Tyler Lee's Birth Story ♥

Yes, here I am, nine months after the event writing about my sons birth story, I guess I needed that much time to get over the whole event, in some ways I feel I am still recovering from it all. What an absolutely terrible time I had of it but my God was it completely worth it. I went into slow labour on February 14th, Valentine's Day, one of my sons estimated due dates. I'm convinced that everything began progressing after a sensuous, warm bath I had filled with Castor and other essential oils, Castor oil absolutely stinks by the way, don't bathe in it if you don't want your nose to be insulted! I just knew that something was up, I woke up feeling strange, for want of a better word. It's a hard feeling to describe but I immediately rang my mother and told her I knew that labour was going to come upon me very soon. I can't explain how I knew it was just instinct, the same determined instinct that I had knowing that my baby was going to be a boy, a woman knows her own body and I knew what was ahead of me very shortly. Throughout the day my appetite went, it couldn't even be tempted back by a delicious raspberry and white chocolate Valentine's cupcake lovingly bought for me by my fiance, I then knew for sure that my body was preparing for a very important arrival indeed. 

As the day progressed some twinges began to happen which eventually turned into pain. I couldn't even enjoy a classic Valentine's film 'Love Actually' and decided that enough was enough, I just had to ring the emergency room, convinced that my baby may arrive at any minute, oh how I laugh now when I think of my naivety! I was told to come in so we left, straight away I may add, the bags had been packed for weeks. I thought this was it, our son may be born on Valentine's Day after all! After being hooked up to a contraction tracer machine I was informed that I was in slow labour, just one lousy centimetre gone and that I'd have to return home and wait it out, but I wasn't allowed leave as there was protein and various other things present in my urine which shouldn't have been there. Tough luck for me and as I sobbed goodbye to my fiance not wanting to be parted from him I knew that I was definitely in for the long haul. I had a fantastic nights sleep being awoken by a very considerate lady using her phone outside my room door at four in the morning, thanks so much again for that if you're reading! Can you sense my frustration through these words because I can guarantee you it's still with me! 

The next morning the pain was getting a lot worse. I once again thought "This is it, he'll be with us soon", thought really did make a fool of me! Having been reunited with my fiance I was delighted to have someone to share the pain with and someone who had to listen to all my complaining, hey, he had after all made this happen! Various midwives and a consultant came to check on me, only to be told that I was only two centimetres gone now, I needed to have gone three to get to the labour ward and the painkilling drugs, at this stage all I wanted was the drugs! During this wait I had two baths, not a very pleasant experience when your baby is in the OP position, this is where the baby's head is pressing against the mother's back and holy hell is it painful, it made everything one-hundred times harder for me. I admit it, I cried a lot during this time, I think I even said to my fiance at this stage that "The baby must hate me", funny now but at the time I was so delirious with pain I actually thought I might die. During this pleasant time I also got a sweep to, in the consultants words "Speed things along". If anyone ever offers you a sweep decline, the pain of it was actually worse than the labour pain itself and it didn't speed anything along at all. Bloody useless. The next few hours were a blur, I can't remember much, I just remember telling my fiance to call a midwife, I needed to be dilated some more by now and luckily I was, I was past that magic three centimetres, the key to pain relief and was now at five centimetres and closely getting to six. At this stage I began throwing up and couldn't even walk but pain relief, glorious pain relief! 

I was wheeled down to the labour ward and had a lovely room all to myself and a very friendly midwife indeed. The experience down there was so calming and was actually quite enjoyable - no sarcasm here. My fiance and I decided on our sons name an hour before he was born, we were actually having full blown conversations and dare I say it was fun. Excitement was building in the room and we were so happy. The gas and air became my best friend, I really need to get one of those machines at home. I opted for an epidural but it failed, after two more attempts I was getting pins and needles in one leg but could still feel everything with the other, very bizarre! At eight centimetres my waters broke naturally and it was time to push. I don't know how long the pushing went on for as I was having a great time with my gas and air but I became exhausted telling the team down there that I couldn't go on. I then heard a beeping on the heart-rate monitor and until this day I don't know if it was mine or my sons but shortly after this they cut me and vacuumed him out. 

My little angel Tyler Lee was born at 5.54am, though I maintain it was 5.53am on a crisp February 16th morning, thirty-one hours after I had first been told I was in labour. He was 9lbs 8oz and everyone was surprises, nobody expected him to be that big, least alone me, the one who had to push him out! He had a head full of dark brown straight hair and sallow skin, he was perfect. He was placed on my chest for a moment before he was whisked away to be checked over by the baby doctor. I regret this, I wish we had more skin to skin contact. He was checked over, dressed in his first ever baby grow and handed back to me. As I looked at him the room began turning black and I asked my fiance to take him. I looked at my fiance holding our baby boy and smiling at him, I thought this was the last sight I would ever see, I actually thought I was dying. Luckily I had just fainted, a great beginning to life with my baby son! Because of all these unexpected events I never got a picture of me holding him after he was born, this is something which really does sadden me. Everyone we met in the hospital told us that Tyler Lee really sounded like a rock stars name and I suppose it does. My stay in hospital was not pleasant at all, I shared my room with a woman who snored like a giant and I was longing to go home. I was then notified that I needed a blood transfusion, something which made me even more uncomfortable. I was given two units of blood and a day later was told I needed another two, I refused, I needed to go home, for my own sanity, a mistake maybe as still to this day I feel quite tired and weak from time to time but when you're in hospital for that long you just need to get home and back to normality.

As you can see labour was a long ole road for me. I'm often asked if it has put my off having future children and my answer is always the same - certainly not. I have a beautiful son who I adore and cherish more than life itself. It took him a bit longer to come and meet me but when he did he changed my life forever in the best way possible. It's true, when you look at your tiny baby your pain just melts away. I would suffer all the pain again to gain another wonderful child. The joy they give you more than makes up for the turmoil and tribulations of labour.