HollyM - Leon's Quick & Early Arrival!
It was two weeks before my due date ? Wednesday Feb 25, and I had had my 38 week check up at the birth centre in the morning and checked in with my own independent midwife that afternoon. Both checks said that baby was 1/5 engaged and he was locked in position :dance: Even so, being my first baby I always assumed he would arrive late! Anyway, that evening around 4:45pm as usual I was here on BB keeping up to date with all our belly buddy news when I started getting period like pains. I totally dismissed them because they really weren?t that painful and they only occurred in my lower belly/pelvic area whereas I had read that real contractions tighten your whole uterus and go accros your lower back?
Well they just kept coming, all too regularly, every 3-5 minutes, lasting about 1 minute, so I posted in my belly buddies thread unsure of what was going on. I remember Ange replied saying that her contractions were just like that so I decided I better start properly timing them! I was sitting on my bed with the laptop and I had previously put a towel under the mattress protector JIC my waters happened to break while sleeping. Well little help it was because they did break and gush out but I was sitting on top of my doona cover :doh: By this stage it was 5:15pm, I rushed to the toilet leaking everywhere and called my midwife. She told me to start filling up the pool and that she was on her way, so DP did this. I had planned to labour in the pool and give birth at the BC in their bath ? I really wanted a water birth!
While DP was filling the pool, this is where it all started getting really intense. The contractions became more frequent and really painful. I couldn?t sit still and had to pace up and down the hallway leaning on the table when a contraction hit. My midwife got here at about 5:45pm and I begged her to let me get in the pool but she insisted on checking me before I got in. I let her to an internal, and I remember it being really painful! Instead of getting the all clear to get in the pool, she shocked us all by yelling ?we?ve got to get to the hospital now!!? I started to panick, thinking ?what the hell does this mean?? but I was in too much pain to ask questions or gather my thoughts. She drove myself and DP while my mum followed. It was 6:00pm and peak hour traffic. The car ride there was definitely the worse part! 3 lanes of stop-start traffic were having a good view of me with my legs up in the air, pressed against the window ? that?s the only position I could manage! My contractions were now coming every 2 mintues and were really painful. I was making those weird deep moaning noises you hear on all the birth videos ? I never thought I?d be noisy in labour but I couldn?t help it!
Once we got there, it was just after 6:30pm and I was dropped off at the entrance. DP parked the car and my midwife came in with me. What I found really frustrating was the birth suites being located on the 5th level and down a maze of corridores. While waiting for the elevator, I had a strong contraction and almost fell to the ground. Everyone just stood back and let me have the elevator to myself LOL! We got to the 5th floor and I had 3 or 4 contractions on the way to the birth suites. I had to stop and get down on all fours for each one. A BC midwife greeted us at the birth suites and mentioned how she thought we must be here because of all the noise and commotion ? was I really that noisy?? Because my midwife had called the BC during the car ride, they had already filled the bath for me and wanted to do another internal before I could get in. I was in NO position to have an internal so I said ?I don?t want a bath anymore!?
Instead I got up onto the bed and lent on a bean bag. I held onto the bed head every time a contraction hit, they felt like they were coming on top of each other. I remember them stopping for what seemed like a good break and I announced to everyone how I just wanted to go to sleep and that I was tired. Soon after I said this, I suddenly felt like I needed to poo! Mum and DP had made it to the birth suite by this time and I was ready to push! The midwives directed me when to push but sometimes I just didn?t have that urge so it seemed to me like this baby was never going to come out. I was now squatting and my legs were getting sore so DP was holding up one bum cheak and my midwife the other :ROFL: Every time my midwife went to check baby?s heart rate I would scream at her and demand she keep holding me up! I was getting tired and started to wimper so it was suggested I try pushing on the toilet for a bit. So I did and this was much easier. I pushed while leaning on DP. I don?t know what he must have been thinking but he suddenly mentioned how he really felt like a cheeseburger. I could have seriously injured him if I wasn?t in so much pain!
Soon I was told I had to get off the toilet. I got off and squatted on the floor and I was given a mirror to see the baby?s head emerging. It made me really frustrated because when I pushed I could see the head come down but then it would go back up again! The BC midwife put mats and blankets down on the floor near the bed for me to finally give birth on so I moved on over and was encouraged to just keep pushing. Meanwhile my mum had started videoing the birth! The midwives kept saying how well I was doing and that the baby?s head was now crowning and told me how to breathe. To be honest, I cannot even recall the stinging/burning of crowning that everybody remembers! My mum then yelled out ?I can see the head, the head is out!? I was so relieved to hear that but for some reason the urge to push subsided. I had his head poking out but his body was still in me! After a few morereally forced pushes, I felt his little body wriggle out. It felt so slimey but such a relief! It was exactly 7:30pm and my beautiful boy Leon had arrived! The BC midwife then asked me if I wished to have the jab to speed up the third stage but I declined. The placenta came naturally 15 minutes later. DP cut the cord once it had ceased pulsating.
Leon cried a bit but once I put him to my chest he latched on and sucked like a trooper! I am so in love with him and so proud of myself for giving birth without any pain relief or intervention. It was completely natural and exactly how I wanted it. I couldn?t have asked for a better birth experience! The only concern I had after was all that water wasted filling 2 pools! So much for my water birth!
Okay, so here are the stats:
Weight 2854 grams
Height 51 cm
Head circumference 34 cm
Length of labour 2h30m
Oh and might I add, the day before I had gone out for lunch and had a pineapple juice and I joked to my friends how I was drinking it as pineapple is meant to help bring on labour! I also had a good walk that day?
ETA, that night I messaged my midwife and asked her how dialated I was when we left home and she replied saying 7cm! :o
Thank you for reading!!
