After Aren’s 30 plus hour birth, I was definitely ready for a different experience and I got that with Shiraz’s arrival! Read on for our birth story!
In the end of April we welcomed the birth of our second son, Shiraz. I’ve been meaning to hop on and share his birth story but it’s taken me a while to find the time to properly write it all out!
But tonight, with a big glass of wine nearby, here we go!
Backstory :
I had a feeling Shiraz would come early. Like I thought he would arrive 2-3 weeks early. I was under major stress, and just felt so different than I had with Aren. Everyday I’d tell Ara that I thought today was the day!
But alas, his due date rolled around and he was still hanging in the womb. Go figure!!
His due date was on a Friday, and I had my next appointment scheduled with my doctor for the following Monday, making me 40 weeks and three days.
April 27th
So Monday morning I went off to my doctors appointment. I was dreading what was to come. I had been induced with Aren and it took forever!!
This was going to be the first night(s) I would be away from Aren (he was 20 months at this point and I am a very hands on mama haha!!) I wanted a quick and easy labour so that I could rush home to be with my first born. Talk about mom guilt right?!
Anyways, I was afraid that a 2 day labour followed by a 1-2 day recovery would be too hard for Aren. It was during the height of covid so he wouldn’t be able to come visit at the hospital.
Back to the appointment- my doctor checked me out and I wasn’t dilated yet- ugh a long labor was in the cards I could just feel it!
If you are from Quebec you know how messed up the hospital systems are here- at my hospital you’re placed on an induction wait list so to speak. Based on available beds and your priority, they rank how important your labor is, even if your doctor thinks otherwise. With Aren it took 2 days of being on the list to get called in! My doctor mentioned that I was low on amniotic fluid however so I should probably expect a call soon. ‘How do you feel about having a baby tonight’ were his exact words!
This was around 2pm- at around 5 we got the call to come in! Our bags were already packed and my mom was here so she stayed with Aren. I cried as I hugged him goodbye and off we went. I cried because I was excited to meet the newest addition but also because this was the first time I would really be away from Aren. And that when we came back he wouldn’t be my baby anymore- he’d be a big brother!
We headed to the hospital and got there at 530. I was immediately checked and to my surprise I was already 4cm dilated!
I really wasn’t feeling any contractions so this was strange to hear.
About an hour later we were finally placed in a room. At this point I wasn’t sure if they would still induce me. Active labour starts at 6cm so I was hoping that I may have hit that mark.
The dr said that we would still proceed with the induction (I hadn’t hit that 6 cm mark yet!) and at around 8ish we started the Pitocin. I’d already been through this once before so I really thought I’d know what to expect. But it truly ended up being so different!
I decided to get an epidural (around 9pm) like the first time. With Aren my epidural was so easy and not painful at all. This time around we had a hard time getting it right and it killed!
At 945 I was only 4.5 cm dilated so the doctor manually broke my water (same thing happened with Aren! Luckily this time around the epidural was in for this part!!)
Almost there
By 1030 I was 6.5 cm dilated. Things were moving quickly and I could feel it. The pain was different than Aren’s labour. With him I could feel the contractions but a quick top up of the epidural would make them go away immediately. This time around the epidural wasn’t making me feel the contractions but instead I was feeling bouts of intense pressure. The nurse gave me a special top up for the pain and it helped a lot! Afterwards I realized it was probably just the pressure from the speed at which Shiraz was coming down the canal that last hour.
Around 1130 the baby’s blood pressure dropped a bit so the doctor came in to check on me- Turns out I was already 10 cm and it was time to start pushing. So pretty much 4cm in just one hour!
Once again, it was soooo different than last time!
With Aren I pushed for about three hours. It was long and it was uncomfortable for the entire time. Like really uncomfortable.
This time I wasn’t feeling any of those pushing sensations. At all! I had to go with the nurses cues to push- as opposed to the first time when I knew exactly when I had to push based on the pain.
Here’s where it gets interesting!
At 1140 they started prepping me for pushing. I pushed once, and to my surprise Shiraz was pretty much ready to come out. Another half push (I am not making this up!) and he came out. Like four minutes total. It was insane. Ara and I were looking at each other with a ‘what on earth just happened’ kind of look. Like how did this baby come out with not even two full pushes?!
But there he was! Quickest ever- ready to come join his brother.
He was healthy, cute and crying 🙂
I had no real problems during labour and just some mild tearing. Shiraz passed all of his tests and we were given the go ahead to go home 24 hours after he was born. Normally they’d keep us till the morning but we were so anxious to get home to Aren that we jumped ship at 1145 in the evening!
And that was our super quick hospital stay and labour! I couldn’t have asked for it to be quicker – it was all a blur to be honest.
Nowadays
We are cooped up at home like everyone else but it’s been so nice. Shiraz is almost 5 months now and he has the cutest smile and laugh. He loves his brother even though Aren has the tendency to get a little physical with him.
I can’t wait for the two of them to start playing together and for us to have activities as a family of four. I can almost feel it!
Make sure to follow along our day to day adventures on Instagram or hop on here from time to time for some updates!
What I found most interesting was that even though both of my labour’s were induced (with epidurals!) they were drastically different. Aren’s was 30 plus hours- easy epidural, no real pain throughout labor but tons of discomfort during the pushing stage. Shiraz was a quick hospital experience where I felt like the epidural wasn’t working at times! But I didn’t feel any pushing discomfort and low and behold he came out in mere minutes.
I love how each story is different and I’ll cherish those memories for years to come- thanks for reading as always!
Photography by Lisa Renault Photographie
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