Kayla Ann's birth

It all started on the 21st of February 2006, at 1am. I started getting period pain and then at 3am contractions started. They were not that bad at this stage, just uncomfortable enough to not be able to sleep. So I only got 2 hrs of sleep all night.

We had an Obstetrician appointment at 9:30am that morning. I told him about the pain and contractions, which were still mild, and he decided to examine me. He did a stretch and sweep (OUCH), and said that I was 1cm dialated and in early labour. We were excited. He said that we should be having this baby within the next 24hrs.

As soon as we left the surgery and were walking to the car, the contractions were getting a lot stronger. So the stretch and sweep was already taking effect. I was contracting all day and by 2pm they were quite regular. At 4pm they were much stronger and were 2-3 min apart and lasting 50-60 sec. We decided to phone the hospital at 7pm, and they said that there is no rush but to come in to be assessed.

We headed there straight away (I was quite anxious to get there), and I was hooked up to the monitor for 30min. Contractions were getting stronger, to the point were I had to breath through them, but I was still only 2-3 cm dialated.

We were then taken to the labour room. I decided to have a warm bath to ease the pain. But this didn’t really help. It just helped me relax in between contractions. By 10pm I could not handle the pain any more and asked about my options for pain relief. I did not want pethadine, and the midwife said because I was sooo tired (from lack of sleep) and still had approximately another 6-7 hours to go, that gas was probably not the best option as it would get quite tiring with all the sucking I would have to do. So after a long thought I decided to have an epidural. There was no way I was going to cope with the pain for another 7 hrs.

So while I was waiting for the anethasist (sp?), I sucked on the gas. I did a few big sucks and nothing was happening. Then it suddenly hit, and my legs and cheeks felt all fat and tingly and I was in lala land for a few seconds. Adam decided to try it too, and he went all giggly (while I was contracting mind you).

At 11:30pm the epidural went in, and within 10 mins of it being in, I felt no more pain. It was bliss. We then all just waited and slept. The midwife did an internal at around 8am, and I was still only 6-7 cm dialated. They decided to give me a hormone drip to speed things along a bit. Not long after I started getting a temperature, and Kayla was getting distressed, so they had to stop the drip. The Obs came in at 8:50am and did an internal and stretched my cervix to 9cm. He said that the baby is now going to be born.

At 9:04 am Kayla Ann was born by forceps delivery, weighing in at 3915g and 52cm long with a HC of 35cm. Adam got to deliver her body and cut the cord, and pass her to me, which was a very special moment. Kayla’s Apgars were 9 and 9. I ended up with a second degree tear.

Even though the labour was approximately 20hrs long, it was an amazing experience and little Kayla was very worth it :)

what a great story

congrats

Congratulations Nadine!!! what a great labour for your first, you sound as if you were very calm and relaxed!!
Welcome into the world Little Kayla!!

What a wonderful birth story Nadine. Thank you for sharing it with us and congratulations on the birth of Kayla.

Thanks for sharing your story Nadine, congrats again :D

Thanx for sharing your birth story, & congratulations again on your adorable daughter.

Congratulations Nadine.

Thanks for sharing your story.

Welcome "Kayla"

Thank you for sharing your story with us Nadine and Congratulations again

Congratulations Nadine, Kayla is gorgeous!

yay nadine, good to hear how it all went, kayla is a cutie :)

Great story Nadine =D> Well done!

Thanks for sharing Nadine!!! Congrats!