So to kick off... Here is our story. i deliberately want to make it ours because this is as much about Luc and Philippe as it is about me.
I had an ok pregnancy. only ok as we had 2 scares... first was at about 26 weeks my gynae picked up something strange on the sonar. she was worried it was an ectopic kidney (Of course philippe made many jokes about selling the kidney on the black market) but it was a stressful time. we saw the specialist who found nothing wrong (thank God... it was a miracle and we really give God the glory for holding Luc so tight even at this stage of his life). when i was about 32 weeks pregnant i went to durban for a conference (against the gynaes recommendations- SILLY) and starting bleeding while there. stressful but again nothing was wrong with our sweet boy.
At our 36 week check up the gynae noticed Luc wasnt putting on weight and my amniotic fluid was running out. i can remember clearly it was a thursday afternoon. we had planned to go to our antenatal classes after the appointment. the gynae said we needed to deliver luc soon or he would be at risk. it was so surreal... one moment we were having a baby in a month and the next moment we were having a baby on the monday. Because luc would be a bit early i had steroid injections for three days to grow his lungs.What was also so weird was that it really wasnt how i had planned and hoped to give birth... I wanted to have a natural birth without drugs as far as possible... also i had fully expected luc to be term and big... Not what happened at all but throughout our pregnancy Philippe and i had said that we would do what is best for the baby and we prayed that (a lot). And i am thankful to my gynae who picked up the issues and dealt with them professionally.
The weekend before Luc was born was a flurry of activity. i hadnt even sorted all my gifts from my baby shower which was the weekend before. i am so thankful to my mom and sis- in- law Fern who came, helped me sort, gave advice, shopped for last minute stuff and were a calming presence during that crazy weekend. and Philippe who also ran around doing last minute stuff like shopping, collecting the feeding chair and generally being excited (where i was quite terrified).
Monday morning philippe and i woke up early... so excited to meet our little guy (altho we didnt know yet he'd be a little guy). We checked in at the hospital and went up to the ward where they did all the prep stuff like dressing in those awful gowns, inserting drips and filling in 1 million forms... Waiting for our chance in theatre was hectic... alternating between terrified and excited.
Eventually it was our turn to go into theatre. Philippe looked super handsome in theatre scrubs.
they wheeled me into theatre first to do the spinal block and other fun things (like insert catheter- the thing i dreaded the most!) and once that was all done philippe came in and joined me. the staff were amazing. we had a great anaesthetist who talked us through everything and the nurses and our gynae and assistant joked and laughed with us through the whole process. it was a joyful, happy theatre. What was a lot of fun was not knowing the gender... the staff all took bets about whether it was a boy or girl.
Philippe stood by my head and held my hand during the caeser. He told me what he could see... When he saw our baby for the first time he said "he has an afro"!
After cutting the umbilical cord Luc was cleaned up and suctioned a bit to get all the gunk out his mouth and lungs but again what a miracle... Our baby boy was perfect! He was small- 2.3 kg but he was perfect!
What i found so strange was how long it took to sew me up... I think i had prepared myself or thought about the birth but not what happens after. While they sewed me up they put Luc into an incubator...
But the most incredible moment was as they wheeled me out of theatre they put him on my chest....
That instant, incredible, over whelming love was so huge i thought i might burst. he lay on my chest making such funny little noises. I felt like i never ever wanted to let go of him again...
Having prepared myself for natural birth i hadnt done much reading on having a caeser and so didnt know what to expect. what i didnt anticipate was how much pain i would be in... I looked longingly at the ladies in my ward after natural birth that were walking around the same day and didnt look like they were riding a horse! but pain passes and my baby boy was fine which was the most important thing.
Giving birth is such a huge process and all the emotions, experiences, smells and feelings cant fully be appreciated until you have gone through it. And it is only the beginning of the incredible journey of parenthood... but the fact that it is so huge, overwhelming and mind blowing is a fitting beginning to parenthood.
It is such a precious moment when they place your newborn on your chest right after they are born. I will never forget the love I felt. It is amazing.
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