Update on my pregnancy: Amy’s birth story

I thought having a second child would make the labor earlier and faster. Well, I couldn’t be more wrong 😅

In brief

• Due date: March 18, 2021 = 40 weeks
• Born: March 22, 2021 at 00:09 = 40 weeks + 4 days
• Weight = 3,580kg
• Height = 52cm
• Birth delivery: emergency c-cut

Two false alarms

Sunday, March 14th

After an hour of having regular contractions every 5min or so, we decided to go at the hospital.

But as soon as we got in the car, my contractions stopped.

And when the doctor checked me, he confirmed that it was false labor since I was not dilated at all.

Thursday, March 18th

Day of my due date!

I started timing contractions again around 2PM. They didn’t stop even if I was laying down, walking or having a shower.

Since I already got one false alarm few days before, I decided to take my time before heading to the hospital.

We went there around 7PM, contractions were not stopping and were again 5min apart.

But when I got checked by the doctor, nothing. Not even 1cm dilated.

The staff decided to keep me for the night under observation and if by the next morning contractions were not back, they would plan a c-cut.

So I spent the whole night on a bed attached to bags of IV fluid. I had contractions until 11PM then they stopped.

The next morning, we went to Peixoto to meet with an obstetrician. And since I had no problem with my pregnancy and we were planning to have a vaginal birth, she said we could wait until the 25th, which is 41 weeks, to see if I labour spontaneously.

A whole day of contractions

Sunday, March 21st

I noticed contractions again early in the morning. But they were too far apart and not that painful. So I thought again it was false labour.

Around noon, I went in the bathroom and noticed I had lost my mucus plug. Finally a sign that labor is here or at least not too far!

Contractions were still manageable until 9PM.

They were getting stronger and closer but since I had two false alarms I didn’t wanna go to the hospital for nothing. So I waited some more until during one contraction I heard a “pop”. I thing that’s when my water broke.

I went to the toilet to see if I was leaking but there was nothing except more mucus plug but now it was kinda greenish.

I told Davidson it was time to go to the hospital. Once we arrived there, I started to leak amniotic fluid and the contractions got even stronger.

I was losing my mind and couldn’t stay still for the doctor to check me. I was dilated at 6cm and my water did indeed broke. The bed was full of it.

We headed again to Peixoto by ambulance to give birth.

Once I got admitted, due to covid, Davidson couldn’t come with me. So I was left alone trying to deal with the contractions.

I was so much in pain, I thought I’d pass out. I was wondering why they were not giving me any pain relief. And when I asked they said that epidural is only for a c-cut. And at that moment I was like “I don’t think I can make it”

Many people checked me to see if I could deliver naturally. From what I could understand, the baby was too high and apparently too big for my body so they decided it would be a c-cut.

I was transferred to another place. I waited what it felt like forever in a corridor for the doctor to arrive and to finally start the c-cut.

When I entered the room I saw a clock. It was 11:59PM.

I had to sit down to get the epidural on my back. I was so much in pain 😭 With some help I managed to sit down then after few seconds, the pain was finally over.

I started to shake because of the anesthesia. And 10min later I hear Amy’s first cry and they showed her to me for 10 seconds.

I felt relieved she was doing ok.

While they were stitching me up, I could hear her cry in another room.

Once the surgery was over, the doctor told me that I almost got my uterus ruptured. Apparently my uterus was somehow thinner than what it should be and he added that a third pregnancy would be dangerous.

Aftet that, they transferred me onto another bed to go in my shared bedroom. It’s only then that I was able to hold Amy for the first time.

My thoughts

• If I had known that in Brazil (at least in public hospitals), epidural is only for c-cut, I would’ve planned for a c-cut right away and not waited for a spontaneous labour.
• I was not expecting Amy to be that big because on my ultrasound in early March, it said that her estimated weight was less than 3kg. She ended up being the same weight as Ellie but a bit taller than her of 2cm.
• I’ve been thinking a lot about having or not a third pregnancy. And we’ve come to the conclusion that for now it’s not the time to have this discussion. Maybe in 3 to 4 years, if we decide we want a third and final pregnancy then I’ll do all the check- ups needed to make sure everything goes well. In the meantime I’ll take birth control pills.