Feb 16, 2006

Behold a son is born, and he shall be called Elijah.... the Lord is my Shepherd.

Okay I better get this down before I start to forget. And mercifully I WILL forget this one day.

4am 9/2
I get up to go to do one of my usual trips to the toilet to wee. I feel an unusual sensation. Water was running down my legs. My first thought was I wet myself. But soon reason kicked in... I smelled the liquid. Sweet... not anything wee like about it.
"Hunny"
"What?" grunted my slumbering man.
"I think my waters have broken."
Then as if to proove a point, gushed some more and all over my bath mat. THEN contractions kicked in. Owww... I remembered this.
I called the midwife pronto since I was tested positive to Strep B, I needed to get to the hospital and get that drip into me, who knew how quick this labour would be over?

5am
I arrived at the hospital after a very interesting drive down.
First thing was I had to keep getting out of my seat belt and turn around onto all fours every time I had a contraction, which was every 3 minutes. Secondly we realised we forgot the baby's bag. Woops...

6am
I was pacing around the room, trying to walk out the contractions and wasn't successful. I flopped onto a beanbag and also had that drip in. Katie (midwife) popped it in while I was having a contraction, I barely noticed it.

9:30am
Contractions were progressively worse. I had tried heat backs and Daz tried pushing into my back (where most of the pain was) and it wasn't helping. I thought about getting in the shower... but I thought "this will be quick, so I should get into the bath to soften this perinium"

11am
Hubby was getting bored with me rolling about in the bath, trying to ease contractions. I was getting bored as well when I wasn't trying to ease the pain. So he went to the canteen and bought a crossword puzzle book. At least now when I was having a contraction I had something to think about.... the last clue.

12:30pm
Pain was getting progressively worse. My dialation was slow. I was about 5cm at this time. I was getting very annoyed by Katie wanting to listen to the baby's heartbeat every 15 minutes. She was sticking to protocol like a trooper, because of my birthing history.

2pm
I was dying. The pain was all in my back now and NOTHING was easing it. I had to get out of the bath to have an ultrasound because katie suspected the baby had done a flip. She couldn't find the heartbeat in the right spots. I was writhing about on the bed while they looked at what this kid was doing. He had done a flip. His spine was now smack bang against mine and that's why I was in so much pain in my back.

3pm
I was now officially over it. I was pushing my body against the back of the bath, trying to add some pressure to my back. I was yelling every contraction. And by the end of this hour I was sobbing. "God make it end, have mercy on me!" I was praying.

4pm
If there is hell on earth, I was there. Katie offered me gas. I said no because I didn't want to puke as well as cry! I was screaming during contractions now. I hope I didn't scare anyone in the hospital.... too bad now.
4:15pm "I NEED TO PUSH!!"
Katie rounded up another midwife because since I was having a water birth, it was protocol to have her there. She was my back up midwife from when I had Caitlin. Denise was her name.
So I squatted in the water and began to push. I could feel the head beginning to descend. I also felt my hemmaroids pop out... "Hmm you are gonna need some ice packs after this is all over." commented Katie. Thanks for that... :)
The pain was terrible. Lactic acid was burning in my legs from the contractions, I struggled to get into a position to deliver. My water had red mucous and poo floating about from my pushing... I was so embarressed that katie had to scoop out my poo! LOL
I pushed and pushed, screaming with my effort. Then I felt the head beginning to crown. I put my hand down there and felt the hair on it's head. I pushed some more- let me tell you I hate the phrase "PUSH!" I was friggin pushing!!! Then I had the most awful sensation. What I thought was the baby moving around in my birth canal was actually the baby's shoulders getting stuck and it slipped back up. If felt awful.
Pushing and pushing and pushing.... nothing was happening. So katie went down to the nether regions and began to manually "open" me up. In my words she was ripping me apart trying to free this kid's head. It was very very very painful. I was envisioning a heck of an embroidery task for whoever was going to stitch me up. Denise held my hand, brave woman because I bet I squished the crap out of it. She soothed me and put a cold flannel on my face. It was like having my Mum there.... she was just perfect. When Katie's attempt to help the baby out failed, Denise told me that I would have to stand to deliver. So I wouldn't be able to have a water birth.
I didn't care at that point. I just wanted the baby out. Things get a bit hazy around here. I remember putting my foot up on the side of the bath and I hung on and bore down, pushing with all my being. I pushed and pushed, screaming and screaming. I remember things getting busy, I could hear people behind me, I wasn't sure what was going on. Katie AND Denise were frantically trying to pull him out. What seemed like forever, I pushed the head out. There was some mention of the umbilical cord around his neck. Then I was told to push again for the body, his shoulders were stuck. The midwives played tug of war with my child. Yanking him and pulling him... till finally with a hot gush, he was out!!! Hot blood burned my legs and splattered to the bottom of the bath along with meconium. I burst into tears, thank God it was over. To my surprise the unbilical cord swung between my legs with scissors attatched to it. What the???
I tried to turn around to see my baby.... but it was gone. WHAT??? Denise was right beside me... "he just needs some help to get going. He is a bit flat." Little did i know that they were doing CPR on him at that very moment. I heard alot of talking and noise in the next room. I burst into tears for the millionth time that day. "I didn't even get to see what it is!!!"
I then think my body went into shock. I couldn't move from my current position. I was hanging onto the railing, my legs felt like lead jelly. I was shaking uncontrollably. Denise wrapped me in a warm blanket and helped me out of the bath.
"It's a BOY!" was Daz's jubilant proclomation, when he finally got to have a look at what sex the baby was! A BOY!!!
I tried to stand and watch while they worked on my boy, but it was all too much for me. I fell onto the bed and struggled to stay conscious. Denise helped me into bed and then said that we needed to deliver the placenta. She told me to push, but I shook my head. I couldn't even muster enough energy to move my hair out of me face.
I was given some drug into my IV line and a few minutes later a felt a hot mass be pulled from my body and more hot blood scolded my body.
They took my son away to the special care unit and I felt that horrible feeling returning... the one that I had managed to forget about when they took Caitlin to SCU. Fear, and heartache. I didn't even get to hold him... or touch him. 9 months of having him with me, then yanked out and taken away.... all that effort and I had nothing to show for it.
Denise checked me out to see what the damage was and how much stitching I would need. She came up with the most shocked expression on her face.... "I don't know how... but you don't need one stitch!"
I don't know HOW I got away with that!! I pushed out an 8lb 14.5oz baby with extremely rough handling and came away without a scratch.

I am going to have to continue this post another time. I need to get going.....

stay tuned.

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