is our third child, second daughter. She was born naturally at our local hospital at 8:27 a.m., on July 26th 2015. She was 20 1/4 in. and weighed in at an even 8 lbs (Our biggest in both weight and length!). 

Labour did not go as I expected, not even in the slightest. I was expecting a relatively quick labour, being that she was our third, and because Zachery came in a grand total of five hours (you can read about his birth story here). So I was a bit thrown off when after 24 hours of "consistant" contractions that there was still no end in sight... 

On July 25 around 5 a.m. contractions began, nothing extreme, just those preliminary tightenings. By 7 a.m. they were consistently 10-12 minutes apart and moving closer together, so I knew it was the real deal in the works. I figured things would progress quickly and got our cousin/babysitter over, texted my mom to give her a heads up... but there was no progression, contractions actually slowed down. 

By 10:30 I had gone from 7 minutes apart back up to 10 minutes apart, however the pains had gotten a little worse. For a few hours I napped and contractions went up to 20 minutes apart, and by 3pm they were back to 10 minutes apart... but still not super painful, I was so confused! As the evening went on things seemed to pick up more normally, by 11pm contractions were 4 minutes apart and about a 5 out of 10 in the pain department. We were getting ready to head to the hospital soon, as our midwife said to come when contractions were roughly 3 minutes apart. My mom arrived at 11:30 to take over as our on call babysitter, our poor cousin waited all day/evening with us but alas this baby was taking her sweet time and she had to head home. 

At about 12:30 a.m., now July 26th I was absolutely exhausted! I laid down to rest and those close contractions I was having shot up to 12-15 minutes apart and stayed that way unless I was up walking around, they were seriously just all over the map, I couldn't understand it. The pains had gotten worse, probably 7 out of 10 and just like Rylee I was having horrible back pain. At 3 a.m. I laid down again, and went from 6 minutes apart to 10 minutes apart... I was being tortured and if the pains of labour aren't bad enough I was starting to get anxious that something wasn't right...

So by 5 a.m., 24 hours since it all began, I made Sevio call the midwife to see what our options were and if we should be concerned as to why it was taking so long. She suggested we come in, she'd check me over, see where and baby was at and we'd discuss whether to break my waters to speed things up. So we were at the hospital at 5:30, the midwife said I was 4-6 cm dilated and baby's head was in position, so she did a membrane sweep and told me to walk around for an hour before we would decide whether to get admitted and possibly take further action. 

At 6:30 I was about 7 minutes apart, and the pains were getting extreme, Sevio had to be on his toes for whenever one hit because I needed him applying pressure to my lower back. Back labour is awful, thats all I have to say about that! My hour of walking was up, and I decided whether or not this baby was coming soon or way later in the day I wanted to be admitted. I just couldn't imagine going home to my two toddlers, who would be waking up very soon, and having them crawling all over me and making noise and messes... nope... couldn't even handle the thought of it! So I was admitted. Unfortunately to a room without a birthing tub, which was my birth plan... again what I envisioned was not going as planned and I was thrown for a loop.

We decided I would try to rest for an hour, and go from there. I had been up for 26 hours and totally worn out. I actually slept, I had about 2 contractions in that hour. 

At 8 a.m. I woke up to one very painful contraction, the kind that comes with a burning sensation down under... and I was like "Crap! It's coming!", I told Sevio to go, and go quickly to get the midwife. While he was gone I got myself up to go pee and had another contraction keeled over the bathroom sink, thats when the midwife arrived. Thats when she taught Sevio how to properly relieve the pressure off my back, and thats when I learned during a contraction you could actually see a bulge in my back from the baby... no wonder it hurt so bad! 

After that contraction I made my way back to the bed, which I honestly looked at and was like "how do I give birth on that?", I couldn't even sit comfortably, let alone think about leaning back to get into a proper delivery position. Just as I was getting on the bed another contraction hit and Sevio said to the midwife, "She thinks the baby is coming", and the midwife was like "Wait, what!?", and then asked me to wait a minute... haha as if! She kicked into high gear, she wasn't prepared at all, but thankfully she had a nurse with her to help. 

I continued to find a "comfortable" position, and found that having the bed in the sitting position with me on my knees holding on to the back was the way it was going to happen. I began to get the chills and shake and as the next contraction hit I was ready to push, and I tried with all my might, and all I could give in the form of a push was just holding my breath for about 3 seconds. It was pathetic. I was done. I was over the top exhausted, and slightly panicked that I wasn't going to be able to finish this. With the next contraction I was able to bear down, bite the bed and PUSH! I couldn't stop pushing, I was afraid of ripping open, but even that fear couldn't stop my desire to get her out! 

With one push my waters broke and surprised both the midwife and nurse. With the same push her head was crowning. With two pushes her head was out. And it's a bit foggy whether it was the same push or there was a third when her shoulders popped out and along slide the rest of her. I couldn't see anything, but there was the sound of her cries, and then the midwife was handing her to me through my legs. All I remember at this point is trying to get turned around, holding this new baby in my arms, and having not even an ounce of energy to really look at her. I just closed my eyes. For a few moments, I just needed to breath. 

After I regrouped myself and realized it was finally all over I pushed exhaustion to the side and let the excitement of getting to look down at this little being take over. I saw Rylee in her features, and Zachery in her little pouting expressions, but still she was her own, she was Adelyne, and she was so special in her own little way!

Zachery's Birth Story

Our second child, and first born son, Zachery Jayden, was born January 15th, 2014. He weighed 7lbs 2oz and was 19.5 inches long. He was born naturally at 10:28am at a private hospital in Bangkok, Thailand!

Zachery arrived only 2 days past his due date and thankfully without any medical intervention (you can read HERE about my concerns for premature inducement). Contractions began on the 14th but were so irregular and painless that I wasn't sure if it was just a bout of braxton hicks. Around 4am on the 15th I woke up to go pee and began having regular contractions starting at 10 minutes apart, not really painful but definitely uncomfortable. 

I nodded in and out of sleep till about 6am when things seemed to be speeding up faster than I was prepared for. By 7am my contractions were 4 minutes apart, the pain that came with them was manageable but enough to stop me from what I was doing. The timing seemed weird for me because by the time I was 4 minutes apart with Rylee I was in so much pain and begging to go to the hospital. This time around I felt like I still had a long way to go before I could even begin thinking about pushing this lil'guy out. Regardless we figured we should go to the hospital to get checked out, playing the better safe then sorry card.

We arrived at the hospital around 7:45am, got checked in, and were placed in a labour room. I was put on an I/V and they put on me a fetal heart rate monitor as well as checked my blood pressure every 15 minutes. Once settled a nurse came in to check me and to my disappointment I was only 3cm dilated! I began to get nervous that this labour was going to be long and exhausting as contractions were now more painful and so close together. 

It wasn't long before the Dr. showed up, after reexamining me (now 4cm), he thought it best to break my waters. This was not the most comfortable experience, one because I didn't know if it was fully necessary, and two because it just was (just imagine a super skinny crochet hook poking around in your down unders...)! 

After this things definitely began to speed up, at least in the pain department! Around 9am I was 6cm dilated and moved into the delivery room. Sevio (with Rylee) was told to wait in the labor room (which was not what we planned for at all!). So I was in a room full of strangers, about 6 nurses and 1 doctor, all of which spoke minimal English, at first I was like "I can do this" and just focused on getting through each contraction. But, after about an hour of doing it on my own I had enough and requested they bring Sevio in, thankfully they listened! I couldn't imagine going through such an excruciating experience without him, and wasn't willing to let him miss out on the amazingness of his son being born!

At this point I have no idea how dilated I was, but I was fully aware I was in worst stage of delivery, the "transition phase". Having gone though this before it was a little bizzaar to recognize my self doubt and actually be encouraged by it... knowing the end was near. With Sevio with me now I was more comfortable knowing I had my support and someone I could communicate with, he helped me count through contractions and encouraged me through this awful stage. 

Going into this birth I had been so nervous that the hospital staff were going to intervene any way possible making it a less than natural delivery, and so far they had with putting me on an I/V (which i later learned had oxytocin in it), and the breaking of my waters... both of which may have been necessary and probably helped make for a quicker delivery but I just don't like not knowing that information or really having a say in the matter.

So now that things had progressed and we were near the end I was even more thankful Sevio was in the room, he could tell me what was going on around me, and even stepped in when it seemed the Doc was getting ready to do some carving in my area (aka an episiotomy, my worst nightmare)! It was around 10:20am when I was ready to push and boy, oh boy did I push! Its all a blur but I know with one prolonged contraction I bared down like no other, it was only when I heard a nurse yell "slow down" that I gained a little control and eased up. The pressure was so intense but at the end of it I felt a release and Sevio informed me the head was out, "Hallelujah!" were my exact words at that moment! This is also when I opened my eyes for a moment and saw Rylee in Sevio's arms with a look on her face that was none other than "What the heck is happening!?", and then with one more contraction I saw our little Zachery dangling upside down in the Dr's hands!

The worst was over and our little boy was here! Rylee was the first to hold him (with Sevio's help of course!). After a few minutes I briefly got to hold him before they took him up to the nursery, Rylee and Sevio followed while I got cleaned up and moved back into the labour room to rest.

It was very much a different experience than the birth of Rylee where we had a much more personal experience with a midwife and surrounded by family and friends sharing in our excitement. For the first four hours of Zachery's life he was in the nursery, and half of that time I was alone in the labour room (Sevio & Rylee were up with Zach, although only Rylee was allowed in to see him). All of this I wish I could change, I wish those precious hours we could have been all together as a family but regardless of this I am just happy he alive and healthy!

As standard procedure here in Thailand, Zachery and I spent 3 days, 2 nights in the hospital. This was a first for me, I've never spent more than a few hours in a hospital, or even eaten hospital food. And as much as I wanted to get back to the comfort of our own home, I'm actually thankful for this time to rest and be taken care of. We had a great big room all to ourselves, t.v., wifi, and best of all I didn't have to worry about meals, or cleaning house, or anything!

If you want to read about Rylee's birth story, click HERE.

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Rylee's Birth Story

Our little girl, Rylee Peyton, was born on November 10th, 2011, at our local hospital. She weighed 7 lbs and was 19.75 inches long. She was born in the water at 2:55 am to two parents who were very excited to meet her...FINALLY!

I began having contractions 8 days past our due date, Wednesday Nov 9th, late at night around midnight or 1am. Looking back now I can barely remember it, so clearly what I was feeling wasn't anything compared to the actual birth. The contractions were more like flexing my abs, but without my control, virtually painless.

By morning this strange ab-flex was still happening, but still fairly irregular. So we called our midwife, Maggie, to let her know what was happening. It's crazy how you go through 9-10 months of a pregnancy, you hear the heartbeat, you see it in the ultrasound, you feel it kick and turn, but it wasn't until this very moment in time our baby was becoming a reality.

We informed our parents, families and close friends that it was baby time, sharing with them our excitement and nervousness. Sevio's close friend Vassa came over as well as his step-sister Jade. For the majority of the day we played cards and just puttered around. As the contractions grew closer together they got more uncomfortable, everyone knew one was coming as I would stop what I was doing, close my eyes, rock on my exercise ball, and focus on counting in my head till it was over.

As the day went on my Dad invited us to come over for dinner, which at the time sounded like no big deal, my contractions were 10-12 minutes apart and bearable, this was around 5pm. As we sat down to eat around 6pm it felt like I would take three bites and then have to get up and walk through the contraction...eating turned into a hopeless endeavor. Sevio was heeing and hawing with his mom whether she should be getting on the ferry so that she could be here for baby's arrival, the midwife told us to not get our hopes up as first babies can be long labors. By 8pm we were back on the phone with her telling her it might be in her best interest to catch the last ferry from Victoria to our little island, Salt Spring. My contractions at this point were ranging between 6-8 minutes apart and getting more painful, we were in communication with Maggie and she said she would send her intern, Summer, to come check on me. Sevio left to go pick up his mom while I stayed behind wishing he had never left, thankfully my mom was there and her good friend Barb (who happens to be a great masseuse!). I couldn't bear to sit through a contraction, I had to lean on door frames, or the banister, and eventually all I could to get through the contractions was be on all fours with my head on the floor...kind of animalistic, I know, but don't knock it till you try it!

After what felt like hours Sevio arrived with his mom in tow, meanwhile Summer still hadn't arrived, I was growing more and more impatient and just wanted to go to the hospital as my contractions were now 4 minutes apart, and I might add painfully annoying! Summer arrived shortly after Sevio, she was calm and relaxed and just observed a few contractions, took my blood pressure, and checked the baby's heart rate. She then called Maggie and together they decided that it would probably be best for us to go home and try to rest as it could be awhile yet, and Summer would come and stay with us just in case. This was around midnight that we agreed, along the way we dropped Sevio's mom off (which happened to be literally right next to the hospital...I wanted to jump out the car and make a run for it!). We weren't home longer than 20 minutes and I had the urge to push but knew I shouldn't cause in my head there was hours if not a day left to go, and I honestly thought if this is just the beginning then at the end I think I'm going to die! The only place I could restrain myself from pushing was sitting on the toilet with my feet up and pushing against the wall, it was there that I went pee and discovered some spotting, I freaked out a little because your trained that when you see blood something is not right, right!?

So Summer decided to examine me and didn't think I was very dilated but just in case we would go to the hospital and Maggie would meet us there to do another examination. Word of wisdom, avoid car rides as much as possible when you are in the final stages of labor...UNCOMFORTABLE! We as well as my mom and sister arrived at the hospital just after 1am, now Thursday November 10th. We were immediately directed into the birthing room, Maggie arrived just after us and quickly proceeded to do another examination and much to everyone's surprise I was 9 1/2 cm dilated! They filled the birthing tub, and I felt immediate relief sitting in the warm weightless water. It wasn't long though that nothing was going to make me comfortable, I would move into a position and literally have to inch my way into another one. Maggie and the nurses disappeared for awhile, and I was apparently had lost some coherency because I thought they had all left me to fend for myself, meanwhile Summer was sitting right there in the room with us. I was in the terrible transition phase when I want to push but it's not quite time, Maggie instructed me to push if I had to but to hold off if I could, so when a contraction hit I would push for about half of it until I gained control and could breath through it. This I believe was the worst of it all, I swore once (for those who don't know me, that is totally out of character for me...I'm a golly-gee, gosh darn-it kind of girl :P), I even yelled full on and it wasn't some girly squeal, it was a deep yell coming straight from my core.

Maggie gave the the go ahead that it was time to push so I got into a position where I was sideways in the tub with my feet up against the side of it which helped for bearing down and pushing. In between each contraction was the best grace period, I remember it feeling so good to not feel anything and to just nod off. My waters finally broke and it was the weirdest feeling being in water while it happened, because you can't feel the water come out but I felt the releasing pop and the water around me got a little bit warmer. When pushing time came me and Sevio would lock eyes (when I had mine open) and fight together through it. In between each contraction was the best grace period, I remember it feeling so good to not feel anything at all and just nod off. Near the final pushes I kept thinking that it was the last push, that surely the baby came out, but sure enough my battle was not over. Summer asked if I wanted a mirror to see the babies head but I was so in the zone that I couldn't even imagine turning my head to look in the mirror. As the babies head crowned, it was the most excruciating feeling I have ever felt, I thought I was ripping in half, my whole body lifted up and went completely rigid. It was then I seriously wanted it out and somebody had to do something about it, but nobody could and time had to take its course unfortunately. About 2 more pushes and our baby came into this world and placed in my arms, everything about "it" was beautiful and cute. Both me and Sevio were ecstatic to find out what it was and our little peanut made us fight for it as it had its legs tightly crossed, blocking the view of its you know what. After a few tries, and a double take, I pronounced to the room, "It's a girl!" I was so excited as was Sevio, our beautiful baby girl, Rylee Peyton.