Because of a shoulder dystocia with my first baby, and the fact that Sebastian was the same size if not larger, I was booked in for an induction at 39wk 1day for Tuesday 31/7, but Dr Cario told me to ring the labour ward on Sunday night to see if one of the women booked in for induction on the Monday had already had their babies. If they had, then I could have their spot on Monday. In Ryde, on the way home from the Hunter Valley on Sunday night, our car was hit from behind when a taxi stopped suddenly in front of us. A red P plater crashed into the back of us, so while DH got out to deal with the hysterically distraught 19yo girl who had crashed into us, I stayed in the car with DD and decided to take the opportunity to call the hospital. To my surprise and excitement, one of the ladies for Monday HAD already had their baby and I could change to Monday. I was quite excited and when we finally got home after sorting out the accident, I packed a bag for DD and DH dropped her off at my mother’s house so we wouldn’t have to wake her up at 5 the next morning. While he was dropping her off I wrapped the Baby Born we had bought her as her present from Sebastian and waited for DH to return home. After he rang the insurance company we had chocolate ice cream for dinner and went to bed. I didn’t sleep very well that night!
We got to the hospital at 6am for the induction and I had to put on a horrible backless hospital gown and produce a urine sample. The midwife did an internal and put in the gel, saying my cervix was very favourable and already 1-2cm dilated. I had to lie on my side for ½ hour, all connected up to the FHR monitor, which we watched with interest, because it showed I was already having regular, if short and low intensity contractions. After the half hour I was allowed to get up and walk around. We got a couple of take away coffees from the café, DH got a paper to read, I read a book for a while and walked around the room a bit and generally got bored. I could feel the contractions like a dull period pain, and had a bit of diorrhoea until my bowels were completely empty – all things I took as good signs of my body getting ready for labour. Around 10ish I asked the midwife when she would break my waters and put the drip in, and she said at 11. I was encouraged to put my clothes back on and go sit in the sun in the café or walk around the hospital a bit, as there would be not much moving around once my waters had been broken. Apart from that, I was very cold, and had been walking around with a blanket doubled up and wrapped around me. So I got dressed and we went to the car to get my sunnies and we sat in the courtyard of the café in the sun for a while. DH rang his uncle, who is a panel beater and had only fixed our car after another rear-end accident a few months ago! He couldn’t believe he was going to have to fix the car again! We also went back to the car to get DD’s present out and bring it back into the hospital with us.
Back to the labour ward, clothes off and gown on again and pacing around waiting for the induction to begin in earnest. My waters were finally broken at about 11:20 and the drip was put in and switched on at about 11:30. After a little more monitoring I was unhooked from the machine and went to sit in the bath for a while. The contractions were beginning to get stronger and I could feel them getting longer as well. The bath was soothing, but not as deep as it could have been, and so over half of my belly as well as my whole top half was sticking out. The midwife came in at one point to ask how I was going and if I needed an epidural, because the anesthetist was there for one of the other girls. As the pain was not really that bad at that point and I really wanted to try without an epidural, I said that I was ok at that point and that the contractions were not that bad. She had a feel of my belly during a contraction to see how I was going, and said that they would get to the point where they would make it impossible for me to speak. It had been about half an hour, so she doubled the syntocinin drip from 30 to 60. Some time later, she came in again and was going to listen to the baby’s heartrate. Although she said she could just wheel the machine into the bathroom, I decided to get out because I was cold anyway. The contractions were getting stronger and I didn’t want to stay in for too long in case the pain got too bad and I couldn’t get out. She turned the drip up again and I got out. DH helped get me dried and “dressed” (as dressed as you can be in one of those hospital gowns anyway) and I got back up to recline on the bed, as the midwife wanted to monitor me for a while. By now the pains were getting quite bad, and I decided it was time to try the gas. I hadn’t tried either a bath/shower or the gas with DD, so I really wanted to give it all a go before I resorted to an epidural. She started the gas off on a low setting because it can make you feel really nauseous and giddy and I gave it a go, but it did nothing for me so I shoved it away in disgust. After a few more contractions I thought that perhaps I really could not do it without an epidural after all, so the midwife went to find out if the anesthetist was still there. She was gone for what seemed a long time and when she came back she said that he was already gone and that there was another one in theatre, but that he would be about half an hour. She suggested I tried the gas again, and she turned it up a bit, and for the next few contractions I used the gas. It helped a lot with the pain, but made me feel really nauseous, so I decided I did not like it and would just have to cope until the anesthetist arrived.
By this time the contractions were coming hard and fast and close together, so that it seemed I was just over one and another was starting. I had my eyes closed and was just trying to breathe through the pain and not hold my breath. I think I said “****, I want the epidural” in between one contraction and the next. DH was watching the machine and could see when they were coming on and was very supportive, letting me squeeze his hand and telling me when they were peaking so I would know they were almost over. I remember him saying “If you do this without the epidural, your’re da man!”. After a few contractions I said to DH “Go and get the midwife NOW”. He popped his head out the door but couldn’t see her – the other midwife was at the desk, but Melanie, who was looking after us must have been in another room. He came back in without her and I said, “No, go and get the midwife, I feel like I need to push.” I could hear DH telling the other midwife “She needs to push” and then the midwife yelling out “Melanie, you need to reassess room number four, she wants to push.” Melanie came back in and did an internal and I was 8cm. While she was examining me I had another contraction and went up to 9cm. She said that the head still needed to come down a bit and asked me if I wanted to get up and sit on the side of the bed. When I asked if that would help she said it would so up I got with DH to support me. As soon as I was sitting up I could feel the head pressing down and then came another really painful contraction. Melanie was getting things ready, popping in and out of the room and she came back in and said that the anesthetist was there, but asking me if I thought I could manage without as I was so close and it would be a shame to have one now. I thought that is it was up to the pushing stage already, then it was too late for the epidural anyway and I might as well just get it over with. I could hear the other midwife saying to Melanie “you better get the bed ready or she’s going to push it out sitting on the side of the bed!” I think I sat through 3 or 4 painful contractions on the side of the bed, all the while resisting the urge to push and then I was back up on the bed with my feet on those plates and knees sticking up in the air because of the risk of the shoulder dystocia. She told me to hold on to the back of my thighs and she put two fingers in to show me in which direction to push. When the next contraction came I was told to hold my breath and push, which I did and apparently I did really well. The next contraction I did it again and then the head was visible! She went to get a mirror to show me and then went to call the obstetrician, who luckily has rooms at the hospital. I remember her saying “She’s pushing really well, he doesn’t need to run but….” and then the rest was kind of drowned out in the pain. In he came and another contraction came on and I was told to push again. I could feel the head coming out – boy did THAT hurt! Keep pushing, I was told, just a little bit more and then I can help you – hold my breath and push again – that contraction and pushing seemed to go on forever, and then the head was out! I was told to push again, but there was no contraction and I tried to push but knew it was a pretty pathetic one really. I was told “You’ll have to give me more than that” to which I replied “I can’t”. “Yes you can!” the obs said, so off I went again. Sometime then the next contraction came, which oddly enough helped with the pushing. The shoulders were stuck again so I had to keep pushing and it really hurt. I think I was groaning and stuff and the ob asked something like “can you still feel that?” (meaning the contraction, I think) to which I growled/yelled out a “Yes!”. At least the obs didn’t day “Don’t scream, push” this time, like he did with the birth of DD!!!!
And then it was over, Sebastian was out, crying and on my chest, and the pain was gone and I felt very relieved and proud – four pushes and it was over! He was born at 2:23, just under 3 hours after the drip was put in – what a difference to the birth with DD! I was so glad and proud that I managed without an epidural, and I really feel that the pushing was far better this time without it. With DD I never felt the urge to push at all, and couldn’t feel when to push or where – I was told I was ready to push and so I did, but pushed uselessly for over ½ hour before needing the vacuum extraction. This time I not only knew I needed to push, but could also feel where to push and when and could feel it working! I felt pretty good, after the birth actually and wanted to get up and have a shower, but I was made to lie there for about 45 mins because I had had a post partum hemorrhage after DD and so they wanted to make sure it would not happen again – large doses of syntocinin went into the drip and I was told I was not to get up without help from the midwife. I only needed 2 external stitches – first degree tear only, and that not from the head but the shoulders. When I was finally allowed up I got up, had a shower and got dressed and walked up the stairs to maternity ward, because the lift was broken. I felt really good, and DH went to pick up DD so we could have some time together before general visiting hours. It was about 4pm when I got to my room, and I felt great! No epidural – I’m da man!
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Sebastian's Birth Story
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