Overdue Times Two
I wasn’t surprised when my due date passed with my first pregnancy. It’s quite common for first timers, and I knew that my baby girl hadn’t moved down and wasn’t engaged. I was disappointed that my first Mother’s Day came and went though too, just a couple of days before my induction date. Most of us spend a considerable amount of time during pregnancy thinking about labour. First we dream about it, then we think more seriously about it, then we panic about it, then we realise there’s no going back so we’d best come to terms with it! I imagined my waters breaking. Or I imagined waking my husband in the middle of the night saying, “This is it Honey...” I imagined timing contractions and working out when would be best to head to the hospital. Instead, we calmly packed my bag into the car and drove without a sense of urgency. I waddled into the maternity ward, stopping and smiling for a photo on the way. We checked in at reception and then sat in a waiting room for a couple of hours before being settled into a bed. Prostaglandin gel was applied and my husband was sent home to get some sleep. I lay there, wide awake, alone, wondering if labour would start. Not at all what I imagined. The gel didn’t work, so my obstetrician broke my waters when he arrived in the morning. I laboured for five hours but with limited progress, so I was then hooked up to the syntocinon drip to really kick things along. I agreed to an epidural along with the drip as recommended, but unfortunately there were complications. So, with a partial epidural and the assistance of ventouse suction our gorgeous daughter was born at 41 weeks. Her skin was dry and cracked as is characteristic of overdue babies, and she had a large haematoma from the ventouse, but she was otherwise perfect. (I had a pretty rough time, but that’s for another post...) I thought things would be different the second time around. People assured me that my body would know what to do, yet at 41 wks I again found myself calmly waddling down a familiar corridor to be induced. It was like déjà vu. Gel was applied with little effect, breaking my waters only brought on mild labour, so the dreaded drip and accompanying epidural were recommended again. I was terrified of the same complications being repeated too, so I opted to have the drip without the epi. Oh. My. Goodness. I was very loud, but also very proud of myself for giving birth to my beautiful boy without pain relief. (Sadly, despite my efforts I still didn’t avoid postnatal complications!) Two pregnancies. Two inductions. Two births. Two amazing kids. I can pretty much tell you anything you want to know about inducing babies and the possible complications involved, but I can’t tell you what it’s like to go into labour naturally! Giving birth might not have been quite as I imagined, but the point wasn’t to have a “birth experience”. The point was to have a baby. And I had two. ___________________________________ Catherine Oehlman is a SAHM currently being raised by a terrific toddler and a curious crawler. Her background in primary education, love of the mothering journey and compulsion for writing collide on her SquiggleMum blog. Cath encourages other parents from all walks of life to maximise the time they spend with their children. 9 CommentsFeedAdd Comment |
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I’ve been pregnant twice. I’ve been overdue twice. And I’ve been completely OVER IT – twice! The days (and nights) are long once your due date has come and gone. Here’s the story of my two overdue arrivals.
Monday, 08 February 2010
Monday, 08 February 2010
Monday, 08 February 2010
Monday, 08 February 2010
Monday, 08 February 2010
Tuesday, 09 February 2010
Tuesday, 09 February 2010
Wednesday, 10 February 2010
Wednesday, 17 February 2010