Thomas’ Birth Story

As I sit down to write this post, our little baby boy Thomas is sitting on my mom’s lap beside me, listening to Clare de Lune lullaby version. He looks so calm and enjoying the song. And I am looking at him so grateful for having a beautiful and healthy baby in our lives. Our baby is a blessing and we couldn’t be happier.

He arrived one week before his due date. It is funny because I was sure he was coming before. We even did a bet in the family trying to guess what date he would arrive and I was the only one who got close. I said he was going to arrive on February 5^th , but he arrived on February 6^th.

On February 3^rd my mom arrived from Brazil. My husband and I woke up very earlier at 5am to go to the airport to pick her up. I was very excited to see her again and to show her my belly. I also was dying to give her a hug especially because it had been 7 months since I had seen her. When we arrived home she said “let’s clean this entire house because I am sure my grandson is going to arrive in few days so I want to leave everything clean for him”.

So, my mom and I cleaned and organized everything. I was felling very energetic. After the cleaning we went for a long walk since the weather was so nice, which is a miracle for February. The next day, we did laundry and we went shopping some kitchen stuff so my mom can bring back to Brazil because here in Canada everything is cheaper than down there. Then we cooked dinner and even watched a movie. However, that night I (Thursday February 4^th) couldn’t sleep well because I felt cramps every hour. I wasn’t very sure they were contractions, but I noticed it was very consistent so I realized I was in the early stage of labor.

In the morning of February 5^th I went to the bathroom and I saw that the mucus plug was released and then I had no doubts that the cramps were actually contractions. But they weren’t very strong and I knew it could be like that for days. So, I didn’t worry much and was very calm. I said to my mom I would like to go for a walk because people always say that walking helps to accelerate labor.

We walked for about one hour and my husband was calling me every 10 minutes to know how I was. He was very excited. He went to work in the morning, but he couldn’t be there for more than 5 hours. When we came back from our walk my lovely husband was at home already. He bought a delicious soup for me, but I actually wasn’t very hungry. He suggested to take a rest because he was sure our baby was going to be born in the evening but I couldn’t take a nap. I was full of energy and I just wanted to do things, to talk to my sister and my sister-in-law on the phone and to stay with my mom. I also messaged all my close friends from Toronto and from Brazil to say that I was in labor. I started to receive beautiful messages from them and it helped me feel even stronger and ready.

Pierre called his parents who were in Montreal and they decided to come to Toronto. They wanted to be here for the arrival of their grandson. They arrived 5 hours later at our place around 7pm. When it was about 9:30pm we decided to go to the hospital because the contractions were every 4mins. I waited as long as I could at home but I was getting anxious. I would like to be there to hear his heart and to make sure all was well with him. So, we went by car. My mom was with us and my in-laws followed us in a taxi. When we arrived at the hospital we did the triage and I was about 5cm dilated.

My husband and my mom were all the time with me giving support and trying to help me as much as they could. I couldn’t be more grateful for having them beside me. My in-laws also helped me. My mom-in-law tried to calm me down too. But I have to say my husband was just the perfect support person I could ask for. Pierre was simply amazing the whole time. He was there all the time for me. Everything I needed he was making sure I got it. I felt very secure with him.

Two hours later we were at our huge private birthing room at Mont Sinai Hospital with a large tub, huge bathroom and birthing ball. My nurse was absolutely amazing. She was very gentle and kind. I felt so confident and supportive. But unfortunately I started to feel an insane amount of pain. I went to the hot tub trying to control the pain but nothing was making in better.

My mother-in-law tried to coach me and get me to breathe but it was too much pain. The doctor checked how many centimeter I was dilated and she noticed that the baby was on the posterior position where the baby has his head down, but the back of his head is against my spine. So, this position makes labor more difficult and even more painful. I was getting exhausting. I couldn’t stay up anymore. I felt VERY tired and I started to worry and think “I would like to be and feel well to receive my baby on my best way”. I was afraid if I didn’t take the epidural I was going to be so tired that I wouldn’t have energy to hold my baby and be fully present to enjoy the most important moment for my life.

So, I talked to my husband I said to him I would like to take the epidural. Our initial plan was not to take epidural, but since this pain were so strong I decided it was better to take it. I have to say that it was the best thing I did because after I took the epidural I felt so calm; I could enjoy much more the moment; I was fully present; I could talk to my family and actually knowing what was going on; I even could take a nap and be fully energetic to receive my beautiful boy.

My sister couldn’t come to Canada because she was working and also she has a little one-year-old boy who needs lot of attention. We thought she couldn’t help me much since she has to take care of my adorable nephew.

But, it is not a problem because in few months we will be in Brazil and she will be able to meet my baby. After I took the epidural I felt so well that we could Facetime my sister and talk a little bit with her. Actually I cried much more than I talked since I really would love for her to be with me, but internet really helps at these moments, right?

She saw me and she was happy to see I was doing well. When it was around 8am on February 6^th the doctor checked me again and said I was fully dilated and ready to push. I got to say that at this moment I was very nervous. I wasn’t sure if I could push very strongly and also that it was finally the moment we were going to meet our little baby. I had a mix of feelings. I was excited, happy, anxious and nervous all at the same time.

My nurse arrived in the room and said that all was ready to receive our baby in this world. My husband was at one side of the bed holding my leg and my mother-in-law on the other side holding the other.

My mom was beside my mother-in-law and my father-in-law was in the room, but a bit further away. The nurse said to push only once to practice but when I pushed his head started to come out. Nobody could believe how fast it was. My husband said “holy cow we can see the head already… That’s incredible”. The nurse was so surprised that she asked me to not push anymore because the doctor wasn’t there. She phoned the doctor and in 2 minutes the doctor was in my room. I pushed one more time and he was almost out on the third push he arrived to this world. I only pushed 3 times in less than 5 minutes. It was incredible. He was finally born at 9:20am, weighing 3kg on a dot (6.6lbs) and 50cm (19.18 inches) long.

When I saw him I couldn’t believe what I was looking at. I couldn’t stop crying. My son… Our son… My little boy that I always dreamed about. Everybody was so happy. My husband and I were filled with joy. I couldn’t believe what was going on. It was a mix of feelings such as joy, happiness, relief and curiosity.

They brought him over to me and I put him on my chest I cried even more. I remembered that I kept saying to him so many times “I love you so much, Thomas”. My husband was all the time with us looking at him. We were admiring him appreciated the gift we had recieved and being grateful for having such a precious, beautiful and healthy little baby. February 6^th will be forever remembered as the most beautiful and important day of our lives. We will never forget the joy we felt that day.

  

The first 20 days have been both rewarding and challenging at times (the recovery of the lady parts and some issues I had about breastfeeding are subjects for another blog posts), but I couldn’t ask for more. Now we are a lovely little family of three.