Sunday 26 January 2014

Sticky's arrival

Trying to find the energy and time to sit down and post has continued to illude me, but in my defense, I only got home from hospital yesterday so I have been a little busy! But, thanks to the joy of modern technology, I can make the most of feeding time and catch up. So, here's how it all unfolded!
Last Sunday, I woke up at 1am needing to pee - nothing out of the ordinary there. I then needed to go again at 3am which was a little strange but I went straight back to sleep. At 5 am I went to the toilet and it felt like I couldn't stop peeing. After a while, I went back to bed but as soon as I lay down I felt like a gush of pee was going to come out so jumped straight back onto the toilet. After 15 mins, I went back to bed. Sure enough, the minute I laid down the gushing started.

"Is that my waters breaking?" I asked my husband. "How am I meant to know?" he said. It was either my waters breaking or I had peed myself. I decided to call the hospital but had a shower first to see if it would stop. Liquid continued to trickle so I called and they told me to come in. My husband packed the rest of my hospital bag while I dried my hair. If I was going into labour, I wanted to make sure I had a decent shower and my hair was done because it would be 24 hours before I'd get another one.

We drove to hospital and I felt quite calm. I didn't know what was happening and didn't have any inklings one way or the other. As soon as we arrived, I was hooked up with monitors for the baby's heartbeat and contractions. The nurse did a test to confirm if my waters had broken which was rather unpleasant - it involved a large cotton bud being stuck up inside me and swirled around for a minute. It came back positive - Sticky was on her way.

They called the obstetrician on call who arrived about 45 minutes later. She did an internal exam to check my cervix was closed and it was - 0cm dilated. The obstetrician said she would need to call the anesthetist and pediatrician on call and we should go to surgery in about 30 minutes. That's when it hit me - Sticky was coming today and in the next hour or so. I burst into tears. 

I was put into a hospital gown and pressure stockings and then sat and waited. I was quickly   taken to my room and stared unpacking while my husband got a coffee. Neither of us had had breakfast or coffee and I think he needed one to calm down. He was so excited she was coming - I was still in shock.

By the time he came back I was in my bed, ready to go into surgery. Once he returned he skulled his coffee and away we went. I was still feeling relatively calm but could feel it slipping away the closer we got.

I was wheeled into a waiting room where the anesthetist started explaining the procedure to me. He happened to ask if I had had any cold sores to which I answered yes. This meant no morphine for me as it can bring on cold sores and that's not safe for the baby. I would need a different pain management approach and felt jipped I was missing out on the good stuff.

My husband arrived in his scrubs with a huge smile on his face. Reality crashed into me and   I started crying. Finally, after such a long journey, we were about to meet our daughter. I took some deep breaths and in we went.

The procedure was weird but went smoothly. It's such a strange sensation to feel someone poking, prodding and pushing on your belly. It seems like it happened in slow motion but it went quickly. We had arrived at the hospital at 7:30am and Sticky was born at 11:01am. As soon as they pulled her out, and I heard her scream, I broke down and sobbed. She was finally here and she was safe. The relief was instant and over whelming. 

My husband cut the cord and she was quickly taken to the special care unit. She was classified as being in respiratory distress which just meant she needed her lungs cleared. She was whisked away and my husband went with her. I remained for the operation to be completed so I just kept on crying. 

An hour later I was back in my room where my husband was waiting for me. Sticky was bought back and put on my chest. I have a very vague recollection of the rest of the day due to exhaustion, hormones and drugs. But I do remember being overjoyed when they told me she was discharged from special care and could stay in my room. Our new life as a family had officially begun! 

1 comment:

  1. After so long waiting what a blessing Sicky's home and in your arms! I just love the sheer joy on you and Jeff's faces in the pictures. Congratulations and I'm so happy she didn't have to stay in the hospital or nursery very long. Enjoy the moment I can't believe it's been a week already! Happy one week bday!!!!

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