The birth of my beautiful daughter, not that I’m biased. 
Hopefully I have remembered the details correctly, sorry it’s rather long. It wasn’t an easy labour, however wasn’t the worst either & the outcome was great.

Sat 11Mar06 (35wk1d):
Woke at 3am with a few very mild cramps on/off, which continued over the weekend.

Mon 13Mar06 (35wk3d):
Was driving home from work, had had upper abdo cramps, nausea, mid back pain, for 45mins, however was only mild, 3-5mins apart. As soon as I got home, I layed down for a while to see if they'd disappear like the midwife in our antenatal class taught us. They did, & I was still thinking I'd go overdue, just like my Mum and Sister.

Fri 24Mar06 (37wk):
Finished up at work, already did an extra week, but said I wasn't up to another, as my oedema (swelling) in my feet/legs/hands/neck/face was quite bad now, no ankles in sight.

Sun 02Apr06 (38wk2d):
Woke at 1am to go to the toilet, however there was only clear fluid, so went back to bed still wondering if it could possibly be my waters. Then 20mins later the same thing happened, and again another 20mins later. So I phoned the birthing suite.

They told me to come in, so I woke hubby & told him the story, finished packing my bag, showered & headed to the hospital, got there at 4am. A midwife confirmed my waters were leaking & hooked me up to a CTG, however it only showed irregular Braxton Hicks around 5-10mins apart, so told us to try & get some sleep & the obgyn rostered on for that weekend would do an internal and check me in the morning. Despite trying, neither of us could sleep.

Around 7:30am the midwife came in & said the obgyn had spoken to her & said to send me home with antibiotics (GroupB Strep positive) & to let nature take it’s course. This was fine with us as nothing was happening, however I was a disappointed that the obgyn (not mine) hadn’t checked me at all, no internals were done either, so went home. They said they’d probably see me again that night, as contractions usually start 24hrs later. I was booked in for another CTG & an induction for 8am tomorrow in case nothing had eventuated by then as I was now on a timeline due to leaking waters & to prevent infection.

Hubby went to sleep in the spare room as he said my snoring was just too loud from the swelling in my face/neck which also made it difficult to breath at night. Neither of us had slept much last night.

11:45pm irregular contractions started (13-20mins apart), however I didn’t wake hubby as I wanted him to get some sleep.

Mon 03Apr06 (38wk3d):
Irregular contractions continued however were getting closer and stronger, around 2-15mins apart. Hubby woke up just as I phoned the hospital, around 5am & asked if anything was happening yet. I said sure is, I’ve been having contractions for several hours now. Hospital said I could come in even though I wasn’t in labour as contractions were still irregular.

Arrived at hospital around 6:30am & was hooked up to CTG again, which showed irregular contractions measuring 60-80 (whatever that means) & 2-10mins apart approx. Hubby remembered to turn the clock back 1hr for daylight savings. We could also hear a lady yelling in labour & I giggled thinking, how embarrassing, hope I don’t do that, I highly doubt it.

8am I was induced to regulate contractions and shortly after, my obgyn came in. I was sitting up in bed & he did a quick feel of my tum. I asked if she was still head down however he said he couldn’t really tell unless I was lying down but everything seemed in order. My lovely midwife said contractions would become more intense & I probably wouldn’t be able to handle sitting/lying in bed. She was right.

The drip was turned up around 9:15am and I was classified as in established labour from 9:30am, with regular contractions 2.5mins apart.

Pain became more intense. By 10:30am I asked for the gas and by 12pm my gas was already on the highest level so was given pethadine & maxalon. By this time I was actually yelling in pain, loud enough I think the whole labour ward would have heard, something I never thought I would be doing, but I just couldn’t seem to help it.

The pethidine was great for relaxation between contractions, I was actually falling asleep & out of it during the ‘breaks’, however it only just took the edge of the pain. I also remember pleading, please just knock me out, I can’t do this anymore. An epi was suggested/offered & I jumped at it, however the anaesthetist was in surgery so I had to wait. My midwife said the gas makes you say things too so not to worry, although I did hear someone say maybe a low pain threshold.

About 12:45pm my first internal was done and I was told that either my cervix hadn’t dialated at all or it was fully dialated and she’d just poked bub in the butt, especially since meconium came out (not waters). Also my cervix was in the wrong spot (LHS not centre) so bub wasn’t lined up. I was asked if I felt like pushing or if it was just pain, I said just pain. Another midwife did an internal as a 2nd opinion and I was asked to push during this so they could tell. I was again asked if I was sure my bub wasn’t breech. I said she was at 27.5wks (u/sound) but at the next 2 checkups the midwife & obgyn had thought she was still breech but then changed their minds.

The epidural was given & my midwife was great, making me focus on her & not moving a muscle during a contraction whilst the epi was being put in. The CTG connected again & bub’s heart rate was 180+. My midwife said she felt this would lead to a c/section. My obgyn was called in. Hubby was given a delicious lunch & I had to smell it & watch him eat it, I was rather hungry as I hadn’t eaten since last night’s dinner.

Around 1:15pm, obgyn did a quick u/sound & confirmed bub was breech, so an emergency ceaser was ordered & was to take place within 15mins. I wasn’t upset that it had eventuated in a c/section & an epi which I was originally scared of, as I wasn’t in pain anymore & I would rather bub be out safe & sound.

My midwife re-assured me that it wasn’t a normal straight forward labour & therefore didn’t feel it was a low pain threshold as first thought (I asked). Hubby told me later that he & the midwife had said to each other that it felt like I nearly broke their hands, as I kept wanting something to squeeze during contractions, hehe.

I was prepped for theatre & hubby was taken away to be dressed. Then off to theatre. A spinal block was given & they confirmed it was working by putting ice on me & asking if I could feel it. Then I felt some pulling/tugging sensations & kept saying, oh no, this just feels toooo weird & I started feeling faint, the midwife said I was rather pale & I was having trouble breathing, however this had been happening through the 3rd trimester anyhow, so was given oxygen & felt better.

Then they started lowering the curtain so we could see, but I said, no I don’t want to see please, so they only lowered it enough for hubby. Unfortunately hubby didn’t have the camera ready so no photos were taken, oh men. He was too interested in the whole procedure & asking them what everything was.

At 1:55pm Holly Maree was born & whisked away to the paed’s table with hubby & my midwife. I kept looking but could only see the paed’s back. A couple of photos were taken by the midwife & eventually after suction, oxygen & the usual checks, Holly was wrapped up & handed to me for a few photos. She was just gorgeous I thought but was then whisked away again with hubby & midwife for bath, needles, etc. Meanwhile I was taken to recovery & told I’d be reunited with them again in about 40mins.

In recovery I was just so zonked, I couldn’t stay awake, even the nurse who was doing my obs kept commenting, most likely from the pethadine. I remember being woken every few mins with ice being put on me to check if the block was wearing off. Around 2.5hrs later (4:30pm) it started to wear off so was taken back to my room. I was still so zonked that I slept until visitors arrived around 5:30pm. Visitors cracked up saying I looked & sounded out of it, hehe, I was.

Hubby said he had been nursing Holly waiting for me, wondering where I was & wondering where the 'manual' was, hehe. We were all safe & well & over joyed, finally the 2yrs of trying felt like nothing as I was holding our precious bundle at last.

Holly had to have been breech the whole time (was at 27.5wks) I was told by several staff, as she had frog legs (hence couldn’t be measured accurately), loose/clicky hips and a squashed head from my ribs. Next time I’m actually going to request a very quick ultrasound to confirm if bub is breech or not, apparently there’s a 10% chance of another breech.

So after waters broke, 10hrs contractions, 4.5hrs labour, induction & a c/section, Holly Maree was born, 6lb 7oz, approx 50cm long, head 35.5cm.