The Birth of Baby E - Part 3

Here is the third part of the story of the birth of Baby E. It was about 1am on Wednesday 19th November 2008. We were in the labour room, and I was losing control over the gas and air. I was completely off my head on the stuff and loving it. My head was spinning, and my Sergent Pepper internal sound track was perfect. Lucy was definitely in the sky with diamonds!

Suddenly I felt sick. The midwife was out of the room, so we would have to deal with this on our own. All good things must come to an end I suppose, and this was the end of my love affair with the gas and air. I motioned to my Fabulous Boyfriend that I was going to be sick, and he reached for some paper towels to help catch the fallout. What was he thinking??? Paper towels to catch the vomit of a woman in labour??? It was indeed a futile exercise, as the contents of my stomach and all the snacks I had been eating in the bath ricochet off the paper towel spraying the floor, my bags and slippers on the way out. I felt much better, however did not like the look of the devastation on the floor of the birthing room.

My fabulous boyfriend pressed the call button for the Midwife, who dutifully cleaned up the mess, and provided us with some cardboard containers if I felt the need to be sick again. She also gave me an anti-sickness tablet. I was slightly confused by her intentions in giving me something else to fuel my stomach and had no doubt this would be hitting the floor in a few minutes (or hopefully the cardboard container). True to form, I was sick several more times, but we were prepared for it, and my Fabulous Boyfriend was on hand to catch anything that came up. He then offered me my toothbrush and toothpaste to freshen my mouth, I may be giving birth, but dental hygiene is still important!

Over the next few hours I focused on my breathing to help with the contractions. As the pain intensified, I started telling myself 'the pain was nothing, and it did not last long', over and over until the contraction finished. This positive attitude really helped to get me through the contractions which were becoming longer and coming harder with not much of a break in between.

The gas and air was making my mouth dry so my Fabulous Boyfriend was on hand with lip balm and water whenever I demanded it, and I was becoming quite demanding. He still reminds me of my efforts to politely ask him to give me more lip-balm or more water. 'More lip balm', 'More water', 'You don't have to put the lid back on the water you know, then you could get it to me more quickly'.

The worst moment during the early hours of the morning was the one and only time my Fabulous Boyfriend left me to use the toilet. In these short minutes that seemed like hours, I felt a contraction coming. My fabulous boyfriend returned from his trip to my en-suite bathroom to find me cross and in some discomfort. He explained that in my attempt to boost the tens machine, I had managed to turn it off! Thankfully, my Fabulous Boyfriend held in any other urges to use the toilet until after Baby E was born.

From this time until 4am, the contractions came faster and faster. The consultants want to see 4 in a 10 minute period, and I was spot on target, sometimes I was having more! I knew when a big contraction was coming as I would start shaking, and my teeth would chatter with the shock. While these contractions were forceful, they did not last any longer than normal so I knew with my mantra I could get through it. 'They did not last long, and they were not that painful.' The Midwife encouraged me to use visualisation to help with the bad contractions, and the shaking. Her suggestion was to visualise candles on a birthday cake, and I am pleased to say it worked. I was able to see the flames flickering on the top of the candles on the cake. I could blow out the candles when the contraction subsided. I felt like I was maintaining control, and had no worries in believing I could give birth in the way I wanted.

I was looking forward to the next examination at 4am. I was progressing well, and the midwife was being very supportive and kept telling me how well I was doing. I really hoped we would be a good 8cm dilated, and was pleased when finally 4am arrived and the Midwife said it was time for my examination.