When we got to the hospital (3am on my due date), my contractions were mild and niggling but Paige was our third baby and the hospital was an hour’s drive away, we didn’t want to waste time at home. The midwife did all the exams and said we should sleep while we could, which turned out to be wise advice.
Paige’s birth starts
At 9am my Doctor arrived to examine me and decided to break my waters, after which I was stuck in bed while fluid gushed out. After several more exams on me and the baby over a couple of hours, the midwife was surprised that no contractions had started, so I got out of bed and started to pace the hallway.
After several more hours, contractions had still not started, so my Doctor decided to put the drip in to get things started. I was a bit scared as I’d never been induced before. Two hours passed before this started the contractions (which amazed my midwife), and even then they were quite irregular. About and hour later at 5pm things had started to move along so we were shifted into the labour ward. By 6pm my contractions were coming hard and fast at 2 minutes apart and the gas became my best friend.
By now things were getting ugly and I was in a terrible amount of pain and at 7pm I was re-examined by my Doctor and he said I was only 3cms dilated! I was shattered at this news and I requested pain relief as I thought it would be hours longer yet. So after having pethidine which didn’t work! I slipped into my own little world of pain and gas. After what seemed like hours my body just started to push with each contraction, so my midwife turned on the lights, and helped my husband roll me onto my back. I saw the clock and was stunned to find it was only 8pm! I had dilated 7cms in ONE HOUR!! It took another half hour for Paige to be born because her shoulders got stuck and the doctor had to manoeuvre them out.
To cap things off, the placenta would not budge and after an hour of trying to push it out I had to be taken to theatre to have my placenta manually removed under general anaesthetic (I also had a blood transfusion 6 days later due to massive blood loss). When I was wheeled back to my room it was 11pm. Doug and Paige were waiting for me and it was only then that I found out that she weighed a healthy 9lb 9oz and was 57cm long.
Despite her birth, Paige was a truly angelic baby, so peaceful and calm, a complete joy for us and her big brother and sister Lindsay and Erin.
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