The Birth and beyond!
First of all I want to say sorry for the delay in writing this, I just can’t imagine what has been taking up so much of my time recently?!? I keep adding more detail and information into this post but I keep getting distracted, hours turn into days, days turn into weeks and weeks have now turned into months, my tiny trio aren’t so tiny anymore!
I’ll go back to the days leading up to my labour and delivery and I will warn you in advance, labour isn’t pretty or glamorous so forgive me now for some of the details I’m going to share with you.
The week commencing August the 18th…….. I feel like a beached whale, I’m pretty fed up of being so large and getting out is getting harder and harder, I’m at the point in my pregnancy that I’m sure many of you can relate too…… if you drop something… well it just has to stay on the floor, trust me this isn’t laziness this is down to the fact that I no longer have a centre of gravity! I attempted to pick up the post, I tried the bend forward and bend down, standard technique really, nope not for a heavily pregnant woman…. I could hardly bend forward with this massive bump, couldn’t even get half way down before having visions of my weight shifting and head butting the door! Ok second attempt… I try the squat, put my feet slightly further apart than my hips and bend my knees slowly lowering to floor with my back straight………..I got further than I did with the first try, well a lot further, my balance went and I ended up rolling around like a weeble on my butt, jammed between the wall in my hall way and the small cupboard on the opposite side of my front door. So from that point onwards if I couldn’t lift it to me with my bare foot then it was staying on the floor until Tia or Martin got home.
The 19th of August, it was a great day and if I’m 100% honest the first August the 19th in many years that I haven’t had a single drink whether it be a glass of wine, a fruit cider….whatever. My Birthday, 21 again, ok so time has taken its toll and so has this pregnancy so I’m not passing for 21 anymore (I haven’t for some years now). It’s a great day, we had tapas and just getting in and out of the car to go out for dinner made me feel like I had run a marathon. I had an early night expecting to feel a bit more refreshed and energised the next day but the exact opposite happened! I woke up on the Wednesday morning feeling like I had drank a barrel of whisky, the pain in my head was so intense I couldn’t open my eyes, the pain ran through my face, if I tried to open my eye it felt as though my eyeball was trying to make its way out! I put my arm out of the bed trying to take tiny peeks looking for my phone and I called my friend Sharon who made me call the hospital for advice straight away. Speaking to the nursing and midwifery staff at Torbay they wanted me to go in asap to check my blood pressure to rule out pre-eclampsia, Sharon came and picked me up and took me straight to the hospital, I can’t even remember what I wore, I’m not even sure I managed to clean my teeth or brush my hair so I’m guessing I looked like a total hobo! A mad one at that because I couldn’t even open my eyes for more than a second or 2 whilst making my way up to the women’s department.
I had noticed on my way to the hospital that my thighs where also really sore and I felt very wet… what the hell had I been up to in my sleep? My blood pressure was checked and seemed absolutely fine so thankfully pre-eclampsia was ruled out. I told a doctor about the pains I was getting shooting through my thighs and how wet I felt down below, I was hooked up to a machine that could detect tightening’s in my tummy but this could either mean contractions or practice contractions, I had an internal and they confirmed that yes I seemed to be very wet but the fluid was not amniotic. From a medical point of view I wasn’t in labour so there was little the hospital could do, the pain in my head was suspected sinusitis I was advised to take painkillers and if it didn’t go then I could get a prescription for something stronger.
Over the next couple of days the pains in my thighs just kept coming back, I know my tummy has dropped really low because I started walking like I had ridden a horse for a week without getting off. I kept saying to Martin and Tia that something was happening and I suspected these babies would be making an appearance very soon! Every night when I went to bed I would wonder if tonight would be the night? Would I get woken up with intense pains? Or my waters breaking?
I woke up Saturday morning and I actually felt slightly more refreshed then I had done for the last week, I popped into town and bought some paint for Tia’s room and on our way back Tia and I went up to our local shop, Top shops, just as I pulled up outside I got this wet sticky feeling in my knickers, I put my hand under my bum and I could feel a wet patch on the back of my dress. I told Tia what had just happened and she just looked at me slightly grossed out. I discreetly slipped my hand under my dress, I don’t know what I was expecting to see when I pulled my hand back out, I think I just wanted to check it wasn’t blood but I really should have thought more carefully about what I was doing because what happens if the pressure of my belly and all of these babies had made me pee myself (yep that had happened before). Oh no it wasn’t pee….. When I pulled my hand back out there was some sort of snot on my hand, a lump of snot! Had I just sneezed out of my vagina? Oh is this my “show”? My Mucus plug? I hadn’t had this with Tia but I had heard and read about them. Tia saw what was on my hand and after dry reaching a few times she declared she would never eat again! That didn’t last long she got a hotdog in the shop! The rest of Saturday passed by uneventful, I did go to bed pretty sure that tonight would be the night, I was certain I was going to get woken by labour… nope woke up Sunday morning with no symptoms what so ever!
I knew every day that I could keep the babies inside of me was a good thing but I had reached that point in my giant pregnancy where I’d had enough, id had enough of feeling so tired and worn out after doing the simplest of things, I was fed up of being so huge that I was convinced that if I got much larger id need a hoist to get me out of bed or off the sofa!
Sunday was a pretty standard day, I still had the shooting pains in my thighs but they had been at me all week but other than that I was pretty symptom free, I went up to bed feeling a little down but also glad id managed to cook these babies for another day. 23.30pm…. I was lying in bed awake watching tv with martin when suddenly I had the weirdest pain ever… it felt as though someone had heated up a metal pole and stuck it across my lower back, it wasn’t a pain as such more of a burning sensation! Martin saw my face change and my whole body tense up, I explained what had happened, we agreed that if it happened again we should call the hospital. I thought “I best go have a wee and try and get some sleep just in case”. On my way to the bathroom I popped my head around Tia’s bedroom door and told her to get some clothes ready just in case something happened in the middle of the night, I went into the bathroom sat down for a wee and suddenly I heard a pop on the inside of me and before I know it water is gushing out of me! Wow I knew I needed to pee but there was no chance I needed it that bad, there was absolutely no way that that was pee! I cleaned myself off, went back to Tia’s room and told her that she best get the clothes on now, when she asked why….. Gush… my waters went again all over her floor. I didn’t need to answer her question she knew exactly what was happening! I made my way into my bedroom and was about to tell Martin what happened in the bathroom and in Tia’s room but before I even had a chance to speak…. Gush it happened again! To my amazement we all stayed really calm, I was having no pains which I think made us all even more calm, Martin went and grabbed my hospital bag and notes while Tia helped get me dressed, I couldn’t go in the pjs I was wearing because they were absolutely soaked. We all made our way to the car, Martin was so calm throughout all of this he even remembered to grab a few towels to put on the seat of the car so I didn’t soak the seats.
When we arrived at the hospital, I walked up to the labour ward with Tia while Martin went to find a parking spot, I’d had a few small pains on the way to the hospital but nothing to unbearable, we had called the hospital on the way so they had a room waiting for us. They had made plans weeks ahead of this happening that should I go into spontaneous labour I would go straight to Torbay, they would attach a drip which would either stop or slow my labour right down and then transfer me to Plymouth hospital, throughout my pregnancy I had always been told not to attempt getting to Plymouth ourselves just in case I started to give birth in the car, it was the safer option to go to Torbay, safer for the babies and safer for me. I was attached to the drip but just as they attached it I had a massive contraction and the more and more of the drip went into me the stronger the contractions got… it seemed to be having the absolute opposite effect to what it was supposed to be having! I started chugging on the gas and air like it was going out of fashion! In between contractions I called Lexi the producer of the documentary, I really didn’t want them to miss the birth, one of the main reason I agreed to do the documentary was to capture the birth. Lexi was lying in bed when I called her and at this point I was extremely high on gas on air and probably making no sense what so ever! Lexi is engaged to a guy called Adeel, he is an actor and plays one of the lead characters in a series I absolutely love called Utopia, in my high state I had a brain wave… I asked to speak to Adeel, Lexi put him on the phone and I asked him if he could steal the large yellow bag from the set of Utopia because my pram hadn’t turned up yet and I was convinced that that bag would be ideal to carry the babies around in!!! I think he might have agreed but I still haven’t got that yellow bag…. not that id actually put the babies in it!
My labour just kept progressing, the drip was having absolutely no effect what so ever so Torbay hospital had to come up with a plan B and they had to come up with it quick! Looking back at my labour I’m sure Hope and Mika had started jumping on top of Boé to get her out quicker.
Torbay had to make the decision to give me a c section there, it’s not a decision they took lightly because we all knew Hope had problems and Torbay may not have the equipment required to look after such a small baby, a sick one at that but there was no other option my labour wasn’t showing any sign of slowing or stopping!
Martin was taken to get some scrubs on, surgeons and other staff kept coming in and out of the room to advise me on what was about to happen, I was hoping to get an epidural so I could stay awake during the section and watch the girls being born but before I could finish that thought had to tell the midwife I needed to push! The plan had to change again!! There was no time for an epidural but because of the potential dangers of giving birth naturally I needed to be rushed to theatre for an emergency c-section – while I was being rushed down the corridors, surgeons, anaesthetists, nurses were all explaining what drugs they were about to give me and explain that there was no other option no but to knock me out because the epidural can take some time to get into me and some time to kick in! I remember feeling disappointed, I wasn’t scared for me of course I was worried for the babies but I had no concerns for myself, I know a c-section is a big operation with a lot of risks but I just knew I would be fine, my only thoughts were with the triplets, I wanted them to be safe and well but most of all I didn’t want to miss seeing them being born. I wanted to watch my babies coming into the world, to get a quick glimpse of them to see if they looked ok before they got whizzed away – but now that’s not going to happen! I will be the last person to see them to know if they are all ok. I hated not having any kind of control over what was happening, I knew and I understood why the hospital had to make the decision they made and I totally respect it but im still disappointed I have to miss the big moment!
I started barking orders at the anaesthetist, insisting that he only give me enough drugs to keep me out for 30 minutes at a time and only top me up with another 30 minutes worth if absolutely necessary, I told him if I found out that I’ve been out cold for hours longer than I needed to be then I wouldn’t be happy! Hahaha I think he just nodded and agreed with me just to shut me up – I can’t blame him really! Like I even have a clue how to do his job or how an anaesthetic works?!?
I was laying on a table in surgery, people rushing around all around me, the anaesthetist stood above my head talking to me explaining that he had just given me some drugs that would make me feel a little woozy, I can’t remember exactly what he said and I couldn’t even see him properly, everything was fuzzy but I seemed to find everything he was saying amusing, I could just see his outline, his scrubs and hat but everything was a little blurry, I must f blinked or drifted in and out for a second because next thing I know I’m looking up, I can see the same scrubs and hat, the blurry outline of someone stood above me but he started to get closer and closer to my face and started kissing me on the lips and head! I was a bit shocked but still finding everything amusing, I looked over to another person and asked “is he always this familiar with people” to which she replied “I hope not because that’s your husband!. With that I laughed and then I heard someone say he had to leave as I was about to get knocked out and the operation was about to start!
I took a sharp intake of breath, like taking the first breath after holding it for so long while you’re underwater, gasping with the relief of being able to breathe! I rapidly opened my eyes and realised I was in a totally different room, I had 2 nurses stood next to my bed. Was it all over? It felt like nothing had happened, one second I’m about to have surgery and the next second here I am in a totally different place with 2 faces id never seen before smiling at me.
The nurses explained that the surgery had gone well, all of the babies are safe and healthy and had been taken down to special care. They then went on to explain that as soon as I felt up to it and strong enough I could go to see them, just as they had said that Martin had just walked into the recovery room he heard what they had just said to me and suddenly asked “why would you tell her that” but before he could finish saying what he was saying I had already detached whatever was on me and had jumped off the trolley and was making my way to the door. He knows me all too well and knew exactly what I would do the minute they said that to me! I started making my way down a corridor bouncing off the walls, whatever the first drug was they gave me, well it was still making me feel drunk! The nurses rushed to me with a wheelchair and Martin made sure I got into it. It felt like it took forever to reach special care when it actually probably only took 2 minutes. On the way i saw another lady in a wheelchair she asked if I had just had a baby, I could barely talk, I couldn’t get my words out properly so I just simply answered yes, she said “I’ve just had twins” I smirked and said “I’ve just had triplets”. I wasn’t trying to be smug or go one up on her I was just so proud and then all the way to special care to every person we passed I announced “we have just had triplets”. I wanted to shout it from the roof top.
Finally we arrived in special care and right there was Mika and Boé, I couldn’t believe it, they looked absolutely perfect. Perfectly formed babies just much smaller than an average baby. Where is Hope I asked? Hope was getting prepared for transport to another Hospital, because of the fluid on her brain she needed to get an MRI scan and ready for the possible need for surgery.
I got to see Hope through the glass of a transport tank for a few seconds just before she was taken away, she too looked perfect in every way, he eyes where wide open and she was so alert, she was so perfectly formed, I just couldn’t believe this tiny baby could possibly have so many brain problems. I don’t know what I expected to see when I saw her but all I remember thinking is she is just perfect.
Boé was born first weighing 3lb3oz, Mika second weighing 3lb1oz and Hope last weighing 2lb13oz, none of them needed any help with breathing or oxygen the only tube they needed was for food because they hadn’t developed the ability to suck yet.
I want to thank all of the staff at Torbay that assisted in the delivery and care for my babies, thank you to Miss Pandher who looked after me throughout my entire pregnancy, it’s a real shame my waters had to break on the last day of your holiday :-D. I really can’t put into words just how brilliantly Torbay staff worked under the pressure, I am genuinely impressed with everything they done for me and my babies and I just couldn’t imagine having had them anywhere else.
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