Thank god everything went according to plan
Is exactly what I'd like to say, but unfortunately I'd be lying 'cause it really really didn't.
As many of you are undoubtedly aware we went into hospital on Friday morning to have Bobossino induced. Bobosso was given a drug to help bring on labour and we were told to go off for the few hours it would take to kick in.
Later that day Bobosso was hit by three minute contractions at five minute intervals. Unfortunately for us by that time the birth ward was totally full and the antenatal ward (where we were stuck) was heaving at the seams. The result being little or no attention from the overworked midwives and hours spent having no idea what was going on with Bobosso's body or what stage we were at. When we finally were seen - around eight at night - we were informed that Bobosso wasn't actually in labour but was suffering from particularly unpleasant pre-labour pains (as it turned out these pains went on significantly longer and were considerably more painful than early labour pains). I was told to go home and get some sleep and Bobosso was given some sleeping pills and some pain killers and was advised to rest in preperation for the onset of the real thing.
The next morning I returned to discover an exhausted Bobosso. Apparently the drugs hadn't worked as the pain was too severe and too frequent and she was given pethadine (a bit like morphine) in an attempt to knock her out. Needless to say she only got a couple of hours sleep but managed to get comedowns from all three drugs.
The good news: labour proper had begun and was a lot easier to deal with than the agonies of the night before.
Unfortunately for us the birth and antenatal wards hadn't eased off overnight so we were left to bunker down in our shared room and wait for some attention.
And wait.
And wait.
Until a rather cross Boboss went to the front desk and demanded to know what was going on. According to the midwife in charge both wards were still chocka block and she could only apologise for the lack of care. She also explained that as there was no room on the birth ward we might not be able to go ahead with the next stage of induction until the following day.
But there was an alternative.
If we were willing we could be transfered to another hospital (half an hour away) we would be rewarded with an empty birth and one to one care. After a short conflab, and despite Bobosso's growing labour pains, we decided to go, and an hour later - six o'clock on the Saturday - we arrived at our destination.
From that point on it was full-on. Bobosso's waters were broken and the contractions began in earnest, but things progressed as smoothly as possible (which, as those of you who have experienced labout will be aware, isn't very smoothly at all) and by midnight we were getting ready for the big push. Three hours, a totally exhausted Bobosso, and one stuck baby head later we were still there.
There was only one thing for it, we had to have an assisted birth. Needless to say I don't want to get into the details, think across between a torture chamber and a butchers shop and you'll be halfway there, but after what seemed like hours of horror (it was in fact about twenty minutes but there's probably only one thing worse than watching someone you love in agony, and that's going through said agony) our wonderful little baby boy was hauled out into the world and somehow all the traumatic, horrible trials of the last couple of days were forgotten (almost).
Whew! I have never been so excited, happy and relieved in my entire life and I'm not sure I ever want to go through anything resembling that experience ever again.
In my other thread Xoc suggested that heterosexuals are brave to face down the awesome might of labour. I'd say we're just ignorant* - although a baby is one hell of a reward.
Right, best be off. I'm going to see my family.
*By the by, a very queer couple of my acquaintance had a baby just over a month ago |
