It's a long one!!
Pippa was due on the 22 January 2012, a date which came and went with no signs of impending labour. I was booked in to attend the KEMH Birthing Centre, which can only take women under 42 weeks gestation, if I went over that date I would need to go to the main hospital and be induced. At my last midwife appointment I was given dates and times to go and get an ultrasound and foetal monitoring done to see if my baby was happy to stay in the womb or if I would be induced. These appointments were scheduled for the 1 Feb 2012 (41+3 weeks).
I wanted to avoid induction at all cost, having been induced with Sadie. It was not an experience I wanted to repeat, and I wanted a water birth, which would not have been available at the main hospital at KEMH. All through the pregnancy I had had faith that my body would know when my baby was ready to be born. As I passed the 40 week mark, this confidence started to fail and I had a meltdown which involved an hour of crying, as I felt like I’d never go into labour spontaneously and all my plans to have a natural birth were out the window. I decided I’d make an appointment on Monday to get a stretch and sweep to see if that could move things along.
I went into the Birthing Centre and Marion gave me the S&S, it really wasn’t painful and because of this I expected it would have no effect. I went home, had yellow thai curry for dinner and DTD with DH just for good measure. We went to bed and I expected to wake up in exactly the same state as I went to bed.
DD woke up crying at 1am on the dot, and I felt a strange pain. 30 minutes later I woke with the same pain. This went on for a while, until 3:30am when I was having to breathe through the pains so I got out of bed and went into the lounge room. I starting timing the pains and they were coming every 15 minutes or so. I put my TENS machine on at 4:30am as the pains were getting really bitey. At about 5:00am I rang the Birthing Centre to ask when to come in, the midwife was talking to me while I had a contraction and commented that it was quite a long one, and that we should come in at about 6:30am (we live 40mins from the Birthing Centre and wanted to avoid peak hour traffic too!). I started vomiting just after 5am, and managed to pee all over the floor at the same time. Birthing is so glamorous!
After a few more vomits and lots more contractions I went and woke DH who proceeded to shower and shave
, then ring our friends who were coming to watch Sadie. By this time my breathing through contractions was turning into moaning, by the time our friends arrived at 7:30 my pains were 2-3 minutes apart.
We arrived at the Birthing Centre at 8:15, after having two really awful contractions in the car, and lots of less bitey ones. I still only had the bottom two pads connected on the TENS machine at this stage. I had a massive contraction in the carpark, a vomit in the bushes and then another contraction at the front counter (all in front of a pregnant woman and her husband who I’m sure I terrified). We got into Room 2 and the midwife Natasha asked if I wanted to be examined. At this stage I was half thinking that they’d tell me I was 3cm and to go home! So I said yes, DH and I were both shocked when she said I was 6cm and my waters were bulging. DH then put the top pads for TENS onto my back (a bit late in hindsight).
I had one more massive contraction (my controlled breaths out had now turned into primal roars). After this I tried to pee in a cup for the midwife, as soon as I tried to pee I had a cup and a toilet full of amniotic fluid. I started screaming at DH to get the midwife as I could feel the head move rapidly down and I was pushing! This was at 8:32, 17 minutes after arriving. I got off the toilet and squatted leaning on the cupboard. The midwife had a look and hit the button to get some help, and got me to move onto all fours on the floor. We rapidly removed the TENS machine and my clothes. After 4 or 5 pushes the head was out, then Pippa was born at 8:49, only 15 minutes after my water broke!!! Pippa was 49cm long and 3.76kg, with a 33cm head circumference. The placenta weighed nearly 900g!! No wonder she didn’t come on time, she had plenty of nutrition in the womb.
I had only a small nick in my peri, and superficial grazing that did not need stitches. The birth pool was only half full when I gave birth, so my planned water birth didn’t eventuate! I wouldn’t have it any other way though, it was amazing to have done it all drug free and so quickly.
I had asked DH to take some pictures of me labouring, as I don’t have any from Sadie’s birth. He took one of me during a big contraction, then one of the birthing room (while I went to the toilet when my waters broke), and then the next one is of me holding Pippa! It all happened so fast.
We got home that afternoon after the paeds checked Pippa (who is perfect). She’s pretty much slept since we arrived home, and my milk is in already. She is just about the spitting image of her big sister. I did have nearly 500mL blood loss, which is a borderline haemorrhage, but I’m feeling pretty much back to normal now. And I’m back at my pre-pregnancy weight today (although the tummy will take a bit of work). This birth was so different to my last experience, the midwives at the Birthing Centre are amazing and I’ll be going back there for the next one. But I’ll ring ahead and get them to run the bath!
DD1 - December 2009 - breastfed for 22 months DD2 - January 2012 - straight back onto the booby feeding bandwagon 