This was going to be a quick run down of the birth, but somehow it turned into a novel!! :-#
Thursday 2nd my waters broke in bed at 10.50pm. I rang the hospital who told me to come in to be looked over. They hooked me up to the CGT machine (I think thats what its called) which said I was having contractions every 3 minutes. I could hardly feel them though so I was told to go home and come back in the morning. On the way home I had some stronger contractions which was exciting!
Friday 3rd - went back into hospital to be hooked up again and same story as the night before weak contractions every 3 minutes. We live 40 minutes from the hospital and didnt feel confident enough to go home so we got a room and I stayed Friday and Friday night. I spent the entire night bouncing up and down on the fit ball as the baby was only a little bit engaged. Friday night I got no sleep and was exhausted. I was told I would be induced on Saturday morning due to having broken waters.
Saturday 4th - my Obs came in and told me that there were 3 women in labour and only 2 labour rooms so they wouldnt induce me that day. He gave me antibiotics and sent me home, telling me they would induce me on Sunday morning. I was thrilled as I just wanted to go home. I felt if I could get some rest and also do some walking I'd be able to get things moving. So I had a sleep for a couple of hours then spent a few hours walking. I was having mild contractions which just felt like period pain, but they'd come in blocks and then go away again.
Sunday 5th - 4.00am I had to get up in the night to have my antibiotic, and a 4.30am I was woken by contractions 8 minutes apart and quite strong. I left DH to sleep in case it was a false alarm, and timed them until 6.30am when he woke up. By that stage they were 6 minutes apart and felt like really bad period pain. I got up and bounced on the fit ball and they got irregular, but we headed to the hospital when they were 5 mins apart which was at 8.30am. In the car on the way to the hospital they got to 4 mins apart and I couldnt talk through them. We got to the hospital, they hooked me up to the machine and the contractions got really weak again. The horrid midwife told me to go home. I cried my eyes out - told her how far away we lived, told her how close together the contractions had been and she just told me to go home. They wouldnt even examine me to see if I was dilating because of my broken waters. I was a bit of a wreck, but after I composed myself we decided to try and kill a few hours in town and see what happened. So we got a coffee, went to the nursery and looked at plants, killed some time in K-mart. We saw every single person we know I swear. At about midday they were really bad again worse than before and were constant no matter if I was sitting, standing, walking around etc, but I didnt want to go back to the hospital just yet so we got some lunch and got to the hospital at 12.30. They hooked me up to the machine and it FINALLY showed really regular strong contractions. At about 1.30 they got unbearably bad, and I went to the toilet and there was a heap of blood, so I rang the buzzer and the checked out the blood (you have no dignity when in labour!!) and led me off to the labour room at about 2.00. I had a couple more whopping big contractions which had me pretty beside myself in pain, and they gave me the gas. I love the gas, it worked so well for me. I asked them to run me a bath, and they examined me at 2.30 and told me I was 4-5cm. I got in the bath and breathed the gas and DH sprayed water on my tummy. The contractions were pretty intense but I felt I was coping well. Every time I had a contraction I sucked on the gas and when the contraction was gone I would have an attack of the giggles from the gas. At 3.15 the contractions changed from painful to totally involuntary bearing down. I also couldnt help but grunt when I had them. I told the midwife, but I dont think she believed me, but after feeling my tummy she got me out of the bath at about 3.45 (they dont allow water births) and told me I was fully dilated. I couldnt believe I dilated 5-6cm in less than an hour and coped so well. She buzzed the doctor and the paediatrician (as Fraser was early) but the doc only just made it with 15 minutes to spare and the paediatrician didnt make it at all! Fraser didnt present all that well and got stuck, but finally made it out at 4.25pm on Fathers day. I dont really remember much of the pushing stage, I didnt have any gas, so I think I must have gone into shock a bit, as its all really hazy. I only remember looking at my DH from time to time, and when Fraser was born looking down and seeing him was so surreal. DH was really emotional it was really a great experience. The only really bad pain was right at the end, I had multiple 1st & 2nd degree tears internally, although my perineum remained intact. It took the doc about 30 mins to stitch me and that pain was worse than the birth itsself. I sucked the hell out of the gas and was off with the fairies. An hour after the birth I felt a little bruised but pretty good, maybe 90% normal - I expected to be in a pretty bad way. Everyone kept commenting on how good I looked.
Frasers agpars were 7 & 9.5, his breathing and temperature were good which is the main problem with early babies. However his prematurity showed up with bad jaundice. His liver wasnt develloped enough to cope properly and he spent 5 days under the lights spread over a week and a half, so we were in and out of hospital a lot. He's home now and so far (touch wood) has been a dream baby. He feeds well, has to be woken to feed, hardly ever cries and is putting on weight.
That was a great story Jessica! Thankyou so much for sharing it!! O
That midwife sounded horrible though... (I had one similar to you!) you think they would be a bit more compassionate and considersate - considering the profession they're in!!
IKWYM about being off with the fairies on the gas, LOL!!
Grest story Jessica.
So good to hear from you and glad all is well. Welcome to your darling little boy.
It turned out to be a very long birthing experience but it sounds like you were a star throughout and did an excellent job
We almost went on the same day. I had Jessica on the 2nd.
Best wishes Michelle
wow, thanks so much for sharing your story.
where do all these *****y midwives come from? I had one at my registration that I definitely don't want at birth! They should be working the assembly line somewhere, not be delivering babies!
Gosh, I wish they offered gas here in Germany - you make that sound very appealing
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Frasers Birth Story
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