Table of Contents
Kat Callaghan Shares Her Birth Story!
The Due Date
I was six days over my due date and one of the most impatient people you’d ever met when I finally got to meet my baby girl. There was a feeling I’d be late, based on karma alone. (I was 21 days late when I was born – my poor Mom).
Many people told me to just relax and enjoy the sleep while I could. Those people clearly have never been nine months pregnant before, or maybe they forget what it’s like. I stopped sleeping comfortably at about eight months.
I had tried every trick in the book to get labour started; from raspberry leaf tea, prenatal yoga, eating pineapple, sex and working out (I even went to the gym on my due date! I must admit it was kind of funny to watch the reaction from the women in my spin class when I told them I was due that day).
Kat Callaghan: Getting Labour Started
With that said, my pregnancy was pretty great to be honest. A little nausea in the beginning, but otherwise as smooth as could be. No complications at all. Not even any heartburn (another myth, by the way, because my girl came out with a full head of hair). My OB gave the green light to start the process of inducing labour at five days overdue.
I was to go to the hospital and get cervidil, which could take a full 24 hours to kick in. I was told if I still wasn’t dilated at all I could come back again for more and it could take another 24 hours. So in my mind, I’m thinking it will take the longest possible time. Not so much!
Sent Home and Back Again
After being monitored by the hospital for a few hours I was sent home. Then BAM! Right when I got in the door I started feeling contractions. They started very quickly and very frequently, about once every two minutes. At some points there were contractions on top of contractions. I tried to just continue labouring at home. I think I was in denial that this was actually happening. Luckily, my husband was quick to pack up the car and make the call to go back to the hospital where I was admitted right away. That’s when the fun really began.
Being my first pregnancy, I was a little nervous and unsure of what to expect. In the middle of the night I could hear a woman giving birth right across the hall from us. She was screaming so loud you could hear it from the other side of the hall. I cannot even repeat what she was saying. You can imagine.
The Pain
I remember at one point looking at my husband and telling him we’re going to adopt if we want another child. We heard that screaming for two straight hours before finally we heard the cries of a baby. I never felt so happy for another person in my life than I did for that woman once her baby finally came.
The nurse later told me the woman had been too late for the epidural. I felt like it was a sign, and asked for one right away. (Bless that epidural, and bless every woman that went without one. They are the real MVPs!) One of my favourite parts of the epidural? Right by your bedside table they give you this option of pressing a button for a little extra boost. I think I maxed that thing right out!
The Birth
I was in labour for 27 hours before finally my OB made the call: I had to have a C-section. My baby girl was just not coming down. She was far too comfortable. I was wheeled into a room and prepped right away. I met the anesthesiologist, who was quite a joker! He kept telling me jokes the entire time I was waiting, and continued to tell some pretty bad jokes in the operating room to keep me distracted. I received a spinal, which is stronger than an epidural.
It was also told to me that if I couldn’t handle the pressure, to let them know and they would give me an extra boost of something. I finally asked for that boost once I realized I was nearly crushing my husband’s hand during the procedure.
After being given a couple doses of propofol, it did the trick. I passed out for a little bit, but I was wide awake when my baby girl was placed in my arms. Apparently I was still pretty high because when they told us she was 7 pounds, 11 ounces I told them “7 11…Let’s name her slurpee!” (The jokester anesthesiologist thought it was hilarious).
Credit: Copperred Photography.
C-Section
For those who haven’t had a C-section, yes, you feel everything. Not the pain of course, but the pressure. I felt them cutting into me and I felt my baby being pulled out. But women will always tell you that every bit of discomfort and pain is worth it in the end. I was over the moon as I stared at our beautiful baby girl Jaclyn. Everything else faded away.
Don’t get me wrong, recovery for a C-section really sucks. You don’t really realize in the moment that it’s a major abdominal surgery. You are pretty restricted for the first few days especially, and are not able to drive for about six weeks (that was the hardest part for me).
Kat Callaghan Welcomes Baby Jaclyn
Jaclyn was born June 14th and she is absolutely perfect. She’s changed my whole world. It’s been tiring and exhausting and I’ve gone without a lot of things I’m used to (like showering regularly, for example). But I would go through that labour again and again knowing she would be here on the other side of it.
Credit: Copperred Photography.
