On the 1st September when Ruby started having mild and inconsistent contractions. I still went to work (Ruby thought these were pre labour contractions) but decided to start my 4 weeks leave on the 2nd thinking that things were moving along. Around 6pm Ruby's contractions started to get stronger and continued to do so for the rest of the night (she did not get much sleep!). The next morning I rang the hospital and they advised whilst the contractions had been going for 12 hours they needed to be 3-5 mins apart. We spent most of the 2nd at home, going for the occasional walk and distracting Ruby by watching TV/Movies. Her contractions were getting stronger and a bit more consistent, but not down to the 3-5 mins.
Overnight Ruby again did not get much sleep and her contractions were getting more painful. I rang the hospital again at 1am and they advised us similarly to the first call. By 7am it was getting too much for Ruby so I rang the hospital and this time they said to come in. The nurse checked Ruby out and she was 4cm dilated (6cm to go!) though her blood pressure had gone up. A few hours later Ruby was at 6cm and to speed things up our obstetrician ruptured her membranes. He said to us that we should be all done by lunchtime, however, he was also concerned about the baby so Ruby was put on a fetal heart monitor and therefore bedridden. From there things slowed down.
Originally we had planned for an all natural birth with no painkillers (and certainly not an epidural). However, by midday our obstetrician suggested administering syntocin to try and speed things up. It was at this point that Ruby decided to go with an epidural, knowing that the contractions were only going to get stronger with syntocin. Unfortunately, even though Ruby was having regular contractions, not much progress was being made. At 3pm our obstetrician did another check and Ruby was only 7cm dilated. He told us "Its caesar time!" and that we would get to meet our baby within 30 minutes. It was at that point then things happened really quickly (it was like in the movies where someone shouts "action stations") all these people appeared and we were shuffled off to an operating theatre. True to his word, the obstetrician had Jeremy out within 30 mins.
I was then shuffled off with Jeremy back to the birthing suite while Ruby went to recovery and I did not see her for over an hour (which was a bit scary as I really did not know what was going on). However, I did get some valuable bonding time with Jeremy. By the time Ruby was ready, Jeremy was very keen for a feed and latched on straight away.
Things have gone by quickly since then, though looking back we have done a lot. Ruby spent the next 5 days in hospital and the following week at home was fun with all the late night feeds. Luckily my mum and then Ruby's parents stayed with us and were able to provide us with a bit of help. Even after they left we have not really felt sleep deprived. My body decided to get better quality sleep instead (best sleep I have had in a long time in fact!). Jeremy now has a good sleep routine overnight with normally only 1 (occasionally 2) feed. Also, he really has grown in the past month and we may be able to use some of his 00 clothes in the next week or two!
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