On saturday 6th July, in the wee hours of the morning we welcomed little Lucas into our family. His birth was completely different to that of his sister yet the experience was just amazing and I can't help but feel so lucky to have another perfect baby to care for.
I started to have a bloody show on the thursday morning much to my shock. I guess any time you see blood during pregnancy you immediately assume that something must be wrong (or maybe it's just me being paranoid). I called the midwife at the hospital just to get some advice and they said just to sit tight and that everything was normal. I cried.
Tim went to work as normal on thursday and my mum came over to stay with me in case anything did eventuate. We went to the shops and got some last minute groceries and bits and pieces - I wanted to try to walk around as much as possible to try and bring on the labour but thursday came and went without any further signs of labour.
In the early hours of friday morning I started to feel achy but still nothing significant which would indicate that anything might happen any time soon. Tim didn't go to work that day, instead we decided to spend the day out and about. It was beautiful and sunny so we took Ella to a fun play park and as we sat in the sun watching her I began to feel more regular tightening sensations in my belly and knew that soon enough I would have my baby in my arms. We ate hamburgers for lunch followed by churros and hot chocolate and with full bellies we went home and all three of us had an afternoon sleep.
After dinner that evening I started to have more painful contractions and at around 8pm we started timing them. Again, I called the hospital to let them know what was happening and they suggested that I take some panadol and try to rest as much as possible. I went upstairs to get the panadol and was hit with a wave of really painful contractions and knew that I would not be able to rest, baby was on his way.
I had forgotten what contractions were like. I've always thought of myself as very tolerant of pain but the ferocity of these pains during what is known as 'early labour' had me worried about what it would be like later on. With each contraction I had to get down on all fours and try to breathe as calmly as possible while Tim ran around trying to get the dog ready to take to my parents house and put everything in the car.
At around 10pm Tim woke Ella and we packed her into the car - it was time to go. As I sat in the front seat moaning and swearing with each contraction, I'm not sure what Ella thought her mama was doing. She didn't say much, except at each traffic light (we seemed to get every red light) the minute it turned green she would yell out "gween, gween, go daddy go!" I gripped the head rest of my seat tightly and as we rounded each corner and my body tensed the pain was excruciating.
Soon enough we had arrived at my parents house. Quickly we let the dog out and my mum took Ella. As we pulled straight out of the driveway to go to the hospital I heard her say "love you mama" and I cried.
We pulled into the emergency department and I was immediately placed in a wheel chair and taken up to the delivery suite. The contractions were coming so fast that I didn't feel like I was having any break in between. I tried to remember the breathing techniques from my hypnobirthing CD but all that had just gone out the window.
The nurse handed me the gas to help ease the pain and I immediately brought up my dinner. I didn't feel like the gas was helping with the pain but it did help me take big deep breaths. The pain was becoming unbearable and I told the nurse I wanted to have an epidural because I was only 5cm dilated and I wasn't sure how long I could put up with it any more. She explained that she could call the anaesthetist but she felt like the baby would be here before he would. I was scared and tried to tell myself that I could do this, all the while squeezing Tim's hand so tight that it was sore the next day.
The obstetrician arrived not long after and it was then that my body just started to take over. I had absolutely no control over what it was doing. I was 8cm dilated and everything was happening quickly now. I sucked on the gas with my eyes tightly shut. I could hear everybody in the room and the calm voice of my doctor telling me what to do. Every muscle in my body was tense and the urge to push was overwhelming. I screamed and grunted guttural sounds from deep within me and in my mind I could visualise the baby coming out.
My body continued to keel over and my muscles constrict when the doctor told me to open my eyes and look down and I saw my babies head. The doctor told me not to push again until he said to and it took everything in me not to, but the minute he said the word I pushed as hard as I possibly could and then my baby boy was warm on my chest. His cry was so soft and his skin so smooth. I stroked him as tears ran down my cheeks. He looked just like Tim. It was 12:52am.
Reading back over this I realise I can never do the story justice, there simply are no words to convey fully what the experience was like. The full extent of it is and always will just remain a feeling I have inside of me. A feeling I will never forget.
Two weeks exactly have passed now and he has already put on 500 grams. He is growing like a champ and has fit into our family perfectly. Each day I can see him looking a little more like Ella as he fills out.
Tim has had two weeks off work which has been amazing (and we have another week with him at home). I have been able to rest and heal (although I do still have signs of popped bloody vessels in my eye from pushing so hard!) We have spent unhurried days together as a family of four, all getting to know one another.
Lucas, you're just beautiful and we love you so much. Welcome to our family.
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