Adriana Katrina Hurley

On Sunday, May 17 I had some spotting in the morning so I phoned the Maternity Ward and they advised me that I was in the early stages of labour. That night I was having contractions but they were not strong so I ignored them knowing that I was going in, in the morning to be induced.

We arrived at Peace Arch Hospital at 8:30am and they hooked me up to monitor my contractions and the baby’s heart rate. As it turned out I was in labour, I was having 60-90 second contractions every 5-10 minutes. I was very excited to see that my body had actually started without the help of an induction. My Doctor advised the nurses to see how the contractions progressed. My mucus plug then came out so I was getting even more excited. Derek and I walked to halls and stairs of the Hospital to help the labour progress. Two and half hours later they hooked my back up and there was no progress and I was only 1 cm dilated so the Doctor stripped my cervix at 11am. The contractions continued to get stronger and closer together but when they checked again at 1:30 I was still only 1 cm so they hooked me up to Oxytocin. This was the first time I had ever had an IV, I was so scared but quickly got use to it in my hand.

The pain started to increase but when they checked me at 4:30pm I was still only 1 cm dilated so the Doctor decided to break my water. Then to pain really started to come, I tried the gas but found it hard to breath so I decided to get a shot of Morphine at 5pm. This was a bit more painful then I thought it was going to be and left a nasty bruise on my hip.

Labour was progressing and getting a lot harder but I was still in control and using my breathing techniques well. At 7:30, right at the nurses shift change, I threw up everywhere and I mean everywhere. I had to go in the shower to clean up and I started to shake uncontrollably, this was kind of scary and I could tell the Derek was a bit scared by this as well. The nurses reassured us that it was a side effect of the pain I was in.

The pain was getting worse so the Doctor suggested I get an Epidural at 9:30pm. I didn’t want to get the epidural but at this point I was only 3cm dilated and I thought I was going to die. To my surprise the epidural was less painful then the morphine and started to give me some relief quickly.

I started pushing at 11:25pm. Things were going well, the pushing part felt better for me as it actually felt like I was doing something and I found it less painful. However, the epidural started to wear off and after I would push I would have excruciating pain in my stomach. After pushing for 3.5 hours the Doctor informed that I was going to need assistance to get the baby out as the head wasn’t turned properly and it wasn’t able to go past my pubic bone. They were going to attempt either forceps or vacuum one time only and if that didn’t work I was going to have to have a C-Section which I dreaded.

As they prepped me for the OR, in case I did need a C-Section, they gave me Fetenol which pretty much knocked me out. Derek had to wait in the hall for 20 minutes while I was in the OR being prepped further. They topped up my Epidural with another drug (I don’t remember the name) and the pain was pretty much eliminated. I remember Derek sitting behind me and helping me with the pushing and I remember the Doctor inserting the forceps. I then asked if the baby was out and the Doctor said yes and then I heard her cry, it was the biggest relief ever. Then someone said did anyone see the sex? One guy said yeah I saw something so Derek and I both thought it was a boy, and then someone announced it was a GIRL. I was so excited….I got my little girl. She weighed 8lbs 12oz and was 22.5 inches long. She is so big and I still don’t understand how she fit inside me. Everything felt so surreal. She was born at 3:09am May 19th and shares her birthday with my mom.

Derek and Adriana were taken upstairs and I had to go into recovery. When I finally got up to the room I had to breast feed and it felt very weird, I had no clue what I was doing. We stayed in the hospital for 2 more nights as Adriana had lost 9% of her birth rate. When we finally got to go home it felt a lot more comfortable. Adriana adapted well to her new surroundings and it finally felt normal, I hated being in the hospital. They were some times I felt scared and wasn’t sure if she was getting enough food and other times were I was in so much pain (trying to go to the bathroom). Nobody tells you about stuff like that.

I am much better now; it is amazing how much your body can heal in a week. I am waking up 2-3 times in the night to feed and feel surprisingly energized. Derek is now back at work (at his new job) and my mom is here for 2 weeks. It is very nice to have the extra help with cooking and dishes.