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Jamie Chew's Web Log: Vol. 0 No. 0

2003-10-19: Fern Lindzon hosted a Scrabble baby shower for us at her home. John took a large number of surprisingly uninteresting photos. We received a large number of very thoughtful gifts, which are listed in detail on our supplies pages.

2003-11-10 02:18 Kristen's first strong contractions are beginning. We don't think the baby will be born today, but if it is, it'll share its birthday with its paternal grandmother!

2003-11-10 07:00 The contractions strengthened and grew closer together throughout the night, and are about 3 minutes apart now, but the midwife doesn't seem to think they're long enough to indicate imminent birth. She says to make sure K eats and drinks enough to make up for what she's losing vomiting once or twice an hour. K's mom Laraine and sister Jennifer are however on her way from Ottawa, and the midwife will be by to check on K after breakfast.

2003-11-10 09:30 The midwives say that K's cervix is about half effaced and 3-4 cm dilated, so the baby should be born today. I hope Laraine's driving fast.

2003-11-10 10:30 Nothing new to report. Kristen's half-dozing, waking up partly every three minutes to work through another contraction. I'm a bit wired. K's sipping at dilute apple juice and miso shiru.

2003-11-10 11:00 The doorbell rang, and the local eco-friendly bicycle-delivery diaper lady was there with a big sack full of teeny diapers. Just in time! I asked her a whole bunch of stupid questions, to be on the safe side. "Do you just fold the newborn diapers closed, and rely on the diaper cover to keep them in place?" [Yes.]

2003-11-10 11:15 I'm enjoying answering K's cellphone with "I'm sorry, she can't come to the phone right now. She's in labour. Can I take a message?"

2003-11-10 11:45 Michelle and Gary's dad Ken dropped off the IV penicillin (to reduce the risk of transmitting Group B streptococcus) that we'd been trying to buy for the last few days. Thanks, Ken!

2003-11-10 12:00 Timed a few more contractions. They're running 34-70 seconds (average 55 s), at 1:29-5:15 minute intervals (average 2:30). So fast, but irregular, and not yet especially long, so this is still early labour. She's been able to hold down a little bit of rice with her miso shiru, and is looking tired but good.

2003-11-10 12:45 K tried taking a shower, because the hot water is good for her back pain, and because labour is sweaty work. The shower was good, but standing up seems to make the contractions come harder and faster, which ups the prostaglandin levels and... makes her throw up all the food she's had this morning. Back to more miso shiru, rice and apple juice.

2003-11-10 13:30 Laraine and Jennifer have arrived, so I'm going to leave Kristen in their care (and Tami's) for a bit, while I go and move furniture and organize supplies.

2003-11-10 14:15 I'm still tidying and moving furniture. Kristen's contractions are averaging 62 s long and 2:24 apart, and are noticeably stronger. The midwives are coming back in fifteen minutes or so to reassess.

2003-11-10 14:45 The midwives are here. Kristen is about 6 cm dilated, and completely effaced. Student midwife Ren Barrett can feel the baby's head, covered in a nice thick membrane. Our baby has a head! Kristen's still tired, still working hard, still doing great.

2003-11-10 15:30 Still going very strong, and getting noisier. K's decided to have the baby in the bedroom rather than the living room, in part because every time she gets up the intensified contractions make her vomit. The midwives have brought their gear upstairs. I'm not sure what it all is except the Doppler (baby heartbeat sounds fine, about 144 bpm), the sphygmomanometer (124/74, also fine), and the IV gear that they're about to set up for hydration and penicillin.

2003-11-10 15:45 Kristen to midwives: "I don't think I can make my appointment tomorrow!"

2003-11-10 15:55 Midwives overshot with first IV attempt, but K sounded close enough to delivery that they decided to reexamine before trying again (if birth imminent, no time for IV to do any good). Jane Siberry called, I got to tell her "Kristen can't come to the phone, she's in labour, can I take a message?"

2003-11-10 16:00 Second IV attempt went fine. Kristen has her head at the foot of the bed, so instead of hanging the IV bag on the headboard, it's hooked onto a hardcover copy of Ann-Marie MacDonald's The Way The Crow Flies on her bookshelf.

2003-11-10 16:15 Ayami's off boiling water to sterilise perineal compresses. Kristen's working very hard.

2003-11-10 16:30 My mom has shown up with soup. Kristen has been on her left side all afternoon, with contractions coming about once every two minutes now, lasting well over a minute. The midwives check the fetal heartbeat every now and then, it's consistently copacetic in the 140-150 bpm range.

2003-11-10 16:45 Getting ready to get Kristen to go to the bathroom again to empty out her bladder (she's almost finished the IV hydration) and see if getting her to change positions help. Baby's heartbeat sounds like it's blowing bubbles this time.

2003-11-10 17:00 Still waiting. While we wait, why not try some bingo study: LABOUR+? makes LABOURS LOBULAR RUBEOLA SUBORAL and in Chambers BOURLAW. LABOURS+? makes GLABROUS RUBEOLAS SOURBALL SUBPOLAR SUBSOLAR and in Chambers BOURLAWS.

2003-11-10 17:45 The IV came out just after 17:00, and we went for a loooong walk down to the bathroom, looking something like a rugby scrum. K sat on the toilet for half an hour enjoying the different sensation of upright contractions, and is now sitting on the edge of her bed leaning into Jennifer (who just relieved me as leaning post). She made it there and back without vomiting though, which is a first, and now she's back to the apple juice, miso shiru and rice.

2003-11-10 18:15 K was carrying a fair amount of amniotic fluid, and the membrane was bulging through the cervix (now dilated to 8 cm), so to give the head a chance to hit the cervix, Ren has ruptured K's bag. K's now a lot more comfortable. Not surprising given how much (thankfully very clear) water there is all over the place!

2003-11-10 18:45: K continues to feel much more comfortable with the pressure off, and has been having good, easy contractions. She stood in a hot shower for five or six of them, and is trying to decide now whether to stay sitting on the edge of the bed, stand up or go for a (brief) walk. Hey, the polls are still open in our municipal election!

2003-11-10 19:15: K has tried sitting and standing for several contractions, and is taking a break (such as it is) by lying down for a few. Fetal heartbeat still normal, K's temperature still up a bit at 36.5C, probably due to a combination of the hot shower, mild dehydration and the exertion. It's been pointed out to me that we don't have a guestbook on this site, and I don't feel like coding one just this second. If anyone wants to e-mail contributions in, please feel free to send them to me at jjchew@math.utoronto.ca, with a Subject: of 'guest book'.

2003-11-10 19:37: Debbie Ohi writes: "Wow, it's so exciting getting the play by play on the Web site! -- Thinking of you guys, Debbie"

2003-11-10 20:00: Still going at it hard, still tired. K's going at it lying on her right side now, and shifting made her throw up again, but she says it's finally feeling productive again now. Ren and Chris are getting a 2.5M dose of IV penicillin ready, because it's been four hours since the last one, but we're pretty sure this is the last one we need.

2003-11-10 21:00: K is going at it sitting up now, because the baby wasn't moving any when she was lying on her side. Sitting up also feels a lot better on her back. Oops, have to go, she's going to try a walk.

2003-11-10 21:12: Alice Ching-Chew writes: "I'm at work and I can hardly concentrate... come on baby! Go baby go! My fingers are double crossed for you guys! The girls at work are rooting for you too. -- Love, Alice :)"

2003-11-10 21:43: Sherrie Saint John asks if the new updates can be at the top. No, because that it would interrupt the flow of the narrative. I think I may move the first twelve hours or so to Old News soon though.

2003-11-10 21:45: Craig Rowland writes: "John my dear friend, If you have time to tell us all about this wonderful news you are the sweetest man of all. Hold Kristen's hand and let her know her entire address book and all those people's families and friends are thinking of you two (three!). I thought election results would be worth waiting up for. I will wait by my computer for the news. Take your time getting the news to us though! My brother, mother and I are wishing you a joyous delivery, with your husband, midwife and family there to support you -- Love Craig xoxo". Craig, thanks for your sweet e-mail. I'm writing this partly to share the good news with all our friends, partly also to stay calm throughout the process.

2003-11-10 21:52: Craig Rowland writes again: "I just read all of them [these baby updates]. JOHN, I am so excited reading them all! Can you hear my laughter all the way from Miss. when you anagrammed LABOUR?????? Geez I am right there in the house with you! If I could possibly convey my smile through sound, you'd hear it on Fulton Ave. -- Craig"

2003-11-10 22:00: We're walking up and down the stairs, traversing the route from the bathroom to the kitchen freezer (for leaning on). Still tired but in good spirits. No progress from the 8 cm dilation and full effacement, the problem is either that the baby is turned transverse (head down but back to side), or that the contractions are (hard to believe) not strong enough.

2003-11-10 22:32: Alison Motluk writes: "That last two centimetres can take a while. But you'll make it. You're almost there! I've been thinking about you two all day."

2003-11-10 22:34: Lisa Deift writes: "Thank you for the wonderful 'coverage' of what is happening - it's like round by round updates of a Scrabble event, but way more exciting! Give Kristen a hug from me - one to you too"

2003-11-10 22:34: Andy Beaton and Christine Miller write: "We are watching with eager anticipation."

2003-11-10 22:39: Reid Ellis writes: "Don't you have an iSight? :-) Hope it's not one of those 48-hour labours Kristen! If it is, just blame John -- that's what husbands are for. Especially during labour. :-D Hello to the little one, too! -- Reid " Reid, the iSight was on the list of things to pick up the week before the due date. :)

2003-11-10 23:15: Luisa Perrella writes: "Looks like it's getting close now -- sending good vibes your way. All the best, Luisa"

2003-11-10 23:30: It's been a busy hour and a half. We spent most of the time from 22:00 to 23:00 walking up and down stairs, leaning on this and that, doing whatever we could. Then at 23:00, Chris examined Kristen and started gently stretching the cervix (which was back at 7 cm) over the baby's head, while Kristen found a reclining position that gave strong contractions. Between the two of them, they've got it to about 9-9.5 cm open, but that last few millimetres are still fairly stiff, so it's back to the stairs for a half hour for us!

2003-11-11 00:00: Things progressing quickly. Kristen's new favorite position: hands locked around my neck, then suspending her entire combined body weight from my shoulders as dead weight, kicking her feet in the air. I'm not kidding. Chris is reassessing Kristen and likely about to call in backup midwife Tia Sarkar (who should be present for the birth).

2003-11-11 00:36: Ted Chew writes: "Kristen: Hang in there! Everything does eventually come to an end. (Well, besides the Academy Awards, I mean.) John: How about an RSS news feed to keep us up-to-date? I'M KIDDING! Midwives: Hasn't she suffered enough already? Let's get down to the van, bring up the machine that goes PING, and get this over with, shall we? Baby: You can do it! Keep pushing! There's so much you're missing out there, like sphygmomanometers and municipal elections!"

2003-11-11 01:15: Things not progressing quickly. Kristen is getting tired, the last lip of cervix won't go away, possibly because the baby is having trouble finding the right angle, who knows. We're going to Toronto East General Hospital to give Kristen a break, and get some oxytocin and an epidural. Please keep your fingers crossed for us, and thanks for following along this far.

2003-11-11 01:23: Lisa Kessler writes: "Hi John and Kristen, Pushing for you both, sending you energy and strength for this final lap. May it go quickly and smoothly! With hugs, lk"

2003-11-11 01:27: Alice Ching-Chew writes: "Kisses to Kristen!! You are in my thoughts and prayers! Get some rest at the hospital, Kristen, and the baby will come soon. XXXOOO to everyone!"

2003-11-11 02:00: (Entered at the hospital, uploaded the following day.) Kristen and I decided to go to the hospital, so I ran around triple-checking the hospital bag checklist and picking up the things (digital cameras, shaver, ...?) that had been removed from our emergency kits to use around the house. Then I carried our seven bags (don't ask) to Chris' car, and we drove with Chris and Laraine to Toronto East General Hospital, with Kristen on all fours on the back seat all the way. Ren met us there with a wheelchair, and whisked us up to our room.

2003-11-11 03:00: Well, we're settled in now at Room J706, a fancy new birthing room at Toronto East General Hospital. As I said, Ren was waiting for us at Admitting with a wheelchair, and we walked straight up to our room and then went to register, which I consider quite civilised. Not to mention the fact that OHIP (provincial health insurance) pays for the whole thing, so I didn't even need to show a credit card. I've heard that in some countries, it costs money to have medical care for childbirth. Anyway. Kristen has had a bunch of things attached to her in various unpleasant ways, and Chris and Ren have gone off to present a medical report to Dr. Phillips, the obstetrician on call. I've called Michelle, Jennifer (who stayed home at our house) and my mom, given them all the phone number of the room, and told them to go to bed. I'm going to try stretching out on a bench here and do the same.

2003-11-11 03:05: Chris says that Dr. Phillips will be here momentarily. I'll keep myself awake. Thank you all for writing to us while we were working on the home birth. I did pass on all your greetings and wishes to Kristen, though what with her being preoccupied throughout most of the day, I think all she got was a general impression of a large number of well-wishers, which suffices. I wish I could get on the Net in the hospital room here. All I have to do is to guess the network password for the wireless network in this wing, or reverse engineer it, or human engineer it. Hmm.

2003-11-11 03:30: Dr. Phillips says that K's cervix is swollen, the baby's head is still floating, the quality of the contractions is worsening, and the baby's beat-to-beat variability is not what it could be. He's also concerned about K's 37.5C fever, though he concedes that it could be due to exhaustion or dehydration. He presents the same course of action that Chris gave before we set out for the hospital: oxytocin and epidural anesthesia for a few hours, with C-section as an option if the baby shows signs of distress or if there isn't sufficient progress. He's attached a scalp clip to the baby to get a more accurate measure of its heart rate, which continues to be normal. Dr. Phillips is pessimistic about the likelihood of vaginal birth, Ren and Chris remain optimistic.

2003-11-11 03:45: Ren and Chris are busy getting equipment ready for Dr. Phillips and anaesthesiologist Dr. Kettles.

2003-11-11 04:45: Dr. Kettles has started the epidural anesthesia, which went in without incident. She's given her a generous amount, so K's toes are woozy, and she's now having contractions without pain! Nurse Eddy is going to assess her progress now, then start the oxytocin, and in Dr. Phillips will see if she's made any progress and then decide where to go from there.

2003-11-11 05:15: Nurse Eddy thinks that K is fully dilated now, based on the fetal heartbeat and uterine contraction traces, and has started the oxytocin.

2003-11-11 05:30: Nurse Jennifer checked, K is now fully dilated and delighted.

2003-11-11 06:00: Nurse Eddy got K ready to start pushing the baby past the cervix, rechecked and found there was still that lip of cervix, so she's upped the oxytocin flow from 24 mL/hour to 39 mL/hour.

2003-11-11 06:30: Nurse Eddy isn't comfortable with the baby's heart rate, and is calling Dr. Phillips in to take a look. While she's here, she's going to catheterize and drain K's bladder for the second time.

2003-11-11 07:00: Dr. Phillips comes in and says the baby's not coming out vaginally and says there's only one other way out. We're too exhausted to argue, and things move very quickly from there. The anaesthesiologist and nurses are paged and the OR prepared.

2003-11-11 07:30: Kristen goes into the OR to be prepped.

2003-11-11 07:45: I am allowed in. Laraine has to wait outside. Kristen is draped across her chest so that she can't see Dr. Phillips slice her open along her bikini line. The midwives are there, along with a few nurses, the surgeon and the anaesthetist. You can't tell who's who, because we all wear masks, caps, gowns and booties. They have the machine which goes ping, with tint control.

2003-11-11 07:50: Slice, zap, slice, zap, splorch. Dr. Phillips: "That's an obstructed uterus. See the way the bottom half is stretched thin? If Kristen had stayed in labour a little longer, she would have ruptured her uterus and we would have lost her and the baby." Gulp.

2003-11-11 07:52: John James "Jamie" Chew, IV is pushed gently out of his mother's womb by the obstetrician. Jamie promptly grabs hold of the drapes hiding his mom's face, momentarily confusing the thitherto unflappable surgeon, who can't see what the baby's caught on (a foot on some squiggly thing in the abdomen?) until a nurse points it out. It takes some effort to unclench Jamie's fist.

Up to Jamie Chew's Web Log Archive, or forward to Vol. 0 No. 1.