Welcoming Teaghan Gray with a positive induction birth...
At 38weeks I was induced for extended spurious labour with failure to dilate.
I rolled out of bed at 5am for my 7am induction.
I was so full of nerves I could barely eat but managed to down some cereal...
We left home at 6am and got to the hospital just before 7am and were taken to our birthing room and had some obs taken.
My support people turned up about 15mins later and finally at about 1/4 to 8 the doctor came in to do an internal and my waters were broken.
It was Meconium stained so they decided they would do more obs and keep a closer eye on baby's heart rate.
There was no real change in my cervix from a week ago so they decided to start me on the drip straight away so I could conserve some energy for the real fun...
I was hooked up to the monitor, baby's heart rate was perfect.
I had a few tightenings but they were quite irregular so every 1/2 an hour they turned it up little by little and by 10am I was in active labour!
Very exciting! My contractions were coming every 5mins and lasting a good minute. Each time I had a contraction or moved, I would leak more fluid and it was the most god awful feeling! Kinda like wetting yourself but not... Most contractions consisted of "(pain filled) ohhhhhhh! (deep breathing), (a disgusted) ewwwwww!, (more deep breathing)". It was kind of funny...
Even though I was hooked up to the monitor I was still able to get up and move around and the midwife brought in a rubber mat for the floor, a fitball and a handful of pillows.
She was fantastic in her suggestions of positions and activities to help with the pain!
I rocked on the ball, leaned over the bed while straddling the ball, rocked on all 4's, and squatted.
Due to the baby moving down further it became harder to keep track of the heart beat so the midwife organised the doctor to come in and attach a clip to the baby's head so we could directly monitor the heart rate which also freed me up a whole lot more with only one belt strapped to my tummy.
The 2 midwives I had were brilliant in their care, compassion and empathy.
After I got off the bed, my contractions were a lot stronger and it was getting to a point where I wanted to run away!!
So Karen (midwife) offered the gas which I decided to give it a go - I had nothing to lose!!
The gas became my best friend - seriously I found it incredibly helpful!
After a while I decided I wanted an epidural as I was exhausted and knew I wouldn't last.
The anaesthetist arrived at 2pm and we had a chat in between contractions so that she was sure I knew what I was in for and could assess me.
I can't say enough about her - she was fantastic!
By 2:30pm she had it in and stayed until the drug had taken effect, making sure I was happy and that everything was working as it should...
As is the case with epi's, I had to stay on the bed but I still had all movement in my legs and could still feel the contractions - all it did was take the edge off the pain and help with the back pain - exactly what I wanted! I couldn't have been happier... Even though I was stuck to the bed, I was still able to move around in different positions and postures so that I remained active.
By about 3:30 - 4pm I started to feel a bit of pressure in my vagina and bum but just thought it was fairly normal, it wasn't until about 4:30pm when it was almost unbearable that I told the midwife.
She said "Ok, let's have a look and see where we are at and how much longer we have to go?"
So she started to do the internal and as soon as she looked between my legs, she went "Oh look, there's the head! Let me set up the cart and everything and we'll get you pushing!?
I spun out! Already?? I had to ask several times if she was serious?!
So at 4:40pm I started pushing...
My support people were fantastic at keeping me focused and encouraging me to push. The baby's heart rate dropped about 5mins later (4:45pm) and didn't come back up so the doctor was called and an extra midwife but I stunned them all by delivering her within 5mins by myself! It was a huge 10mins! I didn't need the ventouse or forceps and the doctor even asked why she was called seeing as I had everything under control!
At 4:50pm Teaghan Gray entered the world!
10mins of pushing and we had a little girl...
I didn't believe them that it was a girl when they were handing her to me and I had to spread her legs to check!
She came out perfect with both Apgar scores of 9. There were no problems from the mec stained fluid and she was a lovely healthy pink. She didn't scream or cry but grizzled for a bit and then was content to check out the world around her.
I suffered a second degree tear that required some stitches but the doctor that did it was so thorough that I don't feel like I have stitches or even tore! I am walking fine, sitting fine, peeing fabulously and even had a poo 24hrs after birth that didn't hurt one bit!
In total I was in labour for 6hrs and 25mins, including 10mins of pushing!
Being induced was the best thing we did for our baby and for us.
It was an extremely positive and powerful experience and the most breathe taking and awe inspiring moment of our life.
