The arrival of Ayu- Birth Story

I am so excited to share my son’s birth story with you all. There are no surprises here and mine must be the shortest birth story that you might have come across. Induced labour, almost 5 hours of labour and bam! It’s been six months since I gave birth to Ayu, my first born, and I can still feel the wonderful emotions I went through when I first saw him. So here it is ….

3rd September 2016

4:00 AM  – 3rd day, week 38. I woke up to use the washroom and saw a few pink stains. I waited some more time to check if it was heavy but it was just spotting. I had no other symptoms. I knew it was happening and the moment I had been waiting for was nearly there. I started looking for answers on google to check if I should call my doctor or wait till the sun rises. And the answer was to wait it out. 

6:00 AM  I went to my mom and told her about it. I called the gynae up at 7 and she told me to pack my bag and reach the nursing home as soon as possible. I woke my husband up and exclaimed “baby incoming!” It took 10 minutes to explain it to him that the baby will be coming today.

8:00 AM  After taking a shower and grabbing a few bites I finished packing my hospital bag. Tears were rolling down my cheeks because I was scared, nervous and happy, all at the same time. We reached the nursing home in 20 mins and checked in. The nurse shaved me and did enema and because the contractions had not begun yet, I was given misoprostol.

9:00AM  Contractions still very mild. Water bag broken by the doctor to start the labour. Still no signs of “real labour”. I was still at 2 cms.

10:00 AM  Pitocin was started intravenous and this is where the fun began. The contractions started getting stronger but baby’s heartbeat came down every time I had a contraction. This is why I needed to be hooked to the monitor all the time and I couldn’t walk around. Every contraction hurt my back harder. At this point of time I did not care if I had a c section or a normal delivery. My only concern was the baby’s health.

11:00 AM  The contractions were super strong and my back hurt like hell. I was shifted to my room where I saw my mother. I started crying holding her hand. She told me that I am a strong girl and I can do it. But every contraction swayed me. All I could remember from all the articles I had read about easy birthing process was to breathe. So I tried to catch my breath between the contractions.

12:00 PM  The pain was unbearable. The nurse shifted me back to the labour and delivery room and the doctor came to check me. I was surprised to know that I was 8cms dilated. She advised me to move around while they started prepping for the delivery. A nurse held my hand and helped me walk. I held the edge of the bed at every contraction and moaned in pain. Soon I was lying in the bed and ready to push.

1 PM   It was time to push and I yelled with every effort I made to do that. My doctor told me that I was wasting my energy by shouting. Instead I should breathe in and concentrate on pushing the baby out. Least did I know that pushing is actually trying to poop. Haha ! Was a matter of three strong pushes and Baby A was here.  He did not cry when he was out because he had the cord wrapped around his neck but soon I heard him cry– the most beautiful moment in my life. I heard the ped announce that it was a baby boy and she said the time of his birth aloud. They cleaned him and put clothes on him while I was being stitched up (I had episiotomy). The nurse brought my munchkin to me and I caressed his cheek and asked her to hand him over to my mom. I was still in the state of shock. Probably because of the pains and the realisation that I had become a mother.

2 PM I was shifted to my room where I held my baby for the very first time. At that moment I thanked God for answering my prayers and I hugged the sweet pea tight and whispered in his ear “ Welcome to our world my love”. He had a head full of hair and super adorable cheeks. He was active the very night of his birth and I told myself, “I’m in for a ride!”

My suggestion for a natural birth? Positive thinking. From the very beginning of the day when I knew that baby will be arriving soon, I kept my calm and told myself that I could do it. I read a lot of birth stories during my pregnancy and prepared myself for the worst. If you have any questions about my experience, I’d love to answer them. Feel free to contact me.

PS: I always wondered how women can have a normal delivery. Also read many times that natural labour pains are less painful than induced. I took a lot of care of my body and nutrition during my pregnancy to be able to deliver naturally. And I am proud of myself for going through the extremely painful process of natural birth without any pain relievers. Also, I am thankful to the almighty for being there with me when I needed the strength. Mommyhood is the greatest gift of all.

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