Full of surprises: The birth story of James

It all started Monday, April 30, 2012, on my due date. I woke at 5 a.m. to go to the bathroom for the tenth time, and when I sat up, I thought I had peed a little! I remember my mom telling me that her waters leaked with my sister instead of just breaking, so I thought I’d ring the hospital to ask if it could be. They told me it sounded like it and that I should come in, wearing a sanitary pad so they could test what was leaking. Sure enough it was my waters leaking, so I called my mom to come down. It was starting!

I was checked over a few hours later and found out I was already a few centimeters even though I hadn’t felt anything. Pretty awesome.

By 1 p.m., I was about 3 centimeters, but my doctor wanted me to go fast. I had strep B, and the doctor didn’t want me to labor for too long. We were transferred to the labor and delivery suite, and at 4 p.m. I was put on a drip to bring on my contractions.

They were slow at first but started to come in quick and fast. When my in-laws came for a visit at 7 p.m., the contractions were about four to five minutes apart. They didn’t stay long.

Around about 8 p.m. the midwives broke my water and discovered that my little man had done a poo!

At around 9 p.m., I had the urge to push. We tried all different positions, birthing ball, on all fours, standing and even a birthing stool. My sister, mom and my husband were an excellent support group. My husband was sitting behind me, rubbing my back and holding my hand while I contracted. I was hooked up to a monitor so my mom and sister would tell me when another contraction was coming and to breathe, then they would tell me when it was over the ‘peak’ and starting to ease.

We did this for a few hours, and it seemed like I wasn’t getting anywhere. Bub was in an awkward position, and every time he would come down with a contraction, he’d go back up!

By 11 p.m., I was exhausted; I’d been pushing for hours and nothing was happening. My doctor and midwives decided it was time to get me prepped for theatre, i.e. an operation.

My husband got into his scrubs. Because I was so exhausted and tired that when they told me it was time to put the spinal block in, I got so scared and started to panic. My husband and midwife both talked to me and managed to calm me down enough to put it in. Poor me! Going through full labor, getting to pushing and ending up with a C-section, I felt horrible. I felt like I had failed.

After what seemed like forever, at 11:50 p.m. (JUST on my due date), we heard the first cry of our son! It was the most unforgettable cry ever and relief washed over both of us.

They wiped him down, my husband cut the cord, and he was bought over to me all wrapped up. He was the most precious baby I had ever seen, and he was mine. I held him that while they fixed me up and wheeled me out.

The midwife helped him latch when we got to recovery, and he was a pro.

Then I started to get the shakes. Apparently it’s normal after the shock of labor and then a C-section, and plus the effects of the spinal. They wrapped me up in warm blankets, but it wouldn’t stop. I have lockjaw, and my jaw started to ache because it was clenched so tight. I thought it would be a good idea to open my mouth and stretch out the cramp. Bad idea: My jaw popped out like usual, but it didn’t go back in. I was horrified when I realized that my jaw had popped out and just stayed there and I started to freak out. My doctor came over and tried to pop it back in. He said that it was just a muscle spasm and should go back by itself soon.

They managed to get the shakes to calm down a little, and at 2 a.m., I was wheeled back to my room.

My poor mom when she saw me, she thought I’d had a stroke. My husband relived the details for my mum and his parents and said how my jaw should go back by itself. I was put on morphine for the C-section pain plus now my jaw pain, as it was starting to really hurt.

At 8 a.m., the midwives changed shifts. When a new one came into my room, she flipped out and asked why no one had taken me down to ER. She whisked me down straight away for scans. As she had suspected, my jaw was dislocated! She organized for me to be knocked out and have it repaired. Some time around lunchtime, they fixed my jaw.

I was told not to open my mouth for a few hours and to be on a very soft diet for a few days.

For my first meal, they bought roast beef with veggies … Here you go husband; I’m not allowed to chew—enjoy!

By Tuesday afternoon, my catheter came out and I was asked to sit up and try and stand. Everything was healing nicely. By Friday lunchtime, I was discharged.

Even though I went through full labor and ended with a C-section and a dislocated jaw, I wouldn’t change anything. My little man was perfect. He spent a few days in an incubator because he had jaundice, but he was perfect. I have a very unique birth story, and it took me such a long time to come to terms with how it all happened. It has been two years now, and I’m OK with it.

I’m due in a few weeks with a little girl. After much thinking, we have decided a C-section would be best. I don’t want to go through that again, nor do I want a scar rupture. We plan to have her on June 10, unless I go into labor early.

Send us your birth story! Whether you had a home birth, hospital birth, 37-hour labor or emergency C-section, we’d love to read the tale of your little one’s grand entrance. Write up your birth story (click here for tips on getting started) and email it, along with a few photos, to birthstory@pnmag.com. We’ll share it on our Birth Day blog and may even print it in an upcoming issue!