Meeting Harvey Ezra

On Thursday, the 3rd of September, I was watching The Bachelor when, at around 8:30 pm, I started getting Braxton Hicks, which were a bit more intense than usual. I went to the toilet around 9:30 and noticed a light pinkish fluid [no mucus, just fluid]. I called my midwife, and she said to see how things go as it could just fizzle out - I then lost my mucus plug around 11 pm.

By then, contractions were 3 minutes apart, lasting for 45-55 seconds each. We stayed at home until about 1 am where I laboured on the bed and in the shower - my back was so sore that I had to get my husband to push on the pressure points in my lower back to ease the pain, but it got so intense that I started vomiting. We called the midwife again and decided to go into hospital.

When we arrived, the midwife checked me, but I was only 1cm dilated. She gave me a stretch and sweep to move things along and sent us home at 2 am to get some rest [no rest happened]. I contracted every 3 minutes, and they were getting stronger and longer. I had about 4 showers, and by then I was a bit hysterical and crying, so we went back to the hospital at 6:30 am as contractions were more intense and I needed some relief.

When we got to the hospital, they started me on the gas and inserted a cannula into my hand to receive the antibiotics - I tested positive for Strep B. I then hopped into the shower with the gas for about an hour and a half. Some of my waters broke in the shower, and I had sensations to push so the midwife checked me, at 10 am, and I was 8cm dilated [it was too late to have any pain relief]. My waters then completely broke, the contractions got stronger, and the urge to push was more intense.

The midwife instructed me to get into a few different positions as bub was posterior. I got onto all fours on the bed and started pushing, but I found it so difficult - I wasn't using the correct muscles as I just didn't know to push [the best way to describe it was trying to push out a constipated poo].

I was screaming and crying at this point saying 'I can't do it, I need some relief', but unfortunately, I couldn't get any medication except the gas [which was not very efficient]. I then squatted beside the bed and pushed more. The midwife said that I needed to make the next few pushes really count as bub was getting distressed and his heart rate was going up.

I started pushing with everything I had left! The midwife said that the next part was going to burn - then out came his head, crying already. His body came out next, which was the biggest relief!

I pushed efficiently for just over 2 hours - but in total, it was about 4 hours. I hopped onto the bed, and he started feeding right away. My husband cut the cord, and I got an injection to birth the placenta, which took about 10 minutes - the midwife pushed on my stomach and pulled it out. I noticed that I was bleeding a lot, gushing, so I told the midwife, and once she checked me, she called for assistance, where I had to have another injection to stop the bleeding. I had a postpartum haemorrhage and lost 1L of blood. I also suffered a 2nd-degree tear, so I had to be stitched up too.

It was all worth it in the end for my Harvey Ezra - born 1 day before his due date, on the 4th of September, weighing 7pound 9oz, 50cm long.