2 years ago yesterday I was pregnant with my 6th and final baby and visiting in toowoomba (we lived in Brisbane at the time) and we were about to go home when I was having some pretty regular prelabour contractions and some back ache.
Having had fast births in the past I wanted to make sure that I wasn't going to go into labour on the road home so I made a quick stop at the Toowoomba Base Hospital (where my 4th child was born) to have a quick check up. The midwives said that all was good and that labour wasn't imminent so I was able to go home confident that I wasn't going to be stuck on the side of the road having to call an ambulance LOL.
The following day started like any other day. Aaron just started a new job and headed off to work. The kids went to school and I was home with Cassidy and pottering around unpacking from our trip.
More contractions, much the same as the night before, but not painful. They were intense though and throughout the day they began to get a bit niggly here and there. I spent the day wondering if today was the day. This is it! No it's not!....yes it is!....nah...not today! Arguing with myself the whole day as I've been fooled before. I've always had pretty intense braxton hicks contractions that would border on the edge of pain and they would be pretty constant over the last few months of pregnancies. I'd often think that labour wasn't far away but was wrong most of the time.
Today was no different I had 11 days to go and I figured it was much the same that I've always had, didn't bother timing them either, but when the 'niggly' pains started getting a little more intense, I started thinking that maybe this was really happening.
Unfortunately the company that my mobile was with takes it upon themselves to cut the phone off when you go over your cap limit. So although people could call me, I could not call out....so I decided to go next door to see if I can borrow the phone so I could give Aaron the heads up. But....the neighbours weren't home on either side! Far out! Today of all days.
So I waddle back home again and decide to do a bit of washing and stuff, and I call my aunt via reverse charges and ask her to call my mum to call me. So mum calls and I ask her to call Aaron for me.
Aaron then calls and asks if it was time....and I tell him that I wasn't sure but to be ready to come home. He took it upon himself to come home anyway. Mum also decides to come home too.
So I ring the hospital...and realise that after all that, my phone was NOT on a bar...LOL And I speak to a midwife and tell her that I'm going to be on my way. She asked me how far between contractions and I tell her I wasn't timing them. Whilst on the phone to her I had 2 contractions which made it hard to speak and she said that they were 3 minutes apart. Ooooookay then, I then decide that ..."gee...perhaps I am in labour!" Duh! *slaps head*. The midwife suggests on calling an mbulance but I say "Nah I won't need to do that, my husband is almost finished work"
After that, the contractions get more and more intense...and then I start rethinking the ambulance idea but figure that it would be so embarrassing to call an ambulance, and besides what do I do with the other kids. Aaron calls again and can tell that I'm in a lot more pain by then and says that he's going to call the ambulance...I then didn't hesitate and said 'ok'.
So he comes home and he's speaking to the ambulance. By then mum arrives and ushers the children out of the loungeroom where I was perched on the edge of the couch. The operator tells Aaron to get me set up on the floor and to get towels and to take my undies off. I didn't really want to do this...I didn't want to be giving birth on my loungeroom floor and I'm complaining the whole time saying 'I don't want to!!!" LOL
The ambulance came and got me to walk out to the ambulance which was a hard feat with contractions going on...but I managed to climb up onto the back of the ambulance. Aaron didn't travel with me because he needed to take the car there so I traveled by myself with some ambulance officer who was oh so calm about the whole thing. Meanwhile I'm in quite a bit of pain by then and was told that my contractions were a minute apart and will only just make the hospital LOL
So we turn up at the hospital and I slide my butt over to the bed, all the while I'm sucking the morphine 'whistle' but I don't think I was doing it right by then cos I wasn't getting anything out of it. And about 10 mintues later bub's coming out and I'm telling the midwife that he was coming and she didn't believe me (I don't know why)...then finally she realised that he was coming and told me to stop pushing so she could check the cord...and I screamed "I'm not pushing!!!" and I wasn't. I was not pushing at all! He was just coming out and fast!!! I 'pushed' (but not pushed) for 3 minutes and he was out and screaming his lungs out.
All up the labour was 2 hours, which seems to be my 'average' and he was this gorgeous little slimy alien thing on my chest and I was oh so glad that it was all over!
He weighed 7lb 7oz and was perfect in every way...and after a few minutes we realised that his 'plumbing' worked too because he peed and pooped all over me LOL Charming little man that he was! My best friend came up to visit while I was still in the labour ward and gave me a big hug! And yet again she told me that she had a 'feeling' that something was up with me....and called Aaron.
So today Flynn is 2 years old and is a delightful young man who loves cuddles! And he got some blocks and some dinosaurs and a car and a ball and a wagon for his birthday, and he'll be getting a yummy cake later on today as well.
Happy Birthday little man!
