Palmer's Birth Story (very late)
At 3am on Thursday May 28 I was woken with contractions coming every 6 minutes. At this point I was 40 weeks and 6 days preg.
The contractions continued all day. They dragged on and on every 6 minutes.
At 8:00 that night I had a sudden hunger for a massive amount of protein.Chicken. I wanted chicken. As a vegan, this was very weird.
So I gorged myself on chicken. After I had eaten I got up, needing to wee, and was on my way to the loo when I spied an amazing look apple in the kitchen. I HAD TO HAVE that apple. I thought "stuff it- I can go to the loo later". So I sat on the couch and GOBBLED this yummy, yummy apple.
Just after I had swallowed thelast bite of Apple, I felt a sudden 'pop' (more like a thud) in my belly and a sudden gushing of warm fluid. I said "uh-oh". My husband was in the next room and jokingly said "Have your waters broken?" I said "I don't know. I think so. Either that or I've wet myself!"
This was 9pm.
My waters didn't just break. It was a bloody flood! All over the couch, floor, as I walked through the kitchen, down the hall, into the toilet, on the way to the bathroom, while I was in the shower, down the hall again, in my computer chair (while posting on BB that my waters broke! LOL)...you get the idea.
As soon as my waters broke my contractions started coming every 2 minutes. Hard and fast.
We literally went through EVERY towel in the house and I went through at least 6 pairs of undies.
I got to the hospital at about 10:30pm and refused to take a wheelchair. I though "okay I have 2 minutes between contractions so have to get from the parking spot to the maternal assessment ward in 2 minutes". So I did! Not sure how now...adrenillen (sp) I guess.
The lady at the ward said "what makes you think you're in labour?" I said "My waters broke and I have contractions every 2 minutes". "Oh...yep, that'll do it" she said and someone took me through to a bed straight away. I was 4cm dilated.
I handed over my birth plan straight away and a really nice nurse said that becuase the assessment ward was full she'd put me in a seperate room where I could have a shower in private. She also said that a bath was available in the labour ward and that they would run it for me right away.
At 11 or 12 I waddled over to the birth ward and sat in the bath for 3 hours. My midwifery student (who followed me right through the pregnancy) was really nice and got me drink of water and wet flannels etc.
After the bath I was sick of sitting down all the time and moved into a birth suite to stand in the shower. I had excruiciating back pain.
At some point I was moved onto the bed and dilation was checked. I was 10cm. I kneeled on the bed with my head resting on my arms on the bedhead. So basically kneeling sort of backwards.
Then my contractions stoppped. Just as I was falling asleep my midwifery student said "Um Amanda...your contractions have stopped". I mumbled "I noticed". She said that I would have to roll over on my back which was really, really agonising as I seriously felt like I was going to fall apart as the pain in my back was definately the worst pain I had ever felt.
I was put on a synto drip to get the contractions going again. Then they took my blood pressure and a wee sample (I remember bp being 245 over something else massive) and a midwife told me "Oh by the way, you have Pre-Eclampsia". Ppffft...thanks.
So I got put on a Magnesium drip for my blood pressure. Then a drip to clot my blood as my clotting agents were very low.
From 6am to 9am I was trying to push my baby out.
Then a doctor came in and told me to stop pushing. She said they would prep me for surgery to get the baby out. Husband said "Do you know what she means?" I said "nnooooo..." He said "She is talking about a C section". I said "NONO! I'LL PUSH! I'LL PUSH!". The doctor was "Um...okay..."
Then a really hot male doctor came in and I thought "OMG He's so cute...this makes the pain easier to bare...thank god I shaved my legs" LOL.
He put my legs up in big curved things to hold them up and looked down and said "Your baby is sideways...we're going to have to get it out now".
I wonder why no one bothered to check her position earlier?
He gave me an episiotomy (which I felt VERY clearly and hell it hurt) then I pushed and pushed and felt Palmer crowning and pushed some more and finally she was out. Palmer was born 9:20am on Friday 29th May.
Then I felt myself bleed. Lots.
The next thing I remember is needles in my vagina and the doctor starting to sew me up. It HURT - every stitch was agonising - so the nurse handed me the gas. I'd had no pain killers until now so enjoyed inhalling the gas and watching the pattern on the curtain fabric jump off the curtains and float around the room.
Doctor spent 45 minutes stitching me up and I remember one nurse telling me I had a beautiful baby girl then another nurse came in and told me I had a beautiful baby boy.
I was most confused.
I was wheeled off to intensive care and got to hold my baby GIRL for the first time 3 days later.
All in all, I was pretty tired for a while. :p
