A name and a few more details!

Well although the little chap was born on Wednesday I actually went in to be induced on Monday morning. The induction is done by using tablets that basically soften the cervix; quite often the first tablet doesn’t do much and subsequent tablets are given at 6 hourly intervals. The first tablet was used at midday and had no effect at all because it did not dissolve and was discovered whole at 6 pm when they tried inserting the second tablet. This tablet had more effect than the first one, I had a few twinges and mild contractions, but nothing significant really happened. We were told we would have to wait until 6 am the following morning before a further tablet would be inserted as they are keen for births to happen during the day rather than in the middle of the night. As I was wide awake most of the night (delivery suite isn’t the most conducive place for a good night’s sleep what with all the screaming!) I was given the next tablet at 5 am and my contractions started relatively soon after that. By 7.45 am they were happening every two minutes and were really beginning to be quite painful. Unfortunately when they examined me they discovered that the baby’s head which had been engaged was no longer engaged and the consultant told us that if labour did not progress naturally they would not do anything else to help it along as with the head not being engaged it would be dangerous to continue. We were left with the distinct impression that (a) my contractions were doing nothing useful as without the head being engaged labour would not progress and (b) it was likely that I would be sent home on Wednesday morning 40 weeks + 6 days pregnant still pregnant. I guess they would have left me pregnant until 42 weeks and then they would have scheduled a caesarian section, but we were so astounded to be told we might go home without a baby that we never asked the question! Also, with Jemma leaving us to pursue a career in paediatric nursing on that Friday, we were in serious trouble as far as childcare was concerned.

Luckily things did progress naturally and at about 2 or 3 o’clock that afternoon I was 4-5 cms dilated and the midwife broke my waters. Once this has happened, birth must happen within 24 hours and I was very glad to have reached this point! Unfortunately from then on nothing progressed at all and at midnight they gave me the option of waiting a further 4 hours to see if things progressed naturally or to go for a caesarian section. I opted to wait but at 4 am, I was only 1 more centimetre dilated and they prepped me for surgery. Between one delay and another we went into theatre at about 6 am and the baby was born at 6.15 am. As he was born the surgeon said he was big and I figured he had enough experience to know but even I was surprised when they weighed him and told us he was 4.2 kgs or 9 lbs 5 oz at birth – thank goodness I didn’t even try to push him out at that size! He was 58 cms tall (apparently) and the spitting image of Luca at the same age. How on earth little me managed to produce someone that large goodness only knows – I guess we need to thank J’s genes. It has been suggested since by one of the midwives that it was precisely because he was so big that I kept going into labour and things didn’t progress, as his head was clearly too big to go further. As labour is still such a mystery to the medical profession I doubt we will ever really know, but it is a theory that seems to fit our experience.

I was allowed home 2 days later and have been recovering from the surgery since. Our new nanny Stephanie started on Monday and she is doing very well. It will be some time before she is trachy trained but we will get there. Justin has been at home on paternity leave this week and I dread to think how we will cope without him although I am getting stronger and more agile every day. Unfortunately I can’t drive for six weeks, although I may feel up to it a little sooner than that, and worst of all I’m not allowed to pick up the children, other than the newborn, for that length of time either: Luca and Max really don’t understand this at all.

The big news is that nine, nearly ten, days after he was born we have finally decided to call the little chap Marco although we are still undecided on a middle name.