My baby girl is 4 a week today, 4! And I honestly don’t know where the time has gone, but I still remember EXACTLY how she entered this world, and like her two older brothers she kept me waiting by arriving late!
I recall feeling thoroughly fed up, bouncing on my ball for days on end trying to ensure she didn’t go from her current head down, engaged position to a transverse position before labour started. She was most definitely a wriggler and had me in and out of hospital more than once with her unstable lie. So as you can imagine I was desperate to have her here safe and sound, and was hoping like her brother Joseph that after a stretch and sweep from the Midwife she would arrive that very evening. Unfortunately this was not the case, so we had to resort to another method of bringing on labour…, and bingo, it worked!
Ten minutes after my husband had started snoring beside me, and I was getting into The Notebook on television, I heard the loudest pop of my life (pop your finger in the side of your mouth and flick on your cheek – THAT), followed by a feeling of wet. I quickly threw back the covers and woke Rob up, whilst I sat in a pool of amniotic fluid on the bed like a frog on a lily pad (luckily we had a mattress protector on otherwise it would have been sodden). My main concern at this time was if I had a cord prolapse, so I reach down, but couldn’t feel anything untoward. After the initial shock of being woken up Rob immediately rang the hospital who advised us to go straight into hospital due to my unstable lie. Next was a swift call to my mum to come and babysit the boys whilst Rob and I went off to meet our little girl. This time my hospital bag was ready and we were raring to go. It wasn’t until I got into the car that I actually started having contractions, but knowing how quickly Joseph came along I knew it wouldn’t be long before we would meet our daughter.
We told the Midwife when we arrived at the hospital my labour’s progress quickly, but after all the initial checks ensuring baby was indeed head down, and being strapped up to the foetal heart monitor she left Rob and I in the communal labour ward. This in itself was eventful. The couple beside us were having a heated discussion, from what we could gather this was their third false alarm that week, and to pass the time Rob was making me giggle, but his timing seemed to be every time I had a contraction and was making them more intense.
After an hour of listening to the couples domestics and enduring Robs cheesy jokes (I say enduring – I bloomin’ love them really) I had the urge to push so I sent Rob off to find our Midwife. He came back alone and we waited again, but this time the jokes weren’t helping and all I could think about were the contractions. Another walk along the corridor and Rob came back with our Midwife who suggested we move to the labour room. Phew! By this point I couldn’t walk so I had to be wheeled, and although I’d asked for a water birth I knew I wouldn’t make it into the birthing pool. I did try to tell the Midwife I needed to push and to stop filling the pool, but I genuinely think she was in disbelief that I’d be fully dilated.
So the pool was ready, and so was I, but once again I wouldn’t be having a water birth, so after a quick check from the Midwife and her indeed confirming I was 10 centimetres dilated I began to push. Precisely four hours after my waters had broken and three hours after I felt my first contraction.
Two contractions and pushes later and the Midwife was handing me our gorgeous baby girl at 3:15am weighing a healthy 9lbs, and the first thing Anabelle did was grab my glasses off my face denying me my first look. (I am so blind without my specs) Rob was swiftly by my side restoring my sight and I just remember staring at her and Rob in amazement, I literally had everything I have ever hoped for and felt like the luckiest lady in the world.
Four years on and I still look at her (and my whole family) in the same light, treasuring each and every day with them.
Who else has a funny moment to share about their labour?
Image by Little Beanies of Anabelle at 5 weeks old.
Well this had made we well up on a Tuesday morning… cannot believe she will be four next week!!!!
We had snow the day before Elsie was born and it was snowing the day Nancy was born! Those car journeys to the hospital were sooooooo slow… biting very hard onto a hand towel when I had a contraction was the only thing that eased the pain (which is quite funny when travelling down the A14 at a snail pace with other passengers looking at you wondering what in the world you are doing)
It’s so funny the things that stick in your mind about labour. I wonder what was going through the passers by minds – tee hee! Glad you found something to ease the pain during the car journey xxx
Ah this has made my morning. Im tickled by the ‘pop’ of your water’s breaking too! I have a little one coming mid January and I’m just starting to gather the essentials for the baby and find these Labour stories really helpful.
Ahh congratulations Sharon. They are all so different aren’t they, love reading about other peoples experiences. I hope yours goes swimmingly xxx
Eeeeee, I am so broody Lorna and this post does not help! Such a lovely story of how your beautiful little girl came in to the World x
Ahh thanks lovely. SO jealous of you home water birth, but I knew after our complications the best place for us was in the hospital. I must confess our room when we got there was AMAZING with mood lighting, ensuite, birthing pool. A far cry form the suites I delivered the boys in. Talking about it makes me broody too – bloomin’ LOVE labour! xxx
So lovely to look back on but do you ever feel a bit put out that if the midwives had, you know, actually listened to you and paid attention to your history you could have had the water birth you wanted? I think there’s a massive issue in medical professionals not listening to women and it has an impact even on largely positive birth stories. Really feel that everyone should be able to have a birth debrief where this kind of issue gets flagged up.
Rant over, steps off soapbox, gets emotional at thoughts of how fast time goes. Silvia starts preschool in the morning 😭😭😭😭😭
Massive yes to this idea! But I do think providing feedback to the hospital is always a good idea, positive or negative. Xx
Hi Lucy S I hope Silvia went into Pre-school ok this morning & you’re ok too xxx
At the time I was just so happy to have Anabelle here safe, sound and in my arms that I didn’t care how she came into this world, but I do think always wish I’d been able to have that water birth experience, it obviously just wasn’t meant to be xxx