Labor and Delivery Story

Wow! It’s hard to find the words to describe the last few days. Here’s a highlight of the events:

Thursday night: Tara starts experiencing mild contractions every 10-20 minutes
Friday morning: Appointment with our doctor. Tara is 1cm dilated.
Friday night: Contractions occur throughout the night and are growing in intensity
Saturday 11am: Get checked out at Moose Jaw hospital before heading to Regina for a family Christmas. Things are progressing, but we decide to go ahead to Regina to see the family.
Saturday 7pm: Contractions are intensifying in her back, and we decide to go the Regina General Hospital. After getting checked-out and given the ok, we leave for the MJ Hospital
Saturday 11pm: Check-in at hospital. The pain is intensifying and Tara is given a shot of demurral to num the pain (she got another shot at 5am). Tara spends all night trying to manage from contraction to contraction, and Mike tries his best to support her.
Sunday 12 pm: The doctor decides that we need to speed up the process, as well as help Tara with the pain. He orders an epidural and makes plans to induce labor.
Sunday 1:30pm: Tara gets an intravenous and gives blood to the lab. In the process of being prepped for the epidural, her water breaks – just a few minutes before the doctor was going to break it.
Sunday 3pm: Tara gets an epidural.
Sunday 3:30pm: The baby’s heart beat slows down considerably and because of the stress, the baby actually released milconium inside the womb. The doctor gets concerned and calls for a specialists to come in. Dad paces the room.
Sunday at 4pm: The specialist decides that Tara needs an emergency c-section. Due to other concerns, they decide to transfer her to the Regina General Hospital where a team of specialists are available.
Sunday at 5pm: Mike speeds down the Trans Canada at 140km/hr, while Tara is rushed to the Regina via ambulance.
Sunday 6:30pm: After coveting the prayers of family and friends, the baby appears to have regained normal vital signs. Several specialists assess the situation and decide to hold-off on the c-section for now.
Sunday 9pm: Because of the baby’s strong heart beat and the progressing labor, they call-off the c-section. Tara and Mike are thrilled!
Sunday 10:15pm: The nurse tells Tara that she is ready to start pushing.
Sunday 10:50pm: Aviana is born. They spend about 10-15 minutes assessing her breathing (due to inhalation of miconium) and decide to send her to ICU. After a few more minutes, they change their minds.
Monday 4:00 am: Bed time for Mike and Tara. They slept for about 3 hours.