PARENTING DIARY’S

Our next scan date came around very quickly,suddenly it was time to see the baby in 3D. I was so excited I just couldn’t contain myself. We saw the midwife first for a check-up thenin we went for the scan, bear in mind, each time we saw our midwife, we reminded herthat we didn’t want to know the sex of the baby. So, she popped the jelly on my tummy, and there was Baby in glorious 3D form. I was amazed, it was so clear and I could see a little button nose, eyes, fingers and toes. It was super special.

Stuart and I were busy marvelling at the scan, when she referred to the baby as a healthy boy! I ignored it, thinking she was just generalising, but no, she then said it another five times! Bugger, the cat was firmly out of the bag! Shame, and it was not until the end of the consultation, she remembered we did not want to know.

Oops...never mind, our baby boy was on his way to join his mum and dad soon! My due date was fast approaching and nerves were setting in. I had an appointment to see the anaesthetist about the epidural. He was friendly, even if he did look like the mad professor out of ‘Back to the Future’. He explained the procedure, how it would work and what he would be doing, if I wanted it. I confidently said that, yes, I was definitely going to have it, and that was that, or so I thought!

We got to February and by this stage, all was good, apart from the tummy alien trying to push my ribs up through my shoulders. I remember it being so painful, little bugger. I was due to go to the UK for a conference but I got up that day and felt a bit wet down below. So, I popped to the toilet and to my surprise, I had passed the most enormous bloody clot I had ever seen. I immediately panicked and screamed for Stuart. Sat in the car, all I could think of was the worst possible scenario, that I was losing the baby. I know I shouldn’t have, but I sensed the worst.

We got to the ‘Urgents’ in Chatellerault and explained what was going on. They said that I couldn’t be seen there and we needed to be at maternity ‘urgents’! ‘WOW’ was all I could think! So, we finally got to the right place, I was seen within two minutes of arriving and hooked up to the machines. Five minutes later, the doctor came in and said everything was absolutely fine and there was no need to worry. Apparently, this

PARENTING DIARIES

Pregnancy In France part 3

“Trust yourself. You know more than you think you do.” ― Benjamin Spock.

Tia Malcolm

can sometimes happen in early stages of pregnancy, but if it happened again, or if I had any worries, just to come back. Oddly, it happened every week for the next four weeks, each time I went in, and each time everything was okay. Finally, the doctor said it was due to me having a fragile womb and that I was not allowed to drive and had to rest as much as I could.

So, three weeks before my due date of the 24th of March, my bag was packed, the baby’s suitcase was packed and I also had a separate teabag bag, lol. I thought I was ready for the off. The next day, Saturday the 4th of March, passed by quickly, and that evening we were watching Juliet Bravo in bed, as the bedroom was the warmest place in the bungalow. I went to the toilet and kept peeing. I thought nothing of it at the time, just a very long wee. I finished but was wet again by the time I reached the bathroom door. OMG, had my waters broken? It was too early! So, off to the hospital I went again. I was dry when I got into the car, but by the time I got to the maternity wing I was soaked. I was so embarrassed. I know they have seen worse, but hey, this was my first time.

They hooked me up to the contraction device and yes, I was having contractions. I couldn’t feel them, but then, it was very early on. They moved me from my little self-contained room in the hospital to the birthing suite. It was amazing, filled with all sorts of things; there was a fabric swing, loads of different sized Swiss balls and a ballet rail running around the wall. There was also a double bed in there, it was pretty well appointed! By Sunday evening, my friends were with me and I was stuck at 5 cm dilation! That baby was not budging, I had stopped progressing and had got no sleep! I was completely exhausted. The midwives that were then on duty, gave me a sedative to help me sleep ands aid they would assess me again in the morning.

Monday morning was soon with us, and my original midwife came in to examine me, saying we needed to start moving the contractions along. They give me oxytocin, from yet another drip at 09h33. I remember this time well because I needed to go to the loo and by the time I came back, I was in full swing labour. I had gone from 6cm to fully dilated in just an hour, 10h33! ‘OMG’ its happening and I had also missed the opportunity to have an epidural. Sat on the bed, weeping like a child, my friends and the midwifes telling me that everything was going to be okay. I said ‘I cannot do this, there so much pain’. They gave me gas and air, OMG, yuck, yuck, yuck, it was completely horrid. Made my head spin and I felt like I was going to throw up. Apparently, I threw it away like it was a dirty toy, lol. At this stage, I had to finally compose myself. I was on the bed, remembering all the breathing exercises from YouTube that I had learned, and I spotted a black spot on the ceiling. I am not sure if it was there on purpose, but it focused me enough to give birth to Alfred Louis Malcolm at 13h17,weighing in at 2890 grams! I had done it; I had finally become a mother! What I didn’t realise then, was that the hard part was about to begin………