I remember the feeling I got when I asked other mothers about child birth, their reply was always vague, optimistic but mostly vague. Common answer was "yes it hurts but I've forgotten how much so" Now I understand why. I think because the pain is so unbelievable that of course
your brain has to forget in order to consider continuing the human race and maybe in the past there were fewer avenues to record events such as pain. Lucky we have internet, Scarlett as we speak is still asleep in bed with daddy so I am going to note in this indeed how painful it is!!!!!!!!!!!!! But I'm told now that it was relatively short and went excellent, I guess so in hind sight but here’s how it happened folks.
Scarlett was due on 01-27-07, that day came and went. The next day Paul and I went touring around with a friend Bill who was up from Melbourne. Later that afternoon we collected another friend Louise on the way to drop of bill. Louise, Paul and I decided to travel into town to the rocks district to eat pancakes. When we got to the pancake house we were greeted with a massive line, no pancakes are that good so we moved along on down the road. Louise spotted a Belgium Beer house. We were curious about the food so went in to dine. Geeees the food was excellent. A lot a lot of pork, radishes and mustard, I thought of my Danish step mothers cooking and how Grandpa may of enjoyed the meal too. Of course making excuses of eating for two I ate way too much, more like for four and even had a desert. I was stuffed. We had a fair walk back to the car and I commented to the others how full I felt. We dropped Lou off and headed back home. On the way back I said to Paul how bumpy the road was and how I felt I could pop any second, the next second I did pop. My water had broke (thank god, I thought for a sec it was my stomach ha ha). It had begun, the time was 9.45pm.
We got home, Paul asked again if that had indeed happened, I looked down at the ground at the wet puddle and assured him it had. He got out the whiskey and promptly had two shots of shivers regal. I rang the hospital and was advised to come in. We packed the bags into the car and headed of to Auburn which is only 5 minutes away. I felt anxious but no pain yet, I really was not sure what happened next, though I knew from my sister’s birth that even though your water may brake it can still take days for labour to progress. We got to hospital at 11pm.
The receiving nurse assessed me and told me I wasn't in labour, she was a nasty nurse and not comforting at all. Pain was starting to kick in and I was confused at how I was feeling pain without being in labour. She was adiment that labour was at least 24hrs away for me and gave me a panadol to help with the "mild pain" as she called it. I could feel it was progressing but they told Paul to go home and get some rest as it would be ages till he could help and visiting hours were over?!. No one told me that if you went in to labour after hours you would endure it all alone if visiting hours were over, essentially that’s what happened.
12 midnight, Paul is gone, the pain is increasing, and nasty nurse must have had enough of me and wheels me to a maternity ward to battle the night through. She gives the ward nurse an overview and on departing I hear her say “she can not handle the miiillld pain" I am glad she leaves before I find the strength to strangle her. The ward nurse is lot nicer, she can see I am suffering and orders some morphine and sleeping pills to help me rest. At this stage I can't stop vomiting (belgium food yucky now) because of the overwhelming pain, similar to being stabbed I imagine, the nurse confirms what I already knew that I was indeed in labour and was 3cm dilated which was causing this pain. Dur I think. The next 3hrs are a blur...I remember the nurse visiting, the vomit, the pain in waves, my panting, my swearing and screaming ha ha. I can not handle it alone anymore and call Paul from my mobile. Paul arrives 10 mins later and is brought in by nasty nurse who tells me off for calling him, explaining again the visiting hours are over?! He is allowed 30mins with me and is sent home. The morphine wears of now and I can see the sun coming up. I buzz the nurse who advises me to try a shower to help me cope, I apologise for the screaming she will hear as the bathroom has really good acoustics. The shower helps but I can't relax knowing I am wasting water, which is a big concern for Australia. I look at the time again it is 6am, I call Paul again this time he is allowed to stay, I thank god.
At 6.45 am I am wheeled up to the labour ward and meet by two midwifes and a large bottle of gas. I greet to gas first then the nurses. Blah blah blah is all I hear them say, I am getting so many directions I don't care anymore. Paul tells me later he saw my eyes roll back from the gas. I must have been sucking it so hard. I ask for more morphine, they tell me they are organising it, which never comes. They inspect me and tell me that I am 10cm dilated now, I already know this.
The next hour I am naked and trying all positions, totally over my shyness and only looking for a solution. I get increasing annoyed at the nurses for bossing me around telling me how to breath, I am think it luckily I’m breathing at all after considering jumping out the nearest window instead. I am ushered back onto the bed after a while from the shower and get a strong desire to push, so I push. Paul is coaching me and doing a good job. I push my guts out for what seams like years, I fell like I'm turning insideout and still they tell me they can't see her head. I feel like giving up and give them permission to cut her out, they keep telling me to push around 9am Paul squeals with joy that he can see her and I reach down and feel a soft, warm slimy and hairy head. A doctor comes to overview that last stages and also another nurse who I saw for my pregnancy appointment comes in, I am happy to see a familiar face but soooooo tired now, Paul tell me later I was shivering and ranting with dry lips and pale face. The extra people hold my legs up and open. I get a boost of motivation knowing that I’m nearer to the end and the pain will end too when she arrives, I push and push and push and push, its so hard but at 9.48 she slithers out like a giant jellyfish doing a hoop dive.
She is placed on my chest; she is bluey and covered in white goo and blood. But she opens her eyes and looks at me and I melt straight away, the pain is gone and I feel so relieved everything is ok. Two minutes later the placenta follows, I ask to see it and am surprised how big it is. I can't stop saying "oh my god" in my head reflecting immediately on what I had achieved, I feel proud of my body’s strength. The nurse tells me everything went excellent and no stitches are required, that’s good news, Paul jokes about asking the nurse to stitch me smaller, I remind him how that would reflect on his current "size" he's laughing quietens down ha ha. She looks just like Paul, he is happy with this. I read later this is true for most newborns and dates back in evolution and is to do with the newborns having more chance of survival in the tribe and not being eaten if they could flatter the father with his resemblance and in return he would protect the baby. This makes sense to me.
Scarlett is born on 29-01-07 at 9.48am, Weighing 3.8kg and streching 54cm long.
It’s a week now, she a wonderful baby and we are home all together. I start to forget the details and intensity of the pain of labour. We visit a pregnant friend yesterday, she asks me about labour, I tell her "yes it hurts but I've forgotten how much so" ha ha keep this time old secret alive.
Take care xoxox
Maija, Scarlett and Paul.
(March 2007) (
