Oh my gosh... It's 9.00 and I have both kidlets in bed fast asleep... (*insert a big sigh of relief/exhaustion here*). I must not take all the credit to myself though, even though I gt both to sleep myself I have been getting a huge helping hand from my mother who has been cooking my tea, doing my washing, picking up after me and the kids and even washing Ava's nappies every night. All I have had to do is be a mum to my fantastic children. I am ever so grateful to her.
Now that I have a few minutes I thought that I would take the time to share Ava's arrival earthside.
Wednesday 14th of July is the day they booked me in for my induction. After planning a natural labour/delivery I was a little disheartened that things hadn’t started on their own, but still felt quite in control of how things were to happen. With DS, I was induced with the gel and my waters broke about 8 hours later, so labour established quite well (the rest didn’t go so well though.
When I had my VE at 8 am, midwife couldn’t even reach my cervix, so she said that the first lot of gel probably wouldn’t do much. Sat around just waiting for the slightest twinge... but nothing. Second lot of gel was applied at 3 that afternoon, and after a great initial reading on the monitor, that got me a little excited... nothing again. My birth partner Sam stayed around till 9pm and then went home to get some sleep. I was so frustrated at this stage... there were two ladies in my room that were induced that morning and they both already had their beautiful boys already. I think in that first day I walked around 1000 kms!! (ok slight exaggeration but you get my drift ;)
Next morning bright and early I was introduced to a student doctor who asked if it would be ok to monitor me during the day and be included in anything that would be happening with me. I have never felt more at ease with medical personal, that I said it would be fine. His name was Patrick. At 9am midwife came and applied more gel, and I started on my adventure around the hospital. It was funny the strange looks that I was getting as people seen me waddling up and down the stairs for the second day in a row.
Come 3.00 that afternoon, I was getting ready to blast the next person that walked into the room, when all of a sudden Patrick arrived and told me that the DR on duty wanted to see if he reach my cervix now and brake my waters... if not then he would be inserting a Foleys catheter to try and get things moving. So we headed down to the birthing suite and DR was able to brake my waters at exactly 4.00 and found that the fluid was stained with meconium, baby’s stats were great so he put it down to being overdue. He then explained to me that he would be putting in a drip and I refused... I explained to him my want for a natural labour and that I would like some time for labour to establish on its own. He wasn’t happy... but it’s not as if he could force an IV drip into my arm against my consent. He gave me until 6 o’clock to be having regular contractions and then the drip would be going in. So Sam and I started walking, and walking... and nothing exciting was happening, a few contractions but I was still able to walk and talk through them.
6.30 came around and drip was put in, by this time every single part of what I had hoped for during labour had slipped out the window, so I burst into tears. I was extremely nervous about having the drip because of what I had been told which was sending my anxiety levels through the roof, and the fact that I was stuck on a bed with the stupid monitor on was making things worse. Contractions started instantly. At 7.00 drip was turned up and by this stage they were painful enough not to be able to talk. I finally got myself in a good mindset and was able to breath my way through the contractions quite well, and 7.30 drip was turned up again and contractions became quite painful. Bub was in a good position but because I had to lay on the bed it was all going to my back, my midwife and Patrick decided to take the monitor off me at around 8.00 as babe’s stats were excellent, so this gave me the freedom to move around. I got off the bed and tried to move but contractions were to painful.
Discussed in the brief few seconds in between contractions with midwife about pain relief and she suggested that she examine me to see how far I had got... which turned out to be a tiny 2 cms... I was shattered. I asked to go to the toilet as I felt I needed to cry, but didn’t want to lose control in front of anyone. MW ended coming in and I burst into tears, it was hard work and I just couldn’t find a position that made me feel comfortable and in control. I got back up on my bed and layed on my side, I had my birth partner Sam holding my hand and the student doctor placing pressure on my lower back when a contraction came on. This whole time I had my eyes closed, I can’t remember seeing anything at all.
At around 8.35 I felt my body pushing... I hid it the first time it happened as in my head I kind of thought ‘no way, I am only 2cms’ straight after that it happened again and I remember saying to my midwife ‘my body is pushing’. She said go with it and then noticed a bloody show when she took my underwear off. She got all excited and it felt like she yelled ‘we’re going to have a baby!!”. Next thing I knew babe was crowning, midwife told me to push with the next contraction and that would be the stinging one... I can remember saying to her, no, I am just relaxing my mind about it, I will push on the one after that... haha, it was such an out of body experience. On the next contraction my body took over and at 8.45 Ava entered the world. Because no one thought that I would be pushing a baby out so soon, only being 2 cms dilated 30 mins before hand I still had my clothes on, I made them cut them off me as I just wanted her on my skin. She attached straight away to the breast and was still there when my mum and Charlie arrived at 9.00.
Charlie literally ran into the delivery room, jumped straight up on the bed and snuggled right up to me. He placed his hand on Ava’s chest and ever so sweetly said ‘hello baby’. We are all sitting around and all of a sudden mum said, ‘what is it?’, I hadn’t even checked. Charlie and I had a look and I burst into tears as he screamed out ‘nan, she has a vagina!’ Haha it was hilarious. After such a traumatic experience with DS’s labour, and what felt like the start of another one this time around in their efforts to even establish labour, I felt like I had achieved something amazing of personal belief and want. I still feel it today and it has given me such a high.
The following morning Patrick the student doctor came to see how I was. He sat and talked to me for a while and I found out that Ava was his first birthing experience. I think how wonderful it is that my little girl will be in the memory of this young man for the rest of his life, and I know he is going to make a fantastic DR one day.
