ezekiel bruce salmon

we went in for the Non-Stress Test and they told us we would probably not make it in until Monday. I was pretty sad and discouraged about the whole thing but we really wanted our doctor to be there.

while i was hooked up to the machine, the nurse came in and said they could induce me but only if we did it right away (and it would be by another doctor). we had a few minutes to discuss it and decide we would go ahead with getting my water broken and have the baby, mostly because i did not want to have to wait until monday! they tried to call our doctor but said they couldnt get ahold of him. they admitted me to a wonderful room with a great view and then more twists and turns began...

the doctor came in and said the baby's head was not low enough and i was not dialated enough to break my waters. exactly the opposite news that our doctor had said on wednesday (when he was prepared to break my water if they had room at the hospital). so he decided to give me cervical gel (prostin) to start my labour.

at around 5.30pm on saturday nov 25 i started having really strong and too long contractions with very little breaks. i was able to cope with them but it was very physically taxing because of the lack of breaks. they hooked me back up to an IV for hydration and gave me a pill for relaxation (like a sleeping pill). i was hooked up to the monitoring strips for a long time because the contractions were too long and if they didnt shorten they would have to give me drugs to stop the contractions completely. thankfully the iv and the pill helped relax me enough to give me regular hard but properly spaced contractions!

at 6.45pm i had an internal exam. the nurse was really nice until the internal exam that was totally killing me and would not stop and i was having hard contractions during it and it sent me into sobs. i have NEVER cried that hard. it took a long time to settle down from that. AND she said i was only 1 cm dialated, so all that pain for nothing.

things continued from there like normal hard labour. a new nurse came on and she was really good. she got me labouring in some better positions and really helped me work with the contractions. she asked if we could plan for another internal at 9.30pm. i said, "how about 10? there's no harm waiting until 10 right?"

so at 9.45pm i said, "ok, i just have to pee." and went to the washroom. then i said "oh nooooo." and derek came in and i was having a contraction, but then a push and i peed and they said "we better get you back in bed to check you." then more pushes came, and they said "do you want to feel the baby's head" and i did, and then a few more pushes and he was out by 9.54pm, delivered by nurse Jan :D

crazy!

ezekiel bruce salmon
born saturday november 25 2006
at 9.54pm
weight 7lb 11oz
length 22 inches

diedre comes by for a late night visit on nov 25

we missed our firstborn during the whole ordeal.

well, the hetzlers have a great picture of ezekiel from yesterday.

me and ezekiel on nov 26

our family of four on nov 27

here's the view from our room today. there was a crazy snowstorm the last three days. i'm glad we were indoors and not trying to make it to the hospital in that weather. i feel totally exhausted from the drive home from the hospital. it was so stressful and bad traffic and road conditions. thanks to God that we are home safe! all of us!