The Arrival of Jessica

Hi, I thought I would post the birth stories of my other 2 children - i have already posted Lani's as all three births were so different, and it is nice to look back on so here goes:

My first child was due on 23rd July 1998, after 2 years of on and off ttc we finally fell prg only to miscarry in feb 1997 at 11wks gestation, 8mths later we fell prg again which resulted in the birth of our first beautiful child.

After going to my ob/gyn on 22nd July, he did a stretch and sweep and announced that things were still not happening and to see him next week, the next evening i received a phone call from my girlfriend (who was 38wks preg) all excited that she had her "show", we arranged to meet at her house the next day for lunch, i went to bed feeling very dejected thinking that i would never have this baby. I remember trying to get to sleep and feeling really quite weird emotionally and tried hard to get to sleep.

At 3am i woke to go the the loo then climbed back into bed and whoosh omg i thought i had wet the bed lmao, i quickly went back to the loo which is when i then realised that my waters had broken - i should say gushed out lol. My dh then rang my parents in qld all excited (they were flying down the next day) and we rang the hospital they asked if i was having contractions which i wasn't, so they said to just try and relax at home have something to eat and a shower and come on in. Relax yeah right i was sooooooo nervous and scared, anyway at around 5am we decided to head for the hospital - my waters were still flowing out lol - it seemed as though at the time i was losing every bit of fluid from my body.

we got to the hospital at around 5.30am and they hooked me up to the machine which recorded i was having contractions - although very minor as i could not feel them.

My ob cam in at 6am and examined me - he didn't tell me if i was dilated or not and he advised me that i had two options 1. go home and wait for labour to start or 2. get hooked up onto the drip and start induction. I do remember him saying that because i had alot of fluid and i wasn't in labour - he didn't think labour would start for around 48hrs and there could be a risk due to infection. so i decided on the induction.

7.30am induction started and everything was fine, i was on a mobile drip so i wasn't confined to bed - i can't tell you how many laps i did of the hospital - my ob walked passed me in the corridor around 9am and commented that i was still smiling - well the smile was wiped off my face by 10am as contractions started big time, very intense and every 2mins, lasting for around 30sec each. i do remember taking a phone call from my girlfriend who i was meant to have lunch with, she thought she would ring the hospital to see if i was there as i hadn't turned up at her house and she was getting worried. needless to say she was quite shocked to learn i was in labour, we had a brief chat between contractions.

my ob came in at around 12pm and did an internal - i asked him how many cm's i was dilated and he said to me that i didn't need to know that as it wouldn't help either way - i then remember him saying to the midwife 2 so i don't know if i was 2cms or i had 2cms to go. i would say i was only 2cms and i think if he had of told me that i would have been so dejected.

my around 1.30pm i was asking for pain relief (i didn't want an epidural, i was so scared of having a needle in the spine) anyway they gave me the gas which made me throw up everywhere - i then asked for an epidural when my dh reminded me that i didn't originally want one - it was then the midwives suggested pethidene, to which i agreed on. they gave me pethidene as well as an anti-nausea drug which was great, no more vomiting.


there was a student midwife on and it was her first birth she was brilliant, supporting me and gently giving dh instructions on what he could do to help. she was due to go off shift at 3pm but said she wanted to hang around if it was okay - which was fine by me.

i felt the urge to push at around 2pm, so i did. however jessica wasn't coming down the birth canal the right way, she was sort of headbutting sideways into my pelvis. the midwives had me in all sorts of positions, on the birthing ball, on the birthing stool, over the beanbags on the bed, on my side - everywhere but i still couldn't push my baby out, the midwives were in constant contact with my ob about my progress.

4.30pm my ob came in and told me that i would need help to get my baby out, her heart rate had dropped to around 90bpm and she was getting distressed and i was exhausted, he asked if i wanted to try forceps, i said anything just get this baby out. so he gave me an episitomy and used the forceps he instructed dh to push down on my shoulders whilst i was supported with beanbags behind my back and i was to put my feet up on my ob's shoulders and push against him - with each contraction i pushed with all my might for a further 1/2 hour getting very scared that i would need to have an emergency c-section. finally at 5.08pm jessica was born and she was perfect - her apgars were 9 and then 10, she had slight bruising on the face from the forceps (which went away after a day) and had a mark on her head where she was hitting my pelvis. she had a feed but after that she was quite sleepy and slept for a long time, during the night she needed suctioning as she was vomitting up black stuff (which i think may of been meconium) but all in all she was my beautiful perfect first born baby girl.

we were blessed to have our angel in our lives and had 3 wonderful years with her, when in october 2001 when she was 3yrs and 3mths old she was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour (i originally took her to my gp thinking she had another ear infection) we were given 6-8wks but we were determined to make it through christmas which we did. she had surgery and chemotherapy but as her tumour was terminal (it originated in the brain stem) the chemo was really only about improving her limited time with us. on a beautiful sunday afternoon on march 3rd 2002 at 1.06pm our beautiful daughter was called by the angels to become our angel and she took her last breaths and closed her eyes in our arms sitting on the couch at home with her favourite video on (the tigger movie). we were so blessed to have jessica in our lives and by writing this story of her birth, i have done something which i promised to do when she was sick that was to let the world know that there was a beautiful little girl in this world that was ours and although she was only with us for 3yrs and 7mths - she did so much, she taught me how deep love really was.

Oh Michelle, hug :hug: Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful little Jessica's story with us.

Oh Michelle - I'm crying here at work (not a good look). Thank you so much for sharing your's and Jessica's story.

:hug: Thankyou for sharing beautiful Jessica's story.

Michelle - I am so very sorry you lost your beautiful, special angel. Your story is truly touching, I am moved by it. :hug:

Oh Michelle. That is just beautiful.

I hope that you feel a sense of peace at fulfilling this promise. She sounds like a beautiful little girl.

Oh Michelle!!!!! Im like bawling my eyes out SERIOUSLY here!!!! its so great to hear you write that stuff bout you r beautiful daughter. may God bless you and your family for ur loss... :hug:

Michelle your story of Jess' arrival is absolutely beautiful. I've read about her passing a few times now (where you've shared it before) and each time it makes me cry. How sad for you all. But what an amazing little princess!

Thank you for sharing Jessica's birth story, it was beautiful.I was sobbing by the end of it.

Thanks you Mooshie for sharing Jessica's birth story, I am sitting here crying at my desk... ( actully thanks for sharing all 3 stories I am amazed at how different things can be )...

Thanks for sharing Jessica's story with us. :)

Michelle

Thank you so much for sharing Jessica's birth story. I have to tell you I feel so deeply for your loss of your angel, and I think that you have definitely fulfilled your promise to make it known how amazing and special Jessica is to you and your family. I sat here and cried as I read your story. Hugs to you and your family and hope you get your bfp soon and get to increase your family once again
Best wishes Michelle

thanks for sharing jessica's story. i sitting here bawling my eyes out trying to write something meaningful...all i can think of is she is lucky to have a mum like you, someone who loved her heaps and made her short life a happy one.
My love and thoughts are will you all...
take care

What a hard time you had during her labour Michelle!

I've just had a good cry about Jessica. You and DH are an inspiration. Thanks so much for sharing your story.

As I sit here and read this story with tears in my eyes I realise how presious every minute is. My daughter is 3 years and 3 months, and I cant imagine living life without her. Your daughter is very lucky to have been blessed with you as a mother, thanks for sharing your story and keeping Jessica's memory alive.

Amanda

:hug: Thank you so much for sharing the story of your beautiful baby angel.

I am in tears here at the moment.........I will keep Jessica in my [-o<

Michelle - seems like you have us all in tears, I`m another one who was brought to tears.

Thank you for sharingsuch a beautiful story of your darling daughter Jessica with us, it has been a great honour to be able to read her story.

Hugs to you. I can only imagine how heartwrenching it must have been for you to right it for us.

Take Care

Deeanne