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Tobias's Birth Story
After a trouble free pregnancy until 37 weeks, I might have known that delivery wouldn't be quite so easy!
I was admitted to the hospital with high blood pressure but no other symptoms of pre-eclampsia on Thursday 6th May with talk of induction. My blood pressure recovered and I transferred to consultant led care and given an appointment to see him on Monday 10th for another check up and allowed home. At this appointment my blood pressure was high and the results of my blood tests where dodgy. It was decided that I would need to be induced and the date was set for Monday 17th May (next available slot!) with community midwives monitoring my blood pressure in the meantime.
On Saturday 15th May my blood pressure was high again and I had + protein in my urine so I was admitted for induction. We got to the hospital at about 2pm and induction was started. The first lot of prostin increased my BH contractions and the second does was due to be given at 1am; I sent Daddy home as didn't see much point him being there too and thought he might be better getting some sleep! At 12.30am the started doing my monitoring for the next lot of gel but at 3am called off the induction as my blood pressure was stable and the delivery suite was very busy and they couldn't guarantee a midwife to be able to attend to me.
On Sunday morning there was still no change to my condition and I hadn't even started to dilate (oh and the joyous news that he was back to back!) but I was given the second lot of gel... this sent my body totally haywire... I was having my BH contractions at the top and the prostin pains / contractions at the bottom of my bump and I couldn't get comfy, was being sick and gradually over the course of the day shut down my bodily functions! Although it did settle after a while until they put me on the monitor to start the third lot of gel at which time the baby was not being active and I had given up. It was a relief when the consultant came in and said we're going to have to get the baby out as it is doing neither of you any good.
Then ensued complete madness in the delivery room! (well there really isn't any other way to describe it!) midwives all over the place were talking about me needing a general anaesthetic which I really didn't want but then came the anaesthetist and as far as I was concerned he was god! He said "have you got any questions?" and I said "can I be awake?" and he said "of course there is plenty of time". Daddy was sent to get dressed for theatre and I was prepared and taken to the theatre; it was so lovely and cool in theatre I immediately calmed down!
The anaesthetist was great and really put me at ease and luckily the spinal worked first time and baby Tobias was born at 5.21pm on the Sunday evening.
The first days were horrible; I was determined to breast feed and not give formula as this was one aspect of my birth plan that I could still control! But until my milk came in a had a very fractious little man and some of the staff were trying to pressurise me into giving him a bottle, luckily on Monday night my milk came in; and boy did it come in; both of us ended up totally drenched every feed!
On Wednesday he was weighed and had lost too much weight and was moderately jaundiced but he managed to recover from both of these and we were allowed home on Thursday evening.