♡ Noah’s day of birth

The doctor told me to come back the next day and be induced. I was so naive, I thought it was an awesome idea!

I went back at 4am and they inserted a few tablets in to my uterus. Awesome. I think it was the worst for me, the “examinations”.

I waited for hours for something to happen. Nothing. I was stuck at like 2cm and no pain. I thought this induction business was great.

8am doctor comes again with more hands up uterus and more tablets. He left and a nurse arrived to administer an enema (!!!!!) Went back to lie down, feeling totally violated.

They turned me to my side, strapped me back to all the machines and…. then it started. Hard hard hard contractions. I thought something was wrong. It didn’t seem like a healthy pain, or the type of pain that I had expected.  I had about 7 seconds between contractions, then 5 seconds. They were lasting about a minute at a time with sometimes 2 seconds in-between. I was like OMG BABY IS COMING RIGHT NOW. I was crying, throwing up, my body went in to shock from pain too. Somewhere in there Graeme told me to breathe and I think I threw something at him. Really? Breathe? F*ck off. I can only describe the pain as extreme gas pains, to the millionth power. Well, that is how it was for me, but it is different for everyone. Being induced makes it far worse. Nobody told me this. Obviously. And not everyone reacts the same way to being induced. 

Then some nurse came to examine me again, and said I was still 2cm. Maybe 2.5cm at a push (I think she only added the .5 to make me feel better). Then the doctor came back and said it was time to rupture my membranes. Ummm, what my what? Hoping that my membranes had something to do with my nose. He fetches this long knitting needle with a big hook at the end. Something you think you would go spear-fishing with. Maybe you’d catch a small tiger shark with it.

I got told they were going to stick it in to my uterus, and break the amniotic sac, my waters. I was like yeah um, I don’t think that’s such a good idea… let’s talk this through…

Next thing I had nurses holding me down and they shut my bedroom door. They really were trying everything to get me dilating. By now half the hospital had seen my vagina and seen my throw up. Dignity meant nothing. Graeme was by now sitting in the corner of the room like a frightened animal.

Long story short, I screamed for an epidural. As soon as it kicked in, I was all smiles. When they said c-section I was like KIFF, let’s get this party going. Noah was born and at that point I didn’t care if he came out my bum. As long as he was out, and healthy.

A c-section is great. I would highly recommend it. I know that some women are all pioneer and want to put themselves through this, but there really is no point. Okay there is a point, I really wanted a natural birth and I really wanted all of this without medication. My pelvis is too narrow and no matter what they did, Noah wasn’t budging. In the old days, we had tooth extractions done without anesthethic. It is the same as me insisting on a root canal without pain meds because I want to ‘do this natural’. It’s dumb. Take the pain meds, and make the whole thing a happier experience for everyone involved. The baby comes out exactly the same, weather out your stomach or vagina… with epidural, or without… it’s all the same baby. On the flip side, Benjamin was a planned c-section and the dates were messed up. He came too early, and had to go straight to NICU because he wasn’t breathing that great. I missed out on the first six hours of his life and I was a mess with guilt. 

As soon as the epidural wore off, I got on my feet and asked them to remove all the tubes, catheters etc. I was walking around within two hours of having Noah. Sure it hurts the first time you get up, but that lasts all of 5 minutes. I would rather have 5 minutes of that pain, than 6 hours of labor. Thanks. I always tell new moms to stand up as soon as they can feel their legs, and to wear granny broekies to keep the stitches and pads in place. I felt completely normal, I felt great. I insisted on going home the next day, instead of staying 3 days. They let me,  and it was good to be home. It hurts for a few days after the c-section, but as long as you remember to take the pain meds, you won’t feel any of it. I feel like I have seen both sides of the spectrum here, and I really know what worked best for me and us as a family at the time. Sometimes I wish I had a natural natural birth, without being induced. I think it would have worked out differently.

The minute I saw Noah I fell in love. My heart pumped pure, raw custard-flavored love. I could never describe that feeling of utter joy when your baby is placed in your arms. We bonded and he drank almost immediately. I wanted him to have a little bath, and I was wheeled back to my room and waited for him and daddy to come meet me there. He was put in my arms again, all clean and warm and content and just like that, we were a family. 

What a HAPPY day in our hearts ♡