MY BIRTH STORY
Well everyone, the time has come - our little one, Levi Luther Cheyne has arrived! He came into the world on July 12th, 2021 at 3:40 PM but he has been part of our family since we found out we were pregnant back in October. He has been in our thoughts, prayers, and our hearts since that very day and it is an absolute joy to have him here as a precious little newborn baby. We are enjoying our first few weeks of parenthood! Although we are exhausted, we are trying to soak up every minute of it.
Levi’s birth was long. As in, 36 hours long. I know there have been longer births than that, but I had imagined it being 12-18 hours so I was in for a shock when the contractions kept coming and they didn’t stop coming…for what felt like forever.
I began getting contractions at around 3:00 AM on July 11th. Funnily enough, I didn’t know if they were actually contractions or not, even though they were quite painful. They just felt like really, really bad cramps. I kept texting my friends saying, “Do you think I’m in labour??” I was so scared that I was having “false labour” so I didn’t want to get too excited. Spencer and I went for lunch to try to distract me from the contractions, but they were definitely getting stronger and my breaks in between were getting shorter. I had read that during this stage of labour, it is advisable to stay relaxed -maybe go for a walk, or do something else that keeps you calm. So I thought, where can I walk around and feel relaxed at the same time? The answer: MARSHALLS. After walking through the aisles and picking up a few items (obviously), I had to start leaning on the shelves in the home goods section because the contractions were getting so bad. (Still snagged some great deals, though, despite the state I was in!)
At around 7:00 PM that night, we decided to go to the hospital. I was afraid we would get sent home because again, I was still convinced this was “false labour.” We decided to take a walk around the block before heading to the hospital. I texted my sisters saying I would be going for a walk, so they came out of their houses and wished me well! Of course, in classic “Annika” fashion, I had to make a fun video to capture the moment (check it out HERE). Dad walked the rest of the way with us and prayed for us before we drove off. I guess it started to become more real because as we drove away, I said to my dad, “I think I’m going to come home with a baby!” And he said, “I think you’re right!”
At this point, the contractions were very painful. Spencer and I had taken birthing classes, but one thing we didn’t know was how much support I would need from him during the contractions. Would I want him to try to calm me down? Count breaths? Massage my shoulders? Yell at me like a drill sergeant? We learned pretty quickly what my “labouring style” was. During one contraction, when I was standing and leaning on him for physical support, he started stroking me and saying, “you’re doing great, you’re doing great” to which I responded, “Spencer, I love you but I need you to not touch me or talk to me right now. I need you to be still and silent. I need you to be a pole.” He obliged and did a great job of physically supporting me throughout the rest of the labour while at the same time, remaining very quiet. He made a GREAT pole.
When we arrived at the hospital, they informed us that there weren’t any birthing rooms available so they put us in a triage room. They advised me to get in a wheelchair and Spencer made a small error and confused the IV pole that was attached to the wheelchair for a luggage rack and proceeded to load up all of our bags (of which there were several) so that while he was wheeling me around, the wheelchair was basically toppling over to one side. He also ran the wheelchair into several walls, the elevator doors, and we had a few close calls with other patients. Fortunately, we made it to the room without any major injuries and Spencer had started to calm down. After an examination, they told me I was far enough along so I could stay. YAY! The plan was to “try and relax” through the contractions until a birthing room was available. The nurse asked me what my plan was for pain management. I responded with the answer Spencer and I had discussed in advance: “I’m hoping to do it without medication, but I’m open to it if need be.” 16 hours in I thought I was close and that I could make it! Boy was I wrong! After trying multiple natural pain management methods (for me, breathing can only get me so far) I decided to request the epidural. Unfortunately, there wasn’t an anesthesiologist available, so I had to wait 8 HOURS before getting the epidural. We tried to deal with the pain by using the laughing gas (which was working ok, but the tank kept breaking so Spencer would work with the nurses to fix it in between contractions), some fentanyl (which didn’t do much because each dose was supposed to last 15-20 min. And I was trying to stretch each dose to last an hour because we didn’t know when I would get a birthing room), and watching several episodes of “The Office”. Thank you Michael Scott for getting me through labour!!
At 4:30 AM, we finally got into a birthing room (with a great view of the Glenmore Reservoir), I got the epidural, and I was able to sleep for an hour. I woke up as the sun was rising and I thought of my mom. I was thinking about how she gave birth to me in the same hospital 30 years ago and that I hoped she was looking down on me as I was about to welcome my own baby into the world. I thanked God for a smooth pregnancy and prayed for a safe delivery of a healthy child. I’m so thankful I was able to have a quiet moment to myself during my labour to reflect on the previous 9 months and acknowledge that I was about to start a new chapter of life.
That afternoon it was time to push! I pushed for 45 min. And then at 3:40 PM, he was here! Spencer yelled, “It’s a boy!” And I held him on my chest as he cried and screamed, saying, “HELLO WORLD, I’M HERE!” He was 7 lbs on the dot, 21 inches long, and was perfectly healthy.
We are in the throws of the newborn stage right now - 2 weeks in, I can go from a state of absolute bliss to feeling completely overwhelmed and incompetent. I miss my mom in ways that I never knew I could miss her. At the same time I am so thankful for the friends and family that have rallied around us to support us on our parenthood journey. We are so incredibly blessed.
So there it is - the story of Levi joining Spencer and I to make us a family of 3. It wasn’t easy, it wasn’t quick, but it was oh so worth it!
