Éclair's birth story

So, I didn't do the whole labour thing with Evie. I didn't suffer through 36 hours of pain or traumatize my midwife this time around. I knew I would have a C section for this child before she was even conceived. But that doesn't mean she doesnt have her very own birth story... so here it is :)

Thursday 12th of August we were awake at 5:30am to shower and dress and get ourselves into hospital for our 7am appointment. I was feeling good but pretty nervous as it had only just dawned on me really that I would be getting sliced open in a few hours and it was kinda making me feel a bit scared. The previous weeks leading up to Evie's birth I had mostly been focusing on having my baby around and looking forward not being pregnant anymore, I had forgotten about the rest of it!

With Simon's mum in tow, we rocked up to the hospital a bit early, which was lucky as when we got to the 5th floor check in area I had been told to go to, they sent us to the wrong ward, who then proceeded to send us on to another wrong ward and if it hadn't of been for some other couple which had been on the very same wrong directioned route who pointed us in the right direction, we would of been totally lost and late.
Which in the end wouldnt of mattered as we ended up sitting around for a good 3 hours while they caught up with their surgery list. Yay.

At some point I got told to change into my hospital gowns, one hideous one with a tie only at the back of the neck and open down the back, and another with went over the top that buttoned up down the front. I also got to wear the sexiest stockings around. Because Simon's mum was with us and she couldn't come through to the prep area, I ended up sitting out in the reception in my gowned glory.. but I was so nervous I didn't really care anyway. Also they kept telling me to come out the back to meet with a range of people and go over everything about half a dozen times.

About 9am I realised I was in early labour. Typical :P I was having contractions 5 minutes apart and at around 9:30 I felt really weird and needed to go to the toilet, it was as i was coming out of there i felt something even weirder...did my waters just break a bit!?
I told one of the nurses and she told me to lay down in one of the prep rooms and fetched Simon, his mum went off to do other stuff (probably eat, so jealous!) and begin the wait for a baby.

I started getting very anxious and panicky. The anesthesiologist, a really lovely friendly woman, came in and attempted to put my IV line in. The left hand ended up clotting straight away and was useless so she had to pull that out and try the other hand. This made me even more panicky and anxious and soon i was sitting there sobbing while she wrestled a line in.

Soon it was time to go down into the operating theater, all i can really remember of the epidural insertion was how much i was shaking, how they were telling me to sit with my back arched out and how they were all trying to remember their latin studies enough to read what my tattoo on my spine said. I seriously went to my happy place at this point and tried to block everything out.

Before long i started getting very numb from the top of my chest right to my toes and they got me all positioned for the surgery. The curtains went up so we couldnt see what was happening and they tested me with ice and pinches to make sure i couldn't feel anything. The thing is.. you can feel stuff. Not like pain or anything but the tugging, pulling and definitely them touching you. Its so odd and It kinda makes me shudder thinking about it.

Simon said I should scream bloody murder when they cut me but it was only about 5 seconds after that that he looked to the surgeon and saw the reflection in her visor that it was too late, i was already open :P

I had alot of scar tissue from ZJ's messy arrival so it took them a bit longer than expected to get to Evie. I cant describe what it felt like when they pulled her out. So much pressure and tugging and then before too many seconds had passed - there she was. My beautiful baby flying in the air in front of me as they showed her to me over the curtain.

Simon went with her as they did all the measuring etc and made sure she was ok. I was kinda of worried as it took her ages to cry, but once she did she didn't really shut up :P Simon brought her back over and the nurses helped him position her on me so i could smell and kiss and touch her. It was so special and I tried my best not to cry my eyes out. Simon held her while the surgeons stitched me up and all I could keep thinking was how much she looked like ZJ, especially when in full out crying mode.

The recovery room wasn't very nice. I had nice nurses looking after me but there was a major kerfuffle over the fact i wasnt breastfeeding and being so emotional and tired I was just loosing the plot. They kept saying how hungry she was and how she needed to be fed. We hadnt realised we would need our bottles and everything for the recovery room as well so we had left that behind in the car. It was stupid of me as it was my idea to do that and i KNOW what Auckland hospital are like about bottle feeding. Simon ended up having to get changed quickly and run down to the car to grab everything. Meanwhile nurses kept coming in and out saying how starving Evie was and how i needed to feed her right then. I lost the plot and started bawling my eyes out. The lady next bed over was trying to breastfeed but her baby wouldn't latch. I heard htem telling her it was ok and that babies didnt actually need to be fed much right away and it would all be fine. Why the double standards for me?

Both my midwife later and a couple of nurses on the ward i stayed in mentioned they could of just rung up to the ward for a bottle to be sent down. And anyway..they had all the tuff there as well.

Simon returned but by this point I was utterly beside myself. I couldnt even sit up so i couldn't feed Evie myself and I asked Simon to do it. I was dissapointed. Another baby I missed out on the first bottle with.
I don't care what anyone says but its a pretty strong bonding moment, especially those first few feeds and i felt horrible about it.

It wasn't until I was settled into the wards that i got to really spend some time with Evie but it was so worth the wait. She hardly cried, and was so alert just looking around at the world. I will never forget those first few moments if just staring into her eyes no matter how many years pass.

So thats it, thats how the little Éclair made her entrance into the world on the 12 of August 2010.