FYI: IT'S A GIRL

ABBEY ELISE MONASTRA

Born: Sat 14th July 8:50am

Weight: 7lb 14.5oz

YES! (to all my family who convinced themselves to the contrary) IT'S A GIRL!!!!

Labour - it's ok I won't add any pictures!

My waters broke at 3am Sat morning and early morning trip to the loo proved that we were going to have a baby! I celebrated that she was definitely finally on her way.

And then... the contractions kicked in! They weren't too bad at first and it was amazing how one minute I really had to employ those breathing techniques and the next I felt totally fine. We rang the hospital to let them know what was happening and how I was feeling and how far apart the contractions were. The midwife said to stay at home a little longer and see how we go waiting for them to be a little closer together and longer in duration. So that's what we did. I tried to take the time between contractions to reflect on what was ahead and to thank God for this moment and pray strength for the labour ahead.

We managed to stay at home for a couple of hours but by about 5:30am the contractions were getting pretty intense and so we rang the hospital again and they said to come in. So Ryan got the car out and I waited for one contraction to be over then dashed out the door, only to have to stop along the way to breathe through another one before getting myself into the car. Suddenly the 5min journey to the hospital seemed like it was going to take an eternity. A couple of contractions along the way showed that they were coming a lot faster now.

On the labour suite we were seen by a midwife who did the usual admission bit and also checked to see how dilated i was. 3cm was the answer to that one. Suddenly 10cm was feeling like a lifetime away but i was glad she hadn't said 1cm. We were left for a bit while the midwife handed over to the morning staff. My contractions started to get a lot more intense and I got an urge to push that I really couldn't control. Ryan was very encouraging probably feeling as helpless as anything and I tried to breathe through it for a few contractions but it was really uncomfortable/painful and I just didn't understand how I was going to breathe through this for another 7cm! Suddenly an epidural was looking rather appealing. It all got a bit much and I got Ryan to go and get the midwife. The new midwife arrived. Rosemary was her name and she was absolutely wonderful! She examined me again and said "Well if you want to push you can push!" In the space of an hour and a half I was now fully dilated and Abbey was on her way.

The only pain relief I had had up till this point was 1g of paracetamol at home and all I could have now was gas and air. It's gets to a certain point in labour where you're really restricted as to what analgesia you can have and we had arrived that that point rather quickly. So we got hooked up to some of that which was fantastic. More than anything it helped my brain to chill out a little as I got a bit worked up i think worrying about this feeling to push and thinking i wasn't going to be able to for some time. Being able to push was fantastic. I could now go with what my body was wanting to do rather than fight it. Yes it was still painful but still a relief.

And with about an hour and a bit of pushing Abbey was born. Cord was around her neck and she had had a hand under her chin which is probably what caused the small tear I got but who cares! She was here!! And the joy in that moment was the best analgesia anyone could have offered me!