My precious baby girl, Olivia Louise was born 28 September 2017 at 04:05am at 8lbs 7.8oz and 20inches long.

I was 40 weeks + 4 days pregnant. Contractions started at 09:45am the morning prior after a night of BH contractions and I noticed I lost a bit of my mucous plug. My husband and I were so excited but also realized we probably had a full day of labouring at home ahead of us so we called our parents to give them the heads up and I put my feet up and we binge watched Netflix all day.

Contractions were so mild like a period cramp but were 6mins apart so we kept timing. Oddly enough they remained easy and continued to get further and further apart! Parents all arrived late afternoon so we ordered pizza and watched a movie, took the dogs for a walk afterwards and got ready for bed.

The moment my head touched the pillow, around 11:00pm a switch went off and I was in active labour! Contractions went from 18mins apart to 12, then 8, then 6 all within a half hour. I wasn’t sure if it would keep progressing so quickly so I ran a bath but contractions just got closer and much stronger. We scrambled to get to the car at 02:00 as contractions were now 2mins 30secs apart and I did not want to have my baby at home!

We arrive at hospital at 02:30, I’m trying to get to check in while having contractions in the hall and can’t sit because the pain is so intense. The charge nurse decides to get me to my room before finishing patient intake at around 03:00 because I’m 6cm dilated and 90% effaced but contractions are now a minute apart.

I ask the nurse what the room number is and bolt past her as I don’t want to sit nor do I want to have my baby in the hallway lol, I charge in and assume my most comfortable labouring position bent over the bed while the nurse tries to finish patient intake questionnaire. We don’t get through it because now we’re 30secs apart and I can’t catch my breath. I’m checked again and now we’re 9cm dilated and fully effaced by 03:30. The nurse called my OB as well as the duty OB just in case mine doesn’t arrive in time because I AM HAVING THIS BABY!

I had no specific birth plan but was hopeful I’d have the presence of mind and pain tolerance to go natural. The nurse said if I want an epidural, now is the time to ask but I was so caught up in the contraction and by the time it was over, I had convinced myself it would take too long to wait for the anesthesiologist to administer so I asked for NO2 gas and waited for my OB.

*while on NO2, I felt a bit loopy somehow and for about 5mins, I was experiencing a song that only I could hear but it seemed perfect for birthing a baby*

Duty OB arrives and my OB is 5mins behind her. They check me and although I’m ready to go and feeling like I want to push, my baby girl is facing up (occipital-posterior) and hasn’t descended as much, additionally her HR is dropping during each contraction so the duty OB steps in and tries to turn my baby by reaching in and turning her head. After a few tries I feel her turn slightly and see it in my belly! She still hasn’t descended and now it’s becoming an issue so it’s time to push with the help of suction. If this doesn’t work, it’s an emergency C-section.

I’m no longer allowed to use NO2 during contractions and have no other pain relief; pushing commences and my husband is holding my leg with the nurse on the other and I’m trying my hardest to get this baby out as I can hear the monitor beeping as her HR drops. During one push, suction breaks and Dr repositions, the next contraction I do 3 pushes which brings out her head, shoulders and then the rest of her! She’s alive and screaming and also wearing her umbilical cord which is wrapped around her arm, leg and neck! A CPAP specialist was already in position to jump in and make sure her airways were clear and she’s breathing properly which meant no delayed clamping/cutting of the cord and only 30secs of skin to skin. I could see and hear her and I was happy!

While they worked on her, another team worked on me after I birthed the placenta. I experienced a 2nd degree perineum tear, a 3rd degree vaginal laceration and significant blood loss due to the use of the suction. I was taken to the OR for surgery while my husband, Mom and MIL all got to go skin to skin with my little baby girl. Although I had to wait until 08:30 to hold my baby girl again, I was happy to know she was being cuddled by loved ones!

As a FTM I had read so much about labour, watched videos and heard advice(both sought and unsolicited) about how it would probably take longer because it’s my first, how I should just go with the epidural and don’t try to be a hero, how I need a birth plan, etc. While I had accepted and was completely prepared for all of these things, the only thing that actually turned out as predicted was that baby will do what she wants and although I didn’t forget the pain afterwards, everything that has followed her birth has certainly made it all worth it!

Olivia is now 2 months old and we are so in love with her! I truly never knew I could love someone so much ❤️💕❤️