Megan - Induction, Epidural & Positive Unplanned Caesarean in Cork

5 May

At Home

I had a totally healthy pregnancy thankfully! No complications, was medium risk and with the midwives led clinic.

I was nearing the end of my pregnancy and I knew I could feel him moving down. My pelvis felt weighed like I was sitting on a bowling ball.

At 37 +4 at about 6am I started feeling trickles of water that I initially mistook for watery discharge but actually turned out to be slow amniotic leak! I called the hospital and they told me to jump on my yoga ball and get things moving! We decided to get some good food, watch Father Ted and talk about how excited we were. We stayed up late but by the time 11pm came I called it a night. No pain, no contractions starting at all. I went to bed and woke at 2am and decided to call the hospital again as I was growing concerned with the lack of progress. I snuck out of the bed, trying not to wake Jamie. I got to the end of the stairs and I heard him jump out of the bed and out to the landing. He looked down the stairs at me and said "is it time to go??" I didn't want to get him worked up so I said "no I just want to get up and move around a bit. Go back to sleep". The midwife on the phone told me to make my way in, I had to go back up the stairs and wake him up!

It was the COLDEST, ICIEST night of the year. Jamie thought he still had some time and he realized he had two bald tires on the car! He said we would be driving to Cork at 50km per hour! I still remember the drive in like it was yesterday. Passing all the normal things we do on our way to Cork but it seemed slower, like I was taking in every moment of it with Jamie before we became a family of 3. I informed Jamie in the car that because this was unexpected I was supposed to be meeting a man from Facebook to sell an electric scooter the next day and if he had time on his lunch break could he sell it for me, it was in the boot!

The Hospital

We arrived to the hospital and checked in and got checked out. Sure enough the waters had gone and it was time to come into hospital. We parted ways here and Jamie went home and I went to the ward.

I remember looking at the clock and seeing 5am. The midwife told me Jamie could come back again at 7am so I thought I'd have a quick nap and he’d be back again. I've never been one to beg anyone to do anything for me. I’d always be independent and if I wanted something I got it for myself. But this time I remember so clearly looking Jamie in the eyes and saying to him "promise me you will be back at 7am" and of course he did, he didn't even want to leave.

I woke at 7am on the dot to Jamie sitting on the chair next to my bed. He had brought me a bottle of coke and a chocolate bar and I was never so connected to him at that moment, he knew what I needed without even being told. The nurses came to me and said I was going for a scan, first on the list. I told Jamie to head away to work as it looked like it was going to be a long day of it. He reluctantly went, it was a Friday morning after all and the show must go on, I didn't want him eating into his Paternity leave when Reuben wasn't even born yet!

I walked down the familiar corridor to the scanning area and saw all the women waiting for their appointment. I scanned the room and saw all different types of people, some with partners and family and some alone. I didn't feel lonely at that point. I knew I'd have my baby soon and that's all that mattered to me. I was so excited to see him one last time before I met him in person. I was called into the scanning room as promised, first on the list. The midwife confirmed that I was there to check water levels etc. and to my shock she confirmed there was still two good pockets of water surrounding the baby! She said that the water level was lower then last time but not enough that I would need to have him today! I was gutted! I confirmed with her what she said and I said "so I will be going home?" She said "it's not my decision but most likely." I politely fake smiled through my disappointment and waddled my way back to the ward to ring Jamie. I informed him of the new findings that I will probably be going home and id ring him when it was time to collect me.

In the mean time I got a phone call off my mam who wanted an update. I told her everything and she laughed and said "you'll be right to ask the doctor for a second option before you leave that hospital" Mams just know things. The doctor came around to me and I did just that, asked loads of questions. The doctor (having known me from working in the theatres with her) was very on the fence about sending me home as she said she didn't think I was exaggerating. She said she wanted to do a speculum test once more to confirm the waters had gone. She asked me to go and use the toilet. I laughed and said "Dr... The last time I was getting a speculum test done I was told to go to the toilet and all the amniotic fluid came out and when the nurse did the test there was nothing there!" She laughed and said that going to the toilet was for my own comfort and she would be happy to do it without me going to the loo. She set me up and inserted the speculum. She asked me to cough and by God I coughed. I wanted this baby today! The amniotic fluid gushed out all over the speculum and the Dr confirmed with the midwife that there was plenty of it there and I wasn't going home! The Dr went through the options with me 1) monitor and see how we get on and if I go into labour naturally then great 2) antibiotics and induction. I asked what's the safest thing to do and she said she would go for option 2 herself. I agreed and we planned to go for an induction. She congratulated me and assured me I’d have my baby here by the evening! How exciting!

I called Jamie with the good news! I told him nothing would be kicking off here until 4pm so to finish work and make his way here on route. I had been so good at packing my bag and preparing but I hadn't managed to get to the shop and get a bluetooth speaker! I asked Jamie to stop off and get one on the way because I'd need my music down in the labour ward! The Doctor came straight back in to insert the gel to start the induction process. It wasn't uncomfortable at all and it was all very exciting. Many people came and went, family and friends (many of who actually worked in the hospital so popped in during their breaks etc) I woke up to my brother sitting in the chair next to me in his uniform on his phone. I asked him how long he was there and he laughed and said 10 minutes only but he didn't want to wake me .

Jamie arrived after selling the scooter and buying the speaker! It was time to move down to the labour ward! We were leaving the room and the lady that was in the bed next to me and her partner popped out to wish me luck. It was beautiful. We didn't speak the whole night I was in the bay but she was rooting for me!

Induction Room

We arrived to the induction room for 4pm. Got comfortable, got into my night dress and got the speaker going. I was in my zone. They broke the rest of the waters and started the drip. I felt nothing. It was all very civilized. After an hour things started getting a bit spicy. I found walking around helped. After an hour I was asking for the gas and air. I loved that stuff. I couldn't get enough of it! Jamie even had a go when the midwife wasn't in the room! That worked for about 2/3 hours until I started getting a bit more unsettled and as the midwives described me to her coworker "a small bit tearful" as I heard them talking out in the corridor. The midwife came in and suggested the Pethidine. I was all for it. I got my injection and the best way to describe it is like I was really really drunk. I was still feeling the waves of contractions but I was so drunk I didn't care. I was cuddled up with Jamie on the bed sucking my gas and getting though it.

I was hanging on in there. I had my music, the wonderful playlist my musician husband had composed for me. I had my snacks and Jamie was pulling up funny memes from the internet to keep me in high spirits. I found the most comfortable position was on the yoga ball leaning up against the bed. It worked for me. I was doing my thing and I heard commotion out in the corridor. A lady was being wheeled into the induction room. She was panicking and shouting saying "I NEED AN EPIDURAL" The midwives were running around her and checking her. They said "You’re 9cm, you'll have a baby before an anesthesiologist". I looked and Jamie and he looked at me.. I turned to the midwife and said "can I have the epidural now please?"

The Labour Ward

After the midwives agreed that the epidural was appropriate they moved me down to the labour ward. I remember passing the nurses station and smiling and waving at all my coworkers! The walk of fame! Once I was settled in the delivery room the anesthesiologist was right in. Someone I wasn't familiar with. She told me she was on a special visit over from CUH as the CUMH anaesthetic was stuck in theatre. I had never been so grateful of someone going above and beyond to help a patient then I was to that doctor. She got me in position for the epidural and I have to say it was very straight forward. I was having contractions though the procedure and the doctor was so polite and reassuring me that it's normal and once the contractions passed we would continue. The epidural was sited and it worked immediately. The relief was something of dreams. I said the first thing I want to do is take a nap. So the anesthesia doctor said good luck and hopped off. I asked Jamie to pass me my phone and we couldn't locate it. I had Jamie and two midwives searching the delivery room, induction room and bags to find it and no sign. Eventually we decided we would ring it and boom, who answered only the anesthesiologist. She picked it up thinking it was her own phone and had it over in the CUH with her! She promptly dropped it back but definitely something we all got a laugh out of.

The epidural worked like dream. It gave me a chance to have a nice nap, Jamie managed to get a few hours and everything was so calm. I woke at about 3am chatting to the midwife who was looking after me. About had she any plans for the weekend, was she working as a midwife long etc. Eventually she asked could she do a vaginal exam again. I consented and she checked me. She looked up at me and said something along the lines of "hmm, your cervix is recoiled." Brilliant. I went from 1cm, almost 2cm to closed. The doctor came in and had a look at my baby's heart beat. She told me the baby wasn't a fan of the oxytocin and his heart rate was dropping with each contraction and not recovering as well as it should. I asked what is the best option. She suggested that I could turn off the oxytocin and wait 2 hours and see what happens or a C-section.

Honestly, I never wanted major abdominal surgery more in my life. I woke Jamie up and I practically begged the doctor for a c section. The doctor said she needed to go talk to the consultant on call. The doctor came back and said the consultant gave the go ahead for surgery. In my head I thought "a consultant wouldn't agree to a surgical procedure being done on an expectant mother on a Saturday morning at 5am unless it was warranted." That helped me to justify my choice a bit better anyway.

The CUMH anaesthetic came to visit me, a doctor I was very familiar with from working and he did his best to act professional but knew deep down we were good work colleagues and vibed well with each other. I said "Hi Dr (his second name)." He laughed and said "please call me (first name)" I always called him by his first name unless I was with a patient anyway . He got very serious and went though the consent form with me about topping up the epidural and the side effects etc. My main concern was that the theatre staff on the night shift needed to have a cup of tea before they operated on me and my son! The midwife got me a gown and hair net and some TED socks and made me drink some horrible chalkie drink that made me vomit. An hour later they came to me and said it was my turn!

The Theatre

I was wheeled down through the familiar hall ways knowing WAY too much for my own good. Jamie was drifted off to get into his gown, hat and shoe covers and they got me set up in the theatre. I was really surprised that even though I've been assisting anaesthetics in inserting epidurals for 10 years I never knew that you could still shift your bottom and lift your legs. I remember being asked to shuffle over to the bed and being like "omg I never knew I could do that with the epidural!"

Looking around the theatre I saw all the familiar faces. The nurses looked at me with a mixture of excitement and pity. I remember making a point to the nurses that Jamie is very squeamish with blood and he could faint. I heard the nurse walking around the room saying "Dad is afraid of blood, can we keep him above the curtain please" In a flash the drapes where up and I heard the diathermy going. I was laying back and thinking "How is it that I'm gonna have a baby in 10 minutes..."

When suddenly I starting shaking and I just could not stop shaking. The anaesthetic asked me if I was okay if I wanted a warm blanked and I remember telling him I was okay, he turned to the midwife and asked to get me a warm blanket. Typical me, not wanting to cause a fuss.

I knew from working in the theatre that during the anaesthetic partners aren’t able to come in. It can be a bit delayed sometimes with all the coming and going and some times the lady thinks we have forgotten but usually it's just that we need to finish our jobs in the theatre first. Even knowing this, I wondered have they forgotten about Jamie. I knew they had opened the uterus as I could hear the suction going and I started to worry. I looked up to the anaesthetic and asked where Jamie was and suddenly there he was! He wasn't going to miss it!

We held hands and smiled at each other with excitement. I heard the midwife shout "head". I looked at Jamie with delight and said "His head is out!!" Jamie looked at me surprised like "how do you know that... Oh wait". When I say that his cry was the most magical noise I had ever heard in my life it would be an understatement. The both of us grabbed each other's hands and squeezed, tears of happiness flowing from both of us. I heard the doctor say "oh my goodness, that's some head of hair!". They asked us "have you a name picked?" We looked at eachother and said "Reuben". The doctor said "Well happy birthday little Reuben!" And they dropped the curtain and it was as if someone had just taken the most beautiful angel in heaven and dropped them into Theatre 3... And he was all ours. I had never seen something so perfect in my entire life.

The doctor passed Reuben over to the midwife and she cleaned and weighed him. Jamie was called over to watch the process. Jamie was hesitant to go without me but I insisted he needs to go meet his son. I was laying there waiting for my turn to meet my absolute miracle and suddenly I very my stomach churn. I hadn't eaten a full meal since lunch time the day before and It was now 6:30am. I told the anaesthetic that I was feeling a bit nauseous and he reassured me it was normal with the drugs ect. Suddenly Jamie arrived around the corner with the midwife holding Reuben. She put him up against my face and I remember smelling him on the top of his fuzzy head. I felt so complete. I commented that his head was a funny shape, like a hook! The doctor said "well, he was in the birth canal for hours! It will go back to normal soon!" . This beautiful baby and I where cheek to cheek... For about 30 seconds which then I looked at Jamie and said "take him away I'm going to get sick" Jamie moved back with Reuben and the nurse came over to catch my vomit she sat there for half an hour rubbing my face and my tears away while I dry heaved. I heard the surgeon say "can she have something for nausea?" And the anesthesia saying "I'm giving it now". Then I started getting very light headed. I heard Jamie asking the anaesthetic "is she okay?" And he casually said "yes absolutely fine". I heard the nurse telling Jamie it was time for him to step out and wait in the recovery room and we would be out shortly. I remember laying back and looking at the ceiling hoping for it all to be over soon so I could get a proper cuddle from the baby.

Recovery

I was transferred into recovery to come upon a ghostly pale Jamie (afraid of blood and decided to have a look on his walk back from the baby's weight being taken). He was fine thank God and the look of absolute relief he had on his face just made me so happy. I was looking down on my little baby's face and all I could see was his hair, he was cuddled into my chest in his little blanket and I didn't want to disturb him.

The nurse asked Jamie if he wanted to do skin to skin and he was ready for this moment! He took his son and cradled him. I've never seen that man so happy in the whole 9 years I had known him. He looked at me like he was holding the most precious treasure that ever existed, and he was. I was starting to think about my poor mam now. She was probably starting to worry as the last she heard I was going for an emergency section and that was 3 hours ago. I asked Jamie to go and make phone calls. He hopped away in a giddy bouncy trot out to make the phone calls every proud daddy wants to make. I stayed in recovery with Reuben.

The nurses where pumping the fluids in as my blood pressure was low. I didn't want to check and freak myself out. I just kept my eyes on my new baby. The baby started crying and I did the automatic rocking and shushing. The nurse suggested he was hungry. I thought at that time "oh shit. I should know that. I don't have any intuition..." I said "oh really? Okay let's try and get him to latch" and he did, straight away. That was the first and last time he didn't break my heart with breast feeding as the latch wasn't going well and he wasn't staying on. Thankfully I had collected loads of colostrum so I gave him a syringe of that and he was good!

Jamie came back and had shared all the good news and passed on the well wishes.

The nurses reported that my blood pressure was good and I was able to go back to the ward with my new family.

The Ward

Thankfully it was 9am by the time I got back so Jamie could stay with me for the rest of the day and I was able to get a good rest after the procedure. The midwives told me I had to stay in bed until 6pm so it was quite boring as all I wanted to do was jump out of the bed and start tidying the room and putting things where we wanted them (the catheter didn't even bother me much). All my family came and went and the midwife came and removed my catheter and asked me to pee in the paper buckets and call her when I was finished to make sure my bladder was working by itself. I got such a fright when it turned out my pee was completely red and there were blood clots in the toilet (totally normal btw but no one tells you).

I didn't feel any pain and started thinking if I even needed the pain killers ( don't listen to me, take your pain killers on time and keep up with them you'll be glad of it after). Reubens nappy needed to be changed for the first time. Myself and Jamie decided it was a two man job. He held the legs and I opened the new nappy (a skill I literally do in my sleep now). The three days in the hospital were busy, hearing tests, registering births, first baths, jaundice tests, blood sugar tests etc. you will never have a break without someone coming to ask or check something. Reuben got the best care I could have ever imagined. I was so lucky that the midwives where happy to take Reuben to the nursery at night time for 2/3 hours to allow me to get some sleep. I would have trusted those women with my life.

A memory that stands out to me the most over the three days was the last night before Jamie went home. The three of us laid on the bed in a cuddle and cried. We didn't realise how overwhelming everything had been until it all went quite. It was a beautiful experience.

I had the most amazing experience. If I knew I would get Reuben back again I would go through it all again. Writing this has helped me to reflect on my experience all over again in the most positive way I could imagine. It was really a beautiful day and I will remember it for the rest of my life.