birth story/announcement :)
Elliott James Synnott
Born 7/1/2011 at 9:10pm
8lbs 15oz (4.060 kg)
53cm long
Follow the cut for my long winded (sorry lol) birth story and pics :)
I ended up with an induction due to the fact that I was overdue. I know that most people in this community dont see simply being overdue as a reason to induce but the fact that my little man came out with a very dried up placenta makes me incredibly thankful that I chose the induction over waiting another week. A woman I know recently lose her baby at 41 weeks gestation and I was absolutely petrified that the same thing might happen to me.. so I think my decision to induce was triggered by stress/anxiety more than anything but in the end I feel it was the right decision for us.
I got to be a part of a study/trial the hospital was doing where I had the induction gels applied and then got to head home for the night. It was a wonderful experience and I'm so glad I had the option to go home rather than spend the night in hospital alone.. I was able to go home, relax, walk the dogs, be with my partner/family etc. We went back in the morning and found that I'd not progressed much at all despite the fact that I'd had some pretty bad back pain overnight so a second set of gels was applied and I got to head home for the afternoon to relax again. When we went back to the hospital 5 hours later I was in quite a bit of pain and they found I'd dilated enough for my waters to be broken.
Breaking my waters did get things moving along a bit more and I felt pretty uncomfortable soon afterwards. I had really wanted to have an active labour standing and walking around, etc but by about 3pm I felt I was in too much pain to even attempt to stand anymore and moved with my partner and my mothers help from a chair into the bed. A midwife came in and checked me and said that I'd dilated to 3cm. At this point they decided to pop the drip in (about 5pm).. and things REALLY got going!
They never did do any more cervical checks after the one to say I'd got to 3cm but the midwife said I was progressing well and things were fine. After the drip was attached they took my CTG off and instead put a monitor onto the babies head. I was in tons of pain but he seemed bloody happy! His heartrate would only go up when I was having a contraction and I could feel him wiggling around.. he didn't seem to worried about things at all :p.
At some point the midwife talked to me about pain relief. I was vehemently against an epidural or pethidine injection but decided to have a go on the gas just to see if it would help. It did! It didn't really take the pain of contractions away at all but it made the moments between contractions close to painless which helped me ready myself and rest between them as they were coming thick and fast and were very painful! My contractions mostly just felt like terrible, tingling back pain.. it wasn't at all what I expected. I didn't feel anything in the front down low like I expected at all! Just really horrid kind of tightening back pain.. it's hard to describe. Towards the end I'd started SCREAMING through them as they got really intense.. which is something I thought I'd never do but I just couldn't keep my mouth shut! I also started saying crazy shit like "Help me, I cant do this anymore!" which upset my pansy of a boyfriend and made him cry.. I was in transition :P.
At some point I felt this incredible urge to push.. I know this is a bit gross, but it honestly felt like I really needed to take a poo LOL! I told the midwife my body wanted me to push and she was like "okay, go for it!" suddenly there were several other midwives in the room and I wondered if something was wrong.. but it was actually just the midwife handover was at 9:15 (my boy was born at 9:10) and some of the midwives had come in early lol! So.. I think I pushed for about 20 - 30 minutes? I could feel his head going in and out a fair bit but once I'd popped it out his body followed very quickly on the next contraction. I was vaguely aware of my boyfriend moving down while still holding my hand to watch his son come into the world which was an amazing moment for me because he said he would absolutely not watch it happen LOL! He said he got caught up in the moment and felt that he couldn't not see it happen and that he didn't even find it gross :)! Mum stayed by my side the entire time talking me through it which I'm incredibly greatful for! It felt so good to have her there.
I lay back in the bed panting my head off after he was delivered as I'd stupidly been holding my breath during contractions despite my mother screeching in my ear "BREATHE KARINA! OMG BREATHE!!!!111" lollllllllllll. She later informed me I was turning scary shades of blue and purple! Whoops :/.
I opened my eyes and saw one of the midwives lifting the baby up and over me. The spotlight was shining behind him and he looked like a wet, sticky, bloody angel LOL! A midwife ripped open the hideous nightgown I was wearing (lol) and plonked him straight on my chest while covering him with warmed blankets. He was so alert already! I was amazed. He was looking around the room and after a few moments his eyes came to settle right on me! Love at first sight, I couldn't believe this little person had come from inside me and was so happy to meet him after 9 long months. The midwives encouraged me to rub him to get him stimulated and shortly after he had his first little cry.. :). My boyfriend cut the cord and one of the student midwives came and spoke to me and said she was going to work on my placenta. I watched her gently manipulating it out with the cord and it seemed funny for some reason lol. Delivering the placenta felt almost.. pleasant? I know that's disturbing but it just felt so warm and nice haha!
And now comes the shit part.. everything was going great and I felt fantastic! Didn't really have any pain down there at all.. until they decided to check for tearing. The midwife warned me she was going to just have a check for tears.. WHITE HOT SEARING PAIN, FUCK! I lurched off the bed and gave a freaky sort of yelping noise. Suddenly all of the midwives in the room were crowded down that end of the bed.. I had torn quite badly both up toward my urethra and far down my perineum. Damnit! A surgeon was called in.. he came in, had a look, said he was very concerned about the amount of blood I was losing from the tear and wanted to get it stitched up ASAP. So I was given a local injectable anesthetic and he set to work.. they kept saying I wouldn't feel pain but that I'd only feel touching.. but this was so not the case! I've never felt such intense pain in all my life, it was just awful.. I was writhing and screaming and begging them to stop all with the baby still on my chest! I kept looking down and seeing him and felt terrible that our first moments together were like this. He was just chilling, though.. didn't seem too concerned at all lol. I think they got about 3 stitches in before the surgeon finally decided that I'd need to go to theatere to be stitched up. All the while this was going on I was being encouraged to suck down the gas.. things were getting a little trippy.
I felt so dissapointed in myself! It hadn't quite clicked in my mind what 'going to theatere' might entail.. but suddenly I became aware of the doctors talking about anesthesia. My heart absolutely lurched out of my chest.. no way in hell was I going to have a GA! Knowing my luck I'd never fucking wake up again. And then I had some kind of panic induced out of body experience quite possibly due to the gas which was still in my mouth.. I felt like I couldn't talk and all I could do was breathe and stare at my boyfriend who looked absolutely terrified. I could still hear them talking about a GA and I was absolutely losing my shit inside my head. I remember feeling like I was floating toward the ceiling and I shut my eyes and started.. I dont even know how to describe it, but it kind of felt like hyperventilating but I wasn't suffocating? It actually felt really nice.. then someone ripped the gas out of my mouth (literally, I had been holding onto it with my teeth and they had to YANK it out!) and my eyes opened to one of the midwives talking to me. Basically I was given two options.. epidural or general anesthesia and I had only a split second to make the decision because I was losing blood badly. For whatever reason, I managed to say that I'd take the epidural.. what a kick in the face. Managed to deliver him without an epidural and then still bloody well ended up with one! argh :(. They said I could take one person to theatere with me.. I got my Mum to stay with the baby (she just so happens to be a paediatric nurse lol!) and my boyfriend came with me to theatere.
So I went to theatere, had the epidural, got stitched up.. it wasn't so bad. I was terrified of an epidural and will never have one again but I completely understand why some women get them! you cant feel a damn thing when it goes in right.. amazing. It was very strange and not something I'd like to go through again.. but I understand why it would be good during childbirth lol! Getting stitched up was kind of funny.. the surgeon/nurses/anesthetists were all really funny and were cracking heaps of jokes. When the surgeon was done he said "There we go, she's good as new!" my charming boyfriend pipes up with a wink and says "I'll let you know in a couple of months, mate". I was like.. COME ON. I'M AWAKE HERE! lolllllllll
Obviously I had to spend the night in hospital.. when we arrived at the post natal ward my mother and boyfriend were given LITERALLY five minutes to say goodbye.. argh :(. It was a very upsetting night for me because due to the complete lack of sensation in my legs and also the drip in my arm I couldn't get up to attend to my baby :(. He was laying in the bassinette looking at me while screaming and my heart was breaking.. I'd push the bell a billion times for the midwives to come but sometimes it would take them 10 - 15 minutes and I hated that I couldn't just reach over and pick him up. If not for the drip I probably could have.. but I just didn't feel strong enough and was terrified I'd drop him :(. So I sang to him and stroked his little body while waiting for them to come and put him in my arms.. :(. I was able to breastfeed him pretty well straight away and although he initially had a bit of a slack sucking reflex he had the hang of it perfectly by day 3 and two weeks later we're still exclusively breast feeding and the little mite is gaining weight at a steady pace :).
Anyway, this is long enough so I think I'll leave it there. All in all my birthing experience was pretty good.. I'm glad I birthed mostly naturally and didn't end up with the cascade of intervention that most induction births seem to entail. Needing an epidural after the birth was kind of unfortunate but oh well.. at the very least my little guy was born unaffected!
Photos!
Taken a couple of hours after he was born :).
With his Daddy in hospital. :)
4 days old
6 days old
6 days old
7 days old
10 days old
10 days old
Taken yesterday, 13 days old! :)
Thankyou to all in this community who gave me help/advice! I really found it a huge comfort to be able to come here and get so many opinions and experiences. Even though I'm no longer pregnant I'll definitely stick around to offer my own experiences where applicable! I feel like I owe it to the community now lol.
Also, I'm keen for some new mummy friends as I dont know anyone who has a baby in real life.. so if you'd like to add me please feel free! just comment so that I know and can add you back :) :).
Born 7/1/2011 at 9:10pm
8lbs 15oz (4.060 kg)
53cm long
Follow the cut for my long winded (sorry lol) birth story and pics :)
I ended up with an induction due to the fact that I was overdue. I know that most people in this community dont see simply being overdue as a reason to induce but the fact that my little man came out with a very dried up placenta makes me incredibly thankful that I chose the induction over waiting another week. A woman I know recently lose her baby at 41 weeks gestation and I was absolutely petrified that the same thing might happen to me.. so I think my decision to induce was triggered by stress/anxiety more than anything but in the end I feel it was the right decision for us.
I got to be a part of a study/trial the hospital was doing where I had the induction gels applied and then got to head home for the night. It was a wonderful experience and I'm so glad I had the option to go home rather than spend the night in hospital alone.. I was able to go home, relax, walk the dogs, be with my partner/family etc. We went back in the morning and found that I'd not progressed much at all despite the fact that I'd had some pretty bad back pain overnight so a second set of gels was applied and I got to head home for the afternoon to relax again. When we went back to the hospital 5 hours later I was in quite a bit of pain and they found I'd dilated enough for my waters to be broken.
Breaking my waters did get things moving along a bit more and I felt pretty uncomfortable soon afterwards. I had really wanted to have an active labour standing and walking around, etc but by about 3pm I felt I was in too much pain to even attempt to stand anymore and moved with my partner and my mothers help from a chair into the bed. A midwife came in and checked me and said that I'd dilated to 3cm. At this point they decided to pop the drip in (about 5pm).. and things REALLY got going!
They never did do any more cervical checks after the one to say I'd got to 3cm but the midwife said I was progressing well and things were fine. After the drip was attached they took my CTG off and instead put a monitor onto the babies head. I was in tons of pain but he seemed bloody happy! His heartrate would only go up when I was having a contraction and I could feel him wiggling around.. he didn't seem to worried about things at all :p.
At some point the midwife talked to me about pain relief. I was vehemently against an epidural or pethidine injection but decided to have a go on the gas just to see if it would help. It did! It didn't really take the pain of contractions away at all but it made the moments between contractions close to painless which helped me ready myself and rest between them as they were coming thick and fast and were very painful! My contractions mostly just felt like terrible, tingling back pain.. it wasn't at all what I expected. I didn't feel anything in the front down low like I expected at all! Just really horrid kind of tightening back pain.. it's hard to describe. Towards the end I'd started SCREAMING through them as they got really intense.. which is something I thought I'd never do but I just couldn't keep my mouth shut! I also started saying crazy shit like "Help me, I cant do this anymore!" which upset my pansy of a boyfriend and made him cry.. I was in transition :P.
At some point I felt this incredible urge to push.. I know this is a bit gross, but it honestly felt like I really needed to take a poo LOL! I told the midwife my body wanted me to push and she was like "okay, go for it!" suddenly there were several other midwives in the room and I wondered if something was wrong.. but it was actually just the midwife handover was at 9:15 (my boy was born at 9:10) and some of the midwives had come in early lol! So.. I think I pushed for about 20 - 30 minutes? I could feel his head going in and out a fair bit but once I'd popped it out his body followed very quickly on the next contraction. I was vaguely aware of my boyfriend moving down while still holding my hand to watch his son come into the world which was an amazing moment for me because he said he would absolutely not watch it happen LOL! He said he got caught up in the moment and felt that he couldn't not see it happen and that he didn't even find it gross :)! Mum stayed by my side the entire time talking me through it which I'm incredibly greatful for! It felt so good to have her there.
I lay back in the bed panting my head off after he was delivered as I'd stupidly been holding my breath during contractions despite my mother screeching in my ear "BREATHE KARINA! OMG BREATHE!!!!111" lollllllllllll. She later informed me I was turning scary shades of blue and purple! Whoops :/.
I opened my eyes and saw one of the midwives lifting the baby up and over me. The spotlight was shining behind him and he looked like a wet, sticky, bloody angel LOL! A midwife ripped open the hideous nightgown I was wearing (lol) and plonked him straight on my chest while covering him with warmed blankets. He was so alert already! I was amazed. He was looking around the room and after a few moments his eyes came to settle right on me! Love at first sight, I couldn't believe this little person had come from inside me and was so happy to meet him after 9 long months. The midwives encouraged me to rub him to get him stimulated and shortly after he had his first little cry.. :). My boyfriend cut the cord and one of the student midwives came and spoke to me and said she was going to work on my placenta. I watched her gently manipulating it out with the cord and it seemed funny for some reason lol. Delivering the placenta felt almost.. pleasant? I know that's disturbing but it just felt so warm and nice haha!
And now comes the shit part.. everything was going great and I felt fantastic! Didn't really have any pain down there at all.. until they decided to check for tearing. The midwife warned me she was going to just have a check for tears.. WHITE HOT SEARING PAIN, FUCK! I lurched off the bed and gave a freaky sort of yelping noise. Suddenly all of the midwives in the room were crowded down that end of the bed.. I had torn quite badly both up toward my urethra and far down my perineum. Damnit! A surgeon was called in.. he came in, had a look, said he was very concerned about the amount of blood I was losing from the tear and wanted to get it stitched up ASAP. So I was given a local injectable anesthetic and he set to work.. they kept saying I wouldn't feel pain but that I'd only feel touching.. but this was so not the case! I've never felt such intense pain in all my life, it was just awful.. I was writhing and screaming and begging them to stop all with the baby still on my chest! I kept looking down and seeing him and felt terrible that our first moments together were like this. He was just chilling, though.. didn't seem too concerned at all lol. I think they got about 3 stitches in before the surgeon finally decided that I'd need to go to theatere to be stitched up. All the while this was going on I was being encouraged to suck down the gas.. things were getting a little trippy.
I felt so dissapointed in myself! It hadn't quite clicked in my mind what 'going to theatere' might entail.. but suddenly I became aware of the doctors talking about anesthesia. My heart absolutely lurched out of my chest.. no way in hell was I going to have a GA! Knowing my luck I'd never fucking wake up again. And then I had some kind of panic induced out of body experience quite possibly due to the gas which was still in my mouth.. I felt like I couldn't talk and all I could do was breathe and stare at my boyfriend who looked absolutely terrified. I could still hear them talking about a GA and I was absolutely losing my shit inside my head. I remember feeling like I was floating toward the ceiling and I shut my eyes and started.. I dont even know how to describe it, but it kind of felt like hyperventilating but I wasn't suffocating? It actually felt really nice.. then someone ripped the gas out of my mouth (literally, I had been holding onto it with my teeth and they had to YANK it out!) and my eyes opened to one of the midwives talking to me. Basically I was given two options.. epidural or general anesthesia and I had only a split second to make the decision because I was losing blood badly. For whatever reason, I managed to say that I'd take the epidural.. what a kick in the face. Managed to deliver him without an epidural and then still bloody well ended up with one! argh :(. They said I could take one person to theatere with me.. I got my Mum to stay with the baby (she just so happens to be a paediatric nurse lol!) and my boyfriend came with me to theatere.
So I went to theatere, had the epidural, got stitched up.. it wasn't so bad. I was terrified of an epidural and will never have one again but I completely understand why some women get them! you cant feel a damn thing when it goes in right.. amazing. It was very strange and not something I'd like to go through again.. but I understand why it would be good during childbirth lol! Getting stitched up was kind of funny.. the surgeon/nurses/anesthetists were all really funny and were cracking heaps of jokes. When the surgeon was done he said "There we go, she's good as new!" my charming boyfriend pipes up with a wink and says "I'll let you know in a couple of months, mate". I was like.. COME ON. I'M AWAKE HERE! lolllllllll
Obviously I had to spend the night in hospital.. when we arrived at the post natal ward my mother and boyfriend were given LITERALLY five minutes to say goodbye.. argh :(. It was a very upsetting night for me because due to the complete lack of sensation in my legs and also the drip in my arm I couldn't get up to attend to my baby :(. He was laying in the bassinette looking at me while screaming and my heart was breaking.. I'd push the bell a billion times for the midwives to come but sometimes it would take them 10 - 15 minutes and I hated that I couldn't just reach over and pick him up. If not for the drip I probably could have.. but I just didn't feel strong enough and was terrified I'd drop him :(. So I sang to him and stroked his little body while waiting for them to come and put him in my arms.. :(. I was able to breastfeed him pretty well straight away and although he initially had a bit of a slack sucking reflex he had the hang of it perfectly by day 3 and two weeks later we're still exclusively breast feeding and the little mite is gaining weight at a steady pace :).
Anyway, this is long enough so I think I'll leave it there. All in all my birthing experience was pretty good.. I'm glad I birthed mostly naturally and didn't end up with the cascade of intervention that most induction births seem to entail. Needing an epidural after the birth was kind of unfortunate but oh well.. at the very least my little guy was born unaffected!
Photos!
Taken a couple of hours after he was born :).
With his Daddy in hospital. :)
4 days old
6 days old
6 days old
7 days old
10 days old
10 days old
Taken yesterday, 13 days old! :)
Thankyou to all in this community who gave me help/advice! I really found it a huge comfort to be able to come here and get so many opinions and experiences. Even though I'm no longer pregnant I'll definitely stick around to offer my own experiences where applicable! I feel like I owe it to the community now lol.
Also, I'm keen for some new mummy friends as I dont know anyone who has a baby in real life.. so if you'd like to add me please feel free! just comment so that I know and can add you back :) :).