12:45pm A normal day in Covid-19 isolation. We headed out into the garden with a pack of chalk to draw some rainbows in the gorgeous sun. We laughed, Lee taught Ella how to play naughts and crosses and did silly scribbles all over the garden.
1:30pm We came back inside chalk all used up for some downtime, Lee set up his game with his work mate on his phone and Ella was watching TV. I decided to prep for a yummy slow cooker roast dinner!
1:45pm I felt a tiny pop and enough waters to soak through a panty liner and my nickers!! Since my waters had broken with Ella last time I knew the feeling and knew they had broken but the amount of trail runs we had had this time I was convincing myself it was nothing. I changed my nickers and put on a pad and continued to prep the dinner.
2:15pm Lee said I should lay down for half an hour as google had said if you lay down the waters will pool up and another little gush should happen after you stand..
2:45pm Stood and nothing happened, went to the toilet and there were waters there when I wiped.. so I rang the hospital to see what to do! As I had been diagnosed with Strep B from a general swab from a bleed a couple of weeks before, they told me to come straight in to check if it was definitely my waters. I was still convincing myself it wasn’t, so I only grabbed half the labour snacks and didnt check the hospital bags, they just got shoved in the car like every other time.
4pm We arrived at the hospital! With the Covid situation, Lee wasn’t allowed into the hospital with me unless I was in established labour, so he dropped me at the door and we left the bags in the car and he waited in the car park for news! On my way up the stairs to the labour ward I felt another small gush!
4:30pm After a 30 minute wait in the labour ward waiting room (they had shut the MAU because of covid, all triage was also being done in the labour suite) They took my temperature, gave me a face mask and I was given room number 5. The midwife came in and took the 2 pads off me and checked if it was waters ‘yep, definitely your waters!’ That was it, we were having this baby😍 I was in shock but at the same time, I had known all along, I was just convincing myself this wasn’t the real deal!
4:45pm Started on the monitor for a check of the baby and she said I could take my mask off now, She did my obs (checked urine, blood pressure etc) and all was fine. They said because of testing positive for StrepB they would induce me straight away!
5:35pm The midwife stopped the monitor and said she could see some mild pains, then said she’d be back shortly to assess me and see whether they would start the induction with a gel or go straight onto the drip.
6:15pm The midwife came to check me and I was 3cm dilated! All of my waters had gone (front and back) and as I was already dilating they would start the drip straight away, meaning Lee could now make his way up to me! They got everything prepped and put the cannula in ready for the antibiotics for the StrepB to start before the induction drip they started putting the cannula in just as Lee arrived at the room with the bags.
6:30pm Antibiotics for StrepB started.
7pm Pitocin drip started.
7:40pm Because I’d been so convinced we’d be going back home and hadn’t packed the snacks I’d had ready for weeks, Lee went off round the hospital to find a vending machine for snacks and drinks
9:30pm Started on the gas and air! Breathing threw contractions wasn’t enough now.
10:40pm Started on more antibiotics for StrepB (have to have a top up every 4 hours)
11:40pm Things were getting very intense, time for pethidine!
1:37am 7th April 2020 Into the world came our perfect tiny girl. 10 little fingers and 10 little toes and was passed up onto my stomach, Lee cut the cord and then she was taken over to be weighed and checked over and lee went with her.
If you’ve made it this far, thank-you, I hope you enjoyed reading! It wasn’t the birth story I dreamt of, but our family is complete and I’m so happy to be able to tell two very positive birth stories❤️
youngmummysite 