This one is for my (curious) girlfriends...
8 Nov 06
1830h
Went to gynae with Hafidz & gynae did an internal check. Told me I'm 2cm dilated and that he'd have to admit me that night. I was flustered thinking "Wait a sec.. is this guy for real? I don't feel anything!"
2230h
Checked into Thomson Medical and sent to normal ward. Still feel nothing. Godparents Sapna & Anil kept me company til almost midnight when I started to feel a little mild period cramping.
Important! Have a hearty meal at home before you go. You won't eat anything anytime soon and you really really really need the energy.
2315h
Godparents & Hafidz left. Gynae did another internal check and said I'm still 2cm dilated. If no action tonight, he would induce me at 0830h the following morning. I went to bed.
2330h
The mild cramping got progressively stronger. It feels like a horrible period cramp and comes and goes in waves. I tried to snooze but the pain was getting unbearable.
9 Nov 06
0130h
I timed my contractions on my hp (Hafidz had taken my watch home) and it was coming at regular 3 minute intervals. I remember reading that at one should leave for hospital when one's contractions are 4-6minutes apart. I rang for the nurse and asked if I should call my gynae. She said "We will monitor you and call your gynae if there's anything" and left me alone. I'm like WTF!!!! What the hell does that mean, I was in so much pain already!!
0215h
I felt something ooze out of me. I though "Ahh... waterbag! No need to be induced!" then reached down and saw blood. Immediately I had a sense of foreboding, many people tell me that if your first leak is blood, it would be a long and painful labour. I made up my mind to go down the epidural route and skip the whole 'matyr' act. I rang for nurse again and they wheeled me down to delivery ward.
0245h
A really rough, unfriendly Filipino nurse (if only I had the energy to punch her face!) put me on foetal monitor and injected something to make me go poop. It irritated my bowel like shit (no pun intended) but between the contractions and the bowel pain, I was almost delirious.
0300h
Hafidz arrives but was told to wait outside whilst they wheel me to from delivery ward to a sterile delivery room. At this point, moving an inch was a nightmare and I couldn't speak from the pain. I ask for gas as my first pain relief option (ok, being brave by going down that matyr route).
Important! Put the mask FIRMLY over your face and breathe as DEEPLY as you can when the contractions start. Stop breathing when contraction is at its peak. It feels like being high on pot- you feel the pain but you're distanced from it. Just imagine yourself somewhere else- I transported myself to the wonderful days in Perth throughout the pain.
0300h - 0717h
1st stage
Already dazed. All I remember is pure bright pain, praying and praying to Almighty God to let me get over this quick and asking my hubby for water (gas makes your throat scratchy). I also remember asking for epidural but getting pethidine instead but anything was better than gas alone. I was already hugging the bed railing praying "Dear God, please let me get through this. Please let my baby be healthy" but was too absorbed in the pain to make a decibel noise. But with the pethidine and gas combination, I managed to cope with the pain well enough to forget about my request for epidural. I even managed to doze between contractions (or maybe I was just high enough to think I dozed off). The 1st stage pain felt like a huge squeezing pressure on your belly, similar to period cramp but a million times worse. I was steadily bleeding throughout this stage, my hubby says the nurse filled out 2 trash bins with my soaked waterproof sheeting.
Transition stage
The moment I started groaning, I knew I was in the transition phase (see what information can do for you mentally?). Now, many books say this is when a lot of women lose control and now I know exactly WHY. At this stage, the pain is so immense that you automatically start pushing. The nurse pressed HARD on my belly and through the fog, I remember her saying "Push!". Then I heard myself whimpering "Where is my gynae!?!?!?" and she replied "Just push, he's on his way". Every fibre in my body says stop pushing because my cousin Lin pushed before her gynae arrived and the baby stayed in the cervix long enough to come out looking like Conehead. But the pressure inside my belly had its own mind and I find myself pushing a little bit and felt her head crowning. In my drugged state, I thought "I'm NEVER taking this f***ing gynae again, where the f*** is he! I'm going to deliver my baby without a f***ing gynae!!" but minutes later he came in looking like he stumbled out of bed. Every conceivable swear word was in my head directed at him. Hafidz says my waterbag burst at this stage and he finally can see water. I had to call out to him cos he was busy looking south instead of offering support.
2nd stage
The pain was everywhere that I only saw bright light (I think my gynae had on a mining hat with a torchlight mounted on it but hell, maybe I imagined it). It was just pure exquisite pain that nothing else is painful in comparison, I didnt feel anything even though I heard his scissors snipping me up. They put my legs in the stirrups but I got my stupid foot cramp at this point which was kind of funny. I remember going "ah... foot cramp! foot cramp!" and the nurse massaging my legs. Hafidz was holding my hand and I squeezed so tight I left nail marks on it for 2 days. Then everyone did the cheerleader routine "Push! Push! Puuuussshhh!" and I took a deep breath and pushed with all my might and accidentally yelped at the same time (to which the nurse said "Don't shout, conserve energy!") but nothing happened, only I felt MORE pain. Now this is cos her head is at the entrance of my cervix. Then my hubby's voice going "Na, you can do it sayang, push sayang" and the gynae said "Take a deep breath Shafrina and push one more time" and I did as told. It felt like my intestines dropped out of my body as Arissa slipped out and I remember crying out loudly in relief/surprise.
3rd stage
For someone who has not felt labour pain, this stage may be most icky as the gynae stiches me up with a fishing line and hook. But let me assure you, this stage is the best. No more contractions, and you get 2 jabs in 'there' and on the thigh and you just lie back and relax... just remember not to look down. I was also busily asking my hubby who was flitting around the room, cutting the cord and doing all the daddy things he has to do "Is she healthy? Is she ok dear?"
That wraps this drama episode up. What follows is a week of perineal pain- you need to relearn to piss, relearn to poop, learn to breastfeed, deal with engorgement as your body settles into Mum-hood. I must add after all that, the gain was worth every ounce of pain.
Happy shagging!