BEING A MOTHER: MY LABOUR ROOM EXPERIENCE (PART2)

Miss America

CONTINUED FROM PART ONE......

Hey guys, am back again with the continuation and the last part of my story. If you missed the first part of the story, then check it out here.

I browsed what it was like when the ‘waters broke’, I wanted to know what it felt like. I got my answers. Some said it sounded like the breaking of a balloon filled with water. Some said it would be a gush, while others said it would be light, a few said they didn’t know when their ‘waters broke’, in other words, when their membrane was ruptured. Little did I know that I was going to see my baby soon?

OMG… MY WATER JUST BROKE

Some minutes past 2, very early on the 14^th morning, I woke up to ease myself and I felt abdominal pains, cramps. I so much wanted to sleep that I ignored the cramps till they became painful and then I thought, could this be contractions and they were. I didn’t want to disturb my mum’s sleep, as I wanted to be sure it was labor. Around 3am or some few minutes past that, I wanted to lie down and then boom, I heard the sound. It truly sounded like the breaking of a water balloon and then there was this gush. I immediately called out for my mum who helped me pack my things. While we were preparing to go, another water came out of me and then I contacted a driver and he took us to the hospital. The nurses immediately took me to the labor room and got me prepared. The head nurse on duty checked me; she wanted to know how far I had dilated and she did. She was like ‘u bin wan born for house before?” She said this because she could already feel my baby’s head, meaning I came at the right time. Then she told me “if you co-operate with me, your baby would be out in no time. When you get any contraction, just push”.

This wasn’t as easy as she made it sound. The contraction pain was what I couldn’t describe and I was asked to push with that kind of pain? I was given a drip (I hadn’t taken drip in my life until then), they said it was to help me, ok o, whether na the drip go help me push na. Nna I started pushing o. With every push, nurse Akpan, the head nurse, would check my baby’s heartbeat and check how close my baby is to coming out. The nurses were nice to me, abi is it because I gripped their dresses so tight? I wasn’t allowed to utter any negative sentence, so when I got tired and said “please I feel sleepy, can I sleep?” the nurses replied “don’t say that, you would sleep after the baby comes out”. When I said “I am tired”, they replied “ssssshh, you are not tired, you are strong”. When I said I can’t push oooo”. They replied shut up your mouth, you can push, now push this baby out, madam push this baby out”. My karate skills that day sha, they had to hold my legs still before I destroy something or someone. Lol. I wasn’t getting it so well and they had to send for my mum who was outside the labor room. She came in and called me in a sweet soft voice, “Ngo, you have to try ok? When you feel the contraction, you push”. By that time, they could see my baby’s head and my mum was asked to take a look at the baby’s head. She did her best to encourage me but I was rather getting soft and the nurses had to tell her to leave so I could continue. “Mama, if you dey here dey tell her its ok its ok, she would not push. It is not ok madam, push this baby out. Where the baby is isn’t good. There is not enough air there. That got me scared and I had to try. I didn’t want an operation. I pushed as hard as I could but it wasn’t enough and I was tired, when nurse Akpan checked my baby’s heartbeat she noticed it was faint. “The baby is weak madam, I can’t risk losing this baby, I would I have to give you a cut”.

And so, before I could ask, would it be painful? Lol, I got the cut and then I heard, now push madam, push. Some nurses came and pressed my tummy hard so as to help me and I also helped myself by taking a deep breath and pushing without stopping until my baby came out. She was so tired she couldn’t even cry so much. Lol. Madam why are you still crying now, your baby is out, leave me oooh, leave me let me cry. Hahah, a wonderful day that was. A day I would never forget. My baby was cleaned while the placenta was delivered, after which I was taken care of and cleaned. When the whole drama was over, I said to myself, “I deserve that sleep”. I told the nurses to take my child to my mum so I could sleep. My mum came in, carrying my baby and dancing, she was so happy. I had done a great thing. She kept thanking God. Nurses, who arrived for the morning duty, came in to see me and share in my joy. They were so happy for me. One of them said, “Madam you came here yesterday and no one noticed any sign. Most women get signs of labor a day or two, before the actual day. I saw you yesterday you were so fit. Nawa o. Thank God for you”.

Miss America

The labor started (seriously) around 3am and I got to see my baby before 8am. All the while I browsed and learnt that a woman’s first childbirth, the labor would last for a period of 13hours or more. That wasn’t the case for me. My God did it for me. When I woke up, I looked at my tummy, the tummy had carried a big baby in it for nine good months and was now lessened. Then my aunty who came with us to the hospital, came in wth my baby and a nurse. I was told to breastfed her. And so guys, for the first time, I carried my “Miss America” (like my elder sister calls her), in my arms. I can’t say the type of joy I felt. It isn’t what I can describe. Looking at her face, I could only ask, so this big baby came out of me? If you don’t believe in miracles, then I wonder what you would call that.

So now, I am a nursing mother and it is an entirely new stage of life. Sleepless nights, breastfeeding, baby cries and all. E no easy. The first two weeks after the delivery was something else.  I had to eat and drink only hot hot. I had to bath with very hot water and sit on hot water and had my tummy pressed with hot water. Looking at my baby, mehn it was and is worth the whole stress. I am so grateful to God. It is an experience I would never forget. A lifetime experience. Its been more than a month now, and I still can't get over my beautiful daughter....

 

Baby Stephanie

WRITTEN BY JONAH SANDRA