Little j's Birth Story- Part 2- The Labour
Our souls met long before our eyes did.
Part 1 of the story HERE
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Contractions Started
They moved me into the recovery room after 8 days of hospitalization since I looked stable. This room felt like a hotel room, except for the hospital bed. Throughout the day I felt cramps but the baby monitor showed that it was fake contractions. So I felt somewhat relaxed, just a bit uncomfortable. At 10pm when I got ready to sleep I started to feel more cramps. My husband usually go home to sleep and luckily that night he decided to take a quick nap first before driving home. My cramps started to be more regular so the nurse put the baby monitor belt on me. I dismissed the uncomfortable cramps as another false contraction and just tried to sleep through the pain.
As the night went on I would wake up in excruciating pain that left me screaming and grabbing for my husband's hand. I would dose off again then repeat this torturous process. At 3am I finally gave in and took the oral painkillers the nurse offered. Every time that wave of pain hit me I wanted to die, that was how bad the pain was. The nurse didn't actually tell me I was having contractions, and I was too sleep deprived to realise what it is. I just wanted to sleep!
At 4am finally a doctor came by to check on me. She told me I was 4cm dilated and there is a possibility I have to go into labour today. But she will have to discuss with a team of doctors to determine what's best for my situation. That was when it hit me that all of this is actually happening. I texted my mum and told her to pray for me and tell the rest of the family. I was getting anxious because I was only 31 weeks and 6 days, and I was really hoping to keep the baby inside longer. I took another nap and woke up around 6am to use the bathroom. There were bloody discharges and the nurse told me that it was a sign of going into labour.
The resident doctor came in to check on me, and told the nurses to transfer me to the labour room immediately at 6.30am. I was in so much pain at that time and I felt extremely hungry. I knew they won't let me eat anything and I was thinking to myself how on earth am I going to push this baby out with hardly any sleep and an empty stomach...
The Epidural
After they hooked me onto the IV the nurse asked if I want to have epidural. I was like yes, give it to me now!! I just want this pain to stop! I was freaking out when the anesthetic came in to give me the epidural. I knew it's a HUGE needle (thanks to Google, I don't know why I Google that kind of stuff to freak myself out even more) Thankfully they let my husband stayed in the room so I could hold his hand. The anesthetic gave me 2 local numbing needles on my lower back before he injected me with the huge needle. I didn't know they do that so it ended up not as painful or scary as I imagined. Also because I was already in so much pain 2 little shots cannot compare to it. It takes around 15min to 30min before that sweet painless elixir flows through your system. So I was anxiously waiting for the pain to go away.
It was already 7am at this time and the doctor and the resident doctor came into the room to check on me. I was so glad to see it's the pretty blonde female doctor that came in. Since I'm being seen by a group of doctors I'm not sure who will actually deliver the baby when the time comes. Call me paranoid but I just feel more comfortable with a female doctor probing me down there. So far I've been super fortunate that every doctor/resident that gave me a physical exam in this hospital have been females.
The Delivery
By 7.15am the epidural fully kicked in and I felt so relaxed and was floating on cloud nine- okay not quite but you get the idea. I remembered the time because the clock was right in front of me and I was anxiously checking the time periodically. When the doctor checked me again she said I was fully dilated and told me to get ready to push. I was really shocked at how fast everything is happening. The specialists started to come into the room. There were like around maybe 15 people all together. I can see they already got the incubator ready and the head of NICU specialist, respiratory specialist among others were all there. My doctor told me to relax and said all those people are here for the baby. She told me to just focus on pushing the baby out and don't mind the room being so crowded.
Since I have epidural I just followed my doctor's instructions as to when to push. I pushed 3 times in one go then rest. She followed the monitor's chart to see when I'm getting my contractions and told me when to push. I'm really thankful my doctor had such a calm and relaxed personality. The resident doctor is also a pretty blonde and she's kind of like the cheerleader, encouraging me and reassuring me that I'm doing well. Little j is lucky the first people he saw are these gorgeous and intelligent doctors. The doctor later told me when he came out he opened his eyes immediately to stare at them, then started crying haha.
I pushed for almost 30min and was exhausted. Strangely I could still feel my contractions and the pressure of the baby dropping- without the pain. So I told her I felt the baby is coming can I push? I used up all my strength and pushed a few more times. They kept saying they could see the head, almost there! push! My husband was holding my hand and cheering me on. I took a short break to catch my breath and pushed one more time giving it all. I felt my baby slide out of me and felt a sense of relief and comfort as I hear his sharp cries.
Thank goodness for the epidural, without it I won't have the sanity to push and stay focused. I didn't feel any pain when the doctors took out my placenta. I didn't feel a thing when they stick their hands up to clean up every single piece of the placenta to avoid any bleeding or infection. I've heard horror stories on how painful it is to get the placenta out. I'm just super thankful for the team of people that invented the epidural ha...
Seeing Little j for the first time
The nurses cleaned little j and brought him to my arms for a brief moment. I stared at this perfect creature in awe and amazement. I took special care to sniff his sweet newborn aroma and imprinted his scent forever in my heart. His eyes were closed when they brought him to me. His nose and hands were perfect and his legs super long for his age. The doctors were surprised at how tall he is for his age. That explained the painful kicks I felt when pregnant! His long legs have no space to stretch! They whisked him away and lay him in the incubator to push him to the NICU only after a brief second.
I realised they were all on high alert for the birth of little j. Because you don't know how much help he would need since he's being born so early. All the specialists were tensed but they kept the environment friendly and calm to ease our anxiety. I also noticed the surgical tools they have on the table. They were prepared to give me an emergency c-section if things didn't go well. I've failed to notice all these scary details before since I was in so much pain. I felt so thankful everything went ok.
Within seconds most people left the room. The head of nurse checked on me and told me to stay on the bed for another 2 hours until the anesthetic wears off. Since I just had the epidural and the baby came so quickly right after. I still couldn't feel my legs or move my lower body. I started to shake and felt cold from its side effect. But was told it is considered normal. I was told I can eat breakfast but can't use the bathroom yet.
My mum called but I was too weak to talk to her. My husband told our family I've just given birth and everyone was in shock since it happened so out of the blue. I dosed off after I ate some food from pure exhaustion and went into a deep sleep.
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To be continued...
Part 3- Surviving NICU
10 comments
Thank you for sharing this beautifully written story!
ReplyDeletehttp://roadesque.com
http://ourruins.com
Thanks for reading it :)
DeleteThis story was so beautiful to read!
ReplyDeleteHave an awesome day!
xx, Kris
https://dreamingofpink.wordpress.com
Thanks, you too! :)
DeleteCongratulations! Thanks for sharing such a beautiful story.
ReplyDeletex,
S | Je M'appelle Chanel
Thanks for reading! :)
DeleteWow what a story. I always wondered about the epidural needle and now I know that they numb the area first. Thanks for calming me down about that. Childbirth is a catastrophe for the female body. And it's a wonder how quickly our bodies heal. Congrats on the baby! Its health and yours are most important.
ReplyDeletexx Yasmin
http://banglesandbungalows.com
Thanks Yasmin, yes it's a pretty traumatic experience but the outcome is so worth while! Thank God for the modern medicine though! Life saver! xx
DeleteThis was such a beautiful story, you're so strong! Congratulations!! & I can't wait to read the rest :)
ReplyDeleteHabba xx
www.heimisdottir.co.uk
Thanks Habba, I still get a bit emotional thinking back but I'm glad it all worked out in the end! xx
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