I went back to bed and woke again just before 2:30 am.  I had some pains happening but they weren’t too bad and thought it might be pre-labour.  I stayed in bed for half an hour and timed the pains at about every 5 minutes, so I figured I should get up and time them properly including duration.  Andrew woke and asked me if I was ok. I told him I thought I was in labour, so we both got up.  It was 3 am.

I timed the contractions and found they were 3 minutes apart and lasting 45 seconds.  I was now convinced I was in labour, so we decided to ring Pauline, the doula we had hired to look after Nathan during the labour.  It was about 3:20 am, and Pauline said she’d meet us at the hospital.  She had at least a half hour drive ahead of her, but I was a bit dubious about going to hospital so soon since labour had only just started, and told her we’d call her and let her know if plans changed.  She knew, as did I, that my labour with Nathan was only 3 hours and so we were sort of expecting another short labour.  I was, however, keen to avoid another trip to hospital while pushing.

It was only 10 minutes later that I asked Andrew to ring my midwife and tell her that I was in labour and we should go to the hospital.  The midwife had told me that if I felt like I needed to be in the shower for pain relief then I should be at the hospital.  I thought things were getting more intense though getting in  shower wasn’t something I wanted to do.  Two contractions later I was really glad that we’d called her as the pain intensified and I told Andrew we had to go.  Contractions were now 2.5 minutes apart and lasting a minute or more.

Thankfully we were organised enough that all we needed to get to the car was ourselves, so Andrew picked up a sleeping Nathan and we headed down the lift to the car.  I had two contractions on the way and Andrew recognised the change in how I sounded and asked if I was pushing…I said I wasn’t sure, I think I was in denial as I didn’t want to have a baby at home without my midwife, even though I love the idea of a homebirth (just not unsupported).  We got into the car and Andrew drove (pretty fast) to the hospital. It’s normally a 10 minute trip with no traffic. Andrew told me the car clock said 3:52 as we passed Anzac Parade, a road very close to the hospital.  Meanwhile, I was kneeling on the back seat of the car where my waters broke and I started wondering if I was going to have this baby in the car since I was definitely pushing and it felt like the baby was almost out.

We got to the hospital and was let into the foyer where a lady on the reception desk asked who I was and if she could have my medicare card.  Andrew told her my name, and I said I was having a baby NOW and that my midwife was on the way if she wasn’t here already.  I then proceeded to have another contraction and the lady made a phone call and told people from the birth suite to come….HURRY….she almost screamed into the phone.

Three hospital staff came to get me.  I remember clinging to one through another contraction and then she asked me to walk to the lift and kneel on a wheelchair.  They took me up one level and into the birth suite. As we went past the Birth Centre Andrew noted that my midwife obviously hadn’t arrived yet because the doors to the birth centre were closed and she said she would leave them open when she got there.

I got into one of the birth suite rooms and was standing, still fully clothed in a skirt and t-shirt though someone pushed my undies down to my ankles (I couldn’t step out of them), when I gave birth.  I can’t seem to remember how long it all took but Andrew said he basically walked into the room, put a bag down and turned in time to see the baby being born at 3:59 am…about an hour after getting out of bed!

The baby was given to me and I told the hospital staff that we wanted delayed clamping and a natural delivery of the placenta.  Bec arrived and so did Pauline, though I asked if she could stay outside for a while given that the baby was already born.  Bec took over, dramatically reducing the number of people in the room, and she helped me lie on the bed.  Nathan helped Andrew cut the cord and was fascinated by everything and even wanted to breastfeed when I gave Toby his first feed.  It certainly wasn’t what I expected to be doing, but somehow it seemed a bit of a bonding experience for Nathan and the baby to have them both feeding and Nathan gently touching the baby.

I pushed out the placenta about half an hour after the birth.  Bec told me that it looked very healthy and not at all like an overdue placenta.  Then she had a look to see what damage had been done, something I was nervous about since I was worried about another third degree tear.  Thankfully, however, it wasn’t that bad…a second degree tear…and it was stitched in the room. Pauline looked after Nathan for a while and Andrew took some photos.

Bec then moved us to a room in the Birth Centre which was fantastic.  I had a shower and crawled into the double bed with the baby.  Bec weighed and measured him, and he was 4.18 kg, 60 cm long and had a head circumference of 35.5 cm.

Pauline made us some toast and got some drinks before going home,and the 4 of us lay in bed together until Nathan became too restless.  Andrew took him for a walk in the pram and I just relaxed.  Bec popped in every now and again to check on us and let us know that we were waiting for the pediatrician to come and check out the baby.  She warned me that because I tested positive 5 weeks earlier for Group B Streptococcus and wasn’t able to have antibiotics during labour, that they would recommend me staying in hospital for 24, if not 48 hours.  Bec knew I was keen to go home as soon as possible so she gave us some time to think about our options.

The pediatrician was very persuasive in his argument to stay in hospital, and I’m sure he convinced Andrew.  Apparently, when an infection does occur, the baby deteriorates very quickly and there possibly wouldn’t be time to get him to hospital if we were at home.  However, infection isn’t common, the quicker the birth the less risk there is and there wasn’t much time between my waters breaking and the birth, so I figured the risk was very low.  And to put it all into perspective, Bec told us that in the UK they don’t even bother testing for Strep B anymore.  The pediatrician did say that the most risk from infection was in the first 6 hours, so Andrew and I agreed to stay in hospital until about midday at which time the baby would be 8 hours old.  I still had to sign a document saying that I was discharging myself against hospital recommendations.

We left a little later than planned because Nathan had a nap while we were at the hospital, but we were still home by 1 pm.  Andrew and Nathan went shopping for a few items, but otherwise we didn’t do much besides try to cope with Nathan’s exhaustion. It took us 3 days to name the baby, but we finally agreed on Toby Oliver.

Here are some photos from Toby’s first day.

Nathan watching Mummy and the very new baby.

Getting ready for Toby’s first feed.

Toby’s first smile.

Daddy cuddles.

Nathan and Toby’s first cuddle.

Nathan ready to take his little brother home from hospital.

Toby in the baby hammock, asleep.

Toby did a lot of sleeping during his first day.

Another cuddle, requested by Nathan.

Toby’s first reading of Green Eggs and Ham.