At around 10pm Saturday night (May 18) I started getting cramps that felt like period cramps. From the start they were less than 10mins apart which made me believe (or want to believe) that they weren't contractions. Going to those maternity classes made me think that contractions started with them being wiiiddeee apart and they said to call the hospital when they started coming every 10mins, so the fact that mine were already less than 10mins or so apart from the get-go made me think that they weren't contractions. I should have called the hospital then but instead I messaged my sister and told her that my stomach was cramping up and that I would let her know if it became worse. Mum just happened to be away on a business trip for that ONE night. My sis decided she would stay with me for the night just in case it was the real thing. I tried to get some sleep and managed to squeeze in about an hour or so all in all, fading in and out of pain, and going back and forth from the bathroom.
Come 4am my sister woke up to me using the breathing technique I learned in the maternity class and said I should call the hospital. I didn't even realize I was breathing that loud but I guess I was. I called the hospital and told them my situation and the fact that I haven't had a "bloody show" (the release of the mucus plug that's supposed to happen up to a week before delivery where you get mucus-like excretions mixed with blood. It's supposed to be one of the signs that labor is going to happen within a week or so) and that my water hasn't broken yet but I was getting lower abdominal pain less than 10mins apart and wasn't quite sure whether they were contractions or not. The hospital told me to bring my hospital bag and make my way down so they can check and make sure.
515am my sister and I got to the hospital and the head midwife was on duty so I was super lucky and she saw that I was about 3cm dilated. She told me all the hospital beds were taken so I was sent directly to the delivery room where I was to stay until a bed opened up in the morning. By this time my contractions were pretty strong and every time it came I couldn't move and my breathing would get all shallow. The midwife put on a belt around my belly to monitor Natalie's heart rate and my contractions.
At 546am my water broke. I was just lying on my side when all of a sudden a whole lot of warm liquid just spilled out onto my pants. I was like "omg omgomg my water just broke" to my sister. We pushed the nurse-call button and told the midwife who came in straight away. They changed me into a gown and by this time my contractions were coming every 2mins or so and they were extremely intense. The midwife would help me do my breathing technique while my sister rubbed my back every and boy did the contractions HURT!!!!! It's literally a "contracting" pain where the uterus is pushing the baby down and all the muscles in your abdomen also contract. Your lower back also starts to hurt as the baby moves further down and once your water breaks the contractions get even more intense. I couldn't even talk anymore at this stage and they put an oxygen mask on me. The midwife called the doctors (one male, one female) and they came in to check on Natalie's heart rate and on how much I was dilated. How do they check, you ask?? They put me on my back when I don't have contractions and stick their hand up there. But considering my contractions were coming less than 2mins at this point I sometimes started getting contractions while their hands were up there checking and not only did it hurt like a bitch but it was uncomfortable as hell!!!!
An hour or so after my water broke my uterus and muscles started pushing down on its own and there I was trying NOT to push because I wasn't fully dilated yet (I was about 8cm dilated) and the midwife was telling me I couldn't push just yet. So there I was trying to breathe all the pain out but then couldn't help but push on a few occasions which made me sound like a beast giving birth. This was truly the hardest part, not being able to push when every cell in my body was trying to!! And don't forget about the pain accompanying every contraction. All this time the docs were keeping an eye on Natalie and still sticking their hand inside to check whether I was finally 10cm dilated or not.
Natalie's heart rate seemed to drop quite a bit every time I got contractions which worried the doctors quite a bit. Even though I was trying to breathe in as much oxygen as I could and breathe slow, it didn't seem to be quite enough. At one point one of the docs said that they might have to give me emergency C-section depending on how I went. I kept asking the doctor after they would stick their hand in me whether I could start pushing yet and when they finally gave me the green light, BOY DID I PUSH LIKE A MANIAC!!! I felt like my head was going to explode and my surroundings became all blurry and splotchy because of how hard I was pushing. But let me tell you, the pain wasn't half as bad once I started pushing. In fact I was trying not to lose consciousness from pushing so hard that I barely felt the contraction pain and even when they snipped me down there. Yes, I was snipped...unfortunately.....
At 756am May 19, Sunday, at 38 weeks and 1 day, Natalie finally joined us in this world :D I was so relieved to hear her cry but they took her next door straight away and put her in an incubator. I only saw her for about 10sec before they took her down to pediatrics where they could keep an eye on her and make sure she was okay. She was so pale, not only because she's half white but I think also because she didn't get enough oxygen and looked so weak. It truly broke my heart but at that moment in time I was exhausted myself. My body couldn't keep up with the quick delivery (even though to me it felt like it lasted TOO long) from when my water broke until Natalie was born that my uterus didn't start shrinking back on its own so they had to give me drips for that..and my placenta didn't dislodge from my uterus either so the docs had to take turns shoving their fist up there and literally scoop it out with their hands while massaging stomach from the outside at the same time. I tell you now.. Afterbirth for me was NO easy task. It was so damn uncomfortable and painful at times. I lost over 1L of blood which is heaps and they also had to stitch me back up.
I stayed in the delivery room until after lunch and assumed my sister had gone home but when they finally took me to my hospital bed my sis came in and boy was I relieved to see her face. She truly made me feel at ease and I couldn't thank her enough for being by my side and showing me the ropes. I wish Oli could have been there to see just how much pain I was in and all the hard work I went through to give birth so that he doesn't just take it lightly when I tell him I don't want to have another baby for at least another 2 years. I know a lot of mothers say they forget the pain once they see their baby's face for the first time, but 2 weeks down the road I still remember everything!!! Maybe in 2 years time the memory would have faded and I will be ready to go through it again lol ;)
The photo here is of Natalie only a couple of hours after she was born when she was taken down to pediatrics. One of the doctors was kind enough to take a few photos of her. She's looking a bit pale but healthy otherwise, thank god :D