Where has the time gone?

I was posting on a babyandbump today and realised Noah is 5 months today! Where has the time gone? It seems like only yesterday I was being rushed off to theatre for an emergency section, so I thought I would share my birth story I wrote just after he was born


Ok so a few vital stats to start us off.

Noah Sebastian was born on the 22nd October at 1.55 am, weighing a healthy 7lbs 9oz (so nothing like the humongous baby we thought he was!

Now grab a as this is long....... ive tried to be concise but I was pretty out of it so hopefully it's all in order.

On Monday 22nd I went into hospital at 8am for a planned early induction. I was 39 weeks but with BP problems, excess fluid and an expected big baby, oh and being on blood thinners. The planned induction was to reduce risks to mummy and baby.

So we go down to delivery suite and I was examined. The midwife said things looked favourable as cervix was soft and I was 1cm dilated, so gel was inserted and back off to the ward for things to happen. Nothing happened all day and they were too busy to repeat the gel.

So we get to tuesday and another gel is put in place as not much as happened to my cervix overnight. So another day sat on the ward. OH put the tens on me as I was contracting, but nothing too uncomfortable. By late evening the contractions although not strong were every 3 minutes so back down to delivery to be checked. My cervix was still only 1 1/2 cm but couldn't have another gel as I was contracting too much. There went back to the ward to see if either the contractions would stop or if they'd progress and i'd dilate. I spent quite a few hours uncomfortable and loving my tens machine. The contractions slowly stopped overnight. I was getting a little frustrated by now.

Wednesday came and I was taken to delivery again. No progression so we expected another gel but next minute the doctor is saying i've broken your waters. I was upset this wasn't discussed with us, my oh was livid that she didnt discuss anything with us. This now meant I was to stay on delivery and be given a drip to get things going.

So my labour 'starts' at 11.55 am and the drip brings the contractions fast and irregular, they keep altering the drip amount but after every couple of contractions they were doubling in intensity. After several hours of the contractions varying they started coming every minute. I was struggling with just the tens but the midwife said she didn't recommend anything else as pain relief yet. She said G&A was best after 7cm So i'm lying there contracting by the minute zapping myself with the boost on my tens thinking surely i'm dilating with all these contractions. I'm suffering from faint spells and vomiting but more drugs to settle them help. Baby seems ok but HB drops occasionally on some contractions.

So its time to examine me again and i'm hopeful as these contractions, boy I know the drip makes them intense but im sure this type of strong frequency was due to come in the later stages. When examined i've dilated only another 1/2 cm and people seem more concerned about how this is going. A consultant anaesthetist comes to see me and gives me drugs to try stop the vomiting and he advises for an epidural (the last thing I wanted) but at this point i'd been contracting almost all day at a hard pace and was getting exhausted The epi helps loads and I feel contractions but pain is almost gone.

2-3 hours pass by and i'm in agony (looks like the epi has failed) its rechecked and its slipped slightly but should still work. Its topped up with stronger drugs and i re-examined. Now im still only 3cms. Doctors come in to discuss possible options and as baby still seems happy they say they will leave me to contract until 11.30pm and reassess then. As the time approaches im hoping and wishing things will be progressing, the epi still not working so im on G&A. Then everything changed I develop chest pains as though im being crushed. The room is suddenly full of doctors, midwifes and anaesthetist. Im re-examined, ECG is done, more bloods. Its all a bit of a whirlwind. Then I hear the last thing I want to. I need a section now.

They had to phone my family as father had anaesthetic problems before and they wanted to cover all bases in case I needed more than the epi.

I'm rushed to theatre, and they start to top up the epi but its patchy. They give me most drugs they can but its not working. They get all the sheets up but I can feel the tweezers pinchiing me, They say I cant have a spinal as they dont think it will work. This means a general aneasetic. I was distraught, poor oh was taken out of theatre and im knocked out. We both knew I was bleeding easier due to the blood thinners i'd been on and the doctors had already been through the possible need for blood transfusions or worst case scenario a hysterectomy if they couldn't stop any bleeding.

I find out when im in recovery afterwards Noah was floppy when born and they had to get him breathing and when they had knocked me out they struggled to intubate me so for several minutes I managed to cause a bit of a flurry as they tried to get a tube down. (I now have it in all my notes if I need a general its to be done with a consultant anaesthetist

So poor oh has been through the wringer not knowing if we would both make it. Thankfully both mummy and baby are fine and even though it was beyond painful and scary. Noah is the most wonderful precious little man.



So here is a picture of Noah the day we brough him home from hospital and this second picture was taken yesterday.