Teagan’s Birth Story
In honour of Teagan’s 4th birthday, I felt compelled to write out her birth story. It’s something I’ve been wanting to do, and thought this was the perfect day.
Teagan Beth Chamberlain was born on August 15, 2019 at 3:00pm on the dot (one day before her due date).
A couple days before Teagan’s birth date, my amniotic fluid levels were measuring low. That (paired with my rising blood pressure) led to my midwife advising I get induced in the next day or so.
Around 8am on August 15, my midwife called me letting me know that the hospital had room to induce me that day. And asked if I could be there by 10am. Needless to say, I didn’t have much time to mentally prepare. But I knew I was ready to meet our 2nd child (we didn’t know her sex yet).
Jay called his parents who came to Cambridge to look after Sadie (I think my dad might have also helped out that morning until Jay’s parents got here as they were an hour and a half drive away).
Jay and I headed to the hospital and I kept thinking how different this drive was than with Sadie’s birth. (With Sadie’s birth, I was in full-on labour on our drive to the hospital, my strong contractions only 2-3 minutes apart). This drive felt calm, but I was definitely very nervous and not excited for the inevitable pain that was to come. (Knowing what to expect was not helpful in this case for me!)
We got to the hospital and checked in. (Which was also so much more slow and calm than Sadie’s birth). My midwife checked on baby, and all was good to go to start the induction (oxytocin) at 10:30am.
I don’t remember all the details of the induction, but I do remember it started really slowly. I was lying in the bed (hooked up to an IV) so it was pretty uneventful for a long time. I remember my fear was that the induction wouldn’t “work” and that I’d have to be sent home to try again the next day (I heard stories of other midwife clients having this happen).
Around noon my contractions started slowly. And they went on like that for an hour I think. My midwife suggested at that point that I try going for a walk with my IV pole. That seemed to do the trick, because after a couple laps in the hall, my contractions were starting to get more intense and closer together. I lied back down in bed to keep labouring. My midwife checked me, and I think I was 5cm dilated. At this point my midwife broke my water (at 1:40pm).
From this point on, my labour seemed to go from zero to 100 (which I remember people saying could be common with induction). I distinctly remember bringing a fan to have in my face because I remember feeling so overheated with Sadie’s birth. This helped so much.
I remember having Jay by my head holding my hand and encouraging me. And I also remember the 2nd midwife staying at my head too, and she had such a calming, assuring voice that I really appreciated.
Side note: Similar to Sadie’s birth, I went into Teagan’s delivery wanting to try for an unmedicated labour. I knew the induction was going to likely be fast and furious once it started, so I didn’t even let an epidural cross my mind.
My contractions got so close together at one point that I didn’t even have a break between them. At this point, I remember my induction medication got turned way down (or off even, I’m not sure) since my body had taken over and was doing it’s thing.
I remember that during Sadie’s labour I felt most comfortable on my back. With Teagan’s birth I felt the best (and Teagan’s heart rate did the best) when I was on my side with a peanut ball).
My pain was super intense at this point, and my midwife asked if I wanted to try laughing gas (which was something I said I was open to beforehand). I said yes I wanted to try because I kept asking how much longer it would be. The laughing gas took me a few breaths to figure out, but I will say that once I did figure it out, it really helped. It put me into a bit of a “lala land” state that didn’t necessarily take the pain away, but helped me get out of my head and focus on my body.
The laughing gas must have helped, because I remember as I was labouring on my right side I felt a sudden, undeniable urge to start pushing. And I started pushing involuntarily it seemed. My midwife asked if I needed to push and I said “YES!”. She checked my dilation, and sure enough I had progressed to 10 cm dilated.
I remember rolling to my back at this point to start pushing. The urge to push with this delivery felt so much more intense and strong than it did with Sadie. I remember feeling like she was going to just launch out of me! I kept kicking my legs and moving around. My midwife strongly advised at this point that I needed to keep my knees bent and legs open (I could feel myself wanting to fight against this), but I knew I needed to listen to her.
Once I got into a better position with my legs, I pushed 3-4 times (around 7-minutes) and Teagan was here at 3pm on the dot (4.5 hours after my induction started). (And Jay let me know we had another girl!)
Similar to Sadie’s birth story, the immense, immediate relief I felt after Teagan arrived was unforgettable.
I bawled and bawled. I was so relieved she was here and we were both healthy (and I remember saying out loud “I never have to do that again!” knowing we were done after 2 kids).
I got to hold her right away and I knew our little family was complete with 2 beautiful, healthy girls.
I’m so grateful to have had 2 wonderful birth experiences. Extremely painful yes, but so incredibly fulfilling. I’m so proud of what my body did for me.
Thank you Teags, for completing our family. Being your and Sadie’s mama is my life’s greatest joy. Happy 4th birthday to my sweet, sassy girl.
