A Journey Through Pregnancy...and Beyond!: January 2009

Although Isabella is now almost 8 weeks, I guess I should post about her check up last Thursday. She's doing brilliantly and had gained another 10 ounces in weight. So, at 6 weeks on she'd gained just short of 3lbs. I'm not sure how much she's gained since then but we'll have her weighed at her 2 month check up when she has her first jabs. She has also grown 2 inches in length and her feet are right at the end of her 0-3 month sleep suits! She is measuring off the scale on the growth charts, but these are based on spanish babies and I guess they are kind of tiny. She is very alert, holds her head up very well and can now roll over onto one side. She is mimicking noises and facial expressions, gives the hugest heart melting smiles (which are more than welcomed straight after a 5-6am feed!) and is starting to giggle and make the odd "goo" noise.

She had a bad rash on her face last weekend which was apparently like baby acne. Being anxious first time parents we went to the hospital with her, only to be told it's perfectly normal and to keep it clean, dry and lots of light. She's back to normal this weekend with just a tiny bit of dryness on her face where the spots have dried up.

We're sticking to our bath, feed and bed routine and are kind of getting there. She's been settling a lot quicker recently but we still have the odd night where she decides sleep is for the weak and we should all go play! Last night was one of those times so we decided to turn out the bedside lamp which we usually leave on. It was one of those moments of thought when I decided we should give it a go as she was so busy looking around the room. It worked like a charm as I guess there's not much to focus on in the dark so she lost interest and fell asleep. Fingers crossed for a repeat performance tonight! When we do eventually get her off to sleep she does go 4-5 hours straight so we are both feeling a lot more human finally.

I thought it was about time to post my birth story of how little Isabella entered this world. It all seems so long ago, even though she's just over a month old!

It all started with a very bad headache from 6pm Sunday evening on the 7th December. I tried drinking lots of water and eating dinner but felt nauseous and unwell so I had a nap for a few hours and Chris gave me a massage but my head was in a lot of pain and I just didn't feel right. We decided at 1am to go to the hospital to get checked over as I have a history of high blood pressure and my doctor had told me to get any bad headaches investigated. I thought they would just monitor me for an hour or so, check my blood and urine and send me home. However my bp was really high at 157/95 and seemed to stay around that level. They took me off for a scan and internal, then another scan and said they were deciding what to do with me. I was put back on the blood pressure monitor and fetal heart rate monitor and they came and put a canula in my arm and hooked up an iv line. I was given a liter of sugar water as the baby was quiet and after 5 minutes she started going crazy.

The doctor came and told me that I would be staying in the hospital. I asked how long for and they said one or two nights, basically until you've had the baby! I begged to go home at this point as I have a fear of hospitals and didn't want to stay any longer than necessary. I started shaking and feeling really sick and Chris had to calm me down. They said they were going to start an induction as my blood pressure was a serious risk to me and the baby. By 5am (8th December - Chris' birthday) I'd been moved from the observation area to a private room and given a pessary impregnated with prostaglandins to try and ripen the cervix. I was put back on monitors for me and baby. I also had another litre of sugar water by drip. By 9 am they were satisfied that we were both well and we were moved down to the ward which is a little room with two beds and a great sea view.

I had breakfast but couldn't eat much. I stayed here trying to sleep on and off while waiting for contractions to start. Chris went home about midday to feed the animals and walk the dog and try and get a few hours sleep. After lunch at 2.30pm I went for monitoring of the baby. All was well and contractions started coming about every 8 minutes but were gentle. I came back to the room and watched Bridgit Jones on my iPod. Chris got back about 5pm and at 6.30pm we went for monitoring. The machine was picking up contractions about every 4 minutes apart and lasting about 30 seconds to a minute. They were still easy to cope with at this point. I was taken for another check of the cervix and was told that it was still high but a little softer. At 8pm I was sent back to the room and told they'd leave me overnight to see if the contractions got stronger and if nothing happened by the morning the next step was an oxytocin drip. If this then failed after 12 hours then the threat of c-section loomed.

I went to sleep about 9.30pm and at midnight I woke and sent Chris home to walk the dog and get some sleep. The contractions started getting a lot stronger, every 2 mins and painful. I put on my hypnobirthing cd and tried to relax through them. I felt strong pressure between my legs, went to the loo and my mucus plug came away. I called Chris and he got back about 2.30am and the lower back pain was horrendous. The baby was still back to back at this point and they wouldn't let me use my tens machine to ease the pain. I laid down and tried to doze between contractions. I got up at 6.30am (9th December) and moved to all fours on the bed while Chris massaged my lower back. At 9am we went up to the delivery area where I was wired up to the blood pressure monitor, fetal heart monitor and the oxytocin drip was put in place. I had an internal and was told that my cervix was still closed. I couldn't believe it after all the contractions through the night. I was feeling very disheartened by this point. From about 10am the contractions started back up gently and about 3 minutes apart. From 11am they were getting strong and down to every 1-2 minutes lasting 30 seconds. I was given an internal and told I was 2cm dilated. Happy with the progress I refused pain relief and carried on. By 4pm the contractions were so unbearable in my lower back as the baby was still back to back. I was starting to get upset at this point and was seriously wondering whether I'd cope any longer. As I was strapped to all the monitors I didn't have much freedom to move around and change position to help ease the pain. Chris did his best massaging my back but it got to the point where nothing was working to ease the pain. I remember biting down on the bed and on his arm at one point! I decided enough was enough and it was time to get some pain relief. I asked to be checked first to see how far dilated I was and it was only 3 cms. I couldn't believe after all that time and painful contractions I'd only progressed by 1cm. I begged for an epidural and they brought the consent form which was so long! Chris was trying to read the questions to me and I was swearing by this point and saying just fill it in and get me the epidural! I can't believe they expect you to do such a lengthy form when in so much pain.

It took another hour before the anaesthetist turned up to administer the epidural. It was so hard to stay still for the injections as I was having almost constant painful contractions by this point. As soon as it went in I felt so much relief it was amazing. I think epidurals really are the best invention ever! The midwife came back to break my waters and it was a bizarre experience. It felt so warm. I had a lot of fluid leakage as I was carrying the upper level of amniotic fluid. I sat back and relaxed and although I couldn't feel the contractions, every time I had one the waters would leak out a bit more. It was the strangest feeling. By 6pm I had dilated a further 3cms and was 6cms by this point. I thought the end was in sight but how wrong was I! It took until 9.30pm to be fully dilated and I was told that I could start pushing with the contractions. The problem was, I couldn't feel the contractions to be able to push as I'd not long ago had a top up on the epidural. They decided to cut off my epidural so I could regain feeling, thinking that it would only be a few pushes until the baby was out. However, I pushed and pushed but had no progress so at 10pm they decided to double the level of oxytocin to make the contractions stronger. I was in agony by this point and warn out from half an hour of pushing. The worst was still to come as the baby who never turned into the correct position before entering the birth canal, was still back to back and wasn't progressing downwards. By 10.30pm I had two other midwives in with me and they decided that every time I pushed they would push down on the top of my uterus to stop the baby moving back upwards and to try and force her out. I don't know which was the more painful - the contractions or the pressure they were applying on my stomach. They were literally bearing down with all their weight on top of me! After another 20-30mins we still didn't have much progress although the head was getting lower in the birth canal, but just not being able to make it out. Another couple of midwives and a doctor were in the room by this point and they decided that I'd need an assisted delivery. I was terrified by this point as all I could think about was the fact that I'd come this far with this much pain and I didn't want to end up with a c-section at the end of it all. This made me more determined to get the baby out although I was so exhausted.

They gave me an episiotomy and used a ventouse to help deliver the baby. Chris was sent out of the room at this point as it's the policy in Spain with these type of procedures. After a few more pushes and the midwives bearing down on my stomach and the doctor using the suction the head was out. I was in tears and could barely muster up the energy to push again to deliver the rest of the baby. One more push and she was out and delivered on to my tummy at 11.15pm. Chris was brought back into the room and had tears in his eyes. I would love to say she was the cutest thing we'd seen, but she was covered in vernix and blood so it was hard to see exactly what she looked like. Her eyes were all puffy and bloodshot from the traumatic delivery and her head was slightly distorted from the suction. They left her on my tummy while I delivered the placenta which came out fairly quickly in comparison. I wondered why I was still having contractions, completely forgetting I had to deliver the placenta too! It came out in one piece and they stitched me up. Isabella was then weighed, had her vaccinations given. She was given straight back to me for skin to skin contact and to start breastfeeding and we were left in the delivery room for two hours to recover before moving down to our room. She fed really well right from the start and hasn't stopped feeding since! By the next morning she was looking beautiful. She was given a bath and her eyes had started to open up properly and I can honestly say at that point she was the cutest thing I'd ever seen. We were both smitten! We stayed in hospital that night and the next day and night before being sent in to the big wide world on the 13th December.

So that is how Isabella made her grand entrance in to the world. The delivery was the total opposite to all that I had imagined as I was after a natural, drug free delivery, but at the end of the day she is here safe and well and that is the most important thing. It took me about a week to get over the birth and even two weeks on my tail bone was still very sore and bruised and I was still very inflamed from the episiotomy and the stitches. Initially I kept saying that she would be an only child but as the pain started to subside I knew I would do it all again in a heartbeat! Four weeks on and I wouldn't even know I'd had a baby. Everything has healed, my uterus is back to normal size and I have no evidence of a tummy at all. I'm only a couple of pounds off my pre-pregnancy weight, and I have gained a great set of boobies which you can't knock! Already we're thinking about her little brother or sister but will just go with the flow and let nature take its course.