Birth of Xavier-David

**Pobblebonk** · 22-04-2006 09:31

Thursday, 5 January 2006 - DUE DATE ACCORDING TO ULTRASOUNDS

1:30pm - Returned from maternity appointment at hospital (with doctor this time, not midwife). Had discussion over when they're likely to induce me. I told them my ideal date was this Monday (complete wishful thinking) and that I DID NOT want to wait the 10 days they make you wait. Got lucky, they're going to induce on Sunday - a whole day earlier than what I wanted (but never quite expected they'd let me get away with). So I only have to wait 3 days, not 10. Had internal examination. Apparently I was already 2cm dilated (eh?!), and she stretched me out another 1cm. God DAMN it was uncomfortable/horrible/horrific. Afterwards, had to really really stop myself from balling my eyes out in front of doctor because it was so traumatic - and that was just an internal! What the hell am I going to be like during the labour/birth? Came home, balled my eyes out. Running on 3 hours sleep so I really really need to beach myself and possibly DIE. Am wondering what the girls are going to think of me during the labour, I mean, if a simple internal can turn me into a blubbering mess, what hope is there for me during the labour? ****. ****. ****. Cannot stop the visions of me in labour very closely resembling that chick in The Exorcist.
2pm - Have made a decision. Not going to have the baby. Excellent work. Now, all I have to do is come up with fool-proof strategy of how to do that. Thinking caps on.
10:55pm - Feeling slightly better after having talked to Boonah and Claire about ordeal. Do not know what state my mental health would be in without those two. Cannot believe I'm still running on only 3 hours sleep! Torn between hunger, feeling tired-ish, insomnia and inability to actually move. Am NOT comfortable with the way I'm feeling physically. Oh! Discovered that the sinister mouse poo looking things I keep finding all over the place and disgust me is actually not from mice (thank GOD), but is from the 7 freeloading geckos that live in my unit. Dirty ********.
12am - Have gone MENTAL. Have just managed to stop myself from doing strange dancing type moves in front of TV while singing 'Rockabye Xavey on the treetop..." whilst ****ing myself laughing at absolutely nothing.
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Friday, 6 January 2006 - DUE DATE ACCORDING TO LMP

7pm - Slept awesome last night (1am-11am). Been blessed with sharp pains at random moments. Nothing too exciting. Am about to go downstairs and wobble aimlessly around unit block to attempt to bring on labour. Am now further restricted to only being able to sit up straight as sitting/leaning gives me back pain.
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Saturday, 7 January 2006

1:30am - Well I'm still awake - surprise, surprise. Blast this whole waiting game ****. I'm getting VERY annoyed at the constant discomfort and inability to move around much. If I have to watch another pro-active ad (and by the way, you can't change the channel to escape it coz it'll be on the channels at the same time!), I'll go INSANE.

11:30pm - Was tired the whole day, and spent the majority of it beached on the mattress, either sleeping or gabbing away on the phone. Forced myself up at 7:30pm. Cannot believe that nothing has happened yet and that it looks like I'll be walking up to the hospital at 4pm tomorrow afternoon for the induction! Less than 24hrs to go! Will attempt to hold off the actual birth until its the 9th Jan.
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Sunday, 8 January 2006 - DATE OF INDUCTION

Began day by being taken out by mate Helena to KFC and Baskin Robins for yummies and treats. More waiting game **** as 2:30pm approaches (when Claire and Boonah will arrive).

2:30pm - Girls arrive. Mad rush to check off checklists and bolt to the supermarket for labour food snacks. Call for cab.

3:30pm - Cab arrives. Load bags and people into cab and head the 1klm or so down the road to hospital.

3:35pm and $7.20 later - Arrive at the Royal Brisbane Women's Hospital. Wonder if we're a bit too early for a 4pm appointment. Decide bugger it and lug ourselves up to Level 5 Birth Suite - am so EXCITED! Book in, only to be told that we're way early and induction is quite a way off coz they're busy so why don't we wander down to the cafeteria and come back in say, an hour. Nothing much to do but wobble down to cafeteria.

5:30pm - Return to Birth Suite and am taken to consultation room where they strap on foetal heart monitors and contraction monitors on me. Discover store of huge mattress size hospital issue maternity pads and have pillow fight with them with Boonah. Eventually moved into a birthing room (No. 10). Wait. Visited by Doctor and Midwife who inform me that they really can't do an induction on me today because they're very busy and can't spare the staff. They can, however, give me the gel and see what happens. In goes the gel. Mild contractions begin. Am walked to the Maternity Ward upstairs and given a private room, pain killers and sleeping tablets and told we'll see you in the morning. Disappointed girls go home.
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Monday, 9 January 2006

6am - Woken up (am very groggy) by midwife who informs me that at 7am I'll be taken up to birth suite for second stage of induction so it might be a good idea to have a shower and eat some breakfast.

7am - Nothing happening. Am so bored I even tidy up the breakfast tray, stack dishes neatly and write 'thank you' note. Fall asleep.

8:30am - Claire and Boonah arrive. More waiting. Get TV connected. Wait some more. Eat some snack food. Wait some more.

12pm - Lunch arrives. Begin to eat it. In walks in midwife who says, stop eating girl, and lets go up to the birth suites. Everyone EXCITED and we all practically RUN to the birth suite. Plonked in Birthing Room No. 7. Doctor walks in and does an internal (eww) and says yes, we can probably break your waters now.

1:45pm - Waters are broken and EWWWWWWWWWWWWWW it's the most DISGUSTING thing ever. Contractions begin. Much the same as yesterdays contractions but stronger. Current contraction coping mechanism - to say "ouch, ouch, Ouch, Ouch, OUCH, OUCH, Ouch, Ouch, ouch, ouch."

Around 2 hours later - Have progressed to breathing during contractions which are now quite strong, and are coming very very quickly, like 1 min apart, 1 min long. Get into the shower and try using the water for pain relief - what a bunch of ****! Doesn't do squat as far as I'm concerned. Midwife's name is Penny - who bloody rocks!

Around half an hour later - Hungry Hungry Hippos, Penny - please give me DRUGS. Discuss Pethidine or Epidural. After discussion on how long labour likely to last, go the Epidural. Penny hooks up the gas. Crawl from bathroom to bed and lunge for gas. Wheeeeeeeeeee and I'm feeling slightly high. Go the gas until epidural chick comes in.

Another 15 mins later - Epidural chick comes in and gives me an epidural. Pain goes away. Contractions now on full-ball and am given a contraction speed up drip thing. Am drunk with gladness (and gas) that I don't have to feel those contractions.

Time not important - Penny goes for her dinner break. Ha, ha! She left the gas on. Everyone spends the next half an hour passing the gas around, ****ing ourselves laughing and videotaping the high-jinks.

Time not important - Whenever Penny leaves the room, we lunge for the gas. Much fun to be had by everyone.

10:30pm - Shift change. Penny goes home and Martha walks in. Have met Martha before a few times. Great chick. Of course, it takes 15 mins or so for midwife shift change so while no one's in with us, we of course, go for the gas. Start getting worried that Claire and Boonah have become addicted to it, as they sit down and go 'Ok, no more' and then are back up again for 'One last go' - this happens about eight times.

11pm - Martha informs me that I am 9.5cm dilated and that I still have about 2 hours of pushing to do, so what would I like to do, start now or wait a bit longer until he's really really down there and ready to go. Think bugger it, lets start this pushing business. Begin pushing 4-5 times per contraction. Don't even bother opening eyes during the pushing process, girls keep me informed about what's going on and what they can see. Need episiotomy.
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Tuesday, 10 January 2006

1:25am - Xavier-David Christian Brimecombe is born into the world. I fall back on bed from fatigue and I hear someone say "Hey Aly have a look at your baby!" and I look down at my chest and see my son for the first time. Cameras go click click and video camera comes out. Xavier gets weighed (3.17kg) and has his first bath. I developed a high fever while in labour and because Xavier was born within 2 hours of the antibiotics being administered to me through the drip, he is taken to the Special Care Nursery for 4 x 12 hourly shots of antibiotics.

Around 3am - Abuse everyone in sight for being bloody annoying and not letting me go to sleep which is all I bloody want to do. I JUST WANT TO GO TO SLEEP! LET ME GO TO SLEEP! Fall asleep while being stitched up. Am left alone for a couple of hours to sleep. Find that I can't actually sleep and get even more ****ed off.

6am - Am wheeled down to the Special Care Nursery to see my beautiful wonderful son, spend half an hour there. Finally am taken to the Maternity Ward and allowed to sleep. Can't sleep because of drip in arm and the discomfort of it all. And so, begins a new life chapter of sleep deprivation! Yaheeeeeeeeeeee!