Noah_and_Elijah
23-04-2008, 07:44 PM
It all began at 8:00pm on Saturday 25th November 2006. I was lying in bed talking to Fran and started having contractions that were about 10 minutes apart and lasting approximately 20 seconds. Luckily common sense kicked in at this point and my body knew it had to rest so I slept for a few hours until midnight when I woke up lonely because Fran was downstairs watching TV and I hate being in bed on my own. He eventually came to bed at around 1:30am and by this stage my contractions were coming about 5 – 6 minutes apart and lasting around 40 seconds and they were becoming too uncomfortable for me to lie down so I started pacing the lounge room floor hoping that something would start to happen. By about 2:15am I knew that I had a long journey ahead of me and that I should try and get some rest so I took two panadol and tried to go back to bed. This worked… until my next contraction, which made me jump up out of bed rather quickly and woke Fran in the process. I told him that I was in labour and that we would have a baby soon but to go back to sleep and rest as much as possible so he did and I took my favourite boomerang pillow and went and lied on the couch.
I was managing my contractions ok by leaning over the end of the couch and swaying my hips from side to side however at about 5:00am they were coming at about 2 – 3 minutes apart and lasting for 60 seconds and they were bloody painful to say the least and I knew that I couldn’t stay at home much longer so upstairs I went to wake Fran at which point he said to me “I’m too tired go back to sleep” and I started crying saying “but it hurts too much we have to go now” all the while he was joking and I had no idea.
I was leaning over the railing of the stairs with every contractions yelling “ow, ow, ow, ow, f*ck, ow, son of a b*tch, f*ck, ow” so I think that Fran really knew that it was time to go. My poor sister stood there with a HUGE grin on her face knowing that soon she would be an Aunty but not quite knowing what to say or do with each contraction… Poor thing! We left for the hospital at around 6:00am and the whole time Fran was driving fast up and down these rolling hills saying “weeeeee” and while this may have been fun for him, to a 41 week pregnant woman having strong contractions it is unbearable so I soon told him to cut it out and drive properly… Poor guy! If only he knew that my crankiness would get worse!
We arrived at Redlands Hospital in Cleveland at 7:30am and were greeted by midwife ‘Kelly’ who proceeded to take me to my room (Karragarra Ward, room # 4) she told me that she would do an internal to check my progress and then strap the CTG machine onto my belly and monitor the baby. I was unimpressed by this because I knew that I didn’t want monitoring and that lying on the bed would just make my contractions seem far worse but I agreed because I thought ‘the quicker we get it over and done with the better’ so I jumped up onto the bed for my internal and low and behold I am already 4cm dilated so off we go to the birthing suites at 8:45am (Birth Suite # 1) where midwife ‘Liz’ came and took over. I jumped straight into the shower and leaned over the birthing ball and had Fran hold the hot shower onto my lower back and it was just bliss… I kept saying to him “turn the hot water up, turn it up” but it was as high as it could go so I managed the best way that I could, by swearing in my head and saying “ow, ow, ow, ow, ow” every time I had a contraction.
I had been in the shower for maybe 15 minutes or so when the midwife came in and offered me the gas to which I gratefully accepted. I was sucking down on the gas with each contraction and Fran would say in a calm and loving voice “ok sweetheart now breathe IN and OUT, that’s it, IN and OUT” while holding the shower onto my back. It was a little irritating having someone tell you to breathe but I also really appreciated him just being there and helping me so I kept my mouth shut and visualized breathing the pain in and blowing it back out into the mouthpiece and biting down on it so hard that I thought I would break my teeth.
I had been feeling a bit of pressure in my backside and knew that it was soon going to be a feeling of needing to push and I though for sure that we were still too far off so I told Fran to call the midwife and to give me an internal to check to make sure that if I did need pushing that I knew not to. Anyway I jumped up onto the bed and ‘Liz’ did an internal and told me that I was now 6cm dilated to which I was a little relieved that things were happening but also a little bummed that I hadn’t come that far so decided to lean over the bean bag on all fours at the head of the bed.
At 9:41am there was a small but gradual leak of fluid from down below and I looked at Fran and said “cr*p did I just wee my self or are my waters breaking” and he said “I dunno how do you tell?” and I said “I dunno go and call the midwife and tell her that I think I wet the bed” so off he went and got ‘Liz’ who proceeded to tell me the exciting news that indeed I had ruptured my membranes but to beware because contractions could become more intense from here on in but I didn’t care because ‘hey my waters broke!’ haha.
Boy was she right… 10:00am came and the contractions went from painful but manageable to ripping my insides out kind of painful and it became harder and harder to focus on my breathing and I began to hyperventilate which started making me dizzy and Fran would say to me “it’s ok sweetheart, I’m here, your doing great, just breathe deeply ok, you can do it” but my brain just switched off and it became sort of like an out of body experience, I was SCREAMING in pain “oh god make it stop, please make it stop” and then I burst into tears and was screaming “just make it go away please, it hurts so much, I can’t do it anymore”
At that point in time I didn’t feel like myself, I felt like I had been taken over by the devil or something and he was possessing me, turning me into this crazy, out of control monster. Fran was so fantastic through this whole stage, he was holding my hand and stroking my head telling me that I was doing really well and that he loved me and that it will be over soon and just breathe but by that point I couldn’t handle it and said in the sternest voice possible “PLEASE DON’T TELL ME TO BREATHE, I CAN’T BREATHE, I AM DYING, I CAN’T BREATHE, DON’T TELL ME TO BREATHE!” He just took it with a smile and kept holding my hand and telling me to breathe which of course p*ssed me off but at the same time was so comforting to just have him there that I didn’t care. During this whole time I also somehow managed to scratch Fran’s chest and bite down on his finger to which I apologized for later when he told me because at the time had no idea what was going on.
The urge to push was incredible and it became to much for me to control and my body starting instinctively pushing but it wasn’t ready too so the midwife grabbed the pethadine and shoved it into my thigh and holy heck it stung but I didn’t care… She told me that I had to STOP pushing because I wasn’t fully dilated and that if the cervix became swollen from pushing that it would end in an emergency cesarean so I was thankful for the pethadine and although it was an absolute no-no according to my birth plan, the most important thing to me was a vaginal birth so if that meant giving in to the pethadine then so be it.
Contractions kept coming hard and fast and the pethadine did absolutely NOTHING for the pain it just made me feel groggy and like I wanted to pass out and die… My body kept instinctively pushing with every contraction and I was fighting it SO HARD to stop myself but I just couldn’t… It was like I had no control over my own body anymore and the devil was doing all the work… ‘Liz’ told me that she was going to have to give me an epidural because I was either going to need it to stop the feeling of pushing or it would be needed for the c/section to which I was a bit upset about because I didn’t want to have an epidural… I didn’t want to be monitored and I didn’t want to slow down the birthing process but after quickly weighing up the pros and cons in my head I came to a decision that it was my FINAL chance at getting the vaginal birth that I so desperately wanted so at 11:20am the anesthetist was called.
She was in surgery at the time so she didn’t arrive until 11:45am and at which time she asked me if I would like her to go over the risks of an epidural and even though I had done plenty of research on it I said ‘yes’ because I wanted to hear it again, once more, just so that I could be sure that this was definitely the best option. She went over the associated risks with me and Fran, in between HUGE contractions and screams for it to be over. She then got me to lie on my side where she inserted the epidural into my spine. I honestly didn’t feel anything, not the local or the epidural needle which was good. Fran said that she looked like a real professional when she was doing it, her eyes NEVER left that needle site which was such a relief to hear because you know of so many horror stories that you can’t help but let those take over your thoughts during a procedure like that, I couldn’t anyway.
By 12:45am there was no more pain… I still had feeling in my legs and toes, it was more of a pins and needles feeling so I could move my legs around etc and I could feel my upper torso but everything between my belly button and half way down my upper thigh was completely numb – a god send after the pain I had been in let me tell you!! From this point onwards I was feeling optimistic… I was chatting away casually to Fran who would tell me what the baby’s heart rate was doing on the machine and when I was having a contraction etc. We talked about how excited and happy we were that soon we were going to have a baby and future plans for our family. It was really nice to be able to share moments like that with him rather than me screaming and biting his fingers and whatever other horrible things I did to him that he omitted to tell me!!
I was told that I had something in my urine (can’t remember what the midwife said but something to do with a carbohydrate or something, meaning my blood sugar was too low anyway) nothing to be too concerned about she said but she wanted me to get some sugar into me so she gave me a glass of strong cordial which I accepted but tasted like cr*p and Fran went and brought me a bag of dinosaur lollies from the vending machine and I soon got rid of those quick smart because I was sooo hungry it wasn’t funny. The midwife kept asking me how much pain I was now feeling out of ten to which I would always smile and say “oh about two” because I was so happy that this horrendous pain I was feeling was now gone. I kept asking Fran whether the epidural was the right thing to do because now my birth plan had gone to tatters but he assured me that I would be far happier with a drug assisted vaginal birth than an emergency c/section to which I agreed… He was right!!
I was managing my contractions ok by leaning over the end of the couch and swaying my hips from side to side however at about 5:00am they were coming at about 2 – 3 minutes apart and lasting for 60 seconds and they were bloody painful to say the least and I knew that I couldn’t stay at home much longer so upstairs I went to wake Fran at which point he said to me “I’m too tired go back to sleep” and I started crying saying “but it hurts too much we have to go now” all the while he was joking and I had no idea.
I was leaning over the railing of the stairs with every contractions yelling “ow, ow, ow, ow, f*ck, ow, son of a b*tch, f*ck, ow” so I think that Fran really knew that it was time to go. My poor sister stood there with a HUGE grin on her face knowing that soon she would be an Aunty but not quite knowing what to say or do with each contraction… Poor thing! We left for the hospital at around 6:00am and the whole time Fran was driving fast up and down these rolling hills saying “weeeeee” and while this may have been fun for him, to a 41 week pregnant woman having strong contractions it is unbearable so I soon told him to cut it out and drive properly… Poor guy! If only he knew that my crankiness would get worse!
We arrived at Redlands Hospital in Cleveland at 7:30am and were greeted by midwife ‘Kelly’ who proceeded to take me to my room (Karragarra Ward, room # 4) she told me that she would do an internal to check my progress and then strap the CTG machine onto my belly and monitor the baby. I was unimpressed by this because I knew that I didn’t want monitoring and that lying on the bed would just make my contractions seem far worse but I agreed because I thought ‘the quicker we get it over and done with the better’ so I jumped up onto the bed for my internal and low and behold I am already 4cm dilated so off we go to the birthing suites at 8:45am (Birth Suite # 1) where midwife ‘Liz’ came and took over. I jumped straight into the shower and leaned over the birthing ball and had Fran hold the hot shower onto my lower back and it was just bliss… I kept saying to him “turn the hot water up, turn it up” but it was as high as it could go so I managed the best way that I could, by swearing in my head and saying “ow, ow, ow, ow, ow” every time I had a contraction.
I had been in the shower for maybe 15 minutes or so when the midwife came in and offered me the gas to which I gratefully accepted. I was sucking down on the gas with each contraction and Fran would say in a calm and loving voice “ok sweetheart now breathe IN and OUT, that’s it, IN and OUT” while holding the shower onto my back. It was a little irritating having someone tell you to breathe but I also really appreciated him just being there and helping me so I kept my mouth shut and visualized breathing the pain in and blowing it back out into the mouthpiece and biting down on it so hard that I thought I would break my teeth.
I had been feeling a bit of pressure in my backside and knew that it was soon going to be a feeling of needing to push and I though for sure that we were still too far off so I told Fran to call the midwife and to give me an internal to check to make sure that if I did need pushing that I knew not to. Anyway I jumped up onto the bed and ‘Liz’ did an internal and told me that I was now 6cm dilated to which I was a little relieved that things were happening but also a little bummed that I hadn’t come that far so decided to lean over the bean bag on all fours at the head of the bed.
At 9:41am there was a small but gradual leak of fluid from down below and I looked at Fran and said “cr*p did I just wee my self or are my waters breaking” and he said “I dunno how do you tell?” and I said “I dunno go and call the midwife and tell her that I think I wet the bed” so off he went and got ‘Liz’ who proceeded to tell me the exciting news that indeed I had ruptured my membranes but to beware because contractions could become more intense from here on in but I didn’t care because ‘hey my waters broke!’ haha.
Boy was she right… 10:00am came and the contractions went from painful but manageable to ripping my insides out kind of painful and it became harder and harder to focus on my breathing and I began to hyperventilate which started making me dizzy and Fran would say to me “it’s ok sweetheart, I’m here, your doing great, just breathe deeply ok, you can do it” but my brain just switched off and it became sort of like an out of body experience, I was SCREAMING in pain “oh god make it stop, please make it stop” and then I burst into tears and was screaming “just make it go away please, it hurts so much, I can’t do it anymore”
At that point in time I didn’t feel like myself, I felt like I had been taken over by the devil or something and he was possessing me, turning me into this crazy, out of control monster. Fran was so fantastic through this whole stage, he was holding my hand and stroking my head telling me that I was doing really well and that he loved me and that it will be over soon and just breathe but by that point I couldn’t handle it and said in the sternest voice possible “PLEASE DON’T TELL ME TO BREATHE, I CAN’T BREATHE, I AM DYING, I CAN’T BREATHE, DON’T TELL ME TO BREATHE!” He just took it with a smile and kept holding my hand and telling me to breathe which of course p*ssed me off but at the same time was so comforting to just have him there that I didn’t care. During this whole time I also somehow managed to scratch Fran’s chest and bite down on his finger to which I apologized for later when he told me because at the time had no idea what was going on.
The urge to push was incredible and it became to much for me to control and my body starting instinctively pushing but it wasn’t ready too so the midwife grabbed the pethadine and shoved it into my thigh and holy heck it stung but I didn’t care… She told me that I had to STOP pushing because I wasn’t fully dilated and that if the cervix became swollen from pushing that it would end in an emergency cesarean so I was thankful for the pethadine and although it was an absolute no-no according to my birth plan, the most important thing to me was a vaginal birth so if that meant giving in to the pethadine then so be it.
Contractions kept coming hard and fast and the pethadine did absolutely NOTHING for the pain it just made me feel groggy and like I wanted to pass out and die… My body kept instinctively pushing with every contraction and I was fighting it SO HARD to stop myself but I just couldn’t… It was like I had no control over my own body anymore and the devil was doing all the work… ‘Liz’ told me that she was going to have to give me an epidural because I was either going to need it to stop the feeling of pushing or it would be needed for the c/section to which I was a bit upset about because I didn’t want to have an epidural… I didn’t want to be monitored and I didn’t want to slow down the birthing process but after quickly weighing up the pros and cons in my head I came to a decision that it was my FINAL chance at getting the vaginal birth that I so desperately wanted so at 11:20am the anesthetist was called.
She was in surgery at the time so she didn’t arrive until 11:45am and at which time she asked me if I would like her to go over the risks of an epidural and even though I had done plenty of research on it I said ‘yes’ because I wanted to hear it again, once more, just so that I could be sure that this was definitely the best option. She went over the associated risks with me and Fran, in between HUGE contractions and screams for it to be over. She then got me to lie on my side where she inserted the epidural into my spine. I honestly didn’t feel anything, not the local or the epidural needle which was good. Fran said that she looked like a real professional when she was doing it, her eyes NEVER left that needle site which was such a relief to hear because you know of so many horror stories that you can’t help but let those take over your thoughts during a procedure like that, I couldn’t anyway.
By 12:45am there was no more pain… I still had feeling in my legs and toes, it was more of a pins and needles feeling so I could move my legs around etc and I could feel my upper torso but everything between my belly button and half way down my upper thigh was completely numb – a god send after the pain I had been in let me tell you!! From this point onwards I was feeling optimistic… I was chatting away casually to Fran who would tell me what the baby’s heart rate was doing on the machine and when I was having a contraction etc. We talked about how excited and happy we were that soon we were going to have a baby and future plans for our family. It was really nice to be able to share moments like that with him rather than me screaming and biting his fingers and whatever other horrible things I did to him that he omitted to tell me!!
I was told that I had something in my urine (can’t remember what the midwife said but something to do with a carbohydrate or something, meaning my blood sugar was too low anyway) nothing to be too concerned about she said but she wanted me to get some sugar into me so she gave me a glass of strong cordial which I accepted but tasted like cr*p and Fran went and brought me a bag of dinosaur lollies from the vending machine and I soon got rid of those quick smart because I was sooo hungry it wasn’t funny. The midwife kept asking me how much pain I was now feeling out of ten to which I would always smile and say “oh about two” because I was so happy that this horrendous pain I was feeling was now gone. I kept asking Fran whether the epidural was the right thing to do because now my birth plan had gone to tatters but he assured me that I would be far happier with a drug assisted vaginal birth than an emergency c/section to which I agreed… He was right!!