it was almost morning around 5 , when I woke with a strange feeling of moist bed. I woke up with a feeling of disgust ..how shameful I was wetting the bed, I got up from the bed and to my utter surprise I was still not able to control it and it was leaking on to the floor. I recalled reading that such is the experience of water breaks...but it was supposed to smell like ammonia....some kind of strong foul smell I suppose. There wasn't any such smell.. I searched on the net but couldn't find any other clue to investigate.
I called my Hubby in London, he was in his Christmas party.When I told him he was like ok you go and get a checkup done in the morning...I had to explain to him that water break means that the baby is about to arrive. He immediately asked me to call up the gynaec. I called the dr and explained the situation she was quite sure that it was water break and asked me to come to the hospital without any further delay.
The hospital was 25 kms away from where I was , I had picked up the hospital in the other side of the city where I was staying. I had presumed that was where from I would be need to go to the hospital and hence would be most commutable...I was not supposed to be here in my house. I called up my friend , thankfully they answered the phone at that odd hour, told them that I needed to be taken to the hospital.. my friend said he said he will be there in 15 minutes.
I thought of all the things that I needed , the first thing I picked up was my laptop....and can't remember what else. My hospital bag was not ready nor was it with me. I was pretty sure it was somekind of false alarm ..I wasn't getting any contractions, plus hubby was coming after two days..surely baby was gonna wait for his father..no?!?
I woke up my cousin sleeping peacefully unaware of the chain of events, told her we are going to the hospital..even she was quite shocked and sure at the same time that there was still time for baby to come. My friend came ,he was sure they are gonna send me back..and told me about another friend whom he drove to hospital couple of years back and how she was sent back. I started feeling a bit stupid that I had woken up everyone and was creating a fuss. On the way to the hospital I started feeling a strange sensation of a rigid tummy once in a while...my friend kept cracking jokes to take my mind off it.
We reached the hospital after an hours drive ...my inlaws were already waiting there. I remember happily climbing the few stairs at the entrance ..did I look like I was going to deliver a baby?.... not at all!
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| I was about to meet my baby :) |
Soon the gynec reached and did an internal checkup, reported a dilation of 2 cm...it started sinking that I was going to have my baby that day itself...I called up my hubby and told him to come as soon as possible...there was no time left.
After a while he called back to let me know that the flights were totally booked and that he could make it only after 48 hours...I realized that even if he would taken a flight that moment he couldn't make it before baby's arrival. I started brooding, this was not the way I had imagined I had always thought he would be with me in the labour room and support me in the eleventh hour...I cried for a minute or two and then I was alright...so the moment I had been waiting all these months for was finally here...sixteen days prior!
The dr advised me to be shifted to my suite and said she would examine me again after 3-4 hours. I went to my suite called up my parents, who were also shocked and started to make arrangements to fly to my city.
I picked up my laptop and mailed my friends that I had gone in labour...how funny I was actually mailing friends from the hospital that I had gone in labour.
I had chosen to be a volunteer to share my experience of pregnancy for an awareness documentary that the dr was making...I did a small video shoot and was blabbering all about my excitement ...and remember quoting that the labour pains are quite ok and bearable.. not like what they show in movies....God must be laughing at me then and saying..'wait and watch!'
I had also decided to go for stem cell banking, but couldn't finalize the organisation , with the turn of events of last week . I called up one of shortlisted cell bank and explained them the emergency situation..after some time the personal came to my the hospital and I signed some long documents to complete the formality...managed to do it on time.
Around 11 am , I was called for further examination , before that a catheter was inserted in my wrist for the drips...I started feeling uneasy at the thought of the drip... that was just the beginning.
Another internal examination and I was told the dilation wasn't progressing well, I was put on external oxytocin to fasten the dilation. I was given a light meal which I just tasted for the sake of it , given a sedative to put me to sleep ..I was told I needed lots of energy later...I tried to sleep with the monitoring devices attached to my tummy....my mil sat by my side..I slept for sometime don't know for how long..woke up and couldn't sleep any longer as I started getting regular contractions. It seemed bearable .. I had requested for an anesthetist ..the resident dr suggested I shouldn't take epidural as I was coping quite well ..I quite liked the idea...and the anesthetist was not called for.
After an hour or so...the contraction started faster and for longer duration...I was practicing the breathing techniques I was taught in the antenatal classes.. for sometime it helped but soon all that was in vein...I couldn't bear the pain...i was crying and screaming ...very much like the movies...but minus the poise ...."I am gonna die...I am gonna die!"
The resident dr was baffled and didn't know how to make me at ease ...called for the anesthetist but cause of the lack of notice ..it took him an hour to reach. Finally when he appeared, he looked like a fairy to me as he told me that in just 5 mins he will make me forget all about the pain....I remember him saying that I looked dead with fatigue already.
He inserted the epidural needle ...after 5 minutes I felt better but the pain was still not bearable..he had to give me an extra dose to keep me alive...soon I was calm and composed and even joking with the dr.
Around 10:30 in the night my gynaec arrived after being reported by the resident dr that I had fully dilated. Prepartion for delivering the baby started , I was moved into the operation theater. By this time I had started shivering very badly I felt I was in the Artic without any warm clothes on...apparently that was the side effects of epidural. The dr asked me to push, which I was trying my very best...remember the dr encouraging me and asking me to push more...don't remember how long was that but then she started telling the others " Fast ..baby's heart rate is falling....I was terrified....some more pushing .... an episiotomy cut...and baby was out! The dr confirmed what the radiologist had told me in my 22 week scan..its a baby boy. ..someone whispered its 11:05 pm...my gaze shifted to the clock hanging across..and cross checked ..indeed 11:05 pm!
I could hear the baby being handed over to the pediatrician ..meanwhile the gynaec was drawing blood from the placenta for stem cell banking.
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| my bundle of joy! |
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