BYRON JOHN - 7 weeks premature (very long)

[Georgi]

Today is the due date of my 7 week old baby Byron. I won't be labouring today, though I will be reminiscing. There couldn't be a better day to write my birth story.
And here it is..

13/8/08 31 weeks + 1 day gestation
After sleeping fairly soundly till 2.30am I tossed & turned feeling a little pressure in my tummy/bladder. At 3.30am I decided to see if I could relieve that pressure, hoping it would encourage a sounder sleep. I went to the bathroom to relieve my bladder. Only a few minutes after I returned to bed I felt a slight trickle in my pants. I instantly knew what it is was but decided to ignore it, hoping it would go away. I managed to fall asleep for about 10 mins when it happened again, only this time there was a little more. I felt my pants and noticed they were slightly soiled, though once again, I chose to ignore it. I managed to fall asleep again but woke to what felt like, a loss of bladder control. I quickly got out of bed and managed to get to to the toilet in the ensuite as the water continued to gush out. By then my pants were soaked and there was a small puddle of water on the floor. I just knew what was happening and just couldn't believe it. I yelled to DH to wake up and told him I think my waters had broken. He asked how I knew, "Take a look at this" I replied as I held my wet pants up for him to see.

I had to search the house for the hospital phone number. We were due to start our pre natal classes that Saturday so had no details of the labour ward. Luckily I had read 16 or so pages of the birth stories here on BB so knew exactly what to do.

4.15am I called the hospital & advised that my waters had broken & I was only 31weeks. They told me to come straight in.

4.50am Arrived at the hospital (Pindara Private) where they hooked me up to the CTG to check my babies heartrate and see if there were any contractions. His heartrate was fine and there were no contractions.

6am The Obstetrician arrived and performed an internal swab which confirmed my waters had indeed broken and tested the swab for infection. The swab returned later with the all clear which means there was no apparent reason for the pre premature rupture of membranes.

I was told that this hospital only catered for babies 34wks + and as I would be having this baby within the next two weeks, I had to be transferred to a hospital that specialises in premature babies and would be transferred by ambulance.

I was given a steroid injection to help develop the babies lungs, plus a drip of antibiotics to stop infection.

7.30am the ambulance arrived & I was transferred to Mater Mothers Private Hospital.

Once I arrived at the hospital they settled me into my room and I was allocated an Obstetrician. A few hours later I met with him and was told I would be staying at the hospital until my baby was born, or until I reached 34wks, which is the gestation that Pindara would accept. He advised me that the steroids needed time to work and if I went into labour before Saturday they would give me drugs to stop the labour, but after that, they will let nature take its course. I was given another steroid injection the following morning commenced a course of antibiotics. The main concern with ruptured membranes is the chance of infection which they would manage with the antibiotics & observations of my blood pressure, temperature and the babies heartrate, every 4 hours. So yes, I was waken at all hours of the night for my observations to be taken.

I contacted my girlfriend who had a 4 month old baby, that was born at 32 weeks. She was such a great support. Knowing she has so recently gone through this kept me sane and positive that my baby would be fine.

DH was wonderful through it all. I asked him if he was scared and he said not at all. He was excited that he would meet his little boy real soon. He felt if our baby is ready to come, then we will be ready for him. This was even more reassuring.

15 DAYS LATER................

27.08.08 33wks + 1day gestation
I woke up to find my pad had a slight pink colour through the waters. I was concerned, was this my show? After expressing my concern to the Obstetrician, he performed an ultra sound which indicated my cervix was closed. This was a relief and I went about my day in the usual way.

At 6pm the midwife did my observations and asked how I was feeling. My response was the same as it had been for the past 15 days, which was "Perfect".

All of that turned pear shaped though, when at 7pm I started feeling flu like symptoms. Sore neck and back muscles, nausea, lethargic. I dimmed the lights and closed my eyes. At approximately 7.30pm I felt my first contraction. I was unsure if it was just another braxton hicks, if it was, why was I feeling pressure in my bottom? I had been getting a lot of braxton hicks since being in hospital, though figured that since I was on complete bed rest, I was just feeling them more. Around 20 minutes later I felt another. Another with pressure in my bottom. This was unusual for me and made me wonder. I began timing the contractions and found them to be 15 to 30 minutes apart and lasting for 30 seconds to 1 minute. At 9pm I decided this was not normal, and buzzed the midwife.

She hooked me up to the CTG which showed the baby's heartrate was high, 195bpm. All previous observations were 140/150bpm. I knew straight away that something was not right. Then, my temperature was taken and it was high. Uh oh, I'm showing signs of infection, is what I thought. The lovely, normally smiling midwife, Jane, was now looking very concerned.

As I have read in other birth stories, my contractions stopped. "I swear I was getting them frequently" I said to Jane. Jane then went off to phone the obstetrician and I was left in my room, being monitored by the CTG, for around an hour. When Jane returned, she looked at the CTG results and said "Gees, you've been busy while I was out". My contractions had returned and was registering on the CTG. They were coming 7 to 10 minutes apart. Meanwhile, my temperature was on the rise.

I telephoned DH who was working close by and asked that he come to the hospital when he finished work as there was something going on. I told him I didn't know exactly what was happening but I wanted him here just in case. He arrived just after 11pm just at the Obstetrician on duty arrived.

The Obstetrician performed an internal and announced "You're 2cm dilated, looks like you will be meeting your baby real soon". He continued by saying "You're sick, you are getting an infection and you're body has responded by putting you into labour. It is telling us you need to deliver this baby. What type of birth did you have in mind?" "A virginal birth" I replied, der, I was thinking. "We need to deliver this baby quickly, you are sick, and his heartrate is responding to that. I do suggest we put you on the synotocin drip to speed up the labour. The only problem is that babies don't respond well to this drip, let alone a premature baby. We will allow you time to labour, with CTG monitoring, we will keep a close eye on your baby to see how he is coping. Though, this will more than likely end up in a c-section". At this point I just wanted a safe arrival of my baby and agreed to augment the labour.

Within minutes there were nurses swarming my room, a drip in my arm, and blood being taken. Jane then confirmed that a c-section was the probable outcome. I was shattered at the thought, but began preparing myself for the worst.

I was transferred to the labour ward where I met my midwife Katie and the synotocin drip was commenced. Katie also advised that a c-section was the likely outcome and asked my thoughts about having an epidural. She said it would be needed as I would be bound to the bed by the drip and the CTG monitoring, plus the synotocin would create harder and faster contractions. I was already aware of this, thanks to the knowledge I received from reading all those birth stories. What I didn't expect, was the full body shaking that I could not control. I shook from head to toe. Why did I not learn about this through my studies? Katie suggested my body was working hard as I was labouring and this is why I was shaking. I later figured out it was due to my fever of 38.8 degrees.

The contractions became 5minutes apart and increased in intensity with the pressure through my groin and bottom. The pain was manageable though difficult to rest as the shaking would not allow me to rest between contractions. It was difficult to breathe as I had such a dry mouth and was not allowed food or water due to the chance of having a c-section. I laboured this way for a few hours.

As time progressed, the intensity of the contractions increased. I began having to concentrate and breathe through the pain. I lost track of time when things became a blur as the pain became unbearable. This was not the labour I intended. I wanted to be active and mobile, to deal with the pain, though this was impossible due to the monitoring and the drip.

DH sat by my side, holding my hand as I squeezed his fingers harder and harder as the contractions increased and my moaning became the sound of a slaughtered animal. I didn't care at this point. I was in agony.

It must have been about 3am when I requested the epidural. 30 minutes later Katie did an internal and advised I was still only 2cm dilated but was fully effaced. At this point I knew I had made the right decision requesting the epidural. I was thinking a c-section was definitely on the cards, as my progression was minimal, and an epidural would be required anyway.

The obstetrician came in to check the monitoring and was surprised at how well the baby was coping. He said he was going home to shower and would return at 7.30am to do another internal and if things were not progressing, there was no point continuing the labour and a c-section would be performed. He advised me that he would call the anesthetist though he did not think they would administer the epidural due to my temperature. How was I going to cope? Thankfully, the anesthetist said it would be ok and was on his way. Yay! I started on the gas though found it too difficult to time it correctly in order for it to work at the peak of the contraction. As DH held the bag, I threw up just as the anesthetist arrived. It was 4am. As I lay through the contractions, as still as I can be, he administered the epidural. It took 4 attempts and many electric shocks through my spine, for him to get it right. The epidural took 30 minutes before relief was felt. I could still feel the contractions, just not the pain. I could finally rest. The shaking stopped as I fell asleep.

An hour later I awoke feeling great I could still feel the contractions and could move my legs. I love this epidural. I had read about these types but didn't understand how it could be. At this point I didn't care how it was working, just glad it was.

I started feeling that immense pressure with each contraction again. I pressed the button to top up the epidural. I advised Katie that I have this terrible pressure and she said that I was feeling that at the start of the labour anyway. I took that on board, though was wondering why I could still feel it even after the epidural top up.

It was around 6.15am when things became spicy. The baby's heartrate was dropping with each contraction. Over the next 30 minutes the drop in heartrate was taking longer to recover and was elevating even higher. I could see the concern on Katies face. She called in the head midwife who also showed concern and suggested the obstetrician be called.

As DH held my hand I began to cry. "I just want him out" I cried. I was worried that my baby was in danger.

The midwives continued to fuss around me and the CTG machine. This increased my anxiety, I was so scared.

At 6.50am another midwife came on shift and was to relieve Katie. Unfortunately I do not remember her name and will refer to her as Scottish (as she was from Scotland and had a lovely soothing accent).

Katie advised Scottish what was happening and advised that the Obstetrician was called. Scottish looked at me and asked how I was. "I'm scared" was my response and she said to leave the worrying to her. She turned to Katie and asked when the last internal was done and had another been done since the lowering of the heartrate. Katie said she hadn't done one since 3.30am. "Don't you know that the heartrate does this when the baby is so far down the birth canal it's ready to be born?" Scottish said. Katie looked stunned. Scottish repeated this to me and said she will do an internal as this baby may just well be ready to come into this world. I began praying to god that this internal would go in my favour.

"You're 10cm and ready to go" Scottish announced, after the examination. "He's right there" she said, "Right where?" I replied. She pointed to the first bend in her finger and said "There. You're gonna meet your baby in about 15minutes" she said. Ah huh... That's why I was feeling that pressure.

The tears are rolling down my face as I recall the tears I shed at this point. I looked at DH and cried as I told him that I wouldn't be having a c-section and was going to deliver naturally. We hugged and kissed as I cried tears of joy.

The obstetrician was then telephoned to be informed a c-section was not what he was returning for, but he was required to deliver this baby vaginally.

The room filled with doctors and nurses as the Obstetrician arrived. I was told that due to the prematurity of my baby, the paediatrician would want to wisk my baby away to be checked and most likely resuscitated, and that meant my son would not be placed on my chest. I understood this procedure and assured the obstetrician the same.

Thankfully I still had feeling down low and could feel exactly where I needed to push. I held my breath, put my chin to my chest and pushed like there was no tomorrow. Nothing was going to stop me from birthing my baby.

A few pushes later as Scottish and the Ob encouraged me to push harder and longer, I could feel the burning sensation, the 'ring of fire' I had read about. Though it was not as intense due to the epidural. It was more of a huge stretching feeling.

"Ok stop pushing" Scottish said "The head is here, do you want to see?" I looked down to see my baby's head crowning. DH leaned over to take a look too. I was told to wait for the next contraction. As soon as I felt it coming on I told Scottish it was here. She looked at the CTG and said yes it was and get pushing. The head was out. "You're just about there" said the Ob, "Just keep pushing" and that I did. At 7.14am on Thursday 28.08.08 my baby boy was born.

The obstetrician held him up to show me him, I turned to DH and said "Look how cute he is" DH replied with "look he's crying". He was breathing on his own. DH cut the cord and the Paediatrician took Byron to a nearby table to check him over. "What's his name" he asked. I looked at DH as we both shrugged our shoulders and said "We don't know". I told DH he could name his son whatever he wanted to. He said "I want to call him Byron". I turned to the Paediatrician and declared "Byron John". It was only moments later that Byron was placed on my chest for a quick cuddle. I looked at him in amazement and couldn't believe what had just happened. They weighed him in at 2244grams (4lb 9oz). We had a tiny, but perfect, baby.

I delivered the placenta and was chuffed that no stitches were required.

Byron did not require any medical attention. He spent the next 3.5weeks in the special care nursery while we established his feeding.

He was weighed in today at a hefty 3900grams (8lb 6oz) and is a breast-feeding champ. I wonder how much he would have weighed if he had been born on his due date, today.