My Birth Story
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It all happened on 29 Sept....
(abit long winded)
1-3am: kept hvg the urge to poo but tried at least 3-4 times and nothing came out. i was thinking "is this it?" but dismissed the thot as i faced a similar situation a few times before. but inside me sthg was ringing at the back of my mind that today might b the day. i asked my boy "baby, are you coming alrdy?"
3am+ to 5.30am: started hvg lower abdominal cramps that slowly spread to my entire tummy. did not time the contractions initially as it was bearable and did not occur to me this was contractions. as the contractions got more intense, i thot no harm to start timing. to my horror, it was exactly at 10 mins interval. each contraction lasted abt 15-20 secs and i used deep breathing to cope. My hb was suddenly awake as i stood in the dark, asking me wat happened. i said "dear, i think i am hvg contractions." he jotted wide awake
and helped me to time my contractions. sometimes it got erratic and was at 7 or 8 mins interval. i wanted to hold it till late morning to admit but decided against it in case the contractions jumped to 5 mins interval and it wld b too rushed.
5.30am: bathed, shampoo-ed. funnily the contractions were more bearable when i stood up (earlier contractions happened all in bed when i was lying down). i thot to myself "cld it b false labour? shld i go hospital?" in the end we decided to proceed.
7.30am: Reached TMC. wanted to eat breakfast b4 admitting to labour ward but nothing was avaialable until 8am. so i only drank a cup of milo.
worried i wld b too weak to last thru labour if i din eat.
my hb checked wif the nurse and they said i wld b offered breakfast aft the gynae checked me and okay-ed it. so my hb dun allow me to wait anymore. asked me to quickly admit in. had cold feet and had bowel movement b4 i admit,
7.45am: Reached labour ward. thot i wld b sent to the Observation Room 1st to check if i was really hvg real labour but nurse immed brought me to labour ward. freaking out...
nurse checked me and said i am 1cm dilated (as per wat my gynae checked the day b4) and gave me enema to clear bowels. she told me tt my gynae said i wasnt going home anymore until aft i had delivered. i almost flipped at this comment.
it was then i wondered shld i sms Jenny to ask her to update u gals but was v worried i might hv a long labour and IN CASE i wasnt really gg to deliver . (who am i kidding man?!
)
i feel like hell while waiting to hold my bowels. was inside the toilet for 15 mins and i was starting to regret being pregnant. i wondered to myself if i was able to pass thru these nonsence w/o gg crazy. i wanted to cry inside the toilet man! i wanted to surrender alrdy!!! nurse asked me if i wanted epidural but i said no since i cld still cope wif the contractions.
i was strapped to the CTG and it showed i was indeed hvg regular contractions at 10 mins interval. nurse said it was still considered mild. i was thinking, can it get any worse than this! GOODNESS!
8am+: gynae came in to check me. i knew she was gg to burst my water bag and i was v tensed when she performed cervix check. she cldnt check at all and ordered 4 me to take epidural so i cld relax.
9.15am: Administered epidural. This was another torture! The LA was painful and i really wanted to throw the towel in when they inject into me. but all was over soon. then i started to feel dizzy (side effects) and shivering almost immediately. i asked for another blanket to keep me warm. luckily the side effects were quite short-lived. at the same time i was put on drip to hasten my contractions.
10.45am: 2cm dilated. Gynae broke my water bag and i was allowed breakfast! YIPPIE!
she said earliest to deliver wld b ard 4+pm.
12.50pm: Nurse checked me and i was 7cm dilated. There was heavy show thru'out. Nurse said i was making gd progress. i was v happy to hv dilated fast.
baby's heartbeat was going strong & steady each time there was a contraction. i kept talking to my baby to Jia You and asked him to be strong. we will b seeing him very soon.
1.35pm: Nurse checked and i was 8cm dilated. However, though baby's head was low, he needed to come down in order to deliver. we kept talking to our baby and asked him to hurry "down" so we can see him soon.
i was hungry again. but i cldnt eat w/o gynae's instruction.
1.45pm: Gynae came and checked. I was 9cm dilated alrdy. However, baby's head still needed to come down more. we talked to him again and coaxed him. he was v copperative and i cld feel my tummy going lower and lower. we were v happy and kept encouraging him.
i was allowed porridge. YEAH! (but i regretted later for being such a glutton)
3.30pm: i started to vomit the food i had ate since i entered labour ward. felt real horrible and i was worried how i wld go thru the last stage of labour.
4.40pm: i was fully dilated. Midwife was teaching me how to push. there was no need to lower my epidural dosage as i felt some sensation and no pain. the midwife was v gd to teach and guide me how to breathe and push. she even brought me a mirror and showed me that my baby's head was alrdy there. (size of a 20 cent coin). when i pushed, i cld see more head emerging. it was v encouraging. however, due to the pushing and the way i was holding for the crowning position, i vomitted water that i had drank (since i alrdy vomitted all my food intake). Nurse asked me to take anti-vomitting jab as i had vomitted abt 4-5 times alrdy. i refused, since i am nearing the end alrdy.
5.15pm: Gynae came and within 3 or 4 pushes, my baby is out b4 i realised it!!! i was stunned when they handle this little baby to me (he was v clean and only had little blood stains) and i only knew it was my baby when i felt the body warmth. i wanted to tear but i ended up laughing so happily tt he was finally in my arms.
he weighs 3.1kg. i was so happy that he listened to me and weighed less than the estimated weight.