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I am forever grateful to have had Billi as my doula during the birth of
my son; she is a very warm and gentle woman and I hung on to every word
she said throughout the labour. I knew I could count on her. And thank
you Nikki, founder of ParentLink and Dr Paul Tseng of TLC for the
special arrangement for me to have my baby at Thomson Medical Centre.
Many weeks before the EDD [estimated due date] I started to get really
anxious. Sometimes I would pray for Baby D to
come out earlier so that I wouldn't have to carry that big heavy tum-tum
anymore. I gained an extra 17kgs (heavy! about 40lbs) so moving around
got difficult. As the EDD drew nearer, I told my unborn baby everyday
that I couldn't wait to hold him in my arms. The few days before Baby
D was born, I ate and slept most of the time at home and in
between I thought and worried about how much childbirth was gonna hurt.
I started to feel Braxton Hicks many days before the labour. It was just
the tightening of my tummy and they were painless. The more obvious
signs of labour came 2 days after the EDD. Here's what I actually wrote
in my little note book in-between contractions:
Friday Every min since 10:30pm
Saturday afternoon & night every 15min
9pm, 10:30pm
Sunday--12:15am
12:30am
12:46am
12:59am
01:08am
1:15am --sleep
3:15am -- woke up. slight backache. Thought I needed to go to bathroom.
4:29am -- same feeling.
4:30am -- water, pink liquid...whatever, leaked (could it be the water
bag? ...must be broken, oops!) Call Billi!
4:48am Backache comes and goes.
4:50 Pelvic contractions?? not sure...oops!
4:55 Billi told me to eat something. Too anxious to eat, so I drank some
milk.
5:00 - 5:02 Water broke, leaking, blood.
Backache, pelvis tightening.
5:14 backache 1min
5:15 went potty
5:19 backache 1min
5:24 backache 1min like gravity pulling pelvis.
5:26 1 min backache
5:29 1min
5:32 1 min
5:36 2mins
5:39 1min
5:42 1min
5:45 potty
5:50 backache
5:52, 5:55, 5:58, 6:01
6:03, 6:06, 6:08, 6:10. 6:13
6:30 shower didn't help ease pain.
6:32 every 2 mins
I had heard too many women's labour stories. They told me their first
excruciating labours and the number of painful hours they had to go
through before their babies came out. Misled by those hearsays I really
thought that first labours are always (suppose to be) long, I thought I
didn't have to get to the hospital so soon. I wasn't even sure that the
backaches were actually contractions, even though they were already 2
minutes apart! I only knew my lower back really hurt, it felt like I had
just broken my back. I asked Billi, "Do we really have to go to hospital
now? Don't we have to wait some more?" Then the contractions got so bad,
I could barely walk or talk to Billi anymore. That was when I thought I
had better get to the hospital fast! (I learnt
in childbirth classes that backache is one of the labour signs and Nikki
reminded me of that too, but I just couldn't tell THAT was IT!
Lesson to learn here: listen to your doula :-)
When Billi and I arrived at the hospital everything went fast forward! I
didn't realize I was already involuntarily pushing. The nurses only had
to do one check on the cervix and it was 8cm dilated! Now contractions
were 1 minute apart, it got scary, I thought I was gonna pass out or
die, I was very very scared! I began to ask for "Pain relief... pain...
re..lief..." But all 3 women in there confirmed it was too late to use
any because the baby is coming out very soon. I thought I really needed
a shot of pethidine badly. At that time my breathing sounded like a
cow's moo I guess and very loud. Umm, by the way, I had it taped
he-he-hee, including Baby D's first cry. Thanks to Billi :-)
Shortly Dr Tseng arrived and checked the cervix. It was fully dilated.
He said I could start pushing and got me on stirrups.
I pushed the first time, it wasn't successful (not many mothers did it
with just one push I would guess!). The second time I pushed I was
half-hearted. I didn't think I had enough energy to go through the labour
anymore. I thought I couldn't make it. I wanted to give up. Then they
said baby's heartbeat slowed down! I thought I had better do it or my
baby might suffer!! I didn't want anything bad to happen to my baby.
Billi told me this push should do it because I wouldn't want the doctor
to use the forceps! I thought, "Oh no, no forceps, no!" The third push I
gave my best. One of the nurses named Grace told me to 'push the pain
away', man! it really helped A LOT! I successfully pushed the pain away!
Baby D came out "wah-wah" and then there was no more pain :-)! It's
over! It's over! Yay! Could almost imagine a huge applause, man :-)
he-he-he-hee.
I had a rather short labour, thank God, I suffered only 3 short hours of
backache before my son was finally born. Dr Tseng and the nurses Grace
and Bebe did a GREAT job! And Billi was there with me for reassurance,
moral support and she was gently holding my hand throughout the labour -
wow, I can never ever forget that! It all went really well I think.
Everything went according to my birth plan; which included avoiding an
episiotomy and all pain relief with side effects. I inhaled Entonox, but
it didn't really help ease the pain, it had no effect on me I would say.
And thank God again, I was courageous enough to opt out epidural.
If you are expecting your first child, you could be as anxious about the
birth as I was. It helps a lot to read and discuss with your
obstetrician on all the options available for labour-pain relief provided
in the hospital. Attending a prenatal class is really beneficial too. It
will be interesting to take a tour around the labour ward in the hospital
of your choice, be familiar with the surroundings and meet the 'birthday
party' (i.e. people like the obstetrician, midwives and anaesthetist).
Some women still choose to skip the pre-natal classes, thinking that
those breathing exercises are not gonna help during the childbirth,
well, I half agree. Yeah, you might not remember how to breathe properly
when the contraction starts to distract you from everything else. It's
gonna hurt SO MUCH that you might not even remember your own name at
that moment. But it is always good to learn more, it pays. All I wanted
to do was to learn & find out more (advice from the professionals are
always better) even knowing that it's impossible to be totally prepared
mentally, I will have less guilt if things go wrong :-p! Preparing for
the birth of my child gave me tremendous joy and sense of pride, it's a
special and wonderful and beautiful feeling of a mother's pride. And
when I first saw my son, I know I'm gonna be a proud mom for a while
:-)!
Every birth is different and special to a mother. I had a short and
uncomplicated labour and I even had a caring doula (Billi) by my side
during the labour (holding my hand!). Plus, a very good doctor and nurses
team (Dr Tseng, nurses Grace & Bebe) was really a great blessing too.
And also, Nikki helped me with drawing up my birth plan! All of these
made me feel really truly special :-)
That's why I'm happy to share all my joy of being a mother with all of
you :-)
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