Getting the Baby out

40 weeks  plus 1 day

 Soeun and I had been to birth classes and learnt a bit about stages in labour and what the body does, what to expect. Although every birth is different knowing this info really helped us, having expectations of what might be happening and what we could be doing at each stage.

We had a paper from class that suggested you stay home as long as possible, go to hospital when contractions are about 4 min apart. Before I was confused and wondered if I would ended up going too early, or too late or what would happen. In the end my labour seemed to follow the bit of paper. I think I read somewhere (or did i makit it up?) that on average 1st time mums can take 12 hours to get to the hospital stage. I was around 10pm when i was sure that I was in true labour, then sure enough 12 hours later my contractions were 4 min apart. I spent the night walking around outside (our guesthouse has nice grounds), in the shower and eating and sometimes in bed.

Birth Day! Just out!

When I got to the hospital to check in (in the "shake the baby room" as we jokingly started calling it when we misheard the Thai nurse) I was 6cm. We were taken to one of the active labor rooms and I spent from then until about 1.30 in the bathroom with Soeun or our "doula" using the shower to spray hot water on me. There was a birth ball involved as well, and lots of cups of water and boxes of choc milk and juice, as well as towels.

A nurse kept using a doppler to check the baby's heart, and the doctor kept poking her head in to ask if I felt like pushing yet. Finally the doctor checked my cervix and i was up to 10cm so she siad its time to push. I don't think I actually ever felt like pushing but I was told to stop screaming and instead use that energy to push. Well I tried to but felt like it wasn't working...and i think i had read that for first time mums it can take around an hour. But after 2 hours I still  had a whole room of nurses telling me to push. I was pushing!

Eventually the baby's heart slowed down they gave me oxygen and used a vacuum to suck out the baby. Finally! I thought he was never coming out, I wanted to give up.

I can't remember the order of things but Soeun cut the cord, the Baby dropped a huge blob of  black first poo on my arm (looks like choc pudding) and they put him on my chest. then all these other things were happening and eventually we were taken to the room where we stayed for the next 2 nights.

So: 12 hours at home in the first stage of labour, early and active phases 10pm-10am
hospital: the rest of active phase , then end of first stage: transition 10am- 1.30pm
pushing 1.30-3.30 pushing
then the placenta after that