21 March 2005 - 4.48pm

"Throughout my whole pregnancy I was really undecided about whether I wanted to attempt a VBAC or not. I had a long and traumatic labour with my first DS and at about 25 weeks DH & I made the decision - we would have a repeat c/sec. I was comfortable with this decision and it was just a simple matter of booking it in with the hospital in early April - how wrong was I...Well, it all happened very quickly. I was 33 weeks pg. About 3pm on Monday afternoon I was at work and I got my first contraction. I honestly didn't know at the time that it was a contraction though - I thought I was just severely constipated and I tried to go to the loo a couple of times, but didn't have any success. DH had just driven to Mackay (about 4 hours away) for work that morning so I rang him and told him, but neither of us really thought I was serious. Anyway, I had a Drs appointment at 4.15pm so I thought I'd go along to that and she would be able to tell me what was happening. I drove myself to the doctor (bad move - I was contracting all the way) and went straight to the toilet once I got to the doctors. At this point I still didn't believe I was in labour. Once I was on the toilet I felt the urge to push and I noticed blood. I told the receptionist and she got my doctor in to me right away. Dr examined me and I was fully dilated and pushing - ambulance was called and the whole surgery was pretty much in a state of panic, as clearly they weren't equipped to deal with a birth, let alone a premature one.The ambulance arrived really quickly and took me to hospital. In the ambulance I was given some gas which was just wonderful. I remember the ambo telling me that we had arrived at the hospital and that the birth suite was waiting for me. I was telling the ambo that they had made a mistake, I needed to go to theatre. I think she just nodded and humoured me. When we arrived at the birth suite I was examined and was told that there was no time for a c/sec or even an epidural. I would have my baby soon - all it would take were a few good pushes.My son obviously has a sense of purpose - he arrived face up and very, very quickly, only about 20 minutes after arriving at the hospital. All up, my labour was 1hr 48 minutes. Ryan Alexander weighed 4lb 15oz (2.245kg)DH missed the whole thing unfortunately and it was pretty scary doing it all alone, but I made it and am feeling really good now. (still in a state of shock, but good!!)At the time the pain was almost unbearable, but it is so nice to be up and walking around only minutes after giving birth and not having to rely on everyone to perform the simplest tasks. I am still a bit sore, but nothing that even compares to the pain I was in after my c/sec.Ryan is still in SCN at the moment, but he is getting stronger every day and we hope to have him home with us in a couple of weeks." ~ 27 March 2005.

3 years ago I stroked him through the holes in the humidicrib and wondered what lay ahead of us. Today I watched him eat cake, rip presents open with the vibrancy only a small child can harvest and fall soundly asleep, still clutching his brand new Spiderman hat. Happy birthday, Little Man, you've come a long way... xxx

What's not to smile about?

The highlight of his day - cake smashing...