Olivia Anne's birth story - it's a long one!
Finally after ten weeks I’ve gotten the chance to sit down and write Olivia’s birth story.
Here I go:
As some will know I was studying my Midwifery degree while I was pregnant with Olivia and had to rush to finish my studies as Olivia was due 7 weeks before I was due to finish uni. I finished my very last assignment and put it in the post on Monday 7th May and I thought I would have the week to relax as Iwas positive I was going to go post dates and my due date was the 12th. Little did I know that my princess had a very different idea.
At 1am Tuesday morning I was awoken with a small gush of fluid and I thought that I had had a little accident but no my waters had broken. I was in complete denial all day. I had niggles and little gushes of fluid all day so I spent the day relaxing and trying to get some sleep. At 9pm that night I still hadn’t gone into labour so I bit the bullet and got DH to take me to the hospital as I knew that I would have to be induced the next morning if I didn’t go into labour naturally.
I was assessed at the hospital (where I work) and I was 2 cm dilated and my cervix was still 1.5 – 2cm thick. The midwife gave me a stretch and sweep and sent me home so I could pack my bag. Unorganised, I know. I niggled all night but still didn’t establish labour so I was back at the hospital 7am for my induction.
My OB assessed me at 8am and my cervix was unchanged so I had to be induced. Suddenly I was completely terrified and burst into tears. My midwife (who I look up to professionally and personally) was amazing. Gave me the biggest hug and promised to stay with me all day and we formed our plan of attack.
The synotocin drip was started at 8.30 and I niggled the same as I had been all night and I finally established labour at 9.30am. Once I established my contractions came strong and fast. I spent the two hours on the birth ball but around 10.30 I was beginning to struggle with the contractions so I got in the shower and it helped me so much. I stayed in the shower on my birth ball and rocked and breathed through my contractions. I was coping with the contractions and was so proud that I hadn’t used any drugs yet. My contractions had changed into those deep strong painful contractions that I knew where doing something.
I had no sense of time and before I knew it it was 12pm and my OB was back to check on me. He asked if I wanted to be assessed and I did. I needed to know how I was going. I was 5cm dilated and completely effaced. At the time I was completely deflated as I was exhausted because I had not slept for the last two nights and thought I had hours still to go. I had no idea how I was going to keep it up. My OB also discovered that my forewaters had not broken so he ruptured them at 1215pm.
OH MY GOD!!!!! The pain intensified beyond anything I could have imagined and I lost the plot completely. My midwife got the gas for me but I couldn’t get the hang of it as my contractions were on top of each other and I had no rest at all. In no time at all I had the biggest urge to push and panicked as how could I be ready to push my OB had only just left the room. I was terrified that I was doing involuntary pushing and would have to have an epidural. That was the last thing I wanted as I am terrified of epidurals. My midwife assessed me as I had completely lost my focus and wasn’t coping with the contractions at all anymore. I was also experiencing classic transition as well. I was begging my DH to make it stop. I would do anything he wanted me too and told him he would never have to buy me flowers or presents again if he would help me. I was 9cm dilated. My midwife offered to push the last lip over the baby’s head so I could start pushing but as she was assessing me I had another contraction and was now fully dilated and could push.
This little one certainly didn’t want to want and my body started pushing itself. I had no control at all and couldn’t stop the pushing if I wanted to. My little angel was one her way. Unfortunately I had really bad haemorroids and couldn’t for the life of me get her head out. When she was crowning I was screaming at my OB to do something as I couldn’t get her out because I couldn’t push probably because of the haemorroids. I had a small episiotomy which he guarded beautifully and didn’t extend. My little princess had the cord around her neck twice and I was surprised that I went from pushing with everything I had to stopping dead as soon as he said I had to stop so he could get the cord from around her neck. It is true that a mother will do anything they have to for the sake of their baby.
After 25 minutes of pushing, our gorgeous little daughter, Olivia Anne, arrived at 1.05pm on 9th May. The last 50 minutes of my labour and birth were far too quick and I went into shock after she was born but I quickly recovered.
Although it was the most painful thing I had ever been through it was also by far the most amazing experience of my life and I would do it again in a heart beat. The one thing that I remember so clearly is the look on my DH’s face when he saw and held his daughter for the first time. It bought tears to my eyes then and still does whenever I think about it. Her birth was the best day of our life together.
I was so worried about how my DH would go through the labour and birth but he was so brilliant and I am so proud of him and so incredibly grateful for his love and support through the whole day. I must have been so hard for him to see me in that much pain and he told me that I nearly broke his heart during transition when I was begging him to make it stop but he never left my side, not even for a second.
Not only will my daughter and I have the amazing bond of a mother and daughter but we share the same birthday.
