WizzFizz
12-05-2006, 17:15
For all of my pregnancy my husband Jamie was based at Albury and I was living and working in Nowra. Jamie was doing an 8-week course, which my due date (21 Oct) was right in the middle of. Jamie managed to get a few days off around the time that the baby was due to be born, but as babies don’t always arrive on time, we didn’t want to run the risk of Jamie missing out on the birth so I organised with my Obstetrician, Dr Hoolahan, to be induced on Thursday October 20th.
Jamie drove the six long hours home from Albury on the Wednesday and arrived about 10pm. That night, we lay in bed talking and laughing in the dark, so excited that our baby was finally going to be with us any day. If only we knew what lay ahead, we should have got as much rest as possible!
We arrived at Shoalhaven Hospital at around 10am. We wandered through the maternity ward, watched some television and did some crosswords that we had packed and had some lunch (hospital food aint that bad these days!). At about 1pm I was given my first dose of prostiglandin gel. The nurse who examined me said that I was already 1cm dilated, and that the gel will help get things going. I had to lay down flat on my back for half an hour to help the gel start working (hard to when your 10 months pregnant) and it gave me a very uncomfortable paining sensation across my lower tummy. Jamie smiled at me and said he was nervous - he was going to be a Dad soon!
Jamie’s mum Kathryn came up to the hospital that afternoon to see how things were going. “Nothing yet” we said, and chatted and laughed until 7pm when the next dose of gel was inserted. “Only about 2cms darl” said the nurse. She told Jamie and Kathryn to go home, as we probably wouldn’t have the baby that night. Jamie was furious, he wanted to stay with me every minute, but eventually he left at about 7.45pm. As this was my first hospital stay, I was scared and lonely, and I rang him half an hour later to come back. He did, but I could see he was tired, so I told him to get some rest and he left again at 11pm.
It was hard for me to get some sleep. My room was at the end of the ward, closest to the birthing rooms. I could hear other women giving birth, and one lady was screaming so loud I had to get the nurse to come and close my door. She came back a little later and told me that the woman I heard screaming gave birth to an 11 pound 10 ounce baby in 2 hours with no pain relief. OUCH!!!
I lay in my bed, in and out of sleep. I was having very sporadic contractions, just like Braxton Hicks but stronger. At 6.00am, a nurse came in to see how I was going. I told her that I was tired and wanted another dose of gel. At 6.30am I went into one of the birthing rooms and I was given some more prostiglandin gel. What came next was one of the most painful moments of my labour. The gel that I had been given definitely did something that time. I was lying on my back in immense pain and I couldn’t get up on my own. I watched the clock and waited for 7.00am to come around – it did, so did 7.05, 7.10, and 7.15. I couldn’t bare the pain any longer and started to cry out for a nurse. She ran back in saying “sorry, sorry” and helped me sit up. If I weren’t so polite I would have told her where to stick it!
I waddled back to my room and called Jamie to come in, and he told me he was getting ready and would be there very soon. At about 7.40am Jamie and Kathryn came in, and I was having breakfast. At 8am another nurse flew into my room and said “get up get up – Dr Hoolahan is here and he wants to break your waters!”. So back to the birthing room I went!
When I walked into the room, Dr Hoolahan was waiting for me. “Looks like this baby doesn’t want to make an appearance yet!” he said, and helped me onto the bed. He told me to “relax” and grabbed a long plastic stick with a hook on the end. When I saw it disappear, a small popping noise occurred and the next thing I knew, water was gushing out of me all onto the floor, the temperature like a nice warm bath. Dr Hoolahan laughed and said “ I knew you had a lot of fluid – but didn’t think it was this much!!”. The nurse cleaned me up and put a pad on the size of a canoe, and walked me back to my room. Every time I laughed, sat up or down, amniotic fluid would gush out onto the floor. Jamie and Kathryn were laughing at me, which made me laugh – it helped break the anxiousness.
Mum came in at about 11am with sandwiches that my Nanna Les had packed for our lunch. They had to be the best chicken and lettuce sandwiches ever. Jamie ate half the platter! My contractions were now about every half an hour, and Jamie and I would walk and walk around the maternity ward to get things happening a bit faster. By 4pm they were coming every 15 minutes. Mum gave me a shower and then I decided to hop in the bath. Very relaxing. The nurses wandered in and out to see how I was going.
By 6pm my contractions were quite strong and were lasting about 30 seconds, every 3-4 minutes. I’d decided to try some gas which at first made me cry uncontrollably, then Jamie tried some and we both laughed uncontrollably. I couldn’t figure out how to get the gas in sync with my contractions and ended up asking for the next best thing… pethidine. The nurse told me “it will only be a little prick” and I moaned back to her “That’s what Jamie said nine months ago – now look at me!”
The pethidine did nothing. I asked for a second shot, but that didn’t help me at all either. At around 7pm Katie and Luci came in to see me and I was probably at my worst. Contractions were coming every 2-3 minutes and lasting about a minute or longer. I couldn’t bear the pain anymore; I’d squeezed Jamie’s hand for too long and begged everyone for an Epidural. I had to sit on the edge of the bed so that the anaesthetist could find where to insert the needle. I had a contraction while he was doing this, and I had to stay perfectly still. Talk about bloody painful! When the epidural had been administered, it felt like a cold iceblock running down my spine, however, INSTANT RELIEF. The pain was gone. I was the happiest woman on the planet! After the epidural, I had a drip inserted, as my temperature rose and I had to be put on a small course of antibiotics. I also had to be administered Syntocin through the drip to keep my contractions coming. I also had a catheter, and a small electrode screwed into the baby’s head to monitor how he/she was going.
At about 9pm, Katie and Luci left and the nurses told the “Labour Party” to get some sleep. Jamie slept in my maternity room bed, Mum slept in the one next to it, and Kathryn pulled up a chair beside me and slept.
When I woke up it was about 5.00am on Saturday. Kathryn was still asleep, so I woke her up. The nurse came in and checked on me, and said that I was 9cm dilated. Woo Hoo! Jamie came in when the nurse was examining me. She told me to push, but because I couldn’t feel from my boobs down, it made it a bit hard. I did it, and the nurse had a concerned look on her face. She left the room and next thing I knew Dr Hoolahan waltzed in at about 7.00am. He examined me and told me to push. He then told me that I would need an emergency c-section because my waters had almost been broken for 24hours and the baby had turned posterior (face up). He also said that the baby’s head wasn’t deep enough in the pelvis to grab with forceps. I cried. I didn’t want it to end like this but I was so exhausted (as was everyone else) that I had no choice but to agree and the nurses then prepped me for surgery.
It took 6 people to move me from the birthing room bed to the bed I would be operated on. Jamie had to put on a surgical gown, hat and shoes, and met me in the Operating Theatre. My Epidural was topped up, and Dr Hoolahan put up a screen so I couldn’t see him operating. I was surprised at how many people were in the room. The Paediatrician, Dr Greenacre, was ready to examine the baby, and the Anaesthetist, Dr Tav Hughes, was holding one of my hands, reassuring me, and Jamie was holding the other. My parents worked at Shoalhaven hospital, both for 18 years, so everyone in the room knew me.
I didn’t realise that while Dr Hughes and I were talking that Dr Hoolahan had already started operating, and the next thing I knew he said, “here we go!” and I heard a small cry. I instantly had tears in my eyes. As soon as Doctor Hoolahan cut me open, the baby’s face was exposed staring straight at him and cried before it was out! “Hey Bubba!” Hoolahan said! “Get the camera Jamie!!!” I yelled at him, and he replied, “I’ve got it Al don’t worry”. “Ok here comes Bub” said Dr Hoolahan. “I CANT SEE I CANT SEE!!” I started to panic. Dr Hughes said “We need the screen lowered a bit more, Ali cant see her baby”. When the screen was lowered, Dr Hoolahan held up the most beautiful, wet, screaming, big healthy baby I’d ever laid eyes on. “It’s a GIRL!!” Jamie said, he was crying. What an awesome surprise!! Jamie instantly told everyone her name was Grace. He was so proud. Grace’s screams filled the room and all I could do was cry with complete happiness. When the nurse laid her next to me, I felt like I’d known her before. She looked just like me. I looked at Grace and felt an instant love. I felt more in love with Jamie too. He kept kissing my hand telling me how beautiful she was and what a good job I did.
Grace was born at 7.54am on Saturday 22nd October 2005 by emergency c-section. It was the best feeling I have ever experienced and I will always remember this day for the rest of my life.
Jamie drove the six long hours home from Albury on the Wednesday and arrived about 10pm. That night, we lay in bed talking and laughing in the dark, so excited that our baby was finally going to be with us any day. If only we knew what lay ahead, we should have got as much rest as possible!
We arrived at Shoalhaven Hospital at around 10am. We wandered through the maternity ward, watched some television and did some crosswords that we had packed and had some lunch (hospital food aint that bad these days!). At about 1pm I was given my first dose of prostiglandin gel. The nurse who examined me said that I was already 1cm dilated, and that the gel will help get things going. I had to lay down flat on my back for half an hour to help the gel start working (hard to when your 10 months pregnant) and it gave me a very uncomfortable paining sensation across my lower tummy. Jamie smiled at me and said he was nervous - he was going to be a Dad soon!
Jamie’s mum Kathryn came up to the hospital that afternoon to see how things were going. “Nothing yet” we said, and chatted and laughed until 7pm when the next dose of gel was inserted. “Only about 2cms darl” said the nurse. She told Jamie and Kathryn to go home, as we probably wouldn’t have the baby that night. Jamie was furious, he wanted to stay with me every minute, but eventually he left at about 7.45pm. As this was my first hospital stay, I was scared and lonely, and I rang him half an hour later to come back. He did, but I could see he was tired, so I told him to get some rest and he left again at 11pm.
It was hard for me to get some sleep. My room was at the end of the ward, closest to the birthing rooms. I could hear other women giving birth, and one lady was screaming so loud I had to get the nurse to come and close my door. She came back a little later and told me that the woman I heard screaming gave birth to an 11 pound 10 ounce baby in 2 hours with no pain relief. OUCH!!!
I lay in my bed, in and out of sleep. I was having very sporadic contractions, just like Braxton Hicks but stronger. At 6.00am, a nurse came in to see how I was going. I told her that I was tired and wanted another dose of gel. At 6.30am I went into one of the birthing rooms and I was given some more prostiglandin gel. What came next was one of the most painful moments of my labour. The gel that I had been given definitely did something that time. I was lying on my back in immense pain and I couldn’t get up on my own. I watched the clock and waited for 7.00am to come around – it did, so did 7.05, 7.10, and 7.15. I couldn’t bare the pain any longer and started to cry out for a nurse. She ran back in saying “sorry, sorry” and helped me sit up. If I weren’t so polite I would have told her where to stick it!
I waddled back to my room and called Jamie to come in, and he told me he was getting ready and would be there very soon. At about 7.40am Jamie and Kathryn came in, and I was having breakfast. At 8am another nurse flew into my room and said “get up get up – Dr Hoolahan is here and he wants to break your waters!”. So back to the birthing room I went!
When I walked into the room, Dr Hoolahan was waiting for me. “Looks like this baby doesn’t want to make an appearance yet!” he said, and helped me onto the bed. He told me to “relax” and grabbed a long plastic stick with a hook on the end. When I saw it disappear, a small popping noise occurred and the next thing I knew, water was gushing out of me all onto the floor, the temperature like a nice warm bath. Dr Hoolahan laughed and said “ I knew you had a lot of fluid – but didn’t think it was this much!!”. The nurse cleaned me up and put a pad on the size of a canoe, and walked me back to my room. Every time I laughed, sat up or down, amniotic fluid would gush out onto the floor. Jamie and Kathryn were laughing at me, which made me laugh – it helped break the anxiousness.
Mum came in at about 11am with sandwiches that my Nanna Les had packed for our lunch. They had to be the best chicken and lettuce sandwiches ever. Jamie ate half the platter! My contractions were now about every half an hour, and Jamie and I would walk and walk around the maternity ward to get things happening a bit faster. By 4pm they were coming every 15 minutes. Mum gave me a shower and then I decided to hop in the bath. Very relaxing. The nurses wandered in and out to see how I was going.
By 6pm my contractions were quite strong and were lasting about 30 seconds, every 3-4 minutes. I’d decided to try some gas which at first made me cry uncontrollably, then Jamie tried some and we both laughed uncontrollably. I couldn’t figure out how to get the gas in sync with my contractions and ended up asking for the next best thing… pethidine. The nurse told me “it will only be a little prick” and I moaned back to her “That’s what Jamie said nine months ago – now look at me!”
The pethidine did nothing. I asked for a second shot, but that didn’t help me at all either. At around 7pm Katie and Luci came in to see me and I was probably at my worst. Contractions were coming every 2-3 minutes and lasting about a minute or longer. I couldn’t bear the pain anymore; I’d squeezed Jamie’s hand for too long and begged everyone for an Epidural. I had to sit on the edge of the bed so that the anaesthetist could find where to insert the needle. I had a contraction while he was doing this, and I had to stay perfectly still. Talk about bloody painful! When the epidural had been administered, it felt like a cold iceblock running down my spine, however, INSTANT RELIEF. The pain was gone. I was the happiest woman on the planet! After the epidural, I had a drip inserted, as my temperature rose and I had to be put on a small course of antibiotics. I also had to be administered Syntocin through the drip to keep my contractions coming. I also had a catheter, and a small electrode screwed into the baby’s head to monitor how he/she was going.
At about 9pm, Katie and Luci left and the nurses told the “Labour Party” to get some sleep. Jamie slept in my maternity room bed, Mum slept in the one next to it, and Kathryn pulled up a chair beside me and slept.
When I woke up it was about 5.00am on Saturday. Kathryn was still asleep, so I woke her up. The nurse came in and checked on me, and said that I was 9cm dilated. Woo Hoo! Jamie came in when the nurse was examining me. She told me to push, but because I couldn’t feel from my boobs down, it made it a bit hard. I did it, and the nurse had a concerned look on her face. She left the room and next thing I knew Dr Hoolahan waltzed in at about 7.00am. He examined me and told me to push. He then told me that I would need an emergency c-section because my waters had almost been broken for 24hours and the baby had turned posterior (face up). He also said that the baby’s head wasn’t deep enough in the pelvis to grab with forceps. I cried. I didn’t want it to end like this but I was so exhausted (as was everyone else) that I had no choice but to agree and the nurses then prepped me for surgery.
It took 6 people to move me from the birthing room bed to the bed I would be operated on. Jamie had to put on a surgical gown, hat and shoes, and met me in the Operating Theatre. My Epidural was topped up, and Dr Hoolahan put up a screen so I couldn’t see him operating. I was surprised at how many people were in the room. The Paediatrician, Dr Greenacre, was ready to examine the baby, and the Anaesthetist, Dr Tav Hughes, was holding one of my hands, reassuring me, and Jamie was holding the other. My parents worked at Shoalhaven hospital, both for 18 years, so everyone in the room knew me.
I didn’t realise that while Dr Hughes and I were talking that Dr Hoolahan had already started operating, and the next thing I knew he said, “here we go!” and I heard a small cry. I instantly had tears in my eyes. As soon as Doctor Hoolahan cut me open, the baby’s face was exposed staring straight at him and cried before it was out! “Hey Bubba!” Hoolahan said! “Get the camera Jamie!!!” I yelled at him, and he replied, “I’ve got it Al don’t worry”. “Ok here comes Bub” said Dr Hoolahan. “I CANT SEE I CANT SEE!!” I started to panic. Dr Hughes said “We need the screen lowered a bit more, Ali cant see her baby”. When the screen was lowered, Dr Hoolahan held up the most beautiful, wet, screaming, big healthy baby I’d ever laid eyes on. “It’s a GIRL!!” Jamie said, he was crying. What an awesome surprise!! Jamie instantly told everyone her name was Grace. He was so proud. Grace’s screams filled the room and all I could do was cry with complete happiness. When the nurse laid her next to me, I felt like I’d known her before. She looked just like me. I looked at Grace and felt an instant love. I felt more in love with Jamie too. He kept kissing my hand telling me how beautiful she was and what a good job I did.
Grace was born at 7.54am on Saturday 22nd October 2005 by emergency c-section. It was the best feeling I have ever experienced and I will always remember this day for the rest of my life.