FTM natural birth at exactly 38 weeks

The morning of August 15th, 2018, we had an ultrasound to see if baby was still increasing on his growth chart. They decided to induce me at 38 weeks due to the gestational diabetes. He had issues with his growth starting at 32 weeks; we were just glad he made it to the 38 week mark.

I was set to go into labour and delivery at 8pm that night to have a Foley catheter inserted to get me dilated to 3cm. It was probably the worse pain I felt throughout the whole experience. They sent me home so that I can rest and then to come back early in the morning to get checked in. We got to the hospital at 8am. They checked me and I was well on my way at 3cm. They got me hooked up to the IV and took my blood.

By 9:51am, they broke my water and proceeded to give me pitocin to start my contractions. They were 3 minutes apart; it wasn’t so bad. It just felt like intense pressure and the feeling like I had to take a really bad poop. We waited and waited.

By 12pm, the nurse asked me if I wanted the epidural. At that point, I was feeling pretty good and said that I wanted to go as long as I could without it. They told me that with how my contractions were going, I wouldn’t be able to stay still later for the needle. I decided then to take the epidural. The nurse forgot to put the catheter in for my urine, so my bladder filled up and made every contraction extremely uncomfortable. They finally realized and put the catheter in; my bladder emptied out almost 500ml of urine.

As the hours went by, I grew more and more anxious. I laboured for another 4 hours or so when the nurse said that I was about 5-6cm dilated but not progressing. Baby’s head was down but facing upwards toward my stomach which caused my cervix to pause in dilation. They needed him to turn to face my back. They had me turn from one side to the other to help him move into the correct position. By 7pm, he was turning and on his way.

Hey 8pm came and I was almost 9cm. My husband’s mom, dad and brother came to visit, so did my mom and dad. At about 9pm, the nurse and doctor came in and told everyone to leave so they can check me. Everyone left but my husband. They checked me and then told me to lift my legs and push. I was in complete shock because I didn’t think I’d be pushing so soon (thought I had another hour or so at least). Pushing was probably the toughest part as I was so exhausted. 52 minutes later, my beautiful baby boy arrived screaming his little lungs out.

Liem Jordan born on August 16, 2018. The best day of my entire life.

I am truly blessed to have had an easy labour and delivery. More importantly, I’ve been blessed with this little soul!