Our baby arrived on the 27th of August 2021 at 10.37, weighing 7lb 8oz. We called her Lilibeth Elan Aurora Lawton. Me (Jen) and her Dad (Dev) have been together for just over two years and officially living together for just over one.
Oh yeah, we also have a cat called Cosette (who is pretty much INSANE, but totally awesome) and a Degu called Adam West (who is just as awesome, but mostly pretty chilled).
We all live in a house in Cwmcarn (a tiny town in South Wales) like a proper grown up family. Who am I kidding? I mean, the house, the town and the family parts are true, but we are not grown ups. Okay so we are 24 (Dev) and 25 (Me), so technically we are, but we like to think we are still big kids at heart.
So anyway, back to our baby girl.
I was 5 days overdue and more than thoroughly fed up. The summer had brought some pretty hot days and I had been suffering from PGP (where the ligaments holding the pelvic joints loosen too much) since 20 weeks pregnant. I was not a happy bunny.
People kept telling me ' You'll know when you're in labour!' And I'll admit, that when it finally happened, I did know. The only problem was that up until that point I had quite a few times over a three week period that I was pretty sure I was as well. I had Braxton Hicks that were painful and would get stronger and closer together over the course of a day or so, only to stop suddenly and then come back a few hours or even a day later. It was frustrating and extremely tiring to say the least.
But it did happen eventually, and sooner than it does for some women, which I suppose I should be thankful for. As it happened, the night before I had Lily, Dev and I stayed up until 3am watching cooking programs, as we had been making the most of being able to stay up and sleep in. So off we went, and a little while later I was dozing when I felt the oddest sensation in the bottom of my bump.
You know when you place a finger in your mouth, behind your cheek, then ping it out so it makes a popping sound. Imagine that as a feeling, just above your pubic bone, that's what i felt. I immediately thought that my waters had broken, but there was no water yet. I lay there for a second, trying to figure out what would be the best thing to do so as not to saturate our bed (we have a memory foam mattress topper, so, not machine washable). I shifted ever so slightly and felt a gush, so I prodded Dev and said 'love, I think my water just broke'. His response? 'Oh shit,' before jumping out of bed, turning the light on and grabbing me a towel.
I climbed out of bed and found myself standing in a puddle ( boy am I thankful that we have laminate!) But I couldn't help but get excited, it had finally started! We went downstairs and Dev made me a coffee (figured I'd need it!) as I rang my mother and the hospital, who wanted me to go in and be checked. I was having contractions, but nothing too bad, so I drank my coffee, got dressed and packed a few last minute things, and then a little while later we were on our way.
When we arrived at the hospital, it was about 8 am, a midwife hooked me up to a monitor for a while and said I was definitely having contractions.
Happy faces!
She then checked me and confirmed that my waters had gone, but said I was still only at 1cm (that's what I was when my Consultant checked me the week before). So she gave me some co-codamol and said to labour at home for a while.
When we arrived back home, Dev decided to have a nap while I jumped in a nice hot bath and my mother did some dishes. The bath did help, so I chilled out in there, just trying to relax. After a while, the contractions were getting quite painful, so we decided to head back.
We got there at about midday (the midwife actually said she was surprised I wasn't back sooner), I was checked again, and was told I was at 3 but she had stretched me to a 4. So officially in active labour and transferred to the ward!
As soon as I got on the ward, they offered me some gas and air, which I gladly accepted, then they left to get something. Sadly, the bed was at a stupidly high level of about 4ft off the floor. Being only 5'3'', and 9 months pregnant, there was no possible way for me to climb on, so I settled for leaning against it and frantically puffing on the gas and air. I apparently was slightly overzealous with the g&a and had to yell 'Dev, a bowl,' which I promptly vomited in.
I had an iv inserted and they said they'd check me again at 4pm, so I tried to relax through the contractions, listen to the music we brought with us (a mix of Glee, Musicals, Disney and Tim Minchin. Weird mix, I know, but hey, I was the one in labour!) and drink my raspberry Lucozade. All whilst gladly making full use of the gas and air (hence the slightly glazed look).
This was when things got pretty uncomfortable.
The pain wasn't too bad, uncomfortable? Yes, but not unbearable. What I was having trouble coping with, was the pressure. You know when you are throwing up, and your stomach tenses, and there's nothing you can do but vomit, violently? Imagine that, but down, instead of up. I couldn't control it, I couldn't stop bearing down.
The problem was, it was starting to effect the baby's heart rate.
I got checked, and was at 6cm. I wasn't progressing as quickly as they would have liked, so they wanted to put me on a hormone drip to speed things up a bit. This made me freak out a little. I was struggling so much to cope with the pressure already, I honestly didn't think I would be able to manage if the contractions got stronger and more intense than they already were.
The midwife suggested I get an epidural and although I was initially against it, I eventually agreed it was for the best.
Dev was awesome.
When I started to struggle, he kept on encouraging me, and telling me how well I was doing. Then, when they suggested I get an epidural and I got upset because I felt like I was giving up, like I should be able to do it without one. He told me how wonderful I was, and that I wasn't giving up, I was doing what was best for the baby.
They promised not to start the hormones until the epidural was in place, so the anaesthesiologist arrived and began setting up. Then when she was ready I leaned against Dev, and he helped keep me calm and stationary (I had to stay completely still whilst they inserted the needle).
After she finished I lay back and waited for it to kick in. She left and Dev turned to me and said 'was it just me or did she have PERFECT skin?' I chuckled, but agreed (it was smooth, flawless and glowing). She came back a little while later and checked if it was spreading evenly with some weird cold spray that she used on my legs and stomach. It wasn't fully working on my left side so she told me to lie on my left for a bit to see if that helped. It did, and I was finally able to completely relax.
My mother and Dev decided to go and grab something to eat, but instead of eating it in the canteen, Dev came back to the room as he said he didn't like leaving me.
The rest of the evening was pretty uneventful, we chatted, listened to music and joked with the midwife. Every now and then, I'd press the magic button that topped up my epidural. Then at 9pm I was checked again.
I was fully dilated.
The midwife was surprised, so were we. I decided I loved my epidural. She wanted me to wait an hour before pushing, to let the baby descend. So we chilled out some more, and waited.
Then it was time to push.
It was not at all what I had expected.
Women giving birth, they screamed, right? They clutched their partners hands and bellowed that this was THEIR fault, that they were NEVER having kids again, that they couldn't do it!
Nope, the epidural stopped all that. Even Dev thought it was weird. He said he'd expected me to practically break his fingers, and that he'd have to coach and encourage me through the pain. He said he felt kinda obsolete, bless him.
Even with the epidural, I could still feel my stomach tightening, which helped as it let me know when I was having a contraction, and therefore, when to push.
So, I pushed.
It only took about half an hour, and then she was out:
(Beware, slightly gooey picture!)
This picture was taken at 10.38pm, she was 1 minute old.
I got stitched up, cuddled the baby for a bit, had a shower and then we were taken to the ward.We got let home the next afternoon.
All in all, a very positive experience!
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