The birth story of Ryan Eric
Well lets start at my last antenatal appt on the Tuesday before Easter where I had doctors and midwives conferencing in the corridors of the hospital about what they were going to do with me you see I had gestational Diabetes and also Icp ( the liver condition of pregnancy which makes you itch like crazy ) at this appt I was 36 weeks and 5days I had the usual check up done first - bp etc etc well this doctor then decided to do a quick ultrasound where it was discovered that bubs heart rate had dropped quite dramatically so I was taken to another part of the hospital and hooked to a CTG machine for a half hour this showed I was having mild contractions but they were very irregular so back in to see the doctor where it was decided that they were not going to take any risks with things turning nasty so an induction date was set for the 18th of April I was absolutely petrified but so excited at finally being able to hold our baby in my arms they wanted me to wait around the hospital and have some more tests done later that afternoon so off we went and had lunch and waited to see the next round of doctors - 1.30 pm I finally got called back to see one of the OB ‘s she was very nice and went through everything with us she then said that she would have to do an internal so I checked my dignity in at the door and she proceeded she then said that I was 3 centimeters dilated and that she would like to try a stretch and sweep I agreed that was agonizing and contractions started almost immediately these went well into the night but still quite irregular but getting more and more uncomfortable at 2.30 am they stopped completely so the waiting begins all over again. A very very long week …
The 18 th of April rolls around I was so nervous I thought I was going to throw up all the way to the hospital we pulled into the hospital car park and I just sat there my husband near had to pry me out of the car I wouldn’t let him bring my bag in cause I was convinced they were going to send me home again …
The Midwives showed me into the assessment room where I was hooked to the CTG machine again bub was quite happy in there I had a few very mild contractions while I was hooked up after about 40 mins I was then asked which birthing suite I would like to use as I was the only mum to be on the floor at this time I picked the Jacaranda suite I was shown into the birthing suite and hooked up to the CTG again and resigned myself to fact that I would probably not be allowed up from the bed due to the constant monitoring next thing I knew there where about 6 people all hovering over me ready for a peek at my bits and pieces it was decided to put a drip in and the oxytocin started and they artificially ruptured my membranes and they instructed me not to get up as bubs head was still floating and it could lead to a prolapsed cord so I lay as still as possible a bit hard when I hadn’t been able to lie on my back for months prior the feeling like I was going to pass out from lack of oxygen really did my head in we were then left on our own for about ½ hour then the midwife came in and said lets sit you up and get this bubs head down there we want this bub out by lunch !!!! I thought yeah right it’s already after 11 am but who was I to argue things heated up straight away and the contractions were bang on top of one another it was at this point I asked about an epidural as I have very quick and extremely intense births I didn’t want to feel totally ripped off the way I did after my last son was born so they asked me to wait ½ an hour and they would do a internal to see how I was going this is when the clock watching started and every time the midwife poked her head in I told her how long it had been and had she rung the epidural guy yet ??? I don’t think she was game not to call him cause right on that ½ hour mark she walked in with him handed my husband a form to read to me about the risks involved ( I don’t think my husband has ever read to anyone that fast ever before even though I never heard a word he said ) The midwife did an internal and I was 6-7 centimeters dilated they proceeded to put the epidural in and the guy says to me I think you very close and this may not work in time before you have this baby and then he asked me whether I would even tell him if I felt like pushing -- probably not ..
He left and the midwives took over they kept rubbing ice up my legs to determine how the epidural was working it was pure bliss once it had kicked in even though I had one spot on my left leg that was affected so with each contraction I knew I was having it and how long it lasted just from that tiny little spot about 5 minutes later I asked the midwife to check as I thought bub was crowning and sure enough it was all systems go from here on I had two midwives holding my legs and another instructing me when to push it went so smoothly the whole pushing stage of labour lasted 10 minutes and our beautiful baby Ryan was born he was lifted up to my tummy and he was so blue and not responding real well they rubbed him down and flipped him over and this is when he let out his war cry from this point on his lungs were put to good use as he screamed down the labour rooms my husband got to cut the cord and we welcomed our new baby into the world his apgar scores were 6 and then 9. We tried to breastfeed but Ryan just wasn’t interested they brought us in some lunch and we were then left by ourselves for over an hour to bond together as a family which was lovely the midwives then came back and weighed him and did all the bits and pieces he weighed in 3350 grams and was 54 cm long and Hc was 34 cm my mum and dad arrived a sort time later with our 2 older children and we got to spend some time as a family before being wheeled down to the ward where the rest of my family were waiting for us every one had cuddles and left us to get better acquainted Ryans blood sugar levels were checked every hour and when they became dangerously low he was admitted to the Scn for 48 hrs as ryan wouldn’t suck so he had a NGT inserted to be tube fed after some time of trying to breast feed we finally got the hang of it and the tube was finally taken out and I was able to Breast feed properly for the first time we have had a few ups and downs in this department but I think we are finally getting it together I can’t believe how lucky I am every time I look into those big blue eyes my heart melts
thanks for reading