The Birth Story of
Andrew Raymond Williams- Malouf (yes we changed his name after 12 hours from Ryan Andrew!!!!!)
Knowing that this was my 4th and last pregnancy, I was determine to enjoy every second, even the bad stuff. I was satisfied that this was my last baby and content that I would never be doing this again.
I finished work when I was 36.5 weeks pregnant, by then I was well and truly ready to have a few weeks rest before having another baby in the house. My maternity leave couldn’t have come any quicker to be honest. It was time for me to enjoy the remainder of my pregnancy and the birth of a new life in the house.
At this time I also began doing everything I could to have a spontaneous labour including expressing and storing this away in the freezer to use in the first few days after I had the baby.
At 39 weeks I had a discussion with my Dr and it was decided I would be booked in for an induction the following week on the 2nd of May 2008. I knew what to expect with another induction but still desperately wanted a spontaneous birth.
Experiencing weeks of pre labouring, I woke early on the 1st of May thinking I had ruptured membranes. With no pain I did what I had to do, made beds, got children ready for school, packed the rest of my bag, before Steve and I drove down to Sydney to have the baby at my workplace, a 3 hour drive away. We decided we would stay in a hotel the night before and go out for dinner with some friends. All very relaxing, or so I planned. I even wanted to get a pedicure so my feet would look nice.
We arrived in Sydney sometime after 1pm and went straight to the Day assessment unit where they called my Dr. After a Spec exam he said he wasn’t convinced I had ruptured membranes and we would stick with the original plan of an induction the following day. I had everything organised. 2 middie friends were also going to be support people and they had strict instructions to make sure I had heaps of photos and videos of the birth and straight afterwards. They were alsoon call should I need them before hand as well.
So Steve and I booked into our hotel, about 5 mins drive from the hospital, stuffed around setting up the movie channel and even swapped rooms as the first room faced a huge intersection and was really noisy. Settling in for a rest before getting ready to go out, we began watching the movie ‘Wild Hogs’, Steve was laughing at the movie and I was reading a magazine lying down.
It must of been about 3:20pm when I felt this ‘pop’ on my right side, strange feeling like the baby had grabbed the amniotic sack and pinched it, 3 mins later I felt the biggest gush of warm fluid and knew that without a doubt my waters had broken. I told Steve that I definitely had ruptured membranes, when he asked me what we should do, I simply said, ‘finish watching the movie and hang out until something else happens.’ And that’s what we did.
At about 4pm I started to get my first contraction, at 4:30pm I told Steve we wouldn’t be going anywhere tonight except to have our baby. I rang the hospital and told them what had happened and also text my support people to let them know. The hospital told me I had to come back in ASAP. Bugger.
So me being me decided to have a shower, meet my younger brother for a quick hello and get my stuff organised. I was contracting every 5 to 8 mins but wasn’t too worried as it was no where near the painful contractions I had experienced in my other labours.
We must’ve ended up back at the hospital at about 6pm. I had the usual, a CTG- happy baby- irregular contraction. They then told me the birth unit was full and they had a bed for me upstairs in the antenatal ward until my induction. I politely informed them that I would be requiring drugs (gas) in the next hour and that I’d be having this baby before the morning. So they told me to hang around and go get a coffee and wait for a room in the birth unit.
Yeah right, I think I got 10 metres when Steve told me I wasn’t going anywhere, yep I was now in established labour . I guess because I was relaxed and calm and not making any noise you could be mistaken for thinking I wasn’t in pain at all, but I was secretly in agony with every contraction and tried to pass the time chatting with people and text messaging friends. I even told one of my support people that I wasn’t doing much and not to hurry in but really I wasn’t that far away from holding my baby.
My heavy breathing during contractions must’ve got some attention as the next thing I knew a wheelchair was ready to take me up stairs to the birth unit. Still very busy when I arrived, I was put into an assessment room until a room was available; thankfully the assessment rooms are big and new and just like a birth room anyway.
It must’ve been about 7:20pm when we arrived in the birth unit and no one came in for what seemed like ages. I told Steve to press the buzzer, I wanted gas and I wanted it now. Still no one came. I remember Steve saying to me, ‘Not again’ referring to no one being around when our last son was born and only walked in when Steve yelled out the baby’s coming.
With contractions on top of one another, my legs were tired, Id been hip rocking and standing, leaning on anything I could since I got to the hospital and decided to sit on the edge of the bed. With the next contraction I felt the baby’s head start to descend even further and told Steve the baby is coming, he casually walked to the door and called out ‘the baby’s coming’. Three words to guarantee attention in a birth unit. With no delivery trolley, or synto to assist with third stage. I remember one midwife calling out to others to grab the gear they needed. It must’ve taken them about 3 mins to have everything in the room ready to go. Everything except the gas, the one thing that I wanted.
I asked them again to get the gas, they did an internal and surprise surprise I was fully dilated. Still requesting the gas they told me if I wanted to I could push, I told them I’ll hold it in until I get the gas. They asked me how I would push the baby out with the gas and I simply told them I would breath the baby out. I did exactly that.
I had a total of about 7 minutes of Gas sucking for dear life as I attempted to slowly help my baby into the world.
Little Andrew Raymond arrived after a 3 hour labour and 7 minute second stage at 7:42pm. Crying Pink and breathing.
A total uneventful labour with nothing significant to write about. It was very relaxing because I was relaxed and Steve was relaxed because I was.
To compare my 4 births- there is no comparison for me. A spontaneous labour and birth was a great experience after 3 inductions which I now describe as horrid and hard core.
I am in a happy place now, completely satisfied that I’ve had my children and content to watch them grow up into men.
Andrew Raymond Williams- Malouf (yes we changed his name after 12 hours from Ryan Andrew!!!!!)
Knowing that this was my 4th and last pregnancy, I was determine to enjoy every second, even the bad stuff. I was satisfied that this was my last baby and content that I would never be doing this again.
I finished work when I was 36.5 weeks pregnant, by then I was well and truly ready to have a few weeks rest before having another baby in the house. My maternity leave couldn’t have come any quicker to be honest. It was time for me to enjoy the remainder of my pregnancy and the birth of a new life in the house.
At this time I also began doing everything I could to have a spontaneous labour including expressing and storing this away in the freezer to use in the first few days after I had the baby.
At 39 weeks I had a discussion with my Dr and it was decided I would be booked in for an induction the following week on the 2nd of May 2008. I knew what to expect with another induction but still desperately wanted a spontaneous birth.
Experiencing weeks of pre labouring, I woke early on the 1st of May thinking I had ruptured membranes. With no pain I did what I had to do, made beds, got children ready for school, packed the rest of my bag, before Steve and I drove down to Sydney to have the baby at my workplace, a 3 hour drive away. We decided we would stay in a hotel the night before and go out for dinner with some friends. All very relaxing, or so I planned. I even wanted to get a pedicure so my feet would look nice.
We arrived in Sydney sometime after 1pm and went straight to the Day assessment unit where they called my Dr. After a Spec exam he said he wasn’t convinced I had ruptured membranes and we would stick with the original plan of an induction the following day. I had everything organised. 2 middie friends were also going to be support people and they had strict instructions to make sure I had heaps of photos and videos of the birth and straight afterwards. They were alsoon call should I need them before hand as well.
So Steve and I booked into our hotel, about 5 mins drive from the hospital, stuffed around setting up the movie channel and even swapped rooms as the first room faced a huge intersection and was really noisy. Settling in for a rest before getting ready to go out, we began watching the movie ‘Wild Hogs’, Steve was laughing at the movie and I was reading a magazine lying down.
It must of been about 3:20pm when I felt this ‘pop’ on my right side, strange feeling like the baby had grabbed the amniotic sack and pinched it, 3 mins later I felt the biggest gush of warm fluid and knew that without a doubt my waters had broken. I told Steve that I definitely had ruptured membranes, when he asked me what we should do, I simply said, ‘finish watching the movie and hang out until something else happens.’ And that’s what we did.
At about 4pm I started to get my first contraction, at 4:30pm I told Steve we wouldn’t be going anywhere tonight except to have our baby. I rang the hospital and told them what had happened and also text my support people to let them know. The hospital told me I had to come back in ASAP. Bugger.
So me being me decided to have a shower, meet my younger brother for a quick hello and get my stuff organised. I was contracting every 5 to 8 mins but wasn’t too worried as it was no where near the painful contractions I had experienced in my other labours.
We must’ve ended up back at the hospital at about 6pm. I had the usual, a CTG- happy baby- irregular contraction. They then told me the birth unit was full and they had a bed for me upstairs in the antenatal ward until my induction. I politely informed them that I would be requiring drugs (gas) in the next hour and that I’d be having this baby before the morning. So they told me to hang around and go get a coffee and wait for a room in the birth unit.
Yeah right, I think I got 10 metres when Steve told me I wasn’t going anywhere, yep I was now in established labour . I guess because I was relaxed and calm and not making any noise you could be mistaken for thinking I wasn’t in pain at all, but I was secretly in agony with every contraction and tried to pass the time chatting with people and text messaging friends. I even told one of my support people that I wasn’t doing much and not to hurry in but really I wasn’t that far away from holding my baby.
My heavy breathing during contractions must’ve got some attention as the next thing I knew a wheelchair was ready to take me up stairs to the birth unit. Still very busy when I arrived, I was put into an assessment room until a room was available; thankfully the assessment rooms are big and new and just like a birth room anyway.
It must’ve been about 7:20pm when we arrived in the birth unit and no one came in for what seemed like ages. I told Steve to press the buzzer, I wanted gas and I wanted it now. Still no one came. I remember Steve saying to me, ‘Not again’ referring to no one being around when our last son was born and only walked in when Steve yelled out the baby’s coming.
With contractions on top of one another, my legs were tired, Id been hip rocking and standing, leaning on anything I could since I got to the hospital and decided to sit on the edge of the bed. With the next contraction I felt the baby’s head start to descend even further and told Steve the baby is coming, he casually walked to the door and called out ‘the baby’s coming’. Three words to guarantee attention in a birth unit. With no delivery trolley, or synto to assist with third stage. I remember one midwife calling out to others to grab the gear they needed. It must’ve taken them about 3 mins to have everything in the room ready to go. Everything except the gas, the one thing that I wanted.
I asked them again to get the gas, they did an internal and surprise surprise I was fully dilated. Still requesting the gas they told me if I wanted to I could push, I told them I’ll hold it in until I get the gas. They asked me how I would push the baby out with the gas and I simply told them I would breath the baby out. I did exactly that.
I had a total of about 7 minutes of Gas sucking for dear life as I attempted to slowly help my baby into the world.
Little Andrew Raymond arrived after a 3 hour labour and 7 minute second stage at 7:42pm. Crying Pink and breathing.
A total uneventful labour with nothing significant to write about. It was very relaxing because I was relaxed and Steve was relaxed because I was.
To compare my 4 births- there is no comparison for me. A spontaneous labour and birth was a great experience after 3 inductions which I now describe as horrid and hard core.
I am in a happy place now, completely satisfied that I’ve had my children and content to watch them grow up into men.
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