Birth Story

At 34 weeks

I was not blogging when I was pregnant so I'll just have to give you a brief summary. The 1st trimester was not fun at all. I was sick. A lot. Smells made me sick and nothing helped. I couldn't stand the sight of food so I lost quite a bit of weight. The 2nd trimester was my favourite. I could wear makeup again, we found out that it was a girl, my bump got bigger but not too big and I stopped being sick. It was perfect. The 3rd trimester was not so great. I felt like an elephant and was tired a lot. But I was excited that I would get to meet the little princess soon. Now the birth story begins...

On my due date, 23rd March 2012, I woke up at around 4am and felt a bit of pain on my lower abdomen. I went back to sleep thinking it was probably just Braxton hicks and that my excitement was just getting to me. The pains continued until 7am but were irregular so I knew that it was nothing serious. Hubby went to work and I stayed at home (I had left my job the week before).
I didn't feel anything again until midday. The pains came back and were regular now - 25 minutes apart. They were not too bad so at first I didn't think anything of it but a friend told me to call my doctor because according to her I was in labour. So I called my doctor, who by the way is the most amazing doctor EVER! He told me to call him when they become stronger and closer together. At 2pm they stopped. I did some work around the house - which was not easy since I felt like an elephant! And in the middle of my chores i felt a real hankering for a milkshake so I called hubby to pick up one for me - and a tunamelt sandwich. Hubby got home at around 8pm and the contractions were back- stronger and 15 minutes apart. I insisted on taking a walk before calling the doctor. The hubs obliged and when we got back from our walk I took a shower and called the doctor. He told me to come immediately. I called my parents and told them what the doctor had said. Now the contractions were not too bad and I really wanted to eat my sandwich so I thought I'd make a cup of tea and eat my sandwich. Then my mum called back to check if we'd left and I told her I wanted to eat first. She told me to get in the car immediately coz that baby could be coming anytime. I got into the car sulking and thinking about my sandwich but as we got closer to the hospital I started getting excited. I was going to meet my baby girl!
We got to the hospital and were checked in. My doctor came to check and said I still had a long way to go but he needed to keep me in the hospital. That was something I didn't want to hear. The contractions disappeared at 1am so I slept. The next day the pains were pretty much the same as the day before - on and off. They weren't too bad so I wasn't feeling drained or anything. In the evening my doctor said that if the same thing was still happening by morning I would be induced. At midnight the contractions became stronger and were 5 minutes apart. I remember thinking 'This is it!' But at 3am they stopped - again. At that point I knew my little princess was pretty cheeky and was not one to be rushed.
The next morning, Sunday 25th March, I was induced. The contractions started coming 2 minutes apart and they were slightly stronger. At 1pm I had dilated 4cm. And the contractions were stronger. The breathing techniques were really helping at this point. 3 hours later, I was hungry tired and very VERY disappointed when the midwife said I had only dilated one more centimetre. I cried to God for strength. I knew I couldn't do this on my own.
At 7pm the contractions got stronger and I started feeling her begin to push down. At 9pm I started to feel the urge to push. Boy! The rest of the time I could find something to deal with the pain but that urge to push is something else I tell ya! I could feel myself going crazy! My doctor kept telling me not to push so at this point he became my least favourite person.

After what felt like forever he told me to push. If it had been possible I would have hugged him. When I started to push the contractions became further apart and my princess' head was nowhere to be seen. So I was told to stop pushing. My spirit was moved to pray. I didn't pray out loud but my heart was crying out to the Lord. I needed my baby to come. And come safely. I can say that I have never felt so close to God as I did while I was in labour. My heart was constantly reminded of His love, His mercy and His grace. I would go through labour again just to feel that closeness. It was like we were a team bringing something beautiful into the world. Just me and Him.

The doctor and the nurses were setting up a vacuum pump to use to pull the baby out but when they told me to get into position again they could see the head! I pushed 3 times and my baby, my beautiful, sweet little princess was born. I'm tearing up as I write this. That moment, that second when she came out into the world brought so much joy into my  heart. I was awash with relief, happiness, excitement and love! Oh so much love! I never believed in love at first sight but that moment made me a believer. I could not stop praising God for her safe delivery.

The first official photo of our princess.
Weight: 3.5kgs
Length: 51cm
Time of birth: 11:12pm

Love at first sight!

First family photo