My Labour and Delivery Trilogy: Part 1

So finally, I have decided to pen down my experience in labour and delivery. To be honest, 4th trimester is really taking its toll on me and I cried almost everyday 😢 I will share it in the later post but I am getting there. The parenthood journey is quite overwhelming and man, what a challenge!  

But I figured the last few posts were about this little one so his arrival deserves this post that outlines his 'origin' story haha. And looking back to this post, I find a greater appreciation of the birth to remind myself that this little boy is a precious gift of God and I am so grateful that he finally comes to see and share this world with us. 

Heihei. Are you guys ready to read how I was born?

Author's Note: My labour and birth is a long one spanning almost 24 hours in the hospital. So you will read through some details about labour and birth but they are not meant to scare you to the horror of birth! Despite the long labour, it's one that I can look back fondly and glad that I have made the best decision to deliver the child safely. Needless to say, I am proud of myself, and I hope you are encouraged and amazed by this birth process as you read this post. 

And Joel, my little one, this post is for you. For you to see how your mummy has given birth to you from the start to the finish, and how we have both done so well to work together and birth you into this new world. You are so precious to us💓. 

18th May, D-Day

Water Broke - 3AM

18th May was not the day that I have ever foreseen that I will give birth. My due date is in fact 19th May, and I have prepared my heart for the baby to come overdue since I have not felt any labour contraction. Imagine then my surprise when I woke up in the middle of the night feeling a gush of water leaking! I went to the toilet and realize my undies was soaked. 

'Did my water broke?' That came to mind immediately and I woke my husband up and told him what happened. We rang the hospital and were told to wait for the midwife to call back as she went and checked my medical record to confirm whether I was Group B Strep positive (Group B strep (streptococcus) is a common bacterium often carried in the intestines or lower genital tract. The bacterium is usually harmless in healthy adults. In newborns, however, it can cause a serious illness known as group B strep disease.) Apparently, if I am positive, I will have to come in to the hospital immediately because the baby will have a risk of infection.  

We already prepared our hospital bag and I felt pretty chilled at that time. I thought I wouldn't have the infection and we could possibly wait for a day or two, and the natural labour would begin. Half an hour later, I noticed there was blood show in my undies and we called again. This time, we were told to slowly make our way to hospital.

With all our gears suited up, we called a cab and made our way to hospital 😆 I even have mood to smile lol. 

At the Hospital - Birth Suite

We reached hospital at about 430AM and after waiting at the emergency and midwife confirmed that my water had broke, we were directed to the birth suite. 

I was still confused as I half expected that I would go home but it seems like it wasn't the case? Though the moment I was in the birth suite, I was very impressed with the facility and thought that I could use some of my birth skills (gym ball, shower, etc) here. Take a look at the facility! 

Then, we had our first midwife who came in and explained to us that I was confirmed Group Strep B positive and I will have to be induced labor. The bacteria will pose a risk of infection to the newborn if he isn't delivered soon. 

Dang! 😨

All along I planned to have a natural birth so this was a bit unexpected. The news, however, did not take long for me to digest and I wasn't particularly upset about it. I think that was due to me having quite an open mind about my delivery (even though I had a birth plan, I expected it did not go to plan). Once the midwife explained the necessity of an induction, instead of a natural labour, then I trusted the advice from the medical team and decided it's the best cause of action. I agreed with the decision and therefore proceeded with the induction! 

The midwife came and set me up with the drip and also the fetal monitoring device. Apparently since I was going to have an induction, the midwife will have to monitor the heartrate of the baby closely. The whole check in process and the verbal consent happened at about 6AM, as they set me up for the labour ahead. At that point of time, I still didn't know what lied ahead of me, and this whole labour process in fact would well take another 24 hours for me. I was mostly excited to be honest, because I was thinking, induction or not, I am finally meeting the baby! 😍

Syntocinon Induction at 8AM

The drip came along and surprisingly, it wasn't painful and the contraction felt pretty mild at first. Like a tingling sensation and that was it! I was pretty happy to be honest at that point of time and thought it might go ahead like this (looking back, that was the dream haha). 

I was using my breathing techniques and the TENS machine everytime I felt the contraction. And it really pulled me through. I can feel my body relaxed and the contraction wasn't too much to bear. Perhaps it was still on a lower dose and the pain was manageable! 

I did try to change position and be more mobile but unfortunately it wasn't allowed. Mostly because when I turned or even trying to use the yoga ball, the baby's heartrate dropped when the contraction comes so the midwife advised me to maintain the lying position where his heartrate is the most stable. We don't want his heart rate to drop as this might signal a distress.

5 hours later at 1pm, the doctor came in to do a vaginal examination and informed me I was 4cm dilated already. Honestly I wasn't sure it was good progress but the doctor and midwives seem to be in good spirit so I was feeling really confident and reassured.  

But what awaits me from this point onwards was really challenging looking back! Well,  continue here to part 2 of the story 😝