The Epidural and the Exorcist

The births of my two children could not have been more different.

Seeing as our son turned 22 yesterday, I decided it was time to tell the tale of his arrival into the world (you can read Miss 19’s birth story here).

Am I in Labour?!

My last day at work, 6 weeks before the birth

Despite having been to antenatal classes and read all the books – at first I wasn’t sure if I was actually in labour!

Sounds silly but being my first baby I really didn’t know what to expect.

Three days before my due date, I went to the loo in the wee hours of the night and had a show.

Excited, I waddled back to bed and woke the hubster, to alert him to the fact that things could be happening very soon! Sleepily, he urged me to come back to bed …

Lying in bed, I was far too keyed up to sleep. Could this indeed, be it?! I felt pretty uncomfortable (pretty normal when you are heavily pregnant), and every now and then I’d feel a bit of a twinge. It wasn’t quite like a period pain, as I’d been told to expect, but it was definitely SOMETHING.

By the time the alarm went off, these twinges were occurring with some frequency. However it wasn’t regular, nor was it painful, so I wasn’t convinced that I was actually in labour. So we visited my GP to find out – who promptly advised that I was indeed in labour, and about 4cm dilated. Hooray!

After arriving at the hospital, I had to lie down and have monitors strapped to my belly. I was feeling pretty uncomfortable particularly in my lower back. What I didn’t find out until later, was that our son was in the posterior position – ie his spine was against my spine, and he came out sunny side up (face turned upwards). No wonder I was in so much pain!

Looking pretty freaked out!

The contractions were one thing, but the pain in my back was something else. I tried everything to relieve it – the shower, bending over the bed, the TENS machine, and both the hubster and a student midwife rubbed my back – something I would normally have loved – but while in labour, it just really annoyed me.

By this stage it was around lunchtime, and I was getting pretty cranky, a situation which definitely was not helped when I learned I was still only 4 – 5cm dilated. I knew that I could expect to dilate a centimetre an hour, and frankly, I couldn’t endure another 5 hours of pain. So I asked for an epidural.

The midwife – who I must confess, I really hadn’t taken to – shushed me and tried to tell me I was doing marvellously well and really didn’t need one. WELL. Needless to say I was NOT impressed.

The Epidural and the Exorcist!

Fortunately she went on a break not long after, so as soon as she had left the room, I turned to my husband and with gritted teeth, spat out: “GET. ME. AN. EPIDURAL!!!!” (Think of THAT scene from The Exorcist!).

It worked 😉 . By the time my pushy midwife came back, the dirty deed was done and I was resting comfortably. In fact both hubster and I had a snooze.

Are you my Mummy?!

Around 6pm it was decided to let the epidural wear off somewhat so I could deliver the baby. I’ve always been a “good girl” so when they told me to push (at around 7pm), I did my best to cooperate. Trouble was, I couldn’t feel a thing. I struggled in vain for quite some time and there were some concerns as meconium was found in the waters (turned out it was me, not the baby. Ewwww!). But suddenly it was all action stations – the head was in sight!

I was pretty exhausted so the midwife offered to place a mirror at the foot of the bed, in the hope it would spur me on. At first I refused (I mean, who wants to see THAT?!) but hubster talked me into it and I’m glad he did. Our baby had hair! It definitely helped me to focus and push the baby out.

Our son was born at 8.46pm, weighing 7lb 12oz (3.437kg if I remember correctly) after an 18 hour labour.

Despite that, all I had been through, I was on such a high that night I couldn’t sleep, and just kept repeating to myself over and over: I have a son. A son! I have a son! It felt like I had climbed Everest and conquered it!

One very proud papa!

Fast forward 2 1/2 years, and you can only imagine how fearful I was upon arriving at the hospital when I was in labour with our daughter, only to be told it was too late for an epidural …. but that’s another story!

Did you have a “back labour” with a baby in the posterior position? Or have an epidural during labour?