a second birth story - part twelve

You can read the beautiful girl's birth story so far on the birth stories page.

Having had an epidural at 4cm dilated, 

I promptly dilated the final 6cm in 45 minutes.

I was now waiting, resting, giving the baby a chance to descend

and getting myself ready for what was to come . . .

That hour was completely bizarre.

Just like last time,

having an epidural made a control and calm come over me

which meant I could really focus on what was happening.

The hubby and I chatted about silly things,

partly aware that our lives were about to change

but also feeling like we were in a dream.

Lynne gradually prepared everything for delivery,

collecting teeny woollen hats for the baby to wear,

bringing in towels and a trolley of equipment.

She asked if I would be happy for a student to come in for the birth

and I said I was.

It was all very calm

and there was a real buzz

like something really exciting was going to happen.

With a trolley ready with all the other things needed for delivery,

it was time to get the bed ready.

I was helped into the right position,

the whole bed was jacked up high

and the bottom half of the was lowered

so that I was in the right position.

And then in the matter-of-fact way that appeared to be her style,

Lynne told me it was time to start pushing.

I was excited.

This meant that I'd be meeting my Splodge soon.

I was feeling strong and determined.

Last time my baby had been helped into the world with ventouse,

his heart had been decelerating and he needed to be born quickly.

But I didn't want that again if I could avoid it

and so I pushed hard.

Lynne stood at the foot of the bed

telling me in a quiet and steady tone,

to listen to my body

and to push when I felt the contraction.

The epidural meant it was hard to feel the contractions as they started

and I could only really feel the peak of them at first.

But as I focused on what I could feel

and placing my hand on my bump to help me

I began to work out when to be pushing and when not.

The hubby stood at my side

holding my hand and spurring me on,

following the lead that Lynne had taken

of just calmly repeating “push”.

At one point I remember finding it quite funny that that was all I could hear;

a chorus of one word, over and over again.

It was almost like an out of body experience

and I started to laugh.

It was a mixture of tiredness, exhilaration and excitement,

but it made me feel a little crazy.

The baby was moving down with each push

but rising back up again as I relaxed in between.

And I was finding the pushing totally exhausting,

and it was frustrating to feel I was working so hard

but to also feel the baby moving downwards and then upwards straight after.

At that point it felt to me

like I was going to be pushing for hours.

And then Lynne told me she could see the baby's hair,

and something clicked.

I needed to see that hair,

I needed to meet that baby,

and to do that

I needed to push this baby out.

No one was going to help me,

I was going to do it.

You can read the next part here.