Starlet
11-12-2008, 19:28
After having plenty of pre labour niggles over the last few weeks of my pregnancy, I woke up at 3am on December 11th with a contraction that made me think 'yep, this is the real deal'. I didn't want to get too excited though because I was already overdue by 5 days and I felt like this babe was never coming out. I dozed on and off with a few more pains and then my 4 year old, bailey, came in at 5am asking for a drink of water and that's when I woke Matt, my hubby up.
Matt started to fill the birth pool by our bed while I came on bubhub and updated my regular threads and to time my contractions for a few minutes. They were coming every 5 minutes and lasted for a minute. They weren't too painful, just a bit of bite in my lower belly. Hubby started getting the kids lunches and things ready and at 6am he called his mum to pick the kids up for us.
At 6.15am, the contractions were coming a bit closer together so I rang Marilyn, my midwife, to come over. then I hopped in the birth pool for a bit and watched tv. It was so weird not to be getting things together to make a trip to the hospital. I had a bit of a 'I'm scared because I can't ask for drugs even though I don't want them' moment, but got over it pretty quickly.The contractions slowed a bit while I was in the pool, so after about half an hour I hopped out again and bounced on the edge of the bed.
Marilyn arrived and checked my blood pressure and bubs heart beat. All is good. So she sat with us in our room and chatted to me between contractions. I couldn't get comfortable during contractions except for leaning back on my hands and bouncing around a bit. I think they were still coming around 5 minutes apart.
At around 9am I decided to get back into the birth pool as I was feeling uncomfortable. I laboured like this, leaning over the edge of the pool for an hour or so, I was so in my own 'zone' concentrating on breathing through the contractions that I was sort of dozing off in between. My contractions were further apart than before but much more intense.
At around 10.30am I was getting a bit tired so just lay on my side in the birth pool. This is when I needed Matt's hand to squeeze and to run water over a face washer that was over my belly during contractions. I was still laughing and chatting in between at this stage and my contractions were getting stronger but not more frequent.
At 11.30am they really started to hurt and were coming in clusters of 3 every 5 minutes. It was around now that I decided I was hungry and managed to get down a muesli bar in between contractions. I started becoming quite vocal and said to Matt that he would be out at lunch time.
Just before 12pm, I rolled onto my back as my knees were getting sore and a whopper of a contraction hit me and I felt bubs head move down, ready to be born. Marilyn quickly suggested I get back onto my knees as it'd probably be more comfortable(she was right) and with the next contraction my waters broke and our babe's head started to crown. Two pushes later(and alot of yelling on my part...thank goodness it wasn't the middle of the night or our neighbours would have probably called the cops!) his head emerged. Marilyn asked if I wanted to reach down and touch it but I shook my head, I just wanted to get the job done. She then asked Matt if he'd like to touch the babe's head, but he was in front of me and I was gripping on to him so tightly that he couldn't move. With the next contraction his body slid out and he floated up in the water between Matt and I. Marilyn quickly undid the cord from around his neck and I picked him up out of the water and fell back with him on my chest.
He was blue for quite a while(but his heart rate was good and he was still attached by his cord), Marilyn had to give him a puff of oxygen. His face is still a bit blue as his speedy exit bruised his face, but Marilyn assured me that he will be nice and pink tomorrow!!
My little water babe wasn't all that little, he is 10 pounds and 53cm long. We hopped out of the pool, he had a big feed and then Matt got to clamp and cut his cord. I got away with only a few tiny grazes and minimal post partum bleeding.
And now I am exhausted and it's time for Matt and I to get into bed with baby Jye William!
Birth photos: http://s183.photobucket.com/albums/x207/the_kidlets/Jyes%20Birth/
Matt started to fill the birth pool by our bed while I came on bubhub and updated my regular threads and to time my contractions for a few minutes. They were coming every 5 minutes and lasted for a minute. They weren't too painful, just a bit of bite in my lower belly. Hubby started getting the kids lunches and things ready and at 6am he called his mum to pick the kids up for us.
At 6.15am, the contractions were coming a bit closer together so I rang Marilyn, my midwife, to come over. then I hopped in the birth pool for a bit and watched tv. It was so weird not to be getting things together to make a trip to the hospital. I had a bit of a 'I'm scared because I can't ask for drugs even though I don't want them' moment, but got over it pretty quickly.The contractions slowed a bit while I was in the pool, so after about half an hour I hopped out again and bounced on the edge of the bed.
Marilyn arrived and checked my blood pressure and bubs heart beat. All is good. So she sat with us in our room and chatted to me between contractions. I couldn't get comfortable during contractions except for leaning back on my hands and bouncing around a bit. I think they were still coming around 5 minutes apart.
At around 9am I decided to get back into the birth pool as I was feeling uncomfortable. I laboured like this, leaning over the edge of the pool for an hour or so, I was so in my own 'zone' concentrating on breathing through the contractions that I was sort of dozing off in between. My contractions were further apart than before but much more intense.
At around 10.30am I was getting a bit tired so just lay on my side in the birth pool. This is when I needed Matt's hand to squeeze and to run water over a face washer that was over my belly during contractions. I was still laughing and chatting in between at this stage and my contractions were getting stronger but not more frequent.
At 11.30am they really started to hurt and were coming in clusters of 3 every 5 minutes. It was around now that I decided I was hungry and managed to get down a muesli bar in between contractions. I started becoming quite vocal and said to Matt that he would be out at lunch time.
Just before 12pm, I rolled onto my back as my knees were getting sore and a whopper of a contraction hit me and I felt bubs head move down, ready to be born. Marilyn quickly suggested I get back onto my knees as it'd probably be more comfortable(she was right) and with the next contraction my waters broke and our babe's head started to crown. Two pushes later(and alot of yelling on my part...thank goodness it wasn't the middle of the night or our neighbours would have probably called the cops!) his head emerged. Marilyn asked if I wanted to reach down and touch it but I shook my head, I just wanted to get the job done. She then asked Matt if he'd like to touch the babe's head, but he was in front of me and I was gripping on to him so tightly that he couldn't move. With the next contraction his body slid out and he floated up in the water between Matt and I. Marilyn quickly undid the cord from around his neck and I picked him up out of the water and fell back with him on my chest.
He was blue for quite a while(but his heart rate was good and he was still attached by his cord), Marilyn had to give him a puff of oxygen. His face is still a bit blue as his speedy exit bruised his face, but Marilyn assured me that he will be nice and pink tomorrow!!
My little water babe wasn't all that little, he is 10 pounds and 53cm long. We hopped out of the pool, he had a big feed and then Matt got to clamp and cut his cord. I got away with only a few tiny grazes and minimal post partum bleeding.
And now I am exhausted and it's time for Matt and I to get into bed with baby Jye William!
Birth photos: http://s183.photobucket.com/albums/x207/the_kidlets/Jyes%20Birth/