Rachael's stories - Michael, Wolfgang and Axel
MICHAEL
I was married for about 4 months when we found out I was expecting.
From the first I knew he was a boy. It was a gut feeling and it
never went away.
I had a horrible pregnancy, suffering morning sickness for the
first three months then unrelenting back pain for the next
six! It got so bad that at some times I couldn't put my left
leg down because I couldn't feel it. I went to physio and
acupunture and pregnancy swimming but nothing helped. It was
hell. And to top it off I gained heaps of weight.
As I was so uncomfortable I was booked in for an induction on my
due date of 30 October. We tried for three days with no
success. He wasn't coming out at all! So they sent us home. By
this stage I was sure I'd be giving birth to a toddler! But at
12am 14 November I went into labour. I went to the toilet and had
terrible diarrhoea with sore tummy. I went back to bed, then
20 mins later, same thing, repeat again. After that the
contractions came at about 10 mins apart. I went downstairs
and watched Ricky Lake but it started getting really sore so we
rang the midwife, my mum, sister and best friend and arranged to
meet at the hospital. I had gas - didn't work. I went in
the bath - didn't work, made it worse as I couldn't move. I had
pethidine - made me sick. Screamed for an epidural but the
midwife told me I didn't need it. Thank god my husband stepped in
and got her sorted. The anaesthetist came and the relief was
instantaneous!! I even had a sleep. But I was still
vomitting and I hadn't been to the loo. Anyway, at 12pm I was told
to start pushing. I pushed and I pushed. I was exhausted! At
2.15pm Michael was born weighing 8lb 5oz with a huge
head. After a while everyone went home and I got up to go to
the toilet. That's when the fun started.
I have a memory of a whoosh! of fluid then nothing. I woke up
propped up on the toilet, then blacked out again. I came to in my
bed with an obstetrician and the midwife hovering to be told that
I'd had a bleed that they couldn't stop and I needed surgery.
I was barely coherent and very scared. I ended up losing a
third of my blood and having extensive suturing, both inside and
out. It was an horrific experience and I decided never to do
it again!
WOLFGANG
Well, seven years later, I was in a new marriage and my previous
experience a distant memory. My new hubby didn't have any children
so we decided to try for another one. This pregnancy was
wonderful. I had very little morning sickness or back pain. I felt
great. On the morning of 14 November (yes, same date!!!) I woke at
about 4.15am with an urgent need for a wee. But that wasn't
the problem. When I got up my waters broke with a gush and
there was waters everywhere. No contractions though. I rang my
midwife, who said she'd be over soon. I had a quick shower and rang
my husband at work to tell him to come home. I just caught him
as he drove out of the yard on his way to the Hawkes Bay which was
lucky. Otherwise he wouldn't have been able to get
back. My midwife arrived and checked me. Nothing was
happening, and she already had another woman who had just started
before me so she transferred me to her co worker and told me to
contact her if anything happened. So we got Michael up and ready
for school. I had made him a birthday cake to take for his class so
we dropped him off and came home. Nothing had happened so we
arranged to meet the midwife at the hospital for an
induction. We started at 2pm and it was intense straight away.
Like jumping into the deep end of the pool and forgetting how to
swim for a minute!! But this time was a bit better. I stayed more
upright and I had an epidural after a couple of hours. Then it was
time to push and we were transferred to theatre. (This was
because of my history) The epidural had worn off and the pain
was intense. I don't do pain well and was screaming at the nurses
to get the effing thing out - NOW! My husband was shocked and kept
telling me to be quiet!! After 3 to 4 pushes he was
out. He was 7lb 8oz and I was glad he was early! Imagine
if he'd gone to term. Wolfgang was three weeks and one day
early, therefore classified as premature so we had to stay for a
while so he could be monitered. But I only had a few stitches and
felt great.
AXEL
Axel's pregnancy was another horrible one, absolutely the worst
experience ever. I was on anti depressants which interacted
with the pregnancy hormones, and I was sick every day until he was
born. Sick and sore. I actually lost weight with this
pregnancy. I was the same weight at delivery as I was when I
first visited my midwife.
On 14 December I had a small leak in the morning but again nothing
happened. We went to see the midwife and she checked my and
did a monitor check. Nothing. But she admitted me to
hospital because I would need to be on an antibiotic drip at 5 am
if nothing had happened. We arrived at delivery suite and I
had the IV lure put in. I hated that - don't like
needles. They did a trace - very little activity. At
about I was transferred up to the ward. My hubby left to
spend the night at a local motel as we live more than an hour away
from the hospital and he wanted to be there quick if need
be. Turns out this was a good choice!! At about 11pm I
reached forward to grab a magazine and my waters went with a gush.
There was so much I got scared. I rang the bell and the nurse came.
I wasn't having any contractions but after about half and hour they
decided to transfer me back to delivery suite just in case. I
got down there and onto the bed then it was all on. The
contractions started and didn't stop. It was a continuous wave of
pain. I tried the gas mainly because it helped me to breathe. I
rang my hubby and he was there within 10 mins. Then my midwife
arrived and about half and hour later I had to push. The
anaesthetist had arrived to give me an epidural but I couldn't keep
still and then my IV lure fell out. That's when I needed to
push. I was making a lot of noise but my midwife told me to
put my energy into pushing. So I did. The pain was awesome but
it was definately better being able to feel what my body was doing.
Axel came out looking at us, very alert. I went into shock
because it was so fast. I was shaking and shivering and it
took about 4 hours for it to stop. My husband took Axel and
gave him his first cuddle and bottle so it was a good experience
for him. It took longer for me to bond with him due to everything
that had happened with the pregnancy and birth. I heard the midwife
say "He weighs 5" and I said "What 5 pounds?", thinking that
was very small. She said "No 5 kilos". She converted that
to pounds for me - 11lb!!!! No wonder it hurt. Funnily
enough, he didn't look that big to us.
I have decided that each and every pregnancy and birth is
different. We really can't say that subsequent pregnancies
would be better, sometimes they aren't. But I can honestly say
that I wouldn't trade any of my experiences. They have made me
who I am today.