The journey here...

Hi guys,

Well as I am sure you are all aware I arrived safely into the world on April 19th 2010. I would have written sooner but life has been so hectic over the last few days, I just haven't found the time! Before I tell you all about what I have been up to I will fill you in on what on happened on that special day that I finally got to meet my Mummy and Daddy...


It was quite a strange day on the 19th April. Mummy had definately resigned herself to the fact that I was going to need help arriving and that she and Daddy would have to wait until the 27th April to meet me, as it turned out mother nature had different plans for me..

Aunty Laura, Nannie and my cousins Lily and Olivia came to visit us that very afternoon and we had a lovely lunch together in the garden (I particularly enjoyed the donuts!) Lily was playing and singing 'We want Peanut! We want Peanut!' to Mummy and Daddy. I heard Aunty Laura say that it will happen when Mummy least expects it.

After a lovely couple of hours together they had to leave to make their way back home. Immediately after they left Mummy went to the toilet and the strangest thing happened I began to move and the water that had surrounded me for 9 months started to trickle away. I heard Mummy calling frantically for Daddy but I don't think he heard her as he was in the garden. Eventually he came upstairs and Mummy said she thought her waters had broke. Daddy remained calm and looked in the toilet he agreed with Mummy and told her to call the hospital.

The hospital asked Mummy to describe the colour of the water, when she said it was green the hospital asked her to come in right away. Mummy told Daddy that I may have emptied my bowels because I was stressed, I wasn't though I was enjoying my time inside but was a little anxious to come out. Daddy remained very calm and the first thing he did was call Nuna and Pops to tell them I was on my way, on hearing this I got very excited. Then Daddy made sure we had everything and then we were on on way to the hospital. When Daddy phoned Aunty Laura to tell her the news she couldn't believe that it happened minutes after they had left!

When we got to the hospital at 15:30 we weren't sure where to go as the admissions office was closed and there was no one at the reception desk. Luckily somebody came and showed Mummy and Daddy into a room. A Midwife called Maria checked Mummy out and put her on a machine so they could listen to my heartbeat and make sure that I was okay. She explained that there were a lot of Mummys due to give birth so once they had a free room Mummy would be moved. Daddy did make me laugh because after an hour of waiting around with nothing happening he was already bored! As it turned out we ended up waiting for 5 hours before we were moved and saw another 3 Midwives in that time! Nuna and Pops arrived at 17:30 armed with food supplies which was great as Mummy and I were starving! Nuna was surprised Pops hadn't recieved a speeding ticket since he had driven so fast to get here!

At 20:20 we were moved into another private room and this is where my adventure into my new world would begin. We had another Midwife called Liz and she said all being well she would be welcoming me into this world as her shift didn't finish until 08:00 the following morning. She worried Mummy and everyone a little when she said she wasn't sure about something and then she went off to check! After she found out Liz explained that as contractions hadn't started Mummy would go on a drip that would give Mummy a hormone that would encourage the contractions to start. Unfortunately she hurt Mummy's hand as she couldn't get the needle in and she had to call someone else in to do it!

The hormone was pumped into Mummy intially at 8ml per hour and it was to be doubled every half an hour. Pops had to remind Liz when to put the dosage up as she kept forgetting! When she left the room Pops joked if she was actually a real Midwife! Whilst Mummy was on the drip Liz kept asking Mummy if she felt any pain and Mummy said no and that she felt fine. It became a joke then as everyone wanted Mummy to feel pain as labour wasn't meant to be pain free!

When the dosage went up to 64ml an hour Mummy began to feel uncomfortable and was offered some pain relief in the form of gas and air. The gas and air made Mummy feel like she was drunk she did make me laugh because she was slurring her words after the first intake of gas and air saying she was drunk and laughing. The gas and air made the contractions a little easier for Mummy but it also made her feel sick. Because of this Mummy was very brave and only used the gas and air for every other contraction, unfortunately after it while it eventually made Mummy sick.

The contractions were getting stronger and the Midwife said that Mummy could have some stronger pain relief. She said Mummy could have an epidural or a meptid injection, Mummy chose to have the meptid injection. This didn't stop Mummy's pain but it became more bearable. It was now around 4.30 am on the 19th April and everyone was exhausted, including little old me, Pops had even ran out of jokes and was fallling alseep. The Midwife advised Daddy to get some sleep as Mummy would need him with full energy later in the morning. So Nuna got on the bed with Mummy and helped Mummy breath through the contractions. After an hour and half Nuna and Daddy swapped, as Daddy hadn't been able to sleep as he was too excited! Mummy told Daddy that the injection was wearing off as the contractions were beginning to get stronger and feel more painful. Mummy decided at this point she now wanted the epidural, so at 6.20 Daddy called for the Midwife.

The next two hours were very difficult for Mummy as the midwife and the anethestist were busy. At one point an anethestist came to the room but couldn't help Mummy as the midwife wasn't there! So unfortuntely for Mummy she had to endure the next two hours without any pain relief except gas and air. Mummy was very brave, but I think the pain was too much as I heard her saying she couldn't do it. Daddy reassured her and told her to think about the end result - me!

Finally around 08:40 when the epidural was put in and began to take effect Mummy felt much better. Although she lost the feeling in her legs and when her leg fell off the bed she had to ask Daddy to put it back on! This made everyone else happy as Nuna, Pops and Daddy didn't like seeing Mummy in pain. Everyone was definately excited because I could hear them talking about what colour eyes and hair I would have, and whether I was a girl or boy. Everyone except for Daddy thought I was a girl. Liz the Midwife left as her shift ended and two very nice and friendly Midwives took her place. Louise was a Student Midwife and and Lisa was fully qualified. Everyone had yet another guess at what time they thought I would arrive Mummy thought 11:30, Pops thought 12:34, Nuna thought it would be lunchtime and Daddy thought it would be 12:30.

Both Lisa and Louise checked Mummy over and said that I was still in the wrong position so they told her to lay on her side. I tried moving to where I should be but I found quite tricky. After a long night finally at 11:15 they said that it was time for Mummy to start pushing. I was really excited at this point as I knew it wouldn't be long before I got my first cuddle from Mummy and Daddy! I felt a little clip placed on my head and this was so everyone could hear my heartbeat to make sure I was doing okay. It made a loud knocking noise which was my strong heartbeat. Daddy made a joke and said that I was making a wooden boat in Mummy's belly!

Mummy was really good and tried really hard with the pushing and Daddy was really proud of her, but after an hour Lisa and Louise checked Mummy over and said I had moved a little bit but not enough. They had to get a Doctor in for a second opinion. The Doctor agreed I was in the wrong position and wouldn't be able to come out without some help. They said that they would need to turn me with forceps and then Mummy would be able to push me out.

I know Mummy was a little nervous but I felt sure it would be okay as the Doctor sounded like she knew what she was talking about. They wheeled Mummy out of the room and into the operating theatre, sadly for Nuna and Pops only Daddy was allowed to go in with Mummy.

I could hear lots of voices in the operating theatre all introducing themselves to Mummy. Mummy had to have a general anesthetic in case they couldn't turn me and they would have to get me out of Mummy's tummy by a c section. Finally I heard Daddy's voice and he sat next to Mummy and held her hand. Then I felt something cold on either side of my head and felt myself move, I thought this must be it it is finally happening. The Doctor told Mummy that with two pushes I would be here. As Mummy was under anesthetic she couldn't feel contractions so Lisa told her to push with all her might and Mummy certainly did that. Lisa told Mummy and Daddy that she could see my head. I heard Daddy say to Mummy this is it babe after this next push we will have our baby, both Mummy and Daddy began to cry. Lisa told Mummy to push again and then all of a sudden I was out of Mummy's tummy and felt cold. The next moment I felt warm as I was placed on my Mummy's tummy. I couldn't focus properly but I could hear Daddy say to Mummy, 'It's a baby girl!' Then both my Mummy and Daddy began to cry again. Someone took me away from my Mummy and began to take a closer look at me. They called my Daddy over and he saw them put pipes into my nose and mouth to make sure no bad stuff was in there.

They put me in a bowl and weighed me, I could hear Lisa say to Mummy that I was a big girl at 9lb 12! Afterwards they handed me to Daddy and he said something that he had said to me the whole time I was in Mummy's belly - 'Peanut it's Daddy.' I opened my eyes and tried to focus on my Daddy. I felt a warm feeling inside this was MY Daddy the man who would take care of me in my new world. He carried me over to Mummy and placed me in my Mummy's arms, I looked at my Mummy too and felt that warm fuzzy feeling again. After 9 months of waiting I had finally got to meet my Mummy and Daddy....