Lily ~ A Birth Story
Our beautiful little Lily made her grand entrance into this world the day before I was due to be induced at 41 weeks pregnant.
I wasted too many hours worrying about how things would pan out this time round, scared about a horrendously long induction, and being separated from William for days and days on end - without having family to fall back on out here for support and help all I did was call in favours, hire help, and lose sleep.
I need not have worried! At 5.30 on Thursday morning I awoke to contractions every 3 mins. This, I thought, was not how labour started, and after half an hour they would stop. I'd been having painful tightenings for weeks. I clearly was in denial because an hour later they were still 3 to 4 mins apart.
In the back of my mind I could hear my midwife telling me to leave for the hospital when they were 5 mins apart... Because our journey to the hospital involves a taxi, then a ferry, then a other taxi, so getting off the island ASAP is a good idea! So I called a taxi and tried to smile through each contraction for Williams sake, he knew something was up I could tell from the way he kept patting me reassuringly when I laid on my side in the bath, bless him he actually helped me get through the pain with his affection.
Leaving William with our hired help wasn't easy, we said goodbye and of course he freaked out and sobbed hard as we left. At this point I thought it would be days before I saw him again, and it choked me up.
Labouring every 2 to 3 mins whilst using public transport is frigging hilarious (not). especially in rush hour!I had a captive audience and hid myself away and sat on the toilet in the boat until we had docked. Then we jumped the horrendously long taxi queue and made our way to the Queen Mary Hospital.
By the time we got to the labour ward it was about ten am. They sent Matt off to admit me and got me ready to go straight to the delivery suite! Once there they monitored the fetal heart and offered me some gas and air thru a face mask, which I chugged on but it was like a watered down version - and didn't do chuff all to help me.
Then they told me I was only 1 to 2 cm dialated..... And I will be going back to the labour ward. Disappointing much? I was contracting every two bloody minutes and I was barely 2 cm dialated what the actual f&&k?!
Once on the ward I begged for pain relief so they put a tens machine (a pointless contraption) on me and let me sit on a birth ball.
I sat on the birth ball for about a minute before hearing a lady shout out 'I NEED TO POO I NEED TO POO!' and it took another minute before I realized that lady shouting was me and they were putting me back in a wheelchair and wheeling me back to the delivery suite. Mr O was summonsed from the waiting room, he was dressed in purple scrubs and a shower cap, he looked so confused and asked me what was going on?? I'm in a world of pain and panic mode is switched to full so I look at him and shrug my shoulders as if I havent got a clue what is happening.
Then I'm back on the bed, clinging to the side of it with each contraction, making primal noises I've never heard before and telling Barbara our midwife, that she can rip up my birth plan, that I need pain relief, an epidural and some pethadine NOW PLEASE. Oh and if she didn't mind I would quite like to sit on a toilet and do a poo too. She ignored my plea for a toilet to sit on and so when I said that I was pushing with each contraction Ive never seen a midwife rush to get some gloves on so quick before! She checked me and I was dialated! Baby was coming!
I don't know how many pushes it took, four maybe, but with each contraction my body was pushing this baby out, I gave in to what was happening as it was primal and instinctive (totally different to my labour with William) and with a huge explosion my waters broke (all up the wall at the end of the bed - nice) which panicked Matt as they were green. Then the next contraction I felt the burning ring of fire, then the next contraction she was born and laying on my chest! The process was entirely drug free and primal. I had no control over what my body was doing at all, it knew to push her out and trying to connect my head with my body was tricky, my head was in awe of what was happening, my body remained in control at all times. Amazing, truly amazing!
She was born two hours after arriving at the hospital!
Recovering has been a piece of cake compared to last time. Lily had passed some meconium inside me hence the green waters, but she hadn't ingested any so they let me discharge early and gave me a private room to rest and wait for my discharge papers in. I was home 24 hours after having her and seeing Williams little face light up when I got home was priceless! My experience of the Hong Kong public hospital was excellent, efficient, and thorough. I feel so lucky to have had the birth I had, and although I was begging for an epidural I am glad I did it drug free as my recovery is easier this time. So much easier! She breastfeeds well, she sleeps well, she is a content happy baby. I am besotted with my family and am thankful for the experience I had this time.
So those who had long first labours, I had William 53 hours after my waters broke - 32.5 hours of established labour, and Lily arrived within 6 hours, of which about 45 mins of that was classed as established labour. Don't fear the second birth chances are it will be textbook glorious!
4.065 kgs (about 8lb 10oz) and 51 cm long.
And the missing piece to our little family, we are complete now. Next time I get broody, we shall be getting a dog!
I wasted too many hours worrying about how things would pan out this time round, scared about a horrendously long induction, and being separated from William for days and days on end - without having family to fall back on out here for support and help all I did was call in favours, hire help, and lose sleep.
I need not have worried! At 5.30 on Thursday morning I awoke to contractions every 3 mins. This, I thought, was not how labour started, and after half an hour they would stop. I'd been having painful tightenings for weeks. I clearly was in denial because an hour later they were still 3 to 4 mins apart.
In the back of my mind I could hear my midwife telling me to leave for the hospital when they were 5 mins apart... Because our journey to the hospital involves a taxi, then a ferry, then a other taxi, so getting off the island ASAP is a good idea! So I called a taxi and tried to smile through each contraction for Williams sake, he knew something was up I could tell from the way he kept patting me reassuringly when I laid on my side in the bath, bless him he actually helped me get through the pain with his affection.
Leaving William with our hired help wasn't easy, we said goodbye and of course he freaked out and sobbed hard as we left. At this point I thought it would be days before I saw him again, and it choked me up.
Labouring every 2 to 3 mins whilst using public transport is frigging hilarious (not). especially in rush hour!I had a captive audience and hid myself away and sat on the toilet in the boat until we had docked. Then we jumped the horrendously long taxi queue and made our way to the Queen Mary Hospital.
By the time we got to the labour ward it was about ten am. They sent Matt off to admit me and got me ready to go straight to the delivery suite! Once there they monitored the fetal heart and offered me some gas and air thru a face mask, which I chugged on but it was like a watered down version - and didn't do chuff all to help me.
Then they told me I was only 1 to 2 cm dialated..... And I will be going back to the labour ward. Disappointing much? I was contracting every two bloody minutes and I was barely 2 cm dialated what the actual f&&k?!
Once on the ward I begged for pain relief so they put a tens machine (a pointless contraption) on me and let me sit on a birth ball.
I sat on the birth ball for about a minute before hearing a lady shout out 'I NEED TO POO I NEED TO POO!' and it took another minute before I realized that lady shouting was me and they were putting me back in a wheelchair and wheeling me back to the delivery suite. Mr O was summonsed from the waiting room, he was dressed in purple scrubs and a shower cap, he looked so confused and asked me what was going on?? I'm in a world of pain and panic mode is switched to full so I look at him and shrug my shoulders as if I havent got a clue what is happening.
Then I'm back on the bed, clinging to the side of it with each contraction, making primal noises I've never heard before and telling Barbara our midwife, that she can rip up my birth plan, that I need pain relief, an epidural and some pethadine NOW PLEASE. Oh and if she didn't mind I would quite like to sit on a toilet and do a poo too. She ignored my plea for a toilet to sit on and so when I said that I was pushing with each contraction Ive never seen a midwife rush to get some gloves on so quick before! She checked me and I was dialated! Baby was coming!
I don't know how many pushes it took, four maybe, but with each contraction my body was pushing this baby out, I gave in to what was happening as it was primal and instinctive (totally different to my labour with William) and with a huge explosion my waters broke (all up the wall at the end of the bed - nice) which panicked Matt as they were green. Then the next contraction I felt the burning ring of fire, then the next contraction she was born and laying on my chest! The process was entirely drug free and primal. I had no control over what my body was doing at all, it knew to push her out and trying to connect my head with my body was tricky, my head was in awe of what was happening, my body remained in control at all times. Amazing, truly amazing!
She was born two hours after arriving at the hospital!
Recovering has been a piece of cake compared to last time. Lily had passed some meconium inside me hence the green waters, but she hadn't ingested any so they let me discharge early and gave me a private room to rest and wait for my discharge papers in. I was home 24 hours after having her and seeing Williams little face light up when I got home was priceless! My experience of the Hong Kong public hospital was excellent, efficient, and thorough. I feel so lucky to have had the birth I had, and although I was begging for an epidural I am glad I did it drug free as my recovery is easier this time. So much easier! She breastfeeds well, she sleeps well, she is a content happy baby. I am besotted with my family and am thankful for the experience I had this time.
So those who had long first labours, I had William 53 hours after my waters broke - 32.5 hours of established labour, and Lily arrived within 6 hours, of which about 45 mins of that was classed as established labour. Don't fear the second birth chances are it will be textbook glorious!
4.065 kgs (about 8lb 10oz) and 51 cm long.
And the missing piece to our little family, we are complete now. Next time I get broody, we shall be getting a dog!
Comments
You got your Willie and a Lilly xx