Our story (long)

The date was the 11th September 2006 and its one that I will never forget. My english partner and I were sitting in the Department of Immigration office in Bris awaiting the outcome of our application for his spouse visa. Rewind the last 2 days and we were pensively waiting for that little line to appear on a pg test. No AF, no line and starting to wonder what was going on. It had been 8 weeks since we had lost our DS Lachlann to an infection and incompetant cervix at 21 weeks.

So sitting in the DIMA office we tell our agent that we might be pg again after the test I did that morning showed a very very very faint line both DP and I thought we were seeing things. Our visa application was approved and then we headed straight to the doctors. For yet another pg test which showed a very faint positive. We were told to go have bloods done and ring back in a few days. We did so and yes it was a BFP.

Our Dr organised for me to be seen immediately at the hospital. I was told before I left when I had my DS that any subsequent pg they would recommend a cervical stitch. The Ob told us that nothing would be done until the 13th week. Going by my dates I was 5 weeks. I was booked for a dating scan as I fell pg quickly after only just having AF back they werent sure if my ovulation was on track. Lucky they did coz my dates were out by more than a week and a half. At 13 1/2 weeks I had my stitch put in and was monitored closely until 16 weeks where I went back to having normal visits. At 18 weeks we had an U/s and found out we were expecting a little girl. I started to freak out a little around 21 weeks for obvious reasons.

At 24 weeks my bp was up a little so I was put on tablets to bring it down. @ 26 weeks I had a slight bleed after I had been in the birthing suite for my bp from then on it went downhill. At my routine 28 week check I was admitted to the ward for a night as my bp was high and non responsive to medication. The next day I was transferred to the RBWH. My bp stabilised over the next few days with a concoction of pills. I was discharged to the Ronald McDonald House. Once I was there they told me that I was ineligable to stay there as I had PE and wasnt able to get someone to stay with me 24/7. At this stage I was ready to go home and back to my original treating hospital. I had had enough of the tertiary city hospital and the way I was being treated. I am not a small woman and at my original treating hospital I was supported in my pg, but going to the city hospital I was made to feel like I was not worthy of being able to bring a baby into this world. Infact one Dr told me when he was trying to take blood that if I didnt lose weight I would die all because he couldnt get a vein-ofcourse it had nothing to do with his incompetancy as a Dr NO NO NO, this is on top of the stress of being there and being bounced back and forth between the hospital and rons house.

Even the nursing staff treated me as a burden, yet the other patients in my room constantly were buzzing them for something or other and I didnt.

Each day brought a new Dr and it wasnt until I was retaining fluid half way up my thighs that they started listening to me. In total I put on just over 20 kgs in fluid over a 3 weeks period. By 31 weeks my protein levels were rising and I was scheduled for an E C/S on the monday. Monday morning and yet another new Dr who came in looked at my charts and promptly left without a word then returned and asked why I was having a E C/S and was nil by mouth. You would think that them being the Dr they would know by my file why- GO FIGURE!! I demanded to see my Ob consultant for a straight answer. It took her all day to get to me but we decided that I would be induced the next day.

Tuesday around midday my stitch was removed and my waters broken. I was put on a drip to start the contractions. I think I lasted until around 5pm without any pain relief. I then had gas and air and a shot of morphine in my back as I was strapped to the bed with a lead attached to bubs head to monitor her. Around 10 my mw did an internal to see how I was progressing and said that I was 5 cm dilated. As soon as she had finished the examination I felt bubs head drop into the canal.I told mw this but she said it was impossible coz I wasnt that far dilated. With each contraction bubs heart rate was dropping and taking a while to come back up. The NN team was called in and they were preparing to do a ***** test on bubs head. I had my legs placed in stirrups and thats when I felt her coming, I started panicking and if it wasnt for my partner I would have completely freaked out and lost it with the doctors. They were taking the bottom part of the birthing bed away with the bedcovers folded over my privates when I screamed at them that I felt like I was being split in two, they pulled the covers back to find my DD crowning. I was told not to push-which I didnt have to anyway- and the Dr had just snapped on his 2nd glove when she entered the world with a small cry.

Phoebe Alice entered this world at 10:23pm on the 3rd April 2007 weighing 1.512 kg or 3lb 3oz. Her Apgar was 6 and 9. She was breathing on her own and needed no assisstance. She spent the night in NICU and then on SCU. After just a week we were transferred back to our original hospital where she pent the next 4 weeks eating sleeping pooping and putting on weight.

She is now a happy, healthy 5 month old who loves her solids. She has just learnt to roll from her tummy to her back. She is giggling and gurgling and constantly nattering away aswell as teething.

Wow... what a story!!! Congratulations on your little princess.
Grrr at the Dr's making comments on your weight!!! Some medical professionals really need to go learn how to be nicer.

Congratulations!! That must have been quite the experience!!
Happy for you she is doing well!

Thanks for sharing your story with us and congratulations on the arrival of your little girl - wow she did so well for such a little one!