MaisyMay
Oakley's Mummy & 1baking!
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It's taken me a little while to write this, because to be honest I haven't been ready. I think I've had a bit of birth trauma to be honest, I would have regular flashbacks that would leave me trembling and hysterical and birthing programmes like OBEM would set me off too. I'm much better now though and I wanted to write my birth story so that I could read it back in years to come. Sorry if it's long...
I woke at about 3am on Saturday 6th August 2012 with a "stomach ache" I thought I was going to have diarrhoea so I went to the toilet, had a bm and the pain went away. Five minutes later it was back again, this happened about 4 or 5 times until I finally realised I was having contractions
I didn't want to wake my husband in case it was a false alarm, but after about an hour and a half of continuous contractions every 5 mins (lasting about 50 seconds) I woke him. We were both really excited and he started timing them on an app he had on his phone. We stayed in bed and chatted in between them for a bit, then we got up and had a shower and called our parents and my sisters to tell them at about 7.30 am (My sister said I'd woken her from a dream that I was in labour and had given birth to a boy; at the time we didn't know that we were having a boy - weird)
My parents were already planning on coming over to our house that day to finish laying our bathroom floor so that it was ready before the baby was born (I was due to be induced on Sunday 7th October) So they decided to come over anyway and with it so did both my sisters and my sister's fiancé! It was surreal, Dad was going up and down the stairs cutting tiles and I was making everyone lunch and bouncing on my birthing ball. I remember Dad laughing because one minute he'd come downstairs and I'd be chatting and laughing away and the next time I'd be bent over the kitchen side breathing through a contraction. My contractions stayed at about 5 minutes apart and lasting about 1 minute. We called the hospital twice throughout the morning and they told us not to come in until my contractions were two to three minutes apart.
At about 3.30pm I had a contraction and my husband did the usual waited with his phone app til I told him it had stopped, after 1 minute he asked if it had stopped and it hadn't, then after 1min30sec it still hadn't. I then thought it had but within less than 10 seconds I could feel another one building! At this point I couldn't talk. I remember my husband in a panic on the phone to the hospital arguing with them saying I was coming in whether they liked it or not! I was saying I couldn't get in the car (we were an hours drive from the hospital) and then my Dad put his arm around my shoulders and said "Emma you need to get in the car, you need to get to the hospital, your baby is coming and James (my husband) is going to look after you both. I pulled myself together at this point, took a deep breath and Dad helped me into the car while my Mum and sisters grabbed our bags and bundled them in with us.
The journey to the hospital was awful, loads of speeds bumps which was oooo so painful and I was having very regular and strong contractions at one point it looked like a traffic jam was forming, but we made it in good time.
We arrived at the hospiatal at about 4.30pm ish, they checked me and said I was 4 - 5cm and they could see my baby's head. They made me sit in the triage waiting room for ten minutes - contracting before they took me to a ward. I got there just in time to rush to the loo. My contractions were so regular and with everyone I was going for a poo (sorry tmi) the midwife later told me this is cos my baby's head was descending and pushing on my bowel. My husband was sitting by the bed while I was stuck in the bathroom like that for about 30 - 40mins. The midwife came in and asked to check me. I had to lay on my back and the pain was unbearable. She said I was still 4 - 5cm, but as soon as she finished I said I needed to push, she said I didn't and it was too soon and I was begging her to check me again whilst she told me I needed pain relief and I was arguing that I didn't want it and she was telling me I wouldn't be able to cope if I didn't have it! (It was in my birth plan that I wanted to try and labour without pain relief) At that moment my waters broke which was a horrible feeling and the pain and need to push suddenly got far more intense. The midwife then said that there was meconium in my waters and I panicked (knowing what this meant) she then said "oh no it's only your blood" (I have cervical erosion and it was in my birth plan that midwives should be aware that I may bleed during labour because of this. I asked her over and over again if she was sure and she kept saying I think so, I kept saying what do you mean think so? She bought in a monitor for my baby's heartbeat and said it was fine. They then took me down to labour and delivery in a wheel chair. My contractions seemed to have no break at this point and I was feeling like I couldn't cope and started asking for an epidural even though I really didn't want this (I now know that I was going through transition and that this constant and intense pain would be short lived and I would need to push soon, if as time went on the midwives had listened to me and let me know this I feel I would have coped a lot better)
We got to the reception of L&D and the midwife stood there and said we're just waiting for a room! We waited almost five minutes with me in the corridor, groaning with contractions and waters leaking everywhere (although I do remember a lucid moment where they said we're going to delivery room four and I said "oooh four is my lucky number" lol!!
We got into the room and my husband rushed out to use the loo at which point the anaesthetist came in with the epidural and I changed my mind and said I don't want it so she left. I started screaming that I need to push and the midwife was saying no you don't you're only 4 - 5cm, it's your first baby, you've got a way to go yet. I was begging her to check me. My husband came back and they hooked me up to a monitor to monitor baby's heartbeat again. I could hear a very slow beep beep and I kept asking if my baby was ok. Another midwife came in and they were talking but I can't remember what they were saying. I remember my husband holding my hand and saying it's ok, they're just monitoring and looking scared. I was getting more and more frantic. They gave me gas and air and said this will give your baby more oxygen in it's blood so I started sucking on it like hell and felt so sick form it. I was so high I couldn't even talk! I hated it, but they kept telling me to use it for the oxygen in my blood. I could hear the blurry bleep of the monitor and then I waited for another bleep and it didn't come! They then hit the alarm and so many doctors and medics ran in at once. I don't know how many, but my husband said there was about 8. They told me to turn on my left side and then listened to the monitor again. I heard another bleep and then someone say "that's just the maternal beat"???? The doctor then said "your baby is very tired Emma" and I cried "How are we gonna get him out quickly" They turned me on my babck and checked me and said "she's fully" and the doctor said I was gonna push and we were gonna get baby out quick with "a bit of suction" So they put the ventouse on and I pushed. They told me to slow down and pant and I heard the doctors say something to each other (which my husband later said was that they could see the baby's cord over it's shoulder) so they cut me to help. I was to give a little push and then one more big push and at 6.56pm on Saturday 6th August 2012 I heard my husband chokingly say "it's a boy" with tears running down his face. Then I heard his beautiful cry! They put him straight on my chest for cuddles although my husband didn't get to cut his cord cos they whisked him over to the table to check him, but he was fine. Perfect in fact! APGAR score of 10/10 I was then handed him back and my husband immediately took a photo. I hadn't even delivered the placenta!
I was told later that his heart rate most likely dropped because I progressed so quickly, I personally think it was something to do with the fact that I was fully and needed to push but they were telling me not to.
About half an hour after his birth I went into shock and kept passing out so we didn't go up to postnatal ward until about midnight as I couldn't get up without fainting.
The thing I found traumatic was those moments where I knew his heart rate was dropping and it was crucial and I thought I wasn't able to deliver him yet. I was terrified that I wouldn't get him out in time. I was so scared I'd lose him. I saw my husbands face, he's a very strong man who doesn't often show emotion and he looked terrified, that shook me, but I focus on the fact that he's thriving and so happy. We're so truly blessed and I thank God every day for him.
If you've read to the end, well done. Sorry it was so long, just wanted to get in all of the details I remember.
Hopefully if I've done it properly there are some photos that I've loaded, the one in the hospital is seconds after he was born, before I'd delivered the placenta lol! The next is Oakley at three months and the next is Oakley and me at 5 months on mother day, last is Oakley, me and my husband
Oakley Dean Finnegan . . . . the light of my life x x x x
I woke at about 3am on Saturday 6th August 2012 with a "stomach ache" I thought I was going to have diarrhoea so I went to the toilet, had a bm and the pain went away. Five minutes later it was back again, this happened about 4 or 5 times until I finally realised I was having contractions
I didn't want to wake my husband in case it was a false alarm, but after about an hour and a half of continuous contractions every 5 mins (lasting about 50 seconds) I woke him. We were both really excited and he started timing them on an app he had on his phone. We stayed in bed and chatted in between them for a bit, then we got up and had a shower and called our parents and my sisters to tell them at about 7.30 am (My sister said I'd woken her from a dream that I was in labour and had given birth to a boy; at the time we didn't know that we were having a boy - weird)
My parents were already planning on coming over to our house that day to finish laying our bathroom floor so that it was ready before the baby was born (I was due to be induced on Sunday 7th October) So they decided to come over anyway and with it so did both my sisters and my sister's fiancé! It was surreal, Dad was going up and down the stairs cutting tiles and I was making everyone lunch and bouncing on my birthing ball. I remember Dad laughing because one minute he'd come downstairs and I'd be chatting and laughing away and the next time I'd be bent over the kitchen side breathing through a contraction. My contractions stayed at about 5 minutes apart and lasting about 1 minute. We called the hospital twice throughout the morning and they told us not to come in until my contractions were two to three minutes apart.
At about 3.30pm I had a contraction and my husband did the usual waited with his phone app til I told him it had stopped, after 1 minute he asked if it had stopped and it hadn't, then after 1min30sec it still hadn't. I then thought it had but within less than 10 seconds I could feel another one building! At this point I couldn't talk. I remember my husband in a panic on the phone to the hospital arguing with them saying I was coming in whether they liked it or not! I was saying I couldn't get in the car (we were an hours drive from the hospital) and then my Dad put his arm around my shoulders and said "Emma you need to get in the car, you need to get to the hospital, your baby is coming and James (my husband) is going to look after you both. I pulled myself together at this point, took a deep breath and Dad helped me into the car while my Mum and sisters grabbed our bags and bundled them in with us.
The journey to the hospital was awful, loads of speeds bumps which was oooo so painful and I was having very regular and strong contractions at one point it looked like a traffic jam was forming, but we made it in good time.
We arrived at the hospiatal at about 4.30pm ish, they checked me and said I was 4 - 5cm and they could see my baby's head. They made me sit in the triage waiting room for ten minutes - contracting before they took me to a ward. I got there just in time to rush to the loo. My contractions were so regular and with everyone I was going for a poo (sorry tmi) the midwife later told me this is cos my baby's head was descending and pushing on my bowel. My husband was sitting by the bed while I was stuck in the bathroom like that for about 30 - 40mins. The midwife came in and asked to check me. I had to lay on my back and the pain was unbearable. She said I was still 4 - 5cm, but as soon as she finished I said I needed to push, she said I didn't and it was too soon and I was begging her to check me again whilst she told me I needed pain relief and I was arguing that I didn't want it and she was telling me I wouldn't be able to cope if I didn't have it! (It was in my birth plan that I wanted to try and labour without pain relief) At that moment my waters broke which was a horrible feeling and the pain and need to push suddenly got far more intense. The midwife then said that there was meconium in my waters and I panicked (knowing what this meant) she then said "oh no it's only your blood" (I have cervical erosion and it was in my birth plan that midwives should be aware that I may bleed during labour because of this. I asked her over and over again if she was sure and she kept saying I think so, I kept saying what do you mean think so? She bought in a monitor for my baby's heartbeat and said it was fine. They then took me down to labour and delivery in a wheel chair. My contractions seemed to have no break at this point and I was feeling like I couldn't cope and started asking for an epidural even though I really didn't want this (I now know that I was going through transition and that this constant and intense pain would be short lived and I would need to push soon, if as time went on the midwives had listened to me and let me know this I feel I would have coped a lot better)
We got to the reception of L&D and the midwife stood there and said we're just waiting for a room! We waited almost five minutes with me in the corridor, groaning with contractions and waters leaking everywhere (although I do remember a lucid moment where they said we're going to delivery room four and I said "oooh four is my lucky number" lol!!
We got into the room and my husband rushed out to use the loo at which point the anaesthetist came in with the epidural and I changed my mind and said I don't want it so she left. I started screaming that I need to push and the midwife was saying no you don't you're only 4 - 5cm, it's your first baby, you've got a way to go yet. I was begging her to check me. My husband came back and they hooked me up to a monitor to monitor baby's heartbeat again. I could hear a very slow beep beep and I kept asking if my baby was ok. Another midwife came in and they were talking but I can't remember what they were saying. I remember my husband holding my hand and saying it's ok, they're just monitoring and looking scared. I was getting more and more frantic. They gave me gas and air and said this will give your baby more oxygen in it's blood so I started sucking on it like hell and felt so sick form it. I was so high I couldn't even talk! I hated it, but they kept telling me to use it for the oxygen in my blood. I could hear the blurry bleep of the monitor and then I waited for another bleep and it didn't come! They then hit the alarm and so many doctors and medics ran in at once. I don't know how many, but my husband said there was about 8. They told me to turn on my left side and then listened to the monitor again. I heard another bleep and then someone say "that's just the maternal beat"???? The doctor then said "your baby is very tired Emma" and I cried "How are we gonna get him out quickly" They turned me on my babck and checked me and said "she's fully" and the doctor said I was gonna push and we were gonna get baby out quick with "a bit of suction" So they put the ventouse on and I pushed. They told me to slow down and pant and I heard the doctors say something to each other (which my husband later said was that they could see the baby's cord over it's shoulder) so they cut me to help. I was to give a little push and then one more big push and at 6.56pm on Saturday 6th August 2012 I heard my husband chokingly say "it's a boy" with tears running down his face. Then I heard his beautiful cry! They put him straight on my chest for cuddles although my husband didn't get to cut his cord cos they whisked him over to the table to check him, but he was fine. Perfect in fact! APGAR score of 10/10 I was then handed him back and my husband immediately took a photo. I hadn't even delivered the placenta!
I was told later that his heart rate most likely dropped because I progressed so quickly, I personally think it was something to do with the fact that I was fully and needed to push but they were telling me not to.
About half an hour after his birth I went into shock and kept passing out so we didn't go up to postnatal ward until about midnight as I couldn't get up without fainting.
The thing I found traumatic was those moments where I knew his heart rate was dropping and it was crucial and I thought I wasn't able to deliver him yet. I was terrified that I wouldn't get him out in time. I was so scared I'd lose him. I saw my husbands face, he's a very strong man who doesn't often show emotion and he looked terrified, that shook me, but I focus on the fact that he's thriving and so happy. We're so truly blessed and I thank God every day for him.
If you've read to the end, well done. Sorry it was so long, just wanted to get in all of the details I remember.
Hopefully if I've done it properly there are some photos that I've loaded, the one in the hospital is seconds after he was born, before I'd delivered the placenta lol! The next is Oakley at three months and the next is Oakley and me at 5 months on mother day, last is Oakley, me and my husband
Oakley Dean Finnegan . . . . the light of my life x x x x
x x
