The Birth of Katie Jayne

Wow it’s a matter of where to start, everything is so fresh in my mind but it all seems a jumble too :-k

I’ll start with the EDD of 10th February 2006…now for some unknown reason I honestly had it in my head that I would give birth early this time? Why? No idea really, I thought things might follow a pattern

Amy – 2 weeks overdue – 7lb 13oz – born April Fools Day

Jordan – on his due date – 7lb 11oz – born Fathers Day

Can you see the pattern there? I thought this baby…2 weeks early 7lb 9oz and if 2 weeks early would make it Australia Day

Well this wasn’t to be…lol and my EDD flew past me and left me with my mouth hanging open going…this isn’t what is supposed to happen.

So now to the labour and birth part.

For 5 hours on the 15th I had pains that weren’t going away, they weren’t really intense or anything but they were constant so I walked the streets a few times and up and down stairs, got down on my hands and knees and rocked…willing the baby to move down as I knew that it was still high up and not engaged, I stayed active until 12.30am and decided I just needed to sleep and if it’s the real deal then the pain will wake me eventually.

I woke up at 6am to nothing!!! :fuming: Where had the pains gone…OMG I had actually slept for 5.5 hours…not sure what shocked me most. I was disappointed but what could I do but wait, so I would log onto BB and have a whinge about being overdue etc etc but all you lovelies put up with me…lol

Thursday the 16th Feb I noticed some different pains that kicked in at 7.30am, definitely stronger but not necessarily more painful than the day before, I lied down a bit that morning but they didn’t go away, this was a good sign I thought. They were like this all day but got a bit more ouchy in the night and eventually (Friday) at 1.30am I said to hubby pains are 5 minutes apart…so I ring Leanne (my midwife) and up we go. On the way to the hospital (only 10 minutes away) I only had one contraction and started doubting things from then on in. The contractions at this stage had gone back to 10 mins apart. I got the full checkout but was not dilated at all, Leanne could only just fit the tip of her finger into my cervix and it was still long. I was shattered!!! :shock: She told me I could wait and see if anything happens after the internal at the hospital (I was supposed to be going in at 10am for the stretch and sweep today too) or I could go home with Panadeine Forte and Sleeping Tablets…I took the home option and cried the whole way home. Once home I got into the shower and just tried to relax a bit, I had taken the tablets at the hospital so surely they will kick in soon? I tried to sleep on the lounge but the pain kept coming through the pain killers and waking me up every 10 minutes. For the next so many hours the pain got worse but they never got any closer together. They got to the point where I was really moaning through them but I was so confused about the timing of them…was this the real thing again…I was sure it was before but I was wrong. I didn’t want to have to go back up to the hospital only to be sent home again but what to do??? I was really getting beside myself in pain now.

So 2.15pm hits and I bite the bullet and call Leanne…goes something like this “Hello its Kyles (in tears now) I really don’t know how much more pain I can take…I’m not in labour well I don’t think I am cause my contractions are still 10 mins apart” Leanne – Ok darling come on in and we will find out what’s happening Me – I want an epidural Leanne – Well if you are in labour this time we can do that but if not we might have to give you morphine…so meet me in 30 mins in the Birth Centre and I will check you out.

2.45pm – We arrive at the Birth Centre after having one contraction only in the car (I’m sure we will be sent home again) but no Leanne!!! I go to the consultation room and have 1 contraction…big time hurty…couldn’t keep my moans down on that one. I ask Wayne to hold my hands through any further contractions just to give me something to focus on from here on in.

3.00pm - Leanne walks in and I feel so relived, the trust I had in that woman is amazing and I have a contraction right then, she lets me get through that one and then does an internal but couldn’t feel both sides of the cervix, so she tells me that she was going to have to be cruel and wait for the next contraction…it comes and she does the totally painless internal (I only felt the contraction not her) and gasps “ok lets go you are 5cms” much to my delight and pure horror. I was sooooo scared right then!!!

Leanne gets me a wheelchair as there is no way I could walk through them, Wayne is rubbing his hands trying to get circulation back in them…poor bugga was as scared as me I think? Leanne runs for the lift (we had to go upstairs to give birth as my BMI was over 30 I couldn’t do it in the birth centre due to overweight women bleeding too much??) We wait for the lift to arrive and its full of people getting out…how damn embarrassing I thought as another contraction came…then I thought stuff it, just go with your body and what it wants to do, don’t be embarrassed…lol…they got out of our way pretty quickly!!

We get into the same room I had been in previously that morning and Leanne gets the cannular ready as I had tested + for Strep B, I’m still sitting in the wheelchair with my contractions now on top of each other waiting for one to stop so I could get out and onto the bed. Leanne helps me onto the bed asking me did I want to push…I don’t know was all I could answer. I’m sitting there having another and she is asking me what position I want to be in…once again same answer, she leaves me for a second to get someone to help with the Strep B antibiotics and I need to push!!! Wayne yells for her and after a push I felt her pop the birth canal…I was still scared but knew it was so close now, another almighty push and she crowned, Leanne tells me to just breathe for a second, then the next contraction Katie Jayne was born. I had no control over that last one…it was all my body working with it and she slid out all in one go. That relief was instant and beautiful. Wayne then announces that we have a girl as she is placed on my chest, all sticky and gooey and so warm and these lil eyes are just staring up at me. Wayne and I just broke down (god I am all teary sitting here even writing this) it truly was a beautiful moment. He has his daughter, his pidgeon pair how proud could he be and what a great surprise we got by not finding out what this baby was.

My placenta was delivered exactly 5 minutes later. So much for hospital policy about the BMI crap. I never did get my canula for Strep B so we had to keep an eye on Katie’s temp before every feed and have since been cleared on any infection.

She was born at 3.37pm weighing 8lb 9oz, 51 cms long and a head circ of 36 cms.

That last 37 mins was fast and furious and it was a shock to the system once it was all over but so sweet at the same time. I almost wish I could do it all again tomorrow…lol

So to finish off we had the family come in and visit whilst still upstairs in the Delivery Room and were moved back to the Birth Centre about 5pm where more visitors arrived. Had a lovely peaceful night in our motel room like setting and we even dined on Maccas at some ungodly hour later that night. I had eaten nothing all day bar 5 grapes, dinner was served at 5pm so come 10ish I sent Wayne out to get something else…lol

Leanne was just wonderful through the whole pregnancy and labour and even now visits every day and still kisses and cuddles me and tells me what a great job I did. She is pushing for me to have more already…she likes my style of labour

Total duration was timed from my phone call to her at 2.15pm as we had no idea what to put down so it ended up being 1hr 27 minutes.

1st stage – 1 hour 15 minutes
2nd stage – 7 minutes
3rd stage – 5 minutes

Apgars were 9 and then 10...no tearing which i was soooo happy about as I had torn and had stitches with the other two..and no drugs again...made me feel like wonderwoman...lol