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| A few hours before the event - Trust me to take a selfie! |
It was a quiet Friday afternoon at the office & I was preparing for a meeting.
J walks into my office and says, "I think my water just broke"
Never having a child before, I asked her a few questions (Got to love Google) & confirmed the diagnosis: She was in labour.
Off we go to the hospital... how ironic that the 1 friend who doesn't like kids is the driving her to the hospital!
I am very calm in most situations - so while waiting to see the doc I happily read to J about everything she could expect to happen in the ensuing hours.
The receptionist insisted that J was not in labour - I disagreed and spent the next hour helping J with the aid of Google.
When the doc finally saw her, he confirmed she was in labour and off we went to admissions.
Hospital staff and Post Office staff seem to have a running competition to see who can assist you in the slowest manner possible.
Eventually J was settled into her bed & the fun part started. Contractions, closer and closer....
I told her about a sentence I had recently read in a book - Giving birth is like the petals of a flower gently opening to allow the baby out. (Clearly written by a man not experiencing the uterus-splitting pain)
It made her laugh when things got really sore though.
There isn't much you can do when a contraction strikes, but after 3.5 hours experience, I can suggest the following:
- Have a towel handy for her to sit on while waiting to be admitted - when water breaks... it isn't a once off thing, it keeps coming every now and then.
- Bring an energy drink for her to sip between contractions, she needs every bit of energy she has. (& maybe even a snack if she feels like eating)
- Have something soft like a stress ball that she can grab or squeeze when the pain gets bad.
- Have a soft cloth or towel to wet with cool water for her forehead or back of her neck.
Childbirth isn't very glamorous at all - perhaps schools should let young girls spend the afternoon amongst the women writhing in pain for hours - it might help put them off & make them go out and immediately buy contraception!
6 hours or so later, little Levi popped out & it was over.
Regardless of her sleepless nights, she is still looking great - motherhood agrees with her.
Now the hard part starts...
Raising a little person to be a good & kind person. To enjoy all that life has to offer and not be affected by the bad things in the world.
I drove home and thought about my mom and her 23 hours of labour and loved her even more just for going through all that to bring me into this world...
Mothers (the good ones) truly are special blessings on this earth.
