April 17, 2020, my due date.
A full-term blissful pregnancy of 40 weeks with many ailments that I was really getting tired of now.
If Leana did not come naturally,
I would be introduced the following week and that was the very last thing I had in mind ...
Induce labor
The days before I had tried everything to induce contractions: from eating a ripe pineapple to exercising a lot. That day and evening I would actually like to do everything the midwife had advised me: walk around and move a lot or yes, even a lovemaking with Tom ... I would do anything to have our little miracle on my stomach instead of in my belly. The sex drive may be gone with my ultra-fat preggo belly, but semen contains a substance that induces birth. A comfortable position and induce those contractions!
Is it time yet?
Around 8:00 p.m. I started to feel some cramps and pain in my lower back, would it? I decided to rest a bit anyway, but the pains started to get worse and worse… yes, I think this it! Maybe the full moon was there for something? No one will ever really know ...
The big moment has come
I timed my contractions and they started to come more regularly. We drove to the hospital at 2 am. Arriving at the emergency department, the midwife received a phone call: "A mother has come in!" Tom and I were welcomed in a friendly way and I was immediately examined, 3cm dilation and the contractions became unbearably hard and I cried out in pain…. I immediately asked for an epidural because I could not sustain the pain anymore. Then an hour later they stabbed the epidural after 3 unsuccessful attempts. I've heard a lot of scary stories about epidurals that already made me panic and the first time they stopped the epidural I couldn't sit still. That is why they have tried 3x. The midwife installed the bed and said we'd better get some rest because the rest will be done within a few hours. I didn't sleep alot because I became very nervous and impatient, I couldn't wait to hold my baby anymore! Then a few hours later the midwife who examined me came with good news: "You have 9cm dilation, soon you will have your baby!
Stargazer
My baby was apparently with her back to my spine in posterior placement and might just be born a stargazer. That made the work extra difficult, because this position made the descent into my pelvis more difficult because the head remained high. Still, the baby was able to turn to a front position, which eventually succeeded. At 8cm my water broke, I looked at the clock and it was a little after 6 am. I should really be able to have our Saturday baby in my arms,
just keep going Mariko, you can do it!
To all (almost) mothers ...
When this is all over (and it will be!) Then you are the women who were pregnant / gave birth during a global pandemic. You are the ones who defied the unthinkable because you had to. If you can get through this, you can move mountains for the rest of your life. Yes we can!
Leana
born in belgium in mechelen in the AZ-Sint Maarten hospital.
On April 18, 2020 at 8:58 AM in the morning with a weight of 3,200 kg and a length of 49 cm.
Choosing a name
Leana is a Scottish name with the meaning; Light, Torch, Sunshine
How did we come up with this name? We had heard from a friend about a certain app that you could download that was very similar to Tinder but called Kinder. Same principle as Tinder but with baby names. So Tom and I immediately downloaded it for fun. As soon as Tom and I had a match with a name we both liked, we got a message. That is how we both ended up with the name Leana and we were immediately sold. It would be this name and no other name. We didn't know what the gender was so we had a backup if it had to be a boy. If it had been a boy, he would have named Leano. But we only knew this after the gender reveal, you will read this in my other blog.
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