Natural labour
I have two beautiful girls, aged 6 and 2, with two very different birth stories. After going through your first birth, you think you are MORE ready for the second, but that is not the case.
With my first, my water broke at 9am in the morning, the day before my due date. I got up out of bed and went to the toilet (as you do), and then I realised that I was on there for way longer than normal!! Not knowing what to expect, I rang the hospital and went in around lunch time, because I was feeling fine, no pain at all. They put the monitor on me, and said the baby was fine, and then sent me home, but that if nothing had happened by the next day, I would have to be induced. And there I sat, watching TV, waiting, getting ready for my impending arrival, and getting anxious about the pain that was waiting for me.
I didn’t eat any fruit because one of my biggest fears was doing a “number 2” during labour. Then, at around 4pm, I started to feel pains, just like period pains, and then they got progressively worse. The only thing that helped me was drinking cranberry juice – don’t ask me why, but it did. I also hopped in and out of the shower and used a hot water bottle to ease the back pains, which also helped. I couldn’t stand it anymore, and finally went to the hospital around 9pm.
The only thing that helped me was drinking my cranberry juice – but then, this mean midwife who took my juice away! I was absolutely traumatised!
The juice was the only thing that gave me any relief. Luckily, my husband brought in some ice for me to chew on, which also helped. Contractions got worse, but I was only 4cm dilated! I asked for an epidural, (which came with a really cute anaesthetist). It only worked on my one side, but at least it did help.
Coming from a Big family, I constantly had my sisters, my mom, my in-laws, AND my husband checking in on me, in all my glory!
I started to push around midnight (after vomiting a few times – not too sure why but I now suspect the juice). At first, it was hard to push in the right spot. Once I concentrated on pushing on the “right hole”, our beautiful little girl was born at 2:45am at close to 4.5kg’s!!
What I didn’t know was while my family was eagerly waiting outside; they had ordered pizza to eat. Unbeknownst to me, my husband was stuffing his face with pizza every time he left the delivery room. The quote of the night came from my husband “Luv, I think the pizza upset my stomach and it hurts”. To which I then retorted “YOUR TUMMY HURTS? What about mine!”
With my second, well, my water didn’t break this time, but contractions started from 4pm and by 5:30pm, I went to the hospital. To my horror, the same midwife who took my cranberry juice away with my first birth was there to greet me (Thank goodness her shift had just ended).
They took me into the examination room at 5:59pm to give me an internal only to find that I was already 9cm dilated! Whilst the nurse examined me, my water broke and as they say, that was it! Our second baby girl was born at 6:31pm. I never even made it into the delivery ward. With no epidural (even though I desperately wanted one) and no doctor – the midwife delivered her at close to 4.3kg’s!
All that money for the doctor to eventually come (in a tux mind you) and stitch me up… We didn’t even have time to ring family and tell them I had gone into labour. It all happened so quickly. I still remember lying on the bed, looking at my husband and asking “What just happened?” We were dazed….
Since, people have asked me if I had a birth plan… well, when your labour only lasts 30mins, all birth plans go out the window!
