Charlie Simon's birth story (quite long!)
On Sunday 16th of July we went into the hospital because I wasn’t sure if my waters may have broken – I was having slow trickle issues but it wasn’t regular. I wasn’t having any contractions but just felt a little scared. After an internal it was concluded that I had either had a hindwater leak or the babies head had pushed on my bladder and I had just urinated involuntarily – I was sent home, suddenly very depressed and feeling a little bit silly.
I had a scheduled OB appt on Wednesday the 19th at 6.30pm. My OB did an internal and said everything was progressing well and he thought I would probably be a week or so away – he didn’t think I would go over but I would definitely be a little while off yet.
Later that night there were a few clues things were changing, Simon found me in the shower at 8.30pm on my hands and knees scrubbing the shower curtain with the Enjo glove plus I was very restless and cranky.
I was lying on the couch watching the beginning of the Glass House and I heard this ‘click’ noise like lego clicking together – I thought it was weird but didn’t think it was anything more than things moving around. Next thing I felt a few gushes of fluid – because of my experience on Sunday I just rolled my eyes and wondered when the humiliation would end – I was now incontinent. Thing was this time the leaking didn’t stop. I didn’t want to ring the hospital again and get my hopes up, but at about 11.30pm I started to get some regular strong period pains and the mucous that I had been passing for days was now pink. I rang the hospital and they told me to come on in, it sounded like things were happening.
We went in and they monitored the Bubs for a while and yes confirmed I was having contractions. They rang my OB who said to settle me in for the night not to let me go home because my waters had broken, but things would be a while coming as at the internal earlier in the evening I was not at all dilated and the cervix was posterior, he would come in the morning to check on how things were going.
So we were put into bed, lights turned off and told to try and get some sleep. The midwife shut the door and apparently said ‘goodnight possums’.
I woke up at 4am in a bit of pain, I breathed my way through it and thought ‘holy sh*t’ I’m in the early stages of labour and not coping with the pain already! At 4.30am I buzzed the midwife to let her know things were getting a little intense and to ask if I was being a wuss. Wendy, the midwife, was the perfect person for me at this stage of the labour, she was motherly and nurturing, she soothed me and answered my questions and I guess pretty much humoured me! When she asked me to change into a gown I was horrified to see the only ones they had were hibiscus floral in bright pink and green…… so she went away and found me some nice gingham ones – no way my baby was going to see me for the first time in an oversized Hawaiian shirt!!!! Bless Lovely Wendy.
I talked to Wendy about the pain and I decided not to take any pethidine, my OB had said to give me some if I asked for it, but as far as I was aware I had at least another 8 – 10 hours of this and didn’t want to take anything too early in case it meant I couldn’t take it again when things got really bad.
I really wanted a shower, so got in, Simon held the shower head on my back and kept talking to me and being supportive, then really didn’t want to be in there, so go out. I had bought heaps of CDs to listen to but then didn’t really want to listen to anything I had, I did listen to ‘Play’ by Moby and that helped me to be upbeat and not upset.
By 6am things were very very painful and I was having to rock from side to side through each contraction and breathe very deeply – I wasn’t really making any noise, and I was zoning out between contractions, I did have a little cry – mainly out of frustration – I have no idea how close together the contractions were I was busy just dealing with them – Simon said they lasted for about a minute each and he could tell when I was reaching each ‘peak’ and when it was starting to calm down, he said I just zoned out in between each one and then breathed my through them.
I had pretty much decided by now I didn’t care how long the labour was going to be just give me those blo*dy drugs now!!! I needed a break – so spoke with Wendy and we decided to wait until the shift changeover at 7am so that the next midwife could do the internal and be totally aware of what was happening. Sounded fine to me. We said bye to Wendy and thanked her profusely for being so caring and lovely.
Enter Christie – the next midwife – now if Wendy was the perfect fit for my early stages of labour Christie was the super perfect fit for my end stages. I was starting to get a little distressed by now and the contractions suddenly became very intense – I screamed my way through one and Christie made me make eye contact with her and said I needed to lower the pitch of my screams and make it work for me, so moan through the contractions using my diaphragm instead of my lungs.
She did an internal, it took so long and I just wanted the drugs, alas it was not to be, I was fully dilated and bubs had already begun his descent.
Now the next hour and 44 minutes were the most intense, excruciating, scary and surreal of my whole life. I suddenly realised what I was doing…. I WAS HAVING A BABY!!!!!! And ohmigod it hurt.
Christie made me go to the toilet a couple of times to empty my bladder and that was so difficult trying to wee whilst having contractions – I cried again and said over and over and over ‘no no no no no no’ which was met with a resounding ‘yes yes yes’ from both Simon and Christie. I too did the whole ‘I can’t do this anymore’ to which I was told ‘You are doing it Emily’
Christie set me up on a fit ball where I had to spread my legs as far as they would go either side of it and rock from side to side during each contraction to help bubs head slip into place – at the end of each one I would feel a massive gush of fluid and it was such a relief, I had a heat pack on my lower tummy and Simon was rubbing my back or doing something back there – not sure what it was but I just knew he was there and it calmed me. Throughout the whole ordeal he got me drinks of water and pressed a flannel on my face, helped me with my lip balm and was just right there if I needed him and his two fingers (he would only let me old two in case I broke his hand!) After a while I told Christie I felt like pushing and she said ‘go for it – do what your body is telling you’ so I hopped up onto the bed which was now set up like a chair.
I really started to lose it around here and hyperventilated a bit and became a little hysterical – Christie was right there, making me make eye contact with her and telling me to calm down and breathe. I heard her say to Simon, after I had another ‘no no no no’ moment that this is where she gets bossy. I know they talked a lot between themselves but I couldn’t really hear or comprehend what they were saying, there was laughter and I do remember thinking ‘oh thank goodness Simon has someone to talk to’ because I wasn’t really paying him much attention!
At about 8am my OB arrived and I could have hugged him – I totally trusted Christie, but I felt calmer knowing that he was there. He asked how long I had been pushing and was told only a couple of minutes – he checked things out and then all around there seemed to be a sense of urgency, he was putting on an apron and gloves, a stool was grabbed for him, the end of the bed was removed it was just a flutter of activity, meanwhile I was still pushing through each contraction and getting more and more vocal – I went the high pitched scream again and once again Christie calmed me down. I think it was around here that I told Simon he had better ring his work to let them know he wouldn’t be in – it seemed like the polite thing to do, as far as I know he didn’t ring!
Now the exact timeline of the next part is a bit blurry but this is what happened.
I did some very big pushes, (Simon told me later he didn’t realise how purple my face could go) and my OB encouraged me and said I was doing well, Christie sat beside me and once again looked me in the eye and reassured me. After a few of these pushes my OB said he was going to have to give me an anaesthetic because he would need to do an episiotomy. At the next contraction he gave me the needle but I was pushing so hard that somehow a bunch of the anaesthetic squirted in his face – I didn’t know if this meant I didn’t get any, but it was too late to think about that because along came the next contraction, a burning feeling and the feeling of my OB cutting me all at once.
Next contraction and Bubs’ head was partially out – my OB said I need to push when he told me and pant when he said so – so for the next few minutes I pushed carefully when told and panted also when told – he apparently ‘chinned’ my baby out. My OB told Christie he needed an injection of something and he needed it right away, she wasn’t quick enough for his liking so he repeated his request a few times each time making it sound more urgent. I didn’t realise he was talking about the drug that expels the placenta – all I knew was that Bubs’ head was out now and my OB was urgently awaiting something. But nothing to fear Christie told me what he was talking about whilst this was happening it all felt a bit weird I could feel the baby there, but he wasn’t out yet, but then in a gush and a flurry out he came! What a feeling of absolute relief
At 8.44am on the 20th July 2006 Charlie Simon was here! He was hauled up onto my chest and wiped down, he was suctioned for quite a while and then cried for a little bit. I was laughing, crying, looking at Simon, looking at Charlie, looking at Christie and laughing and crying again!!
The placenta came out pretty quickly because my OB made Christie give me the injection before Charlie had actually come out. I was stitched up – 8 stitches in total internal and external.
Charlie was taken away for a bit and I really couldn’t care less what they were doing, I knew he was fine, agpar wasn’t important to me, weight and size I didn’t care about I was just glad he was fine.
My legs were shaking so much and I was still sitting in a rather undignified position – but after a few minute I was covered in warm blankets and Charlie was bought back to me. He had a little suckle – attached right away without any problems and then after a while he was switched to the other side and allowed to suckle on the other breast. I wasn’t 100% sure that I really wanted to breastfeed, but that changed as soon as he was lying by my side.
All time is a blur at this point, Simon rang everyone, my parents came in and we all looked at Charlie!
There you go – one of the most terrifying and intense experiences of my life – If I hadn’t gone through it myself I wouldn’t believe you if you told me the human body was made for it.
Stats for those interested; Weight 7pounds 15 ounces
Length 53 cm
Head Circ 36 cm
Agpar 8 : 9
Total labour time 19 July 06 - 9.30pm waters broke
20 July 06 – 4.00am active labour began
20 July 06 - 8.44am Charlie born
If you’re in Hobart and trying to pick a hospital I can tell you that Calvary is the absolute way to go – all the staff are fantastic and I am really really grateful for the support, assistance and care they gave to myself, Charlie and Simon too, not only through the birth but also in the days following – they were so understanding and patient – I will never forget it.
