Ashlea Skye's birth story (a few years later :P)
I've been meaning to actually write this down for years and years and have never done it, so i figured now is as good a time as ever :) By the way, this will probably be a long one......
It was my 20th birthday when i fell pregnant. My due date was Tuesday October 16th, 2001. On Tuesday night I went to bed crying because i was still fat and pregnant and all this was meant to be over by now.
So on Wed morning I decided that it was time to get this baby to come out. I called a good friend and spent 5 hours walking around and shopping and refused to sit down at all. Then my sis and i went for another 2 hour walk on the beach. Just as we were getting back to the car it started to rain, and sis ran back to the car while i attempted to get there as fast as my little legs would take me. As soon as i sat in the car my lower back started to ache.
I got home and mum and Michael's (Ashlea's dad, my now ex) mum were both there waiting to see how i was going. Michael was in melb working at the time and I was in W'bool with my family. I didn't tell anyone about the back pain, although i did say to them, how do you know when contractions start?? They both told me 'you'll just know' I sat there thinking well i have no idea what this pain is!
Anyway, the back pains were coming about 20 mins apart and lasting about 15 - 30 seconds. After a few hours i figured this was the beginning and thought i should go to bed and get some sleep. During the night the back pains started getting longer, and I couldnt sleep. I figured it was a good time to rearrange the baby clothes in the cupboard for the hundredth time.
By 6am Thursday morning, i felt nasty and got up and lay on the couch. Sis could tell something was up but didnt say much, and i still hadn't told anyone what was happening. Back pains were about 10 - 15 mins apart and lasting about 30 - 40 seconds.
By lunch time i called the hospital cause my waters started leaking and they said to come up, so i called mum at work and said 'dont freak out, going to the hospital cause i've had contractions in my back all night' At that point she dropped the phone and starting yelling hysterically to everyone at work she was leaving cause Dee was in labour (her first grandchild, and the reason i hadn't told her earlier :))
Mum came and took me to the hospital, i was going to drive but mum wouldnt let me. They checked me out and said yes your in labour, you'll have the baby by tonight. I said 'great, see you later' and left
I was meant to meet a girlfriend for coffee that afternoon, so when we got home i told mum i was heading out for a bit. She freaked and insisted on coming after she figured there was no way of convincing me not to go. contractions were still about 8 - 10 mintues apart, but i had a feeling it would still be a while and that i was okay. We met my friend for coffee, and the owner of the coffee house knows me quite well and knew i was overdue, he said 'aren't you meant to be having that baby??' I sat there, squeezing the arms on the chair and through gritted teeth said 'I AM!'
So he told me to let him know when i needed the kettle boiled and some towels ;)
When i got home i thought i should let michaels family know what was happeing, and call him to see how far away he was cause he still had no idea, and i'd been getting contractions for almost 24 hours by then. At this point contractions were about 6 minutes apart and i couldn't talk through them. He was about 2 hours away, and figured out what was going on.
When he got down, his first job was to call everyone that was meant to be coming to his 21st dinner that night and tell them it was off. Sis came home from work and was so excited she wanted to go to the hospital then and there. She went to get my bag and realised i hadn't packed one. I still refused to go to hospital, its was about 6pm on thursday and contractions were 5 minutes apart.
Finally i got in the shower and it made the contractions longer, closer together and much more painful. I sat on the floor and told someone to dress me and take me to the hospital. Contractions were about 3 mins apart and lasting almost a minute
It was pouring with rain outside at 8pm thursday night. I insisted on walking up the stairs to the maternity ward cause i hate elevators. When i got there i told a nurse i was about to vomit and she replied 'come to the birthing room quickly, i dont want to have to clean up vomit' I tell you if i could have slapped her i would have!
They took one look at me, young 20 year old first time mum that looks 16 and figured i was being a little 'precious' and that nothing much was happening. They called the doc to check me but said not to hurry, not much was happening. Mum, Michael and sis were all in the room with me and suddenly i heard, then felt a POP and my waters had broken. It felt disgusting!
I hopped in the shower, mum left cause she couldnt deal with me in pain anymore and waited with all michaels family in the waiting room. Sis sat in the bathroom and talked to me, michael was in the shower with me holding the water on my back. At that point there was one horribly nasty contraction that bought tears to my eyes and i told michael i wanted drugs. Next thing the nurse walks in and says sure thing, i'll give you pethadine. She told me to hop out of the shower, i said God no. She said i needed to, i said no way. Eventually i got out cause i was throwing up so much and she gave me pethadine and an anti nauseous injection. She also gave me the gas which i had a party with! I loved it, i was off my head laughing about how i'd ruined Michaels 21st dinner.
The doc came in the check me, all of this was about 40 mins after the nurses called him, he was out shopping and they told him not to hurry. He did and internal and looked at me in shock the conversation went like this
DOC: Your 9cm dilated! Push when you feel ready
ME: i'm what?
DOC: 9cm dilated
ME: Did you say 9cm?
Doc: Yes, 9 cm
Me:are you serious?
DOC: yes
Me: So i'm 9cm?
I think i'd had too much happy gas. I told michael to get all the family up here, they were all still in the waiting room, cause i wanted to see them all. There was his mum and dad, two sisters, brother in law, my mum and my sis and michael were still in the room with me. They came up to say hi, i was laughing hysterically from the gas and thought Michaels brother in law was a midwife dressed in a white nurse uniform with a red cross on it. suddenly i realised who he was and everyone thought i was nuts and went back to the waiting room.
After this the contractions were getting really bad, all back labour cause baby was posterior. I was in too much pain to push and the midwife was tying to encourage me to push. I said no way it hurts too much already. It was just after midnight so I was happy that the baby wasn't going to share a birthday with dad. Poor dad's 21st was over and completely forgotten!
After lying there too sore to even think about pushing for over an hour I sat up and told them i was getting off the bed. I had no idea what i was going to do, but knew this lying on my back/side thing wasn't going to work. They helped me off the bed, and my midwiefe who had pretty much left me to my own accord unless i needed anything, which was great, suggested i kneel on a mat on the floor and michael sat on a chair in front of me and i rested my arms on his knees. All of a sudden i felt the urge to push, and with 2 pushes a head was out. It felt like a giant rockmelon between my legs. The midwife told me to wait while she turned baby the right way, and with another push baby was out!
I asked what it was, Michael told me it was a girl and i said "ohh, an Ashlea!"
They handed her to me and she was still in a little ball. I was still kneeling in front of michael and passed her to him while they gave me a needle and told me to push one more time for the placenta. I said no way, i've done enough work! But then one more push, placenta came out and Ashlea and I got up on the bed and snuggled before the family came in to see her :)
Ashlea Skye was born at 1.27am on Friday the 19th October 2001, weighing 6lb 5oz, 48 cm long and a head circumference of 31.5cm.
I was happy enough to have no tears or stitches, not intervention at all, no moniters, no nothing and only a shot of pethadine and the happy gas.
Ashlea's just turned 5 last month, and that all seems so so so so so long ago now!
