Any 19th 2008 Babies Share your Labour Stories

Nadine - posted on 03/08/2009

I was in labour 6 hours.
It started at 11:30pm on the 18th, my contractions at that point were about 3-4 min apart.
At about 2 I decided to go to the hospital, i was 7cm dialated.
My water broke at 3am and he came out at 5:27am at 6lbs 1oz.
I had him all naturally. I did not have to get stiches and i was up and ready to go home about a half hour after he entered this world.
This is my first child and I have been told by many that I had it very lucky, and i would like to think that i did.

MaryAnn - posted on 03/06/2009

Thanks for that, I love hearing people's experiences cause you know what others go through.  Hope all is well. Take care.

Nicole - posted on 02/19/2009

hiya maryann - my lil girl Chloe Francesca was born on 19 Oct 08 at 9.32pm - weighing in at 7lb 3oz 48cm long.  She screamed for the first hour of entering this world and essentially that is the longest period in succession that i have heard her cry.

my blood pressure during pregnancy went from being very low to very high - and they were monitoring bubby and I very closely.  i was buiding a house, working long hours at work and freaked out about what might go wrong through pregnancy i really did do my own head in.

at 33 weeks my OB advised me that I had to stop going to the office and that when i came to the hospital i should prepare myself to be admitted.  i was also told my ob would not let me carry past 38 weeks - in the last couple of weeks they monitored me twice a week for an hour at a time - my bp and bubby - everything was fine - so they let me go over the magical 38 weeks. 

i was booked in to be induced on 17 oct, but i had a phone call from the hospital - my ob had come down with gastro.  so i was rebooked in for 18 oct.  went to the hospital without being told anything about what was going to happen to me.

got taken to a birthing suite, and... well found out when a totally different ob came in that my ob still had gastro but they were hopeful that she would be there for the delivery.  the ob who started the induction process was a man - very nice, but my ob was female - so it was a meet, greet - and how's ya mother in a matter of seconds, rather than the relationship that id built up with my ob over 7 odd months.  they had to do it twice - which once id tensed up made it more difficult.

pains started immediately... they gave me pain killers and sleeping tablets to sleep and a heat pack for my back.  I drifted off to sleep, saying good bye to hubby who went home to come back the next morning.

i woke the next morning and went to the toilet - the foley's balloon - which they used to induce me fell out - which means I was 4 cm dilated.  my ob came in - and they started the hormone drip and she organised for my epidural.

they had to do the epidural twice, they hit a nerve and the whole right hand side of my body shook uncontrollably.  I was scared and started to cry.  they finally got the epidural in at last and it was good.

midwives kept modifying the hormone dosages to me though much to the annoyance of my ob.  she kept telling them off - and i was in an ingnorant state of bliss - essentially - i wake up for a mild contraction - breath then fall back asleep.  this went on for 12 odd hours though. 

the epidural went patchy so they came back and topped it up - at that point it rendered me unable to walk - i was touching the end of the bed but couldn't feel my toes.  was such a strange feeling. 

four hours before bubby was born she had not decedended enough and they had started to warn me that i might need to have a c section.  i got so upset - my midwife kicked my bum into shape and told me that c section might happen but it also may not and got me to concentrate on having my baby.

at 8.45pm the contractions were coming thick and fast and thank god to that midwife, i was able to stay focused and believe that i could do something i never thought id be able to do.

my ob came back (she had checked on me during the day but she came back for the actual birth).  I pushed for 30 minutes - guessing when the contractions had hit because i couldnt really feel them.  at this point id been in labour for nearly 24 hours (though i was again blissfully unaware) and... in a very quick conversation it was decided that a vacuum would be used to help my bundle be born.  I had an internal tear, probably due to me not being able to feel anything... i lost 1.6 litres of blood - which is considerd a PDH.  Though again I was blissfully unaware.

i held my girl... as she screamed her lungs out - she was perfect - and i was in love... 

my ob sat with me - cleaning my blood of her shoes (was such a surreal sight to be honest) told me id lost a bit of blood and because of that they would put me in the adult special care unit where they did hourly obs on me to make sure that i didnt lose too much more blood and to do hourly obs on me.  I got to take my lil girl with me.

again, i was blissfully unaware....

next morning i was up at 5am - showered and dressed without assistance... while weak thought it had everything to do with just having a baby.... so didn't think much of it.  I was up on the ward by lunch time that day....

it was later that day - my first day on the maternity ward when a midwife came and saw me said that id had a PDH and I was like - what are you talking about... and she explained it to me.  In my four day stay in hospital - more parts of the story became clear - as i met another midwife who was called into the delivery as they had made a call for more staff etc...

my ob - was not worried, but she is very precautionary.  as she said - my pregnancy was classified as high risk but uneventful.   and I thank her for that - she was a legend :)

and now i have my lil girl who each day i feel blessed to have - she is my miracle - and i look at her in amazement that something so very beautiful could of been made inside me and that i delivered her...

to be honest all the morning sickness, monitoring and the delivery experience were worth it - to be able to have my girl in my arms.  she is my angel :)