One Week...Seems like a Lifetime!

One week ago, The B's and my life changed forever.

One week ago, the real marathon - the one I've been "training" for over the last nine months - began.

One week ago, on Thursday, November 12, my son, Maximilian Roy, aka Baby Max(ity) took his first breath at 1:16 p.m. He weighed a (colossal, for me anyway) 8 pounds 2 ounces and measured 22 inches long.

And one week ago, you could say, I fell in love with another guy - albeit a little, tiny dictator who can't do much more than poo, pee, nurse and make the cutest sounds.

Baby Max is our pride and joy. I never believed I could love something or someone this much, but it's true.

Needless to say, these last few days have been busy.

In these last few days, I've learned and observed a number of things:

1. I can still live and function with only a few hours of sporadic sleep.
2. I never realized how much I could love a tiny, helpless human being.
3. Breastfeeding is a skill that both mom and baby master together. For me, a week in, breastfeeding is getting easier and is very enjoyable.
4. Labour hurts. No, really, really hurts much, much more than mile 25 in a marathon.
5. Delivering Baby Max was a team effort. I don't think I could have done it without My B. He was a superstar Daddy B. Truly the best.

Now for the L & D lowdown.

I celebrated my due date, November 11th, by going to the Ontario Science Centre's Body Works exhibit. I figured I might as well walk around and enjoy the exhibits...and hoped that my efforts would get labour started. (hee hee) Over the days prior, I had experienced a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions. These were now getting stronger and more regular, but not regular enough to start labour.

When we got home, The B went to Pilates and I had planned to go to the gym and do 40 minutes on the elliptical in a kind of twisted way to celebrate 40 weeks. (I also thought it might get labour started.)

I didn't need to go to the gym.

I started getting somewhat regular, moderate contractions and noticed a show at 7:30 p.m. I told The B when he got home. We both knew labour was imminent. I didn't really feel that bad until about 11:00 p.m. when I couldn't really watch the late night news - something I usually do. By midnight the contractions were coming on strong - so strong, in fact, that I had trouble talking and felt nauseated. We called our midwife, but I wasn't ready to go to the hospital yet. However, by 3:30 a.m., the contractions were now about five minutes apart.

Time to head over to Markham Stouffville Hospital.

When we got there, I was only dilated 5 cm and so Rezvan and Deepa, my midwives, told me to walk around. Wow...that was the longest hospital hallway I've ever walked! By now, the contractions were about every four minutes. At times, I felt faint and needed to rest on the benches where The B rubbed my back.

We returned to our birthing suite and the midwives checked again, I was still only about 5-6 cm dilated. Poo. I was able to hang on and deal with the pain for about three more hours - that's when the "rolling" or "double" contractions came - one intense contraction after another, about one minute apart.

The pain was intense. The funny thing, I can't really remember what it felt like now.

I asked for - no demanded - an epidural. I remember thinking, "I don't care if this is wimping out, but I can't go through with this any longer. Let me out the chicken exit!"

Luckily, the doctor was available and soon put me out of my misery. It was like a Jekyll and Hyde experience. By 9 a.m. I was blissfully unable to feel the action below. Strapped to fetal monitors, computers now watched Baby Max's heart rate.

Because my labour was still not progressing as fast as my midwives and the on call Ob/Gyn would have liked, they gave me a shot of Oxytocin to increase the intensity of the contractions. At this point, I still would have liked to push the baby out, but Rezvan, one of our midwives, was starting to doubt this would happen.

"I don't like the way this is progressing," she said. "You're not dilating fast enough and Baby is not responding very well to the Oxytocin. It looks like we may need a (C) section."

Again, I was a bit disappointed. I really wanted a vaginal delivery, given the increased recovery time and risks associated with C-sections. But I thought, "I'll do whatever is good for the baby."

Well, by 1 p.m. my midwives and the Ob/Gyn agreed: C-section.

The B and I agreed. And so I was rolled into the OR.

The C-section was actually painfree and somewhat enjoyable (?) The doctors were in good spirits and even joked with me on the table. However, no one - not my midwives, not the doctors - ever thought Baby Max would be so big. In fact, at first attempt to get him out, the doc had to cut a bigger incision. When he finally pulled him out, he said, "This is a lot more baby that we thought. There's no way you could have pushed him out!"

As soon as I saw my son, there was a sudden gush of emotion.

It was a life-changing, life-defining moment- perhaps the best moment of my life so far.

Over the last few days I've come to love Baby Max more and more. Each day brings new feelings, new experiences.

I'm so excited and honoured to share my life with this little guy.

I made a promise to Baby Max on his birthday: I promised to try my best and be the best parent I can be.

Hopefully he won't mind that I'm still learning and will make some mistakes!