LET'S TALK ABOUT LABOUR!!!

My mum came to stay with me a month before my EDD because I was so sure I was going to have an early birth however my son thought otherwise. I was 9 days overdue!!! I prayed for labour to come, I cried, Oh ‘My Gosh!! I was so uncomfortable. I had my son on the day that I was scheduled to be induced.

I won’t lie I was a very lazy preggy lady lol... When my pregnancy started showing, I had to quit my job at the bank and move cities because I was too embarrassed about what people who knew me would say. Only my very close friends (3 wonderful friends who you would get to meet later on in the series) knew about my pregnancy. I just carried my load to another city and told other friends and acquaintances that I had gotten a new job yeah job as a jobless lazy pregnant girl. 

So I had saved enough to pay for 6 months in my new place and I had a few hundreds left to sustain me until I die of hunger lol.  I couldn't dare ask my dad for any sort of financial assistance even though I knew he would give me. I was too ashamed to even think towards that direction. Gee was helpful as I moved to his city so we were in close proximity. He would come every other day, stay for a couple of hours and then go home. Talk about being lonely.

I was too broken to even look for a job, I went for one interview and I think they mentioned that they couldn't take me because I was pregnant at the time, so I just kuku stayed in my house and didn't bother applying for any other job. My routine was SLEEP, EAT, watch TV, MORE SLEEP and EAT!!! I added a tonne of weight and was beginning to look like Gabourey Sidibe in the movie Precious. 

Thank God for mum, when she arrived the first thing she told me was that I had to be active. So we went to the city center every day and walked around for an hour or two before heading back home. If for nothing else she kept me occupied and the loneliness was gone like it was never there. The feeling of love and support from my mum took most of the burden off my shoulders. I felt like I wasn’t alone anymore and I had someone who understood what I was going through and would love me no matter what. What a feeling… I’m actually emotional writing this and it’s been almost four years now.

Fast forward to delivery day… Labour started around 12:30am. My mum was asleep in her room and I didn’t want to wake her up because I wasn’t certain this was the real thing as I had been having Braxton hicks contractions for some weeks. I called Gee to come over and by the time he arrived at 1:30am I was already spotting, so we started timing the contractions. Around 5am I woke my mum up and she said we should head to the hospital without her (my mum has never followed any of her daughters to the hospital during delivery, she was always home doing prayer warrior stunts lol). I had decided have a natural birth without pain relief and opted to have a water birth.  On the way to the hospital I couldn’t believe I was meant to go through a higher degree of pain than what I was already going through, my liver don start to fail o lol.

We got to the hospital around 7am and after examination the nurse told me I was only 1cm dilated and I should go home. I almost fainted! 1cm and this much pain, I just can’t!!! After checking my blood pressure she mentioned that it was a bit on the high side hence she checked me into one of the wards. At that point Gee realised that he needed to sleep and decided to go home, I was livid shebi I’m the one that can’t sleep, I’m a vampire abi mcheeww.  He went home anyways and I had to brace myself for the long painful ride alone in the hospital.

I had read so much about the different types of painkillers and I had told myself that taking an epidural would be the last resort for me. I kept telling myself to hold on for an hour and see if I will consider using my pain-free last resort lol. After six long hours, I asked to be checked and the nurse said I was only 4cm gone… I was like God let this cup pass over me In my mind I was Jesus lol. I asked for a pain relief med and I think she gave me paracetamol, I almost stoned her with it because it doesn’t even help with my normal menstrual pain…Ewooo!! I was seriously considering taking the epidural.

By 4pm, I felt a different type of pain and I asked the nurse to come and check, she was sure I wasn’t more than 5 or 6cm so she wanted to ignore me. I insisted that she checks me which she did reluctantly and I started to see her face turn pink. She exclaimed that said I should have called her before then… See me see wahala o. Apparently I was already about 9cm so they quickly wheeled me to the midwifery section of the labour ward. I opted for water birth but due to the rise in my blood pressure I was advised I couldn’t go that route.

After a few minutes, my water broke by then Gee had returned to the hospital. The pain was excruciating, I opted for ‘gas and air’. That helped a bit because it took my mind away from the pain but then I couldn’t help but wonder why women do this more than once. After about an hour of using the gas and air the midwife checked and said I was fully dialated…Phewww! Thank God… err but what next?

She asked me if I felt like pushing to which I replied No, then she went on to ask if I felt like pooing...in my mind I was like ahhnnn Aunti shebi if I wanted to I’ll do it. Then she asked me to go sit on the toilet that it might make me get the urge to push. Truly, after like 2 mins of I felt like pushing and the first push resulted in the head, then she asked me not to push that she would gently guide the baby out. Gently ke? Does this lady know the kind of pain I’m in? To be honest I couldn’t allow her practice her gentleness on me lol, I just had to push this baby out. At 5:30 pm the third push brought forth my angel, my crown, my beautiful baby boy.

Immediately I saw him, I forgot all the pain I went through. I couldn’t remember the past 18 hours or so. At point I realised why women do this over and over again. The feeling was out of this world. I had come out victorious… I was now a PROUD MUMMY!!!

Ladies.. Time to spill, tell us your labour stories :)