011. Isabelle's Birth Story

To say i had a plain sailing, smooth running labour with Isabelle would be a slight fib. However, she was totally worth it!! 

Isabelle was due to be born on 28th August 2011, but she wasn't keen on making her arrival on her due date, or any time after that so they decided to induce me on Sunday 4th September 2011. I went in to Frimley park Hospital at 8am in the morning. 

After being checked for any progress they said i wasn't dilated or effaced at all so they decided to the use the propess and i had that put in at 945. By 5pm that evening my contractions had started properly. The night wasn't too bad, although the back ache i had from her being back to back was a nuisance and it stopped me from sleeping so they gave me a doss of pethidine to help ease the pain and let me get some sleep.

At 10am on Monday morning they told me i was 100% effaced and 2cm dilated and they wanted to break my waters to bring me along so they planned to move me to Central delivery suite on later in the day once they had a bed for me but i actually didn't get moved there until 10am on Tuesday morning.

The Monday night was a bit more of a struggle but i wanted to try and avoid any more pethidine so i ended up having a very long bath which lasted almost 4 hours , i was very pruney in the end and had lots of concerned knocks on the doors from midwives but thankfully they were happy for me to stay in there as long as i needed. Unfortunately though when i got out of the bath the contractions were getting stronger and they suggested another dose of pethidine just to give me a few hours sleep. 

Once on Sunday night and twice on Monday night Isabelle's heart rate dropped really low so they got a bit concerned and started monitoring me a bit more frequently which made it harder to rest because they kept waking me up. 

They broke my waters at 12 on Tuesday and Isabelle had soiled herself so they kept a closer eye on me because obviously the risk of meconium aspiration. One they broke my waters the contractions really started to kick in, they sent me for a walk around the hospital to get things moving as i was still no more dilated then the day before but i got half way round and the pain was doubling me over it was horrible. I got back to the ward and they suggest i try some gas and air to ease it a little more.

That was the worst stuff i have ever experienced in my life, it made me feel dizzy, drunk the pain didn't reduce at all and Sean and my mum said it turned me crazy because every time i took it i was still in pain so i would start grabbing at my hair and stamping my feet to distract from the pain. 

It also started to make me pass out and feel really faint so my midwife suggested i have an epidural because she said i would not be able to carry on without any stronger pain relief, i was really disappointed in myself when i finally gave in and had it because i wanted a natural birth, but i really wouldn't have been able to carry on.  So i had that at 5pm on Tuesday evening.

After the epidural i was able to sleep and managed to sleep on and off until 11pm. During this time they had decided to put me on the drip to help me dilate because i was still at only 2cm.

Isabelle's heart rate had also dropped on and off many times and they were getting quiet concerned about her so attached a monitor to her head from the inside to get a more accurate reading. 

At 1am i was fully dilated but they wanted to wait another 2 hours for Isabelle to try and move herself down the birth canal a bit more, they watched the monitor continuously to make sure she didn't get to distressed and then at 3:30 am i started to push. 

I pushed for an hour and 15 minutes but every time i pushed they noticed her heart rate was dropping and then she would move back up.

That was when they decided to make the decision of doing an assisted delivery because i was so tired, i was starting to get a lot of pain again and Isabelle was getting really distressed. 
They decided that they were going to take me down to theatre and try forceps delivery first and then if that failed a c-section.

From this moment it all went so fast, i remember being told to read a yellow piece of paper and to sign it, it was all such a blur though that i cant remember what was going on or any of the information on the paper. All i remember was asking to go to the toilet but they wouldn't let me. Unfortunately only one person could come down with me so Mum waited in the delivery room for us, i cant imagine how stressful that must have been for her, seeing her daughter being taken away and not being able to do anything to help, and i appreciate it even more now having my own child and knowing how helpless you can feel when there is nothing you can do for them. She told me it was the longest wait she has ever had in her life even though it was less then an hour from me leaving her to the midwife coming to tell her Isabelle had arrived. 

On our way down to theatre the nerves kicked in and i started shaking uncontrollably, the midwives got concerned but Sean told them it was something i did when i got overly tired or anxious and the doctor agreed with him that it was probably just the rush of adrenaline with everything moving so fast.  It was then that i was sick a few times, but because all i had drank for 48 hours was tropical juice and I'd had no food it was just all liquid. To this day every time i smell tropical juice it reminds me of that exact moment of being taken to theatre. 

Sean was given scrubs to put on and he came down with me, he was asked to sit in the corner of the room whilst i had my spinal block put in and it all started at 545am. The room was the scariest place i have ever seen, it was a huge white room and on the wall was a great big, bright red digital clock. It all looked so sterile and harsh and the bright lighting made me feel really woozy. There also seemed to be hundreds of people coming in and out and rushing about. 

The weirdest thing is whilst doing forceps they still ask you to push but you actually cant feel yourself pushing in the end they stopped waiting for my contractions and just told me to continuously push against them as they pulled her out which was so difficult. The Midwife was pushing down on my stomach and Sean was by my side constantly stroking my hair and telling me everything would be ok. He was such an amazing support and i couldn't have wished for a better birthing partner. 

After 17 minutes Isabelle Rose Coppin eventually came into the world at 06:02am on Wednesday 7th September 2011 weighing 8lb 12oz.

Isabelle's very first picture

They discovered that along with not only being a big baby at 8lb 12, she was chin up and had a short cord which had got looped around her neck so i had no hope of pushing her out on my own, She really didn't want to make it easy for mummy.

After Isabelle was cleaned up and i was stitched up, we were taken down to recovery, the midwife had told mum to meet us in the corridor as we were leaving theatre so she would be able to see us both before we headed down to recovery. It was so lovely being able to see her and show her my baby but it broke my heart having to see her go off alone after such a manic few days. Thankfully though she went to my aunts house who kept her company until she was able to come back up to the hospital.

My Precious baby girl

So in total from the time contractions really kicked in until she was born it was a very up and down 61 hours but i wouldn't have changed it.