Bow’s Birth Story – Day 3, Part 2

You can read my previous posts here.
Bow’s Birth Story – Day 1
Bow’s Birth Story – Day 2
Bow’s Birth Story – Day 3, Part 1

Day 3, Saturday the 26th September – After The Epidural

I felt so deflated! I had already given birth to my baby more times than I could count but I still couldn’t hold him safely in my arms. I started to cry. I had no energy left and I couldn’t see how I could possibly deliver a baby now. I was defeated!

My midwife tried to talk me out of my slump but it didn’t work. She even got her supervisor to come and have a word with me but I didn’t believe anything they told me. I knew that I was going to end up having a Caesarian. It wasn’t a question of ‘if’ it was a question of ‘when’.

My midwife’s shift ended at 8am. I was introduced to another midwife who was going to take over. She was lovely too. She told me to try and get some sleep as it would need my energy to deliver my baby. I knew that I was going to need a Caesarian but I agreed to try and rest. I was amazed at the effects of an epidural. I could still feel my stomach tightening with each contraction but I wasn’t in any pain.

I tried to sleep and I dozed occasionally but it was hard to sleep properly. I was still attached to the hormone drip and the machine that monitored my contractions and the baby’s heartbeat. I was also connected to a machine that measured my blood pressure at regular intervals. Just as I would fall asleep the blood pressure machine would start and the band on my arm would tighten.

After a while the atmosphere in the room became tense. There were 2 midwives in the room and they kept looking at the machine that measured my babies heartbeat and I could tell they were worried. Again I was reminded of what happened when Bob was born. They decided to get the doctor to take a look.

When the doctor arrived I could tell he was concerned. He said they would have to send a sample of the baby’s blood to be tested to see how stressed he was. The same thing happened with Bob. Whilst he took the blood sample he checked to see how many centimetres I was. I was 9cm. He explained that we wouldn’t be able to deliver the baby naturally until I was 10cm. If the results came back showing that the baby was too stressed to continue I would have to have a Caesarian. I was so upset! If only somebody had listened to me hours ago!

The result came back and the doctor wasn’t too worried so they decided to leave me for another hour to see if I could get to 10cm. An hour later he checked again and finally, over 2 days after my induction had begun, I was fully dilated!

Unfortunately there was another problem. My baby’s head hadn’t moved down the birth canal and it was in a difficult position. The doctor said that he would have to use forceps to assist the delivery. The thought of my baby being pulled into this world by a metal clamp worried me but I didn’t have a choice. With each contraction I pushed and the doctor pulled.

Unfortunately the forceps weren’t enough and I also had to have an episiotomy. I didn’t feel any pain but my sister’s reaction told me that it was a nasty one. She was at the bottom of the bed waiting to see her nephew enter the world and she had to turn away when the doctor started to cut. I was quite glad that I couldn’t have a front row seat!

I also tore during the delivery and had 2nd degree muscle damage but eventually, on Saturday the 26th September at 11.17am, Bow was born! He was whisked away by the pediatrition to be examined. This was awful as all that I wanted to do was hold my baby boy and make sure he was alright. The pediatrition had to do several tests because of all of the complications, including putting a tube down Bow’s throat to check the PH level of his stomach.

Whilst Bow was being examined the surgeon started to stitch me back up. I asked him how many stitches I had to have and he was reluctant to tell me. He said, ‘Let’s just say one big one.’

Bow was given the all clear and eventually I got to hold my newborn baby in my arms! It was wonderful to have this moment! When Bob was born I was so exhausted after pushing for 5 hours that I didn’t even know she was on my chest. This time I got to experience that first newborn cuddle that makes the labour and the trauma feel like a distant memory.

Unfortunately my body took a lot longer to heal but, 3 months after Bow’s birth, I am almost back to normal. I can still feel where my stitches were and it is uncomfortable to sit in certain ways. Luckily I have my gorgeous baby boy to take my mind of things. He is absolutely adorable, totally worth it and I am so up in love but he is definitely the last one!