A mother's perspective
Don't worry, I'm not going to go into detail about the birth or tell you my feelings on contractions, pain, labour, etc. but there is a myth going around that I had a really easy labour. It may only have been 4 hours but let me assure you there was nothing easy about it!
Rather than give gory details (because that's not everyone's cup of tea) I thought I'd share some of the lighter moments of my time in hospital.
For those of you that don't know I went to hospital at 7.30pm on Thursday to be induced. There was concern that Katie was going to be small, so they wanted to get things going rather than hang on. The first 8 hours were pretty uneventful and I have to say dull. I was being monitored every hour even though we knew that nothing would happen for at least 12 hours.
However at around midnight there was a strange noise coming from the corridor that can only be described as a werewolf. It was bizarre. Amongst the sounds of heartbeats coming from all the machines came this really loud howl. I thought I must be hallucinating but I hadn't received any drugs at this point! Then there it was again, one howl after another. Will was playing a game on his laptop at the time that involved swords and monsters and stuff, and he thought the werewolf was part of it, but when he realised that I had heard this noise too, we looked at each other in disbelief. The werewolf was actually a woman giving birth! Oh my gosh, in 12 hours time that could be me!
Around 7.30am I started getting a few pains but I wasn't sure what they were or how bad they were going to get. I knew that midwives often suggested paracetemol for the early pains, but I wasn't sure if these were them or not and I had no idea how bad they were going to get. So I decided not to ask for any painkillers just yet, incase it was all about to get a lot worse and I held out a bit longer for when I really needed them.
However turns out that these 'mild' pains were in fact contractions and within half an hour of them starting I was on gas and air. For those that have never used this form of drug, I truly recommend it, for any occasion really, it's great stuff! It really took the edge off the pain...to start with. After a while, however, I was really beginning to love the stuff and used it a lot. It frazzled my brain somewhat and I had no idea what was real conversation going on in the delivery room and what was going on in my head. It was all a bit weird but oh so good.
Mixed with a little pethedine it does become lethal. Yes great for pain relief but not so good for the brain. I wouldn't recommend this combination for recreational use, but childbirth definitely. I have heard people say they wouldn't have this drug because it messes with your head, and it's true, it does. However, for me I'd rather have a messed up head than deal with the true pains of childbirth.
I guess I did miss out a little. I can't remember the moment that Katie was actually born, I can't remember Will telling me we had a little girl. I remember at one point looking up and seeing a face I didn't recognise (up until then, there had been Will & two midwives in the room). It turned out to be a doctor who had come in to help out about 20 minutes before - oops. It's not a complete blank, I can remember lots of things (including the pain and the stitches!) but there is a lot that Will has had to fill me in on.
I must say that Will was an absolute star. He was so supportive and lovely. You'd think that being a doctor he'd know all about childbirth, what to expect and what to do, but I think it is a little different when it is your wife lying there in pain. He says he didn't really know what to do, but as far as I was concerned, he was great. I would definitely recommend him as a birthing partner (if anyone is looking for one) but I'm not sure he'd appreciate me offering his services like that.
Sorry it's taken me so long to blog about this. I've been meaning to do it for days now and it seems a little outdated (Katie is now 5 days old), but strangely enough I've been a little busy over the past few days and a lovely bundle of joy has taken over my time completely. We're both really sorry for not putting up more info or pictures, but we promise we'll do some more blogging over the next few days. We've got loads to share, it's just finding the time to do it.
Rather than give gory details (because that's not everyone's cup of tea) I thought I'd share some of the lighter moments of my time in hospital.
For those of you that don't know I went to hospital at 7.30pm on Thursday to be induced. There was concern that Katie was going to be small, so they wanted to get things going rather than hang on. The first 8 hours were pretty uneventful and I have to say dull. I was being monitored every hour even though we knew that nothing would happen for at least 12 hours.
However at around midnight there was a strange noise coming from the corridor that can only be described as a werewolf. It was bizarre. Amongst the sounds of heartbeats coming from all the machines came this really loud howl. I thought I must be hallucinating but I hadn't received any drugs at this point! Then there it was again, one howl after another. Will was playing a game on his laptop at the time that involved swords and monsters and stuff, and he thought the werewolf was part of it, but when he realised that I had heard this noise too, we looked at each other in disbelief. The werewolf was actually a woman giving birth! Oh my gosh, in 12 hours time that could be me!
Around 7.30am I started getting a few pains but I wasn't sure what they were or how bad they were going to get. I knew that midwives often suggested paracetemol for the early pains, but I wasn't sure if these were them or not and I had no idea how bad they were going to get. So I decided not to ask for any painkillers just yet, incase it was all about to get a lot worse and I held out a bit longer for when I really needed them.
However turns out that these 'mild' pains were in fact contractions and within half an hour of them starting I was on gas and air. For those that have never used this form of drug, I truly recommend it, for any occasion really, it's great stuff! It really took the edge off the pain...to start with. After a while, however, I was really beginning to love the stuff and used it a lot. It frazzled my brain somewhat and I had no idea what was real conversation going on in the delivery room and what was going on in my head. It was all a bit weird but oh so good.
Mixed with a little pethedine it does become lethal. Yes great for pain relief but not so good for the brain. I wouldn't recommend this combination for recreational use, but childbirth definitely. I have heard people say they wouldn't have this drug because it messes with your head, and it's true, it does. However, for me I'd rather have a messed up head than deal with the true pains of childbirth.
I guess I did miss out a little. I can't remember the moment that Katie was actually born, I can't remember Will telling me we had a little girl. I remember at one point looking up and seeing a face I didn't recognise (up until then, there had been Will & two midwives in the room). It turned out to be a doctor who had come in to help out about 20 minutes before - oops. It's not a complete blank, I can remember lots of things (including the pain and the stitches!) but there is a lot that Will has had to fill me in on.
I must say that Will was an absolute star. He was so supportive and lovely. You'd think that being a doctor he'd know all about childbirth, what to expect and what to do, but I think it is a little different when it is your wife lying there in pain. He says he didn't really know what to do, but as far as I was concerned, he was great. I would definitely recommend him as a birthing partner (if anyone is looking for one) but I'm not sure he'd appreciate me offering his services like that.
Sorry it's taken me so long to blog about this. I've been meaning to do it for days now and it seems a little outdated (Katie is now 5 days old), but strangely enough I've been a little busy over the past few days and a lovely bundle of joy has taken over my time completely. We're both really sorry for not putting up more info or pictures, but we promise we'll do some more blogging over the next few days. We've got loads to share, it's just finding the time to do it.
posted by Will at 9:39 PM
2 Comments:
Thanks for your honesty! It adds to our excitement/fear! We wish we could meet Katie properly, but the photos are awesome so keep them coming (when you get a spare moment).
Love from Tasha, Ryan & Bump.
xx
Well done Deb!
You are so brave!
Well done to Will too for loking after you so well. And Well done to Katie for being so perfect and beautifull!
Love
Nanny Gem
x
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