Ewan turns 2 tomorrow! I can't believe how fast the past 2 years have gone. It feels like Ewan has always been with us though and it is hard to imagine life before him. He has brought so much happiness and joy into our lives. There is never a dull moment with Ewan around - especially when he teams up with Liam!!
I thought I'd post Ewan's birth story tonight, as the 5th of July is when it all started.
Monday 5th of July, 2004
At 41 weeks I was feeling great aside from a head cold and a nasty cough. With everything ready and tired of waiting, I organised to meet up with a friend in the park. Liam had fun playing with the kids while I tried my best to get comfortable sitting on the ground. My friend was amazed that I was still going strong – especially with such a huge belly! I realised that morning that even my longest shirts no longer covered my belly! At the park we talked about going into labour and my plan for the week ahead. I told her that I would try some acupuncture on Thursday to induce the baby if it hadn’t arrived by then. Little did I know that 24 hours later I would start getting my first contractions.
That afternoon I went for my weekly check up with one of my midwives, Rosemary, at the Birth Centre. I was a little nervous as I had a feeling that she may want to do an internal examination. I still remembered how much it had hurt when I had them before Liam was born. Ben and Liam came with me for a bit of moral support. We listened to the baby’s heartbeat and, lying on my back, Rosemary marvelled at my huge, mountainous belly. Seeing as I was 41 weeks, and now officially overdue, she suggested that she do an internal to see how things were looking and maybe even get things started. Despite my nervousness, I agreed. As it turned out, the internal didn’t hurt a bit. I was already 4cm dilated and was very stretchy. Rosemary had a huge smile on her face and said she thought we’d definitely have our baby tonight. If not tonight, definitely within the next 24 to 48 hours. I had to have a CTG trace done to see how the baby was doing. Laying there it all started to sink in. My heart was racing and caught between fear and excitement; I checked and double-checked to make sure Rosemary was serious. As I left she said she’d see me the next morning holding my baby and she wasn’t far off with her prediction.
Rosemary had also suggested that we try some things to help labour get started – hot curry and hot sex! So when we got home we made a call to order some curry but put the sex on hold. Our minds were racing with things we needed to get done, people we had to call and, of course, whether or not tonight was the night. I was so nervous. We had a restless night. I woke a lot with loose bowels and had a few mucousy shows.
Tuesday 6th of July, 2004
I woke feeling strange and somehow I knew that today was the day. I was crampy and having lots of tightenings. I had talked to mum the night before and thought I had better give her an update. I called and let her know that I thought our baby would be soon. With Liam busy watching Playschool, Ben and I took the opportunity to take care of the “hot sex” that Rosemary had suggested. It was anything but “hot”. It did the job though, and soon after I started having irregular contractions. We were almost certain that the baby would arrive today so we started to make plans. Ben’s dad came to spend the day and took care of Liam. My mum got ready to leave so she could be here too.
I tried timing my contractions at around 1:30pm but couldn’t concentrate enough. They were just starting to get a bit niggly but weren’t really painful. Ben took over the timing at 2pm. We timed them for half an hour and the contractions were now coming every 2-3 minutes and were lasting 30-40 seconds. Seeing as they were coming so close we thought we’d better check in with my midwife on duty, Anne. Considering that my first labour with Liam was only 4.5 hours, we decided that I should go into the Birth Centre so that she could see how things were progressing. We left home at 3pm and I was quite teary saying goodbye to Liam knowing that everything would be different when I saw him again.
We arrived at the hospital and, after an internal examination, found out that I was 6 cm dilated. We settled in to our room and once the contractions started getting stronger, I got into the shower. I stayed in the shower for ages, squatting and leaning over a chair during contractions. The water was wonderful and Ben was a great support getting me to concentrate on my breathing to get me through the pain. After about 2 hours in the shower I hit transition. I didn’t know what I wanted or where I wanted to be. I was sick of the pain and just wanted my baby! I ended up on the floor kneeling over a bean bag. I was resting on the bean bag, almost sleeping, between contractions. I was like this for around an hour when Anne told us she had to leave the room for a moment and to call her if anything happened. While she was gone I decided to investigate what was causing the intense pressure down below. I reached down and could feel my waters tight and bulging. I gave a push and my waters exploded giving Ben a bit of a surprise! It was such a relief for me and Ben flew out the door looking for Anne. Anne came back and shortly after I started to push.
According to Anne it was only 5 minutes of pushing – for me though it felt a lot longer. It took all my strength and energy to push Ewan out. It was all very calm and precise though. I listened to Anne and only pushed with my contractions. Once his head was out and he was suctioned, his shoulders and body slid out quickly. I felt every curve and bump as came out. It was the most amazing feeling. He was very alert with apgars of 9 and then 10. Anne and Marion, who had come in at the last minute, helped me turn over. I leaned back on the bean bag and was handed my big boy. He was just gorgeous and we just gazed into each other’s eyes. Exhausted and aching, he felt incredibly heavy though. My arms were sore from holding myself up for the last 4 hours and I was glad when they decided to weigh him. We all took guesses and everyone though he’d definitely cracked the 10 pound mark. We were all shocked to see the scales at 5.1kg or 11 pounds 4 ounces! No wonder I had trouble holding him at first!
Ewan’s birth was extremely empowering and everything I’d dreamed of during my pregnancy. I did it drug free and felt so much more in control and aware of everything. With Liam’s birth I had gas and pethidine and felt like I wasn’t really there. During Ewan’s birth I was able to cope with the pain so much better and was so much calmer during the whole process. I feel so proud and lucky to have been able to have such an amazing birth.
