Today marks the day when New Bubby was supposed to be born. It was supposed to be calm and controlled, there were to be no surprises, no contractions and no labour involved and hubby was supposed to be by my side. Oh, how things turned out differently.
The night of Saturday, June 15, I barely slept from the strong semi regular Braxton Hicks I had all night. They continued throughout Sunday but I had the same experience with Bubby and that went on for a week before I was eventually induced. The contractions were mild, didn't intensify but were fairly regular. I had to breath deeply through the contractions but I still believed they were Braxton Hicks. Hubby was to fly out to Brisbane that afternoon for one last week interstate. He asked me if I was going to give birth that night and I said don't be silly I probably have a few days so make sure he answers his phone when I call and be on the first plane back. My parents came for a visit that day and I had to ask them to stay the night because I planned on going to the hospital in the morning to be monitored and to re-assess the date for our scheduled C-section and I wasn't sure if I'm still able to drive Bubby to daycare and then myself to hospital.
After I read Bubby his bedtime stories, which was the only 15 minutes throughout that day that I didn't have contractions, I decided they must be easing and if I have to read out loud all night to stop the Braxton Hicks then I would. By 8.30 after spending sometime online researching car seats and Ergobaby carriers, I decided to have an early night. The Braxton Hicks have returned and were noticeably stronger. I layed in bed reciting and singing nursery rhymes in the hope that they will stop again but they were definitely stronger. I decided not to wait until the morning to get monitored so I phoned the hospital described the contractions to the midwife and was told to come to hospital. I asked at what point I should go in she said "immediately". Hmm, at this point I still thought that I had Braxton Hicks but was progressing much quickly than with Bubby. I called hubby (who has literally just landed) to warn him that the C-sec might be moved up to Monday or Tuesday and he should probably look at getting into the next available flight back.
By the time we were ready to go I could no longer walk through the 'bloody strong Braxton Hicks". The ride to the hospital was unbearable and it only took 10 minutes. By the time I was hooked up to the machine I couldn't talk through the contractions anymore. I was asked to put on a hospital gown. I could barely move to put it on. I was found to be 3 cm dilated and I thought that gives me at least a day based on my experience with Bubby. All this time time I still thought it was pre-labour. I called hubby to tell him I'll hold off as long as I can, still believing hubby can somehow make it. I figured, the first plane lands at 7.30, he can be here by 8, I can do it. I asked the midwife if she thought my husband will make it back in time she told me "Love, it's going to happen tonight." Throughout my ordeal that night I'm proud to say that was the one and only time that I swore.
Everyone who needed to be called in was called in. The anaesthetist came first, disappointingly still not in scrubs and with no pain relief of any sort in hand. She asked lots of questions which felt like forever as I had to keep focusing on my breathing. I asked when she can give me the drugs she said when the theatre is set up. Would I like some gas in the meantime? Hell, yes. Before she could even stand up the most intense (for that part of the night, at least) contraction took over my body with the enormous urge to push. I told the anaesthetist who called the midwife and I was found to be 7 cm dilated. Any hope I had that the epidural will hopefully slow things down so I can negotiate with my obstetrician about holding off the C-sec as long as we can so hubby has half a chance to make it there in the morning went out the window. The gas was forgotten, my obstetrician arrived and kept saying she knows this is not how I wanted things to happen and all I could think of was where is my epidural!
After what seemed like forever, they all left to get scrubbed, I was left all alone in the room. I called hubby to tell him that the C-sec was happening in about 25 minutes. I think he was stunned. I asked my dad in who I pretty much demanded to be quiet but hold my hand. I just felt like I needed to hold someone's hand and it sort of helped. I wasn't squeezing it to death or screaming like a banshee like you see in the movies. I was surprisingly very quiet, just breathing through and occasionally letting out a quiet moan as I breathed out.
Finally, everyone was back and I was wheeled out. I told my dad to go home and I'll call when it's done. You know, like it's a routine visit to the dentist. Someone asked if I wanted my dad to go into theatre with me I said no, I want hubby to be the first to see the baby. So off we went. By this time the contractions were very close together I wasn't even timing anymore. It took forever to get the needle in my spine as we had to wait for breaks in between contractions. By this stage, every contraction came with the urge to push. At this point all the wise words of my mothers' group kept entering my mind about what they'd do differently the second time around. One said she'll just let her body do what it needs to do. So when I felt the need to push I let go and it worked.
After the spinal went in I was in heaven! I was apparently 9.5 cm and the obstetrician asked me if I was sure I didn't want to deliver normally. No, thanks. People will think I'm crazy to still opt for a major operation when I made it that far without any drugs. It was in the back of my mind the whole time but the thing was I was not mentally prepared for a normal delivery despite having already done the hard yards. I had envisioned an entirely different scenario for this birth, one that didn't involve such a stressful, situation and with my husband by my side. It was going to be exciting not desperate. I think I remained pretty calm throughout the night and handled the pain well. Still, the things that went wrong during Bubby's delivery kept playing in my mind and I could not bring myself to go through with a normal delivery, especially since hubby wasn't there.
Once, the curtain was up the excitement replaced the pain and anxiety of whether I'd make it to the operating table before the baby came out. I was looking forward to the birth and thought to myself that apart from hubby not being there this is how I had played this in my head.I wasn't groggy like last time. I was completely aware of what was happening around me. I was having a normal conversation with the people around me. They were poking fun at the shape of my belly, I asked them to take a photo as I wanted to see. The assistant obstetrician joked about skypeing the birth to my husband. The mood was light and cheery. I wished my husband was there. At the very least I wished I was on the phone with him so he could have heard New bubby's first cry. Boy, did he cry. When he was lifted he was bright red, kicking and screaming. Unlike, Bubby who didn't cry for what felt like ages and had to be resuscitated this one had a set of lungs in him. I felt that it was a very positive experience and have no regrets about how the night turned out except that I wished for hubby to have been there. New Bubby stayed with me in theatre while I recovered unlike last time when I was left all alone in recovery. The nurses were there the whole time as I recovered and chatted with me. I couldn't hold the baby because I was shaking like a leaf from the spinal but I didn't care. He was there with me and he was healthy.
Hubby managed to get on the first flight back and went straight to the hospital after a night of no sleep. He got his first cuddle and skin to skin. We're amazed at how much the the New Bubby looked just like Bubby. He's just a little bit plumper and more fair. He also has grey eyes compared to Bubby's dark brown eyes that look almost black but everything else looked exactly the same. They even made the same sounds.
Well, that sounded like a saga even though the main event (arrival at hospital to birth) only lasted about 3 hours.
The really good thing about the birth is that he doesn't share the same birthday as the Kimye baby.
Bubby meets Baby Brother for the first time. He was so excited!
Stats:
Date of Birth - 17 June, 2013
Time of Birth - 0:35
Weight - 3.06 kg (Bubby was 2.7 kg)
Length - 50 cm (same as Bubby)
Head Circumference - 34 cm (same as Bubby)
Apgar 1 min - 9 (Bubby's was 5)
Apgar 5 min - 9
.jpg)
