Sarah's Stories.
A long time has passed since the birth of Rebecca (who is now 5)
however I can recall every moment clearly. It was an average to bad
pregnancy with no real medical problems but terrible nausea throughout.
In total I gained 10 kilos, suffered no high blood pressure or swelling.
The heat in January and February in Sydney was pretty unbearable but
I coped by keeping my feet in buckets of cold water. I left work at
36 weeks and spent the last 4 weeks blissfully at home. I lived quite
near the beach so I used to catch the bus down to the beach every
afternoon and enjoy a pleasant swim in the cool water. I also kept
riding my bike right until the due date as I didn't want to lose all
my fitness (I had competed at club and state level in road racing).
At the start of my 40th week I felt impatient, I was quite breathless
and looking forward to holding my baby. On the Thursday of the 40th
week I went to the beach as usual and was sitting on the bench waiting
for the bus when the man next to me asked "when is the baby due".
"I think its coming today" was my reply - you should have seen his
face!
Anyway I got home from my bus trip and sat down on the sofa to watch
some television - and POP my waters broke. I could now feel the contractions
that I had been having all day - they felt like period pain. I rang
the hospital and then asked me to come in, I rang my husband who was
finishing work and asked him to come home. He worked as a bicycle
courier and he did the journey home in about 1/2 the usual time! He
was really hot and sweaty when he got home. He had a shower, we rang
for the taxi and we went to the hospital. The taxi ride was awful
- I hated all 10 minutes of it!
We arrived at the hospital at 7pm and I was booked into the delivery
suite and was checked over by the midwife - 3cm dilated. The contractions
were getting stronger but were very manageable. I didn't like the
interference in the delivery suite, but as this was my first child
I wanted to have help at hand if things went wrong. The hour from
9pm to 10pm was very difficult and I was sucking on the gas almost
constantly. At 10pm the midwife came in again to examine me and I
said "if I'm not very far advanced I would like an epidural". However
I was 10cm dilated and ready to push! I'm glad I went to the birth
classes otherwise I would have been really disappointed about how
long it takes to push a baby 10cm down the birth canal! It took me
nearly 2 hours to push Rebecca out and she was delivered naturally
with no stitches, no forceps and not too much of a cone head.
5 years later I decided to do it all again - I waited a long time
as the memory of 8 months of nausea was very difficult to forget.
I was now 35 years old and it took 10 months until Alexander was conceived.
The pregancy was easier, the nausea was less overwhelming and even
thought I vomited just about every day for the first 6 months it was
quite bearable as I didn't feel sick all day. The first indication
that something could be wrong was our 20 week ultrasound - we were
told we must have our dates wrong as the baby was only the size of
a 15-16 weeker. We thought nothing of it, changed our due date in
our minds and kept on going with our lives. I was working 12 hours
a day and feeling very energised and well. I rode my bike to work
until 30 weeks and then stopped due to the risk of being knocked off
and injured. The bus rides were terrible - nobody stood up for me
and since my blood pressure is naturally low and I can feel dizzy
when I stand still for long periods. I still didn't look very pregnant
and was wearing most of my usual clothes up until 7 months. At around
38 weeks we went to my brothers house for the Easter weekend. I didn't
sleep too well at their home - I thought because it was a strange
place, but in hindsight it was the contractions keeping me awake!
We went home on the train and arrived home around 7pm, tired from
travelling for several hours and settled in to watch Lord of the Rings.
I was feeling these vague period like cramps that were mild but consistent
- about every 1/2 hour. They were strong enough to keep me awake so
at 11pm I got in the bath to relax a little. They were still very
mild, but consistent. We decided that at 1.00am if they had not subsided
within the next 1/2 hour we would go to the hospital. They were now
15 minutes apart. We rang for a taxi and for my brother-in-law to
look after Rebecca (he lives around the corner and is single) and
we went to the hospital. We were in the birth centre this time and
they had a double bed, spa and it generally felt like your own bedroom.
We told the midwife it was most probably a false alarm as my waters
hadn't broken - she said we should stay the night and we could go
home in the morning - the hospital wasn't busy.
So we undressed and got into bed - this was 1.30am. About 3am I woke
up and I was very uncomfortable. I asked for the gas and the next
hour was basically one long contraction - extremely painful and I
felt dizzy and a little sick from sucking so much gas. Towards the
end the midwife asked me if I could feel pressure in my pelvis - and
I said "I think I can feel the head". On the next contraction his
head popped out without her assistance - with the waters intact. The
midwife broke the waters and I heard a tiny little squeak. On the
next push he was born and the midwife said "I think I need some help".
3 minutes later the room was filled with people and Alexander was
passed to me for a quick cuddle. He was wheeled away in an incubator
and I was left shaking on the bed - Ross had gone with him. It was
now 4.35am and the last 1 and a 1/2 was just a blur of pain and suffering
and joy! I must have gone back to sleep after I was cleaned up because
it was 8am and I was ready to have a shower and go and see him in
the nursery.
He was in an incubator with a drip in his arm, a tube up his nose
and various sensors attached to his body. Even though he was 38 weeks
gestation he was only 1.685kg - the size of a 32 week baby. His organs
and skin were mature though, and this really helped him in his recovery.
The hospital was his home for the next 3 weeks and it was a difficult
time of hospital visits, part time work and lonely nights at home.
How I cried when I saw his empty cot next to our bed.
However, he came home and gained weight at a phenomenal rate - sometimes
500g per week. He is fed prescription formula (Neocate) as I had a
breast reduction 3 years ago and had no milk whatsoever. He has a
few minor issues, only one kidney, minor malformation of the foreskin
and a tag on his ear - but nothing that is in the slightest bit life
threatening - and he has the most beautiful smile. He is our wonderful
"little" boy and we will be able to make all the bad jokes on his
21st birthday about being premature and little.
Sarah
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