Birth stories: Rachael and Little Miss

Welcome to the very first installment in my new blog series: Birth Stories. I know how much people love to share their birth stories, and how much others enjoy reading them, so popping them all together in one place seemed to make sense! Today we have a the lovely Rachael from L-Plate Mummy who shares the beautiful story of her daughters speedy arrival into the world!

The day I became a mummy

On the morning of Saturday March 14, 2009, exactly a week before my due date, my first baby was preparing to make her entrance into the world. This was the last Saturday morning hubs and I would have as a couple, we were soon to become a family of three.

I awoke at 8am by the now familiar and annoying urge to wee, all pregnant women can relate to that one – right?! While doing what one does in bathrooms I heard a ‘pop’ sound. My first reaction was to look in the toilet, nothing there, so I shrugged and finished what I was doing. I then made my way downstairs to make a cup of tea. While waiting for the kettle to boil I felt a warm trickle making its way down my leg, my first horrified thought was: “Oh my God, I’m wetting myself!”. After several attempts of trying to make myself stop, I came to the realisation that I had no control over it and that it may in fact be my waters breaking. I ran (ok, waddled) up the stairs and started babbling to the hubs that our baby was on the way. I excitedly phoned the maternity unit. I was told to pack a bag, eat some breakfast and then head to the hospital. I couldn’t eat breakfast, I was having a baby – far too exciting!

The excitement was short-lived.

Hubs and I excitedly arrived at the maternity unit at around 9.30am and were ushered into an examination room. Without TMI, the midwife needed to check ‘down there’. Can you imagine how frustrating it was for her to confess that she wasn’t actually sure if my waters had gone or not?! I was discharged with the instructions: “Forget that anything happened.” Disappointment does not even begin to cover how I felt.

I spent the next few hours in a rather foul mood, bouncing on my birthing ball, and watching trashy TV. At 3pm I had a terrible backache and harrumphed up to bed. I was mightily miffed to wake up at 5pm with nothing to report.

 At 6pm hubs and I were trying to decide what to have for tea, as I got up to join him in the kitchen ‘whoooosh’ – there went my waters! Soaked, I shouted to hubs that my waters had “Definitely gone.” Back in the car we got and were on our way back to the maternity unit. This time the midwife was able to confirm that my waters had gone and that I was 2cm dilated – hurrah! I was put on a monitor to make sure that baby was coping ok and not in any distress. We spent a good couple of hours at the hospital being monitored, before being discharged as I wasn’t experiencing contractions and baby was happy. I was now told that if I hadn’t gone into established labour within 24 hours I would have to be induced.

 We left the hospital at 9pm, both convinced that I was on course for an induction, this baby didn’t seem to be in any hurry…

 However, on the drive home my contractions had started. They weren’t terribly painful and I had a case of the munchies, so we took a detour through the McDonalds drive-thru. Alas, I couldn’t finish my burger as those contractions were getting very uncomfortable. We got home at about 9.30pm, I was in a lot of pain and contractions were only a minute or so apart. I was screaming, crying, and quite distressed at this point. Hubs suggested I have a lie down or a bath, I just screamed and cried that I needed to go back to hospital – poor guy!

Despairingly hubs called the maternity ward to explain that I was “Not coping very well,” I later discovered that he thought I was being a drama queen. The midwife on the phone was sympathetic to his plight and told him to bring me back in. He practically carried me to the car as by now I was shouting that I wanted to push and could barely move from the squatted position I had put myself in. Ok, I was on the toilet as I thought I needed to pooh (sorry, TMI?!).

Let me tell you, that journey to the maternity unit (for the third time that day I might add) was, looking back, one dicey drive. Hubs was foot to floor while I was squatting half on, half off the passenger seat screaming and clawing at his shirt with every contraction. I can’t even remember parking up or getting out of the car. Hubs helped me into reception where the receptionist looked at me and calmly asked for my hospital number. I *may* have lost my cool here (because I had been so cool up until this point – ahem).  I screamed at her that my baby was coming and dropped to the floor – dramatic huh? A midwife appeared as if out of nowhere popped me in a wheelchair and wheeled me off to an examination room. She told me I needed to stop pushing so that she could see what was happening. Well, I can tell you what was happening, my baby was well on her way! I was the full 10cm dilated and baby was crowning.

The midwife told me to ignore what she had just said and to keep pushing. I demanded some pain relief and was utterly devastated when I was told that it was too late. I was eventually given gas and air, to give me something to focus on (or to shut me up). The midwife informed me that my baby was so nearly here and I started frantically telling her that couldn’t be true as I was not ready! A few pushes later, at 10.43pm, my beautiful daughter arrived, weighing in at 6lb 13oz (I was still crying that I couldn’t do it for a good few seconds after her birth).

I will never forget hubs handing our daughter over to me. I instantly forgot all of what had just happened and couldn’t get over how small and perfect my baby was.

I was lucky to have only suffered a minor tear and hubs and I were allowed home with our gorgeous Little miss the next day.

So, after around four and a half hours of labour, roughly two hours of that contracting, and only 10 minutes or so of pushing I had become a mummy, and my life changed forever.

Five years later and I still can’t believe how quickly it all happened. All of the books had prepared me for a slow labour. As mine escalated from nothing to full on contractions so quickly I remember being so scared that something was wrong. Thank goodness I listened to my body and made hubby take me back to hospital, if I had tried to hang on any later I would have given birth to our little girl in our bathroom!

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