Did My Water Break, or Did I Just Pee on Myself?

So here we are ladies and gentleman! The story of Sapphyre's birth! Now, of course I wouldn't be telling you all this story if it wasn't slightly interesting!

I had my hospital bag packed 2-3 weeks before my due date, which was January 12th, 2013. My dad was staying with my sister and I in Nassau and he was so excited that he put my hospital bag in the trunk of the car the day it was packed, "Just in case she comes early", he said. She didn't.

On January 11th, my sister and I were at Bank of the Bahamas. I was sitting down on the chair waiting for my sister and her trust officer to return, I felt what felt like pee, the only difference is that it flowed out of my body so naturally I wasn't entirely sure.

Now, I didn't truly panic as I was wearing a pad, because the past few days my mucus plug (bloody show) had been coming out and so I thought it was best that if I was leaving the house to be prepared, and good thing I was!

I ran into the bathroom to find that the pad was soaked! I called my dad and told him my water broke. He was back at the bank in literally two minutes (we all know Shirley street can be BUSY).

My dad was so excited that he left my sister at the bank and took me to the hospital.

Now, Princess Margaret Hospital is not always a fun place to be, and my experience was no different. I waited for hours to see a nurse to confirm that my water bag had indeed burst (they asked me how I could be so sure my water had broken *rolls eyes*).

Finally, the nurses confirmed my water had indeed broke and so they decided that I would be induced the next morning seeing that I wasn't having any contractions.

I was admitted to the maternity ward.

That evening during visiting hours my dad and sister came to see me, once they left I became so afraid. Not afraid of becoming a mother, but afraid of the pain I was about to experience the next day (yes, I'm a punk).

The next day, it was time. I was induced at about 10 am, along with another woman, and my contractions started around noon.

The lady who was induced the same time as me, told me that this was her SIXTH pregnancy! Let's call her Beth. Beth said that she was so afraid of the pain that she decided not to come to the hospital until now...she was four weeks past her due date!

Anyways as the pain became more and more severe, all I remember was that I wasn't being a nuisance unlike my newest friend. When I tell you all Beth was SCREAMING with every contraction, you would swear it was her first rodeo. Even the nurses asked her to be quiet (a little rude, but quite funny).

My sister, my best friend Kiki, and my dad came to visit me during visiting hours that evening (yes, I was still in labour). My sister was becoming fed up with me because one minute I was hot and asking her to take my blanket off of me, the next minute I was cold and asking her to put my blanket back on me.

I was also having some back pain so I asked my sister to sit to my back so I could press against her to relieve the pain. When my dad came back into the room, I asked him to rub my back.

But, boy oh boy, when the contraction came, I moved away from him almost in an instant, yelling at him not to touch me It was so funny! It was as if I was bipolar or something.

My dad left. I guess he said he'd had enough haha.

For those of you who have experienced labour before, you know how it is when those contractions come and you just don't want to be touched or bothered, it's such a weird change in behaviour, bringing a human into the world.

Anyways, my sister and Kiki, were keeping me company and trying to take my mind off the pain, and so we started telling jokes.

We were all sitting there laughing when a strong contraction hit me. Kiki and my sister were still laughing at the joke, but being in the state I was in, I started yelling at them, telling them that what was happening to me wasn't funny!

The look of confusion on their faces were priceless, because it was literally less than 30 seconds when we were all laughing together.

A little while later a nurse came and checked Beth to see how dilated she was. Seeing that I had been in labour at least four hours before her, I asked the nurse if she could check me too, as she was about to wheel Beth over to the labour ward seeing that was about 5cm dilated, to which she replied with a stern "No".

Man, I was so pissed! Because I was sure I was far more dilated than Beth was. "Well, carry her bald head then!", I said to the nurse on her way out.

Yes, I was upset and I was in pain and that was the best insult I had up my sleeve at that time. I'm telling you, labour can turn people into monsters. The nurse of course just ignored me and went about her business.

One thing watching "A Baby Story" on TLC at the clinic waiting for my mommy to leave work taught me was that I should walk through my contractions and remember to breathe as well. Trust me when I say it works!

I walked through each and every contraction I had and I made sure to breathe consistently as they came, it certainly made a difference.

I tell you guys no lie, it was about 15 minutes later when I felt the urge to use the bathroom badly to complete a #2.

All day I had been pooping and peeing and my doctor neither my nurse seemed concerned and so I didn't worry myself about it.

Also, because my water had already broke the day before and I wasn't having contractions, I was placed on drip with antibiotics...up until this very moment:

I rushed to the bathroom and I told my sister that I really needed to poop. The urge was so strong that I thought I would've pooped on the hospital floor.

I get to the bathroom, I sit on the toilet, and I let go. I felt something coming down, but didn't hear the "plop" in the toilet. My mind told me to feel "down there", and I felt Sapphyre's head! I WAS ABOUT TO GIVE BIRTH TO MY DAUGHTER IN THE TOILET!

I yelled to my sister who, thankfully, was standing outside the bathroom door that I could feel the baby's head! Next, I heard my sister running and calling for a nurse or doctor telling them that the baby was coming.

I managed to get up off the toilet, and I walked out of the bathroom, legs wide apart. And who do I see coming running towards me with a few other nurses and my doctor? The bald headed nurse! I was so mad!

If she had checked me when I had asked she would have discovered that I was 10 cm dilated!

Anyways, the doctor had me lay on my bed and they pushed Sapphyre back up into my vagina. Then they sat me in a wheelchair, left my hospital bag where it was and rushed me over to the labour ward.

I remember flying past my dad in the lobby and him asking what was wrong, to which they replied, " The baby's COMING!".

As soon as they got me on the bed, they put a bed pan beneath me and I pooped right away, for real y'all! And no, I am not ashamed of this! It happens!

The doctor asked me not to push, they wanted to make sure the umbilical cord wasn't around Sapphyre's neck. After she indicated to the nurse that the cord was not around Sapph's neck I apologized to her, I grabbed her arm and with one push Sapphyre was out! She was born at 7:55 pm and just five minutes before visiting hours were over!

After I'd held Sapphyre for a while, I asked my nurse to take her out for my dad and sister to see before they carried her over to the neonatal ward.

After removing the rest of the placenta and letting me rest for a while, I spent the next hour and a half getting stitches from front to back...I tore really bad...and although I didn't cry not once during labour, I definitely bawled when I was getting stitches, it just hurt SO bad.

My doctor was passing the room I was in and she said jokingly, "Who is this I hear crying? Can't be you who was so brave during labour!". She held my hand for a while and told me I'd be done soon and then I can see my beautiful little girl.

As I laid there getting stitched up, I saw Beth being wheeled across the room heading to have a C-section. I couldn't believe it!I thought for sure she had already had her baby.

I got back to the maternity ward around midnight and the nurse brought Sapphyre back over to me, and my journey of motherhood began.

The next morning, Beth was back on the maternity ward. She told me she had to have a C-section because where she waited so long to come and have her baby that her cervix had already hardened up and she couldn't give birth naturally like she did the previous five pregnancies.

All I could do was shake my head, thinking to myself, this woman must be crazy! I was ready for Sapphyre to make her grand entrance from December!

I guess they were right when they said, "Different strokes for different folks!".

#bahamas #baby #pregnancy