The birth story..only for those really interested!

Before

After

Sunday 14th August

4:30pm started timing contractions. 3-6 mins apart, lasting 45-60 seconds. Ouch. After an hour of this called hospital at 5:30pm as had been advised. OB called back about 6pm. She suggested as I couldn't speak to her during the contraction that I should go to the hospital. We set off walking, which had seemed like a good plan, as hospital only 10 mins walk away. However with contractions it turned out to be half an hour away with lots of stops along the way.

6:45pm admitted to the labour and delivery ward. 5-6cm dilated. Was pleased as had managed a couple of hours of active labour already to get this far. I requested the epidural, knowing it can take a while to get the anesthesiologist.

Went to my nice birthing suite! Was hooked up to penicillin IV for GBS bacteria, harmless for mum, but harmful for baby. Blood pressure and pulse-ox monitor attached to second arm. Baby heart monitor attached to tummy. Contraction monitor attached to tummy. Both of these producing nice little graphs, and I became a prisoner in my bed. The contraction monitor drew a mountain range, between 0 and 10000 high. Not sure what the scale was, other than the higher the mountain the greater the pain. I was hanging around 5-6000+, a bit of a Kilimanjaro really (metres).

8:15pm epidural administered, after my peak of Aconcagua at 7,000. Thank goodness, I always planned to leave Aconcagua for the experts. Contractions stopped, and all pain disappeared. Hurrah was a blessed relief by this point, after 4 hours of active labour. Eventually the contractions came back

10pm I was 9cm and they broke my water. Baby was at zero station.

Monday 15th August

Midnight after 4 hours of totally pain free labour I was fully dilated at 10cm. At this point they told me they were turning off the epidural, as I needed to feel the pain to give birth. Hmmm, was a little disappointed, had enjoyed the last 4 hours, but in no position to argue.

1:45am finally I could feel the pain again, and baby was at +2 station and it was time to push. 9 months of waiting and the time had come.

2:45am, one hour of pushing, with contractions every 4 minutes. It was like getting the bus to Everest Camp Four and then getting off and walking up the last stretch. Malcolm the nurse and the doctors were the sherpas, supporting me all the way. The pain definitely was a motivator and with the final I can't take any more push, Isabella came flying out. It all turned very medical at this point, with gowns and face masks, buckets and plastic sheets and goodness knows what else. They fixed me up, and the cleaned Isabella up. I was in shock for sure at the hugeness of the whole event going on around me. The pediatrician checked Izzy out, everything fine and then she was mine to hold. Oh my goodness what a night.

3:15am Izzy went to the nursery to be weighed, measured, injected, cleaned and whatever else they do. She came back an hour or so later and mum and dad started the bonding process.

So all in all how as it? Actually having heard so many stories about 24 hour labours, emergency C-sections, 3 hours of pushing I was really pleased and felt relieved everything had gone so smoothly. The epidural was truly my saviour as it gave me 5 hours of pain free rest before the final push, yet I still had the pain before and after so I definitely got the real experience. Anyway to each is own, it worked for me.