Nicola shares her birth story
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After a lovely friday night with my partner it was 3 days after my Due Date and I had accepted that bubs wouldn’t be here on time and I was lying in bed and suddenly had the urge to pee like most pregnant women! It was 1am Saturday night and I waddled to the toilet and low and behold instead of going to the toilet I felt a gush! Yes like in the movies but luckily into the toilet! I sat there for a bit going uh oh, was it my waters or did I really need to go?? It was my waters. So I called Bryan at work and said “Hey babe, my waters just broke!” He had been at work for an hour, and it takes an hour to get there and he said, “Do I need to come home?” I replied no, but I don’t know what to do. So he said he’d call his mum and the hospital for me. Bryan’s mum said to call the hospital.
Meanwhile, I’m sitting on the couch with a towel under me, just in case, watching a bit of telly with my cats, and I needed to go to the toilet again! Actually went this time, but saw very watery blood. I started to freak out but stayed calm til I had spoken to someone who would understand. Bryan called me back and said you need to call the hospital and tell them what happened. I spoke with a lovely midwife who said it was all normal, as long as there was no horrible looks or smells I was fine! She asked if I was contracting and I wasn’t so she told me to stay home and come in first thing and the morning and they’ll check me out! I called Bryan and said no need to rush I’m not contracting, they want us to come in first thing. So he stayed at work until about 5 and we then got a few hours sleep.
By 8 in the morning once I had a shower,I was contracting, maybe 10-15 minutes apart. They were just like mild-almost severe period cramps. We got to the hospital and they put me on the monitor and of course I stopped contracting. They did an internal and said yes your waters have broken, but you’re not dilated,so go back home until 8 pm tonight and if nothing has happened we may have to interfere.
So off back home we went, an hour back! So I spent the day keeping myself busy. Made sure all the washing was done, prepared a few dinners for Bryan, made sure the house was spick and span and yes once I was home the contractions were back to 10-15 mintues apart. 8pm Saturday night comes around and still nothing really but we made our way back to the hospital. This time I am admitted to a delivery suite and pretty much all that happened was I was set up with a drip so they could administer antibiotics to help prevent an infection with my broken waters, as it had almost been 24 hours. I was told just to try and get as much sleep as I could, which I did, but felt so bad as Bryan just had a small couch to try and sleep on and he’d been up for 24 hours himself!
8am the next morning, I have my shower and breakfast and by then I am contracting about 5-10 mintues apart. The clinic doctor came in and checked me and said I had dilated 1 cm! Yah for me, but since it had been so long since my waters had broken he thought it would be best to try and speed things up by setting up an oxytocin drip. I was a little hesitant but it’s what was best. Once the drip was in I was having VERY intense contractions, roughly 5 mintues apart. Walking helped, Bryan rubbing my back helped, I was doing fine then I was offered an epidural. I did decline but they said it was a busy day and if I changed my mind it may take awhile to get the aneathesist back, so I said yes!
He came into my room about 10 minutes later, did the job like tying his shoes, which was great. He told me after about 3 contractions I’d feel nothing………not for me, about an hour and another top up later is when I did, but it was great! I sat in bed had my lunch and told Bryan to go have a nap at his mates house around the corner. He came back a few hours later. I was then checked again, and the nurse said 3 maybe 4! Slowly but surely she said. So from then on I wondered around the room as much as I could, as half my body had almost no movement whatsoever! Suddenly the heartrate of bubs on the monitor goes up to 170-180 beats a minute during contractions. I paged for the midwife and she told me to sit back in bed and try to get into a position that may cut it down. It didn’t. They then check me and I had a temperature of 38+ and my blood pressure was dropping. I knew something was up!
At about 7.30pm, My doctor came back in and did an internal. I was stuck at 3cm. He could feel bub’s head but it was swollen. He said it’s completely upto you but I think we are going to have to do a c section. He told me bub’s was in distress, I wasn’t coping and things were progressing too slowly. I didn’t want to but he said I don’t want to say it but the outcome if you keep going might not be good, then Bryan whispered it’s ok you’ve dont your best, we’re just going to have to meet our baby a new way. So in came the aneasthesist again. Suited up, poor guy was out for dinner! They gave me my spinal block, which took 2 or 3 top ups and by then I was balling my eyes out and I was shivering. I couldn’t stop. But just a reaction to the drugs and my nerves.
Everyone was reassuring me saying it was ok you’ll be fine. My memory is a little shonky from being awake for nearly 48 hours, from the drugs (epidural and oxytocin) But I clearly remember the doctor playing the Beach Boys in the back ground. After about 10 minutes after the initial surgical cut, it was 9.40pm (45 hours after my waters breaking!) they asked if I wanted a look but I felt so quesy I declined. Bryan had a look. Bub’s was “sitting” in my stomach and he saw bubs being born from that point. They asked if he could see the sex, he couldn’t and they announced those words you’ve waited 40 weeks (and 4 days in my case) IT’S A GIRL! I remember her being brushed off to the pediatrition, to make sure she was ok after being in there for 48 hours in labour. She was fine. Bryan got to cut the cord (even though it was already done) they asked if I wanted to hold her and I did, but I had no movement in my arms, I felt very neaseus so I asked for her to be taken away.
The rest of the surgery is a blur, I just remember thinking I can’t wait to hold her! I was in recovery breastfeeding for about 30-45 mintues then taken back to my own room! We sat in there for about an hour before Bryan had to go, but he told me so many things I didn’t know. Her head was literally stuck in my pelvis, resulting in the cone head she had at birth, my placenta was split and heart shaped! Something the doctors and nurses found facinating (nothing bad came of it unless I was still pregnant with her) So many other things were told but I still to this day can’t remember it unless told by someone else.
We now have an almost 2 year old Annabelle! She was breastfed exclusively for 2 months but she demanded more than I could produce and we introduced the bottle. A decision I was very wary with at first but do not regret now. Bryan and I are expecting number 2 on the 14th October. A lovely month to have babies! I am planning a VBAC, go me! But after my last experience I am happy if things don’t go the right way, I am happy for a c section if all doesn’t go to plan, at least I can say hey I gave it a go again! I can think of so much more to write but I think it would turn into a novel!
~ Welcome Annabelle ~
