whitewriter | The birth part 2

He didn't pick up first time but when I phoned the second time he was awake.
We have the extreme fortune of living so close to the hospital, that calling any earlier wouldn't have been beneficial.
So I threw my things into the plastic trolley and waddled on down with the pood night duty midwife (girl I feels ya - but hey, you get to offload one lady!) Down to someone named "Bella" and her student - I inquired, Male midwife student? and no. It was a med student.

Dang it. Ah well. I didn't mind either way.

1st point of duty: get in a damn cannula.

So they know I'm ICU from downstairs and midwife from SSH -- and poor student had to try and get in a monsterous sized cannula into my hand. Like come on. And so I very feebly argued "they use green ones down in MSH, why do you all have to use the giant grey ones?" Making their lives hard for themselves by a rule from management - meant that I had 2 tries by Mr student in my right hand, Bella tried once in the left hand and gave up - the DR came and retried the wrist on the right but hit the bone (which still hurts almost 2 weeks later btw. and boy was that bruise nasty) and then tried again on my left and finally got it.

Pete had arrived whilst they were putting in a cannula and I sent him to the corner (the couch) while they poked me. Bella was making conversation how a previous lady she had, her husband, was a doctor with the flying doctors assoc. and in the end she had to ask him if he'd like to cannulate his wife because--- we'll he's no doubt the expert in cannulation.

She asked Pete what he does. It's not health so no luck with helping there.

Bella wanted to start oxytocin and get the induction cracking.

I asked, can't you just ARM me (break my waters) and give it some time?

She agreed that was possible. So we went with that one.

Waters broken clear by this long plastic length with a spike on the tip and yes I felt that thing going in and out. The it was like I had described to many ladies: like your peeing yourself (but your not) and before you know it your sitting in a puddle of warm liquor (amniotic fluid).

Things seemed to crack on after that.

Which for me, meant terrible terrible hip pain. Bilaterally. Deep.-- and it would come, and then go.
What was this I thought, no one had I ever had- ever had hip pain. The last time I experienced such pain similar was with dragon boat - I had an old injury from 3 seasons ago, whereby I'd come home after training and about 1 hr after arriving, post shower, when I'd sit down for dinner, I just couldn't sit. If I sat, my hips would burn with such a bad pain, that I'd just eat standing up, or do everything standing up, and then I'd go to bed (laying flat) and -- this pain I couldn't feel if I was sitting or standing (aka. not bent at the hip flexors) and wake up the next morning perfectly fine -- such that it went a whole season before I realised it was a problem and went to the physio who gave me a bunch of stretches and did a release, and I never saw the pain since (but also I did a lot less paddling since then ) --

and now here it was back, except it was there no matter what position I tried. laying on the floor, sitting on that ball (which we tried because little baby's head was a bit high during the ARM, and well we need it nice and down on that cervix...) Sitting on the shower chair in the shower was lovely- that helped. but the shower had but 1 attachment hose, and one up high shower head, and so I could only spray the hot water on one hip at a time, not both.

At some point, I threw up in the bin. Like some drunk chick at a party. Someone offered me anti emetics and my reply was "if this doesn't settle in like 10 mins then yeah". But I knew it would once I was emptied of the egg and apple I ate prior to coming down.

They checked my BGL at one point and despite being in labour and not having anything but water, it was up to 8.0 and that scored me a once off novorapid injection of 6 U in the thigh. From memory they used an auto injector which meant, that pen wouldn't be reused for another patient? Anyways. In my haze the things I remember.

Pete had no change of clothes to help me out in the shower, so I suggested scrubs. The poor student came back with 2 pants. So pete wore his wife beater and the scrubs. I wonder now if his nice leather shoes got wet (he's the type that has 1 pair of shoes and just wears that 1 pair, everywhere and if it's not those then its thongs.)
The med student was somewhere in the corner. I think it probably wasn't past one of his first births. for starters -- at one stage - one of the doctors wanted all of the lights on, and he spent ages looking for the light (says Pete who watched in amusement) before Bella saved him.

Meanwhile Bella had a hell of a time getting a trace for the CTG. and I was all over the shop - up and down yelling "my hips hurt so bad what is this" -- and apparently throwing around every swear word ever. (and feeling sad that even an epidural wouldn't help) - although in some ways I was glad. There was no way but the hard way. And that's what I wanted anyway, really.

In the shower I suggested an FSE but she wasn't keen (fetal scalp electrode). I'm glad she didn't put one in, it bought me (and the baby) some time to fluff around.

-- I tried the gas-- it was like... my head was on the ceiling. I'd be so tired, and sleepy but I could still feel the hips.

Those buggered hips. Thanks Dragon boat.

I don't I felt a single "traditional contraction" (which maybe I would have experienced if it had occurred pre DB... when i was 23) but burning hips. Like that DOMs feeling post a crazy workout x1000 and only in one place.

so the CTG was playing up. I tried the floor mat to rest (fuck I was tired) but with every contraction I'd be up off the floor, and running to the toilet and then once again, wailing the hips thing (I was a screamer, oh man. poor student).

Up and down and up and down. And at one stage asking for morphine then, like, that might help. Bella thought it was too late and I agreed to a VE to check anyway - she did it on the mat - (that girl, lucky she's young, an older midwife might have difficulty doing one on the floor) - she couldn't feel any cervix around the sides or back but the front might have had an anterior lip.

Bella wanted to start the oxytocin now. She thought at 2:10 Id have trouble in 2nd stage, and I was like - fine. We got to fully, so. I was pretty pleased with that thought to really think too much about how the synto would effect things.

I tried squatting against the side of the bed. and trying to "push" like some prinip that had no idea (I didn't have any idea). after what might have been 20 mins, she asked me to get on the bed and I complied. I think the hip pain, whilst terrible, wasn't as bad now that I could push .... or at least, try to push-- eventually, the incharge was down there and reviewing the bad trace and they started coaching me in valsalva in a semi reclined position. It was slow going.

We tried left lateral too. But that didn't seem to help.

My eyes were closed most of the time and I took instruction. We did the whole hands behind the knees pull back and valsalva (my bladder still suffers) but the CTG wasn't great so -

The reg came in, and they started talking about a vaccume delivery. I said "with an episiotomy, right?" and they said "well, not if you don't want one but it is policy to do an epis with a vaccume" sighs yes I know it's policy. but I think this spurred me on to just keep going and luckily around then I had sorted out this pushing thing and the kid started coming. cm by cm, and then she hit the perineium and the pain changed from hips to vagina. So as burning hips sorta surpassed now I was pushing to burning vagina (well. yeah). and. eventually. I could feel when her head touched the bottom of the perineum and had turned the corner. It sat there. and then I was blowing cake candles like in the movies -- and then she was out.
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