Well finally I got a chance to write Bonnie's birth story. It's so hard to get all the detail in, but still I managed to write a three pager! I was keen to have this written for Bonnie to read one day, so I haven't left anythign out sorry! Here it is:
The due date for our baby’s arrival (Thurs Feb 16th, 2006) came and went, thought I really wasn’t too concerned as I had thought all along that our little one was due 5-7 days later than the date we had been given. I was up to weekly appointments with the obstetrician, Dr T, so when I went in the Monday after my due date, he was quick to book me in for an induction, as he was not keen on me going 7 days over my due date. I talked to him as best I could about my concerns with being induced, and told him how comfortable and happy I was to wait a little longer in the hope that our baby would make their own arrival. But 7 days was his limit, so he booked me in for the evening of Thursday 23rd February.
I booked myself in for acupuncture on the Tuesday and Wednesday, in the hope that it would help the baby along. It may have helped in the long run, though it didn’t help enough to bring the baby out on time! Over the few days before the induction I had so many thoughts going through my head, mostly fear of the induction – fear that it wouldn’t work and I’d end up having a Caesar, fear that I wouldn’t be able to have the ‘active’ and mobile labour that I wanted, with drips and monitoring attached to me. By the time Thursday arrived, I had a much more positive frame of mind and figured whatever will be will be, and we’ll soon be holding our baby. I spent the day cleaning at home, washing the sheets and towels and trying to keep my mind off the whole process. DH finished work early, but wasn’t home until 10 minutes before we had to leave as he had a job interview on the way home – a sure fire way to keep his mind off the upcoming events!
So we were ready to leave, it was funny – not really how we imagined leaving for the hospital – so calm and pain free, we felt a little silly! We arrived at the hospital and there was another couple arriving for a 5pm induction, who also had Dr T, we chatted for a bit, it was her second baby. We were told the hospital was really full and there were no private rooms as Dr T had booked in 4 c-sections that day (!) so we got put into a 4 bedroom. The monitors were put on my belly to monitor the baby’s heart rate, movements and my uterus contracting (or not!). All was well, and nothing much was happening. After eating some dinner and watching some TV, Dr T arrived at about 7pm to insert the gel, onto my cervix. It wasn’t too uncomfortable, just like an internal really. I was told to lie still for about 30-45 minutes and not sit up. Within minutes the monitor showed my uterus contracting, though certainly not considered a contraction! It was amazing though how instant a result there was. Straight away I also started to get lower back pain, like period pain, and it was really uncomfortable having to lie still. All I could hear next to me was the girl who was also being induced chatting away, very relaxed – and here I was whinging about some back pain!! Hah, this labour could be a long haul! After an hour we got moved into the birthing suite as it was much cooler in there (30 degrees outside) but it was a bit weird being in the room that I’d be in labour in very soon! The bed was pretty uncomfortable to sleep on, but after a couple of sleeping tablets I fell asleep just fine. DH went home for the night, as there was nothing happening and he would get a better sleep in our own bed. I still had lower back pain, but certainly not any contractions. I got the runs though, so I figured something must be happening!!
So the next morning I was woken at 6.30am (I must have slept well!) The first thing I asked was how the girl next door was doing (who was induced at the same time). “She had her baby at 2 o’clock this morning†the midwife told me. NOOOOO!!! I was so annoyed, as I hadn’t even begun the process and she was already holding her baby. Dr T arrived early, at around 7.30am and got straight into things, he did an internal and said I was 1 cm dilated, and then in the next breath, he broke my waters! He immediately said “the baby has pooed, so it not happy, we’ll have to get this baby out today†then he said he was putting an internal monitor (scalp electrode) on the baby’s head. My first thought was “oh no, how on earth am I going to have an active and mobile labour now†and I burst into tears. DH arrived just as all this happened, so I am sure it was a shock and an unexpected start to his morning! I asked the midwife through my tears if I could still move around and get in the shower, she said I couldn’t get in the shower or bath, but I could move around. I was devastated, but started to deal with the fact that things probably won’t go to plan! Dr T then inserted the drip and turned it on, to get my contractions going, then left. Within about 20 minutes the midwife told me the scalp electrode must have fallen off the baby’s head as there was no reading, so she had to put the external monitors on my belly. So there I am on the bed with the drip in my arm, the internal monitor still coming out between my legs and the external monitors on my belly – not really a good set-up for an active labour!
DH set the TENS machine up on my back and gave me the buzzer and I began to press it when I felt a contraction. The contractions started slowly for the first hour, and then by 8.30am they were regular. I am not sure how far apart, but I think about 5 minutes. I can’t really remember this part, but I remember things were certainly bearable, and probably like really bad period pain. I found the TENS machine really helpful, as I could feel it over the contraction. The student midwife who was following us as a case-study arrived at around 9.30am, and by this point I was still coping okay and breathing through the contractions, but definitely having to stop everything in between contractions, and press my beloved TENS machine! I HAD to have the TENS machine nearby, or else there was trouble! I kept going through these contractions, thinking to myself, this is really not so bad – I can cope with this. I was lying on the bed on my side, which is the last place I imagined I would be (My plan was to not get on the bed at all!) but it was actually pretty comfortable.
By around 11am I thought it was time I try some gas, so politely asked “can I please try some gasâ€!! It was given to me pretty quick, and I managed to press the TENS machine and inhale the gas all at once when I felt a contraction coming on. At the time it certainly didn’t feel like the gas did much, but it definitely helped me breath through the contraction better. I kept going with the gas and TENS for some time, and tried a couple of different positions, on my knees leaning on the bed and standing leaning on the bed. I tried this for a while, but eventually ended up back on the bed on my side. I had to keep swapping sides as the baby didn’t like certain ways I was lying.
Things started to get crazier just after midday, the contractions started getting much more painful and I thought I can’t do this until the end without any more pain relief. I thought about what to do in my head for a good 15 minutes, and then asked if I could “try something else.†In my head I meant an epidural, but knew they would want me to try pethidine first! So they said they would call Dr T and get him to come and check me out. So for the next 30 minutes I worked through the contractions which were getting really serious, and I started to doubt that I actually could do this after all!
Dr T arrived at 1pm and did an internal, he said I was 3cm dilated and then gave me the pethidine. He also bumped up the drip big time, as he was keen to get things moving to get the baby out as she was still a bit distressed. So off he went, then within about 10 minutes things turned nasty, my contractions changed enormously, and they were now affecting my whole body, and I was folding over with the pain. It’s hard to describe, but man it was crazy. I started saying “I need an epidural, this is doing nothing,†everyone kept telling me to give the pethidine a chance to work; I had only just had it put in. So I persevered through the pain with the gas, TENS and the pethidine, but I was getting very distressed at each contraction, breathing too fast to inhale the gas properly! For about 30-40 minutes I worked through these contractions, but barely! I had a cold flannel on my face, ice on hand and water, but the pain was unbearable. I was thinking to myself, I am 3 cm dilated and it’s going to take forever, I can’t cope anymore. So I told the midwife “I REALLY need an epidural, order it now!!†She said she would call Dr T (again!) and get him to come and check on me. I kept whinging about how long it would take for him to come, then how long it would take for an anesthetist to arrive, then to get the epidural in – I couldn’t get over the fact that I had to deal with this for so much longer.
The contractions were crazy, and I was still lying on my side on the bed which probably wasn’t helping. I said I needed to do a poo, so could I get up and go. So off I went to the loo, dragging the monitors, drip, gas and TENS machine with me!! Nothing happened on the loo, so between contractions I made my way back to the bed. It was suggested I try kneeling on the bed, leaning on the pillows (facing the wall). I did this, and it was much better (though still just as painful!!) As soon as I got on the bed, the contractions were making me push. It’s hard to explain, but each contraction made my body push about three times, and I was groaning and grunting the whole time. I was sure I had pooed, but apparently not! These contractions were hell, and between each one I managed to say “where is Dr T?!?â€
Finally, after what felt like a lifetime, Dr T walked in the door at about 2.30pm. He got me to roll onto my back so he could do an internal, and announced that there would be no epidural, as I was 9cm dilated an almost ready to push!!!!! WHAT!!!! I was amazed and confused. Only one and half hours earlier I was 3cm, and now I was 9cm! No wonder I had been in so much pain, and wanting to push! I honestly don’t think the midwife, student midwife or DH thought I had got so far, and I doubt Dr T thought he was coming back this time to deliver the baby! But there he was saying the baby would be here any minute, and everyone around me started to get everything ready and DH had a big smile on his face – I was still so confused!! Dr T said the baby was getting stressed and had to arrive now, so he was going to use forceps – I didn’t care what was happening, and before I knew it my legs were up in the stirrups and Dr T was doing an episiotomy. I couldn’t feel this happening as he used anesthetic thankfully. DH saw it all, and was amazed!
Dr T told me the lip of the cervix had to get over before I could push, so to hold on through a few contractions without pushing. I was very focused at this point, and grabbed DH's hand and managed to squeeze it instead of pushing. He told me later, that he wasn’t expecting it, as I hadn’t been squeezing his hand at any other point, and I almost broke it each time! Dr T then said, with the next contraction if you want to push, then push. DH said Dr T told him, right we need to get Emma ready to push, so let’s talk it up. DH was speechless though!! So I started pushing, making a big grunting noise. Dr T yelled to me “no noise, no noise, push like you are doing a poo!!†So I tried again, but this time I was breathing the ‘noise’ out through my nose!! Someone yelled out, put your chin to chest and push really hard, so I did and I was told to keep pushing, breath, keep pushing, breath – and on this third push (with lots of pushes within it!) and the help of the forceps I managed to get the head out. Through all of the pushing, I had turned the TENS machine right up – I doubt it helped with the pain, but by this point it was a security thing! They suctioned the baby as she had swallowed some meconium, then told me to push again to get the rest of the body out. She had the cord wrapped around her neck when she came out.
So finally little Bonnie Lena was born at 2.49pm Friday 24th Feb.
DH cut the cord and Bonnie finally screamed and was quickly checked over while DH watched on. He found out the sex while they checked her over. But it wasn’t until Bonnie was put onto my chest that I worked out we had a little girl! I was in shock, as I, like everyone else thought we were having a little boy. It was such a wonderful surprise that I will never forget. We snuggled together for a good while, and already Bonnie had her eyes open wide. She was perfect, no squashed head from the birth canal or forceps, and very alert and aware.
The placenta was delivered, I think I had to give a bit of a push, and we got to see it while they checked to see it was all there. While we were cuddling our little Bonnie, I was stitched up. I asked Dr T how many stitches he was putting in and he said “just one, one long one!†It seemed to take forever, but I still had the TENS on nice and high, once again a security thing as I also had anesthetic!
Bonnie was weighed and measured – 8lb 8oz (3.85kg), 50cm long, 34.5cm head circumference. Dr T had estimated we were having a 7lb baby, so I am not sure where the extra 1lb 8oz was hiding!
We spent a good hour cuddling Bonnie, staring at her in amazement and trying our first go at breastfeeding. At about 4.30pm I got up and had a shower and got dressed. Then we finally called our parents and brothers to tell them the news they had been sitting patiently waiting for! They all arrived at 5.30pm to meet little Bonnie, which was wonderful.
So all in all, the labour was recorded as being 6.5 hours, which was much quicker than I expected. I still can’t believe my body worked so well in getting from 3cm to 9cm so fast. I am sure the drip had a big part in it, but I’m still impressed with my body’s efforts! I felt fantastic after giving birth, though the next day and for a week after I was quite uncomfortable from the bruising around the stitches. I’m feeling fine now though!
It’s amazing how now I cannot begin to describe the pain of the contractions, and so much of the labour is a blur to me. I’m sure it’s Mother Nature’s way of getting you back there again for another!
Bonnie is doing really well. She is now 9lb 2oz, so has put on 300g since her birth two weeks ago. She has grown 2 cm too! We had some horror nights on getting home from hospital, but I think she is starting to understand that at night time, she's meant to sleep after a feed, and we are feeling much better about things!
We think she is absolutely gorgeous, and can't quite believe we made her together, it's such an amazing experience and still all seems quite surreal. wub.gif
Thanks for reading, if you got this far!
