Birth story- part 2

So we headed off to hospital, and typically got every single red light on the way. I had two enormously painful contractions on the way there and it was so uncomfortable to deal with the pain in the car- the best I could do was to push my body upwards whilst pushing down on the seat.

We parked right out the front of the hospital. It was about 5:45am. DH mentioned that he'd better remember to go back down and put money in the meter just before 9:00. funny how we both thought we had hours ahead of us...


We walked up the driveway and I had another huge contraction. A guy standing around having a ciggie shouted over if we wanted a wheelchair and we said no thanks. We got in the lift and I realised I'd done the same thing I did when having Jimmy- forgot to find out what floor the delivery suite was on! I said I thought it was the 4th floor, so we went there. Nope, no delivery suite. Hmmm, maybe the 5th floor? Nope. Try the 6th floor. Wrong! Then I had a sudden brainwave and remebered it was on the 3rd floor. We were all cracking up- it was hilarious and so typical of me.

Got to the delivery suite and buzzed the buzzer. It took about 5 minutes for a midwife to come out, during which time I had another very intense contraction. The midwife took us into our room and I had a seat but felt very restless. Then the lady who was to be our midwife came in and introduced herself. Her name was Rosemary and she was about my mum's age and had the loveliest persona. She was bubbly, enthusiastic, supportive and caring. She was great with Tiffany and kept cracking jokes. I knew that I would have no problem with her following my birth plan, which included the following stipulations underlined in capital letters, just so there would be no mistaking my wishes:

NO FOETAL HEART MONITORING
NO INTERNAL EXAMINATIONS
NATURAL DELIVERY OF THE PLACENTA

She'd had a look at my file, and noted that Jimmy's birth was quite fast. She asked me what kind of pain relief I'd used last time and I said the shower was all I used, so she suggested I go jump in the shower, which I did. I stayed in for about 20-30 minutes, gradually making the water hotter and hotter until it was almost boiling. It felt sooooooooo gooooooooood. With each contraction, I leaned over on the big ball. By the end of my shower I was feeling hot and weak- I think I'd had the water a little too hot. So I got out and laid on the bed completely starkers and tried to sleep. I noticed that my contractions had become a bit further apart and was starting to get worried...what if I still had hours to go? I wasn't sure if I could stick to my guns and not have any pain relief if that was going to be the case. The pain was really intense and I remember thinking, "WHY am I doing this again???" The midwife measured the baby's heartrate with a Doppler and announced that she thought I was having a girl.

The back of the bed was up and I was lying on my left side, trying to cool down and rest. When I had a contraction, I turned around to face the back of the bed and moaned and groaned. I think I had about one or two more contractions facing the back of the bed, then I laid on my right side, feeling exhausted.

My contractions were still quite far apart. With the next one, I suddenly felt the urge to push, which shocked me. I thought I must have been imagining it, but the midwife said, "We're having a baby!" and ran outside to get another midwife. I pushed with all my might (still lying on my side) and my daughter's tiny head came out. I literally could not believe it. I was so excited! There was a huge break before the next contraction- it felt like we waited forever. It finally came and I gave what felt like the tiniest push and she came out. I was so excited that I had my baby, and so amazed at how tiny she was, that I forgot to ask what the sex was. The midwife said, "What have you got? It's a girl!"

...to be continued again!