Well, I did it. I pushed out a little human. Introducing Aidan Reinold McGrath. Born on December 14, 2019 at 12:51 AM, he came into this world fast and furious. The birth was straightforward – quick and intense, but very much the textbook birth, nonetheless. This post is going to be a long one, so get comfortable.
Aidan was thirteen days overdue. Shocker, right? I had had hopes of having a water birth in the birth centre, but had to quickly get over that because I had to be induced. The day before Aidan was born, I went in at 9:30 AM for an induction. At around 11 AM, a pessary was inserted to soften my cervix. I was monitored for a bit before being sent home. If I didn’t start progressing on my own within 24 hours, then I would need another pessary, which would be monitored for an hour or two – if that didn’t work, I’d need to be attached to an IV to be medically induced. Spoiler alert: I didn’t need anything past the first pessary.
So, we went home and went about our day. We ordered our usual Friday night takeaway, convinced that we’d need to go back to the hospital in the morning for a second try. We had just gotten through dinner, when I started to notice some pains around 6:30 PM or so. I wasn’t sure if they were contractions at first (so hard to tell when you have literally nothing to compare it to), but it was in fact the beginning stages of labor.
We started timing them – they were a bit sporadic at first, but definitely felt like they were getting more intense. Steve called the maternity triage and they said to come in, so on our way we went. I want to say we were at the hospital around 8:00 PM or so. The maternity unit was SO PACKED that we were waiting quite a bit before I was even seen.
I was given some paracetamol for the pain (which I ended up throwing up a bit later – twice) and was assessed and was only 1 cm. Damn – we’d have to go home. In addition to checking to see how dilated I was, my contractions and the baby’s heartbeat were meant to be monitored as well. They attempted to do this, but I was experiencing way too much back labor to even do so, because I had to be laying down on the bed. The contractions were coming in hot and heavy by this point, and I honestly wasn’t getting any break between them. I was inhaling gas and air like it was literally the elixir of life to try and help, and Steve and a student midwife were doing all they could to keep me comfortable.
Steve called his mom to come to the hospital, and around 10:00-10:30 PM I was checked again and had somehow progressed to 8 cms (in like an hour?)! This was it – I was about to give birth! The midwives VERY QUICKLY moved me from triage to the labor ward because this baby was coming and coming quick! I also had no time for any pain relief (other than the gas and air down in triage), so yea, that was fun.
We got up to the labor ward and I tried pushing for a bit while on my knees, leaning over the back of the bed, but was not having any luck. I was also so incredibly tired and dehydrated, not having had anything to drink in hours. I stupidly kept saying “I can’t do this” – I was a total cliche, lol. The midwives helping me deliver mentioned possibly having to aid in the delivery if I didn’t push harder. To be honest, I think they were just saying that to egg me on and make me want to push harder, and it clearly worked.
By this time he was so close to coming, and my water still hadn’t broken. So, they suggested that I get on my back so they could break it. The second that my water broke, I felt a huge sense of relief and like it was easier to push. Poor Steve, bless his heart, made the mistake of being down at that end for a hot minute and got a glimpse of what he said looked like a “bowling ball”. Thanks for THAT image, babe.
A few more pushes and he was crowning. At this point, the midwives said to stop pushing. And ladies, when they say stop, seriously listen to them. DO. NOT. PUSH. I didn’t tear at all and I put this down to the fact that I listened to my midwives and stopped pushing and just breathed. Once his head was out, I gave a few more pushes and at 12:51 AM he was here! Not only did he come out SCREAMING at the top of his lungs, but he also came out with his fist out as well (we joked he came out like Superman).
The pain of childbirth is like nothing that I could ever describe. But it was so worth it to have Aidan. Once he was placed in my arms, it was like time stopped, and literally nothing else mattered. I remember looking at Steve in astonishment. It was so surreal that we had created this little human! Seeing Steve hold our son absolutely melted my heart.
Aidan is now, as of writing this, a month and 6 days old. He changes every day, and just when we don’t think it possible, we fall even more in love with him. He is absolutely amazing.
Aidan, we love you so much!
