The birth of my beautiful boy - 19.12.07 (a little belated and REALLY LONG!)
This is the story of how my beautiful boy Jake Dean entered the world.
Karl and I started trying for a bub in Nov 06. Five months later on 11th April 07, I finally saw what I had been wanting so bad for so long? those 2 little blue lines that say ?Congratulations you?re having a baby!!? Karl was still at work when I did the test at 6pm so I just walked around the house saying ?oh my god, oh my god? to myself whilst laughing and crying at the same time for almost an hour until he got home. He walked in the door at around 7pm and I just said to him ?honey, you?re going to be a dad? and showed him the test. I don?t think he believed it at first and kept asking how accurate the tests were, but eventually it sunk in that we were indeed having a baby!
Next day I was off to the doctors to have it confirmed and to get a referral to the hospital where I would give birth, Lyell McEwin Hospital. Blood tests were also done to determine my blood type etc and an ultrasound was booked to confirm dates etc.
At 7 weeks I had my first ultrasound. Karl came with me and it was awesome. We got to see the little heart beat flickering away on the monitor, and I think for Karl it was confirmation that this was actually happening! Our baby was due on the 17th December 2007.
All check-ups etc were perfect and on the 7th July 2007 we had a 3D scan done (exactly one week before our wedding) as we couldn?t wait any longer to find out the gender of our baby. The sonographer zoomed in on that area and there were 2 legs and a little dangly bit inbetween? it was unmistakable, we were having a boy! Karl was sure all along it was a boy, I thought it was a girl but was just as happy to be having a boy (I?m so glad now he was a boy!)
My pregnancy progressed normally with all the usual symptoms, tiredness, heartburn etc. I first felt Jake kicking at around 16 weeks (just before our wedding), it was more of a flutter than a kick, but by the time we?d returned from our honeymoon (at around 20 weeks) Karl could feel him faintly too when he put his hand on my growing belly. That faint kicking turned in to full blown kicks / pokes etc and we would often sit and watch my belly move around and laugh, it really was the cutest thing!
By the start of November, at around 34 weeks pregnant, I was so ready to give up work. My official last day was November 30th so I was on the final countdown. I wasn?t sleeping well and no matter what I did I couldn?t get comfortable with the huge ball that was my belly. Two weeks before my official last day, the decision was made for me that I was to leave early. My blood pressure shot through the roof and I had signs of pre-eclampsia (luckily was never a problem). I had to have a day stay in hospital to monitor my blood pressure, which was still high but not a threat anymore. Once I had given up work and started to relax more, it stabilised. Those 4 weeks before my due date went so slow? I was very bored at home and couldn?t go out much as I couldn?t walk more than a few hundred metres without getting sore feet etc!
I started weekly hospital visits rather than fortnightly, and at the visit the fortnight before I was due, the ob decided to send me for another ultrasound as she was concerned that the baby had stopped growing (the measurement of my belly had stayed the same for the last 4 weeks). At the ultrasound a week later, it was confirmed that they were a little concerned about his abdominal measurements being a little on the small side and his weight was measured at 6lb 4oz so it was decided that I would be induced on Tuesday 18th December, one day after my due date. I wasn?t terribly happy at the thought of being induced as I wanted to go into labour myself, however I was really over being pregnant so on the other hand was happy that it would soon be over! Karl was happy as he could ?schedule? the arrival of our son to fit his work schedule, I kept saying all through the pregnancy that this wouldn?t happen, well he proved me wrong!!
So Tuesday 18th December arrived, the day I was to be induced. I remember being very anxious and nervous. Karl went to work in the morning and I was alone in the house thinking ?some time in the next 48 hours I am going to be a mum!? I was starting to feel very nervous about becoming a mum, wondering if I?d be any good at it, what if I didn?t know what to do etc. At lunch time Karl came home and took me out for lunch and I kept thinking this is the last time we?ll eat out together just the two of us as a couple, we?re soon going to be a family of 3! It was a very surreal feeling.
At 3pm we arrived at the hospital and settled into the labour room. I was a little upset as I thought I would still be in the low risk area, however due to them being concerned about bub?s size it was decided I would give birth in the high risk area? little did I know I was in the exact place that I needed to be and wouldn?t have used the spa bath even if there was one in the room!
At around 4pm the midwife came in to do an internal examination and she said I was around 1cm dilated already without the gels being inserted. She said my cervix was still a little hard so inserted the gels? no one told me internal exams were painful, far out!! (still not as painful as labour!) She said they?d leave me to my own devices for a while and will be back to reassess and put in another lot of gels if need be at 9pm. Karl and I went for a walk around the hospital and I was having a little cramping etc but didn?t think it was labour as someone once said to me ?if you need to ask if you?re in labour then you?re not!? Mum came to visit for a while and we were all having bets as to when the baby would be born. Karl said 4am (he was exactly right to the minute!), mum said 6am but I didn?t believe I would meet my little man until around 12pm the next day. Mum left and the cramps continued.
At 10pm the midwife came back, apologising for being late as she was dealing with a woman in labour with twins (which was my cousin!) and did an examination again. She said my cervix was softer, still 1cm dilated and decided to put another lot of gels in. After the gels were in again she told us to settle down for the night and get some rest as tomorrow was to be a big day!
Karl and I turned the lights out at around 11:30pm and I tried to go to sleep (didn?t take long for Karl to fall asleep, he was snoring after about 10 minutes!). The cramps got a bit worse and I was having trouble getting comfortable when all of a sudden at around 1:00pm I felt a ?pop? followed by very intense pain, but I still didn?t believe they were contractions! I got out of bed and tried walking around the room. I was crying quite loudly by this stage but Karl had not woken up and I was in a bit of a state and didn?t think to wake him up. I went and sat on the loo for a bit but that didn?t help either and remember thinking the pop couldn?t be the start of labour as my waters weren?t broken! When the pain got too much to handle I woke up Karl who jumped out of bed and didn?t quite know what to do. After a little while of him comforting me he said ?we really should call for the midwife? when all of a sudden the door opens and the midwife comes in saying she could hear me crying and why didn?t I call her? I really don?t know why I didn?t call her, I just wasn?t thinking straight (does any pregnant woman in labour think straight anyway??). She examined me once again and said I was 2-3cm dilated and called for another midwife saying ?we?ve got an active one here? (what happened to pre-labour / early labour etc!!) The contractions were so painful and coming so fast and I only had about a 30 second break between them right from the start, no time to get used to the pain! I remember the midwife asking if I wanted anything for the pain and I said ?give me everything?. She said for me to try the gas first, which did absolutely nothing, although I don?t think I really gave it a chance so I asked very firmly for an epidural.
The anethiast came in after about 10 minutes and asked me if I wanted him to go through the risks etc involved with an epidural and I screamed at him ?I know all the risks I have done my research, now stick that needle in my back!? So he prepared to give me the epidural and whilst this was happening I was just crying and saying to Karl I couldn?t do it anymore, I?ve changed my mind! I remember swearing a lot as well and afterwards I was so embarrassed but I guess the midwives hear a lot worse than the profanities coming out of my mouth! Whilst sitting on the bed trying to be as still as possible for the needle to go in, my waters broke, but it wasn?t the gush I was expecting they kinda trickled out and I remember thinking there wasn?t a lot at all. The waters were blood stained and that scared me a little as I thought that was a bad thing (still not sure if it was or wasn?t) however the midwife assured me everything was fine.
After about half an hour the epidural was in but not yet taken effect. I was laying on the bed and the midwife had another look and said ?this baby will be born within the hour, you?re fully dilated!? I was in absolute shock. I remember looking and Karl and saying this can?t be right, I haven?t been in labour long enough! I?d only been in labour for an hour and a half and couldn?t believe we were ready to push. I?d done all the hard work of getting to 10cm without the epidural, had I known that I probably wouldn?t of had it as the only reason I did was because I thought I?d have hours of this and couldn?t do it!
So, with one leg up on the midwife and the other on Karl I started pushing as hard as I could. Because of the epidural I couldn?t really feel too much but the midwife assured me I was doing a great job pushing with every contraction, I could feel the contractions but they weren?t excruciatingly painful like before. After 45 minutes of pushing the midwife called the ob as it seemed that Jake was a little stuck in the birth canal. The ob pulled out the vontouse and said he needed a little help getting out. After about 5 minutes my little man?s head was out and I felt relief. The midwife guided my hand down to touch his head and said ?your little man will be here any minute now, this is his head?. I was so overwhelmed with emotion and looked at Karl and burst into tears. Another big push and my little man was out.
He was wrapped and put straight on my chest, he was the most beautiful boy I?ve ever seen and I just kept saying over and over this is our baby, he?s finally here. I must admit it wasn?t instant love at first sight, but it didn?t take long for that to happen. I think part of that was to do with the fact that he came so quickly and I was in shock!
After he was checked over (apgar scores of 9 and 9) he was given to me for our first breastfeed, a very surreal feeling and was to be the start of a beautiful bonding journey for the 2 of us.
Jake Dean Adkins was born at exactly 4am (the exact time his daddy said he would be) weighing 6lb 5oz (2.88kg) and measuring 47cm long. My labour was a total of 2 hours 5 minutes.
I will never forget the experience of being pregnant and giving birth to my gorgeous boy. I must admit, it wasn?t always enjoyable, but by far the best thing I have ever done!
