by any standards, it took an eternity to get baby out into the world. i never expected such an extended wait, but the whole experience taught me a lot about patience and trusting that things would turn out fine in the end.
on 25 jul, my EDD, we had gone for our usual doc's visit. the doc had already pre-warned us at the previous appointment that we should be prepared to get admitted since the fluid levels in the water bag was "just pass" only and there could be a need to induce labour as having baby out was better than keeping her inside.
true enough, i had lost weight (i was relieved i never hit the 80kg mark!) and fluid levels were lower, so the doc recommended inducing labour that same morning. that was a wednesday, and when we asked when baby would likely come, he said probably friday or saturday. in my mind, i didn't think it would take that long. no way! because of course my cervix would cooperate and the contractions would progress smoothly, right?
so began the long tedious process of having my (non existent) contractions monitored followed by a check on how much my cervix had dilated, and then the insertion of a prostin tablet to soften my cervix. the many cervix checks and having the prostin tablet inserted was NOT fun, and left me almost on the verge of tears most times. 10am (wednesday), 10pm, 6pm (thursday), 6am (friday) ... four prostin tablets is the maximum dosage, after which a c-section would be recommended.
already when there was no action after the third tablet, i was already contemplating giving up and just going for the c-section. after all what were the chances of the fourth tablet working and even if it did work, there was no guarantee that labour would progress. my mum went through a long labour only to have me by c-section and i could well have inherited her genes. also, i was getting impatient to see baby, and very frustrated with having to be hooked onto machines for 3 hour stretches everytime a prostin tablet was inserted. cabin fever was also building up (as we couldn't leave the hospital throughout the process).
but after some tears and venting, i decided that we'd just go through with the whole prostin cycle ... when friday noon came along and the fourth tablet inserted that morning did not seem to have worked, i was REALLY getting edgy and all ready to say ok, c-section now please.
then in the afternoon, my water bag (hind waters) burst while i was in my hospital room and things swung into action.
was wheeled (on a bed) to the labour ward ...apparently it is hospital protocol that patients with burst water bags can't walk or use a wheelchair. really felt silly in the bed and being fussed over.
then it was more waiting, and some despair because the cervix was still at 1cm ... far far away from 10cm. our doc came by in the evening and after quipping that the nurses and docs on duty earlier had been too nice and gentle (??!!) and quickly apologising that what he was about to do would hurt, checked and said my cervix was 1.5cm dilated and then proceeded to break the main water bag. he was right, the whole thing hurt like mad and i had to do my best to stifle what would have been quite loud shouts because I AM A STRONG WOMAN!
then it was back to waiting after my doc instructed for oxytocin to be administered to start the contractions. i knew from the start that i would not hesitate to ask for pain relief, but decided to see how contractions felt like first ... much like cramps and in increasing frequency. i think the contractions were about 1 minute long and about 5 minutes apart at around midnight when i decided ok, time for pain relief before things get bad and i start screaming and the anesthetist is nowhere in sight. when i told the on-duty doc that i would like to get an epidural, she half heartedly asked if i would like to try gas but when i hesitated, she said "actually you don't have to subject yourself to the pain" and then proceeded to call for the anaesthetist. yay!
the hubby was sent out of the room while the epidural was being administered. apparently husbands have fainted from seeing the epidural needle, so it's a safety precaution. heh. getting the epidural wasn't as pain as those cervix checks. in fact, quite painless except for the initial sharp prick from the injection to numb the skin. totally loved the self-service epidural .... i got to decide if and when i needed to have the dosage upped by pressing a button that triggered the increase in dosage. all very cool. i think i pressed the button twice or thrice throughout. i could still feel and move my legs. i could also feel the contractions without most of the pain which was deliberate on my part as i didn't increase the epidural dosage everytime i felt pain ... wanted to feel something so that i could push when the time came.
then it was back to watching the london olympics opening ceremony while ck slept. hated having the CTG monitor strapped on, and lying down made it all the more uncomfortable, so i largely spent the night in as upright a position as the bed would allow.
it was around late morning when the nurse on duty checked and declared that my cervix was 9cm dilated ... it was quite a relief as the cervix checks at night didn't show much progress at first.
around noon, my cervix was fully dilated and we were ready to push. then came the most uncomfortable part ... waiting to push while there is huge pressure down there. had to do a few trial runs with the nurses first before i got the hang of how to push. in the meantime, the hubby got to see the top of baby's head wedged in between my legs. something he said he wouldn't do earlier, but got coaxed by the nurse to see. HAHA. and when the doctor FINALLY arrived, he swung into action immediately. i pushed while he probably snipped me down there (without me feeling it) and all too soon, i felt baby's head coming out, followed by her body. even with the epidural, i could feel her coming out, which was really cool. then the doctor held up a squishy wrinkly grimacing loudly crying thing which was my baby and said she looked like daddy. wurh.
the first thing i checked was that she was a girl.... then i noticed her nose was quite flat. then it dawned on me that the present that we had waited so long for had finally arrived all screaming and healthy, albeit 3 days after the EDD, and i felt really elated and incredibly thankful.
