At my very first antenatal appointment, my gynae said, "I wonder what this one's birth story is going to be."
What she meant by that was whether or not this child would have an interesting story like Wren's. Well, he does have a story...and it is something crazy and incredible.
At 35 weeks, I got the flu. I tried to go to work on two separate days but I was exhausted and not holding up well. On top of that, Michael was kicking and wriggling much more than usual and it only added to my discomfort. I saw my gynae on the Friday as she was leaving the next day on a three week holiday in Europe and would be returning right before the date we planned for a C-section if necessary. She was concerned about my health and that of the baby so, she booked me off work for an extra week to recover. We had a look at Michael, he was fine and the last thing she said was that this baby just needed to wait for her to come back.
Resting is something I don't do well and being forced to do very little for a week was more agony than enjoyable. By the Monday, I felt much better although still heavily congested. I was up and about doing stuff and felt good about the day. When I woke up the next day, it was completely different. I was freezing cold, just couldn't warm up and I was unbelievably tired.
Trevor, Wren-Lee and I all went to bed early because he was set to fly to Durban at 06:30 the next morning. We lay in bed chatting briefly and I was still awake for about 20 mins after Trevor had fallen asleep. While I lay there thinking, I felt a pop and warm liquid running down my leg. I knew immediately that my water just broke.
I woke Trevor up (and Wren-Lee jumped up too), called my parents and then tried to figure out how to get out of my bed without soaking the floor. It was pretty comical and I laughed while Trevor explained to Wren what was happening. With her safely off with my parents, I realised we had a slight problem seeing as I hadn't packed for hospital and didn't have everything I needed. But, there was no time to stress about it so we went off to hospital with whatever I could gather at 11pm.
The nurses called Dr Truter who was looking after all my gynae's patients in her absence. He advised a sleeping tablet and rest. Trevor went home and I went to sleep...until 4am. The contractions become more prominent and it started to hurt. By 8am, Dr Truter came to introduce himself and have a talk. Because I was 36 weeks along, there was no plan. He examined me, felt another c-section was the best course of action and it was set for lunchtime. I was really sore and he gave the go ahead for me to get a shot of Pethidine. I got the next shot an hour later and still the pain got worse. Another hour later, I got my third shot of Pethidine and strapped into the monitor.
My contractions were incredibly painful and I started asking if I could get an epidural for a few hours till my delivery. Request denied: It wouldn't be necessary if the baby was being born so soon. Trevor had the unpleasant job of rubbing my back with every contraction as I tried to breathe my way through them which was tough with heavy nasal congestion. By 11:50, I demanded to be freed from the monitor around my belly and ran for the shower. The hot water on my back finally brought relief and I refused to leave as my contractions were on top of one another. Trevor was begging me to get into my surgical gown so I could be wheeled to theater and I refused to leave the bathroom. Ironically, my stubbornness in that moment is what changed the game.
I eventually got into the gown, back in the bed and was wheeled into the passage en route to theater. Just as we were about to leave the maternity ward, I felt something change, a strong urge to push and I screamed. The nurse looked under my blanket and realised that this baby was coming out now. They turned me around and rushed me into a delivery room.
By now I was exhausted, begging for oxygen and saying I couldn't deliver this baby. I was seeing stars from lack of oxygen and in extreme pain. Between the midwife, the gynae and Trevor, I was getting three streams of information and instruction and there was no time for any painkillers so I was going au naturel. Lots of screaming, shouting and six pushes later, there was a baby.
The first question I asked as I watched Trevor and the paediatrician inspect the new little person with the big voice was for the time. It wasn't even 1pm yet. Apparently it was just 10 minutes from the time I was wheeled into delivery until Michael was born. This kid fought his way out into the world on his own terms.
I had wanted a natural delivery from the time I found out about the pregnancy, and although it definitely didn't go the way I planned, it was an amazing experience. The next day the gynae explained that I dilated the last 4 cms in less than an hour before I delivered so my contractions were incredibly painful and my exhaustion and rather loud reactions were valid. Michael's birth was definitely unexpected but he surprised us all with quite a story.
