Jonah Alexander's Early Arrival
Ok so I'm not sure I can give exact times for everything that happened but I will do my best to tell the story....
It all started with a midwife appointment on Saturday 25th June, the midwife took my blood pressure and it was 140/100. She took it again a few moments later and it had gone up to 160/100, she took it a third time and it was 180/100. She got one of the other midwives to come in and re-check it for her and it was still 180/100. At that point I knew it was bad and she said I think we're going to have to admit you. There was also a small amount of protein in my urine and I knew then that pre eclamspia had set in.
They put me on a CTG machine to make sure that bubs was ok, which he was so that was a big relief. Then one of the doctors came to see me and told me that yes I was going to be admitted and that they would see about bringing bubs on early.
So bascially I sit around the hospital for a few days being checked and poked and prodded and taking pills. BORING. However it was quite interesting because they did an internal to see if I was suitable to be induced and my cervix had already started to tilt and I was already 1cm dilated. They said this was very unusual because this was my first child, so I think he probably would have ended up coming early anyway.
After a couple of days the "profefssor" (head doctor) came to see me and said that on Wednesday they would "start attacking me" and on Thursday they would "finish attacking me" his words exactly. He was very nice and very funny, but don't ask me what his name was cause I have no idea.
Anyway Wednesday afternoon came and they put in the first lot of gel. Several hours later they came back to check me and decided that I needed another lot, so in that went. Several more hours passed and once again I was checked and was found to be 3-4cms dilated and that I didn't need any more gel.
I woke early the next morning (well I woke early every morning because I had to take a pill at 6:30am every day) And was taken straight to the delivery room to get ready as the girl next door hadn't been well in the night apparently. So off I got to the delivery room to have my shower and breakfast. I wait until it's time to have my waters broker which is done between 8:30am and 9:00am. Ben arrives not long after they have been broken and is there to watch 2 doctors endeavour to find a vein to put the drip into. They try several times (painfully I might add) and after the last try where my vein ruptures they decide that it would be best the get and anaethatist (sp?) to come and do it, which I am relieved at.
So the drip is in and the sintocin is going. It doesn't take long for the contractions to start and they are paaaaaaaaainful. So painful that I forget all of the other pain relief options and head straight for the epidural. So just after 1pm the epidural goes in and I am in heaven, so much better. But a couple of hours later it feels like it is wearing off and I am in pain again and also feeling like I am going to vomit. Have a massive spew and the anaethatist (sp?) is called again to give me a top up. My cervix zooms along and I am fully dilated by about 6pm which is when they tell me I can start pushing.
Ok so I'm pushing when I get the contractions but they tell me I am having too many so they drop the drip back, but then I am not getting enough so they turn it back up, this seems to go on for ages and ages. Anyway, I push for 2 hours and he's not down far enough and in fact his head isn't in the right position and he is stuck. So they tell me that they will look at 3 otptions vacuum, forceps and c/s. They prep me and take me down to theatre, they pump me full lovely numby drugs and wheel me in. They take a look and a feel and tell me that he has moved himself down a little more and they are going to try the forceps.
One of the doctors (there are 6 of them and several hundred, or so it seemed, other people in there as well) tells me that they are going to pull but they want me to push (Ben is not in the room yet and I am scared that he is going to miss it) I push twice and at 8:12pm June 30 my beautiful boy is out (Ben just makes it into the room as this happens). He is crying and I know that he is ok and I am crying too. They take him and Ben away while they pull out the placenta and stitch me up (they had to do an episiotomy). This seems to take forever and I have to spend a short time in recovery, but then they wheel me back up to my boys and I am so incredibly happy and in complete awe of this beautiful little creature that we have created. He is a miracle and an angel.
