Wordless Wednesday 66



And Yusuf was born!

Its been three weeks since my last post and as promised this one will be dedicated to the birth story óf little Yusuf Abrahams. As I write this post I am lying with him snugly curled up aginst my chest sleeping like a little angel. I can't believe he is 3 weeks already and that I am actually a mother of 3! The funny thing about pregnancy and birth is that no matter how gatvol (to my foreign readers that means fed up) you are of being pregnant, no matter how ready you are to pop, when the day arrives and your impending delivery is in sight, you feel so unprepared and nervous and excited and a whole bunch of other feelings all rolled into one huge heap of emotion. When I think back and reflect on any of my births I remember the finer details of the day very clearly, but the memory of the experience is still so surreal. Its like I was present in the moment, but not fully aware of the whirlwind that I was part of.

Interestingly my birth experience with Yusuf was very similar to Bilaals, because the progression of my labour was almost identicle! It started out a normal day getting up at 6 to wake Bilaal for school and prepare his breakfast and lunch. Just before Yaasier and Bilaal left at about 7 I started feeling discomfort that cameand went very quickly. With weeks od prelabour niggles I didn't immediately have the light come on that this was a contraction, but then it happened again, and again, and again. It wasn't painful just uncomfortable, but increasingly so, so at this point I remembered that the same thing happened when I went into labour with Bilaal. I also woke at 7am with similar discomfort. Yaasier and Bilaal had left already and Sumayah was still asleep so I decided to lie on the bed and time what I now suspected were mild contractions. in the mean time I was furiously googling signs and symptoms of labour (one would think I would know all this 3rd time round!) and was messaging my good friend about what was happening. Yaasier was an hour away on a conference and I wasn't sure if I should call him all the way back in the even it was a falso alarm. I struggled to time them at first because I kept being interrupted or forgetting to press the stopwatch and start it again etc. Then Sumayah also woke up and I had to get her ready for school. By this time I think I pretty much knew instinctively that this was the real deal, but I remembered how Sumayah sent us back and forth to the hsopital 3 time before the show began so I wanted to be absolutely certain. So with contractions still going at very regular intervals and starting to get more and more uncomfortable heading toward the pain end of the spectrum, I got Sumayah ready for school and dropped her off. Fortunately her school is literally down the road so I only had 2 maybe 3 contractions there and back. But that's how mild they were, I could still comfortably drive, talk to the teacher, and hug and kiss my girl. But as soon as I got home I lay on the bed and focussed solely on timing these darn buggers that were now steadily increasing in intensity. I called Yaasier and let him know what was happening, at this point it was clear that these were contractions and they were not tapering off. They were about 10 minutes apart and each one lasted about a minute. I phoned the doctor who said I should come into the maternity ward to be monitored. So Yaasier made his way back home. I was convinced I would be monitored at hospital and then they would send me home to come back later in the day. But alas that was not to be. When Yaasier arrived he first had to collect Sumayah from school before we could go to hospital, which fortunately is also only 5 minutes away. While there the nurse informed us that I was already 4 cm dilated! Yaasier then had to rush off to fetch Bilaal at school and drop him at home. It seemed like ages that he was gone. I don't think he realised how much of a rock of support he is to me during times like these. By this time the pain from each contraction was really intense, so I distracted myself with facebook and Blackberry messages. So amny of my family and friends knoew I was in labour as it was happening! While waiting for Yaasier the nurse informed me that as soon as he arrived they would break my waters to speed things up because my labour was progressing quite quickly as it was so she was sure our littel angel would make an appearance soon. Yaasier was quite taken aback to hear this when he arrived. The nurses were busy with another birth and while we waited Yaasier distracted me with his funny remarkss while I rocked on a gym ball through each pain.

Finally the final hours hour arrived. I was wheeled into the delivery room and was found to be 8cm dilated already. The breaks between contractions were starting to dwindle till eventually it felt like just one continous contraction. Then the nurse announced that it was almost time to push and that she would break my waters. It is the strangest feeling, that urge to push. It's like you have no control over the feeling and yet you are also in total control of whether you push or not. The doctor hadn't arrived yet and the nurses said that if I felt I neede to push that I should just go ahead. Just after the doctor arrived, 3 pushes, a lot of screaming and some bone crunching of Yaasier's hand later, and our beautiful 3.16kg baby boy was born at 15h40 on Wednesday 7 March.

And now here I am a proud mother of 3, enjoying my babymoon with Yusuf.

Welcome to the World!

How remarkable that in my last post on Tuesday I described my contentment at trusting that our new little bundle of joy would arrive in good time...and then the very next day...

Welcome to the world, our son, baby Yusuf Abrahams, born Wednesday 7 March 2012 at 3.40pm.

I will be posting the birth story real soon, but for now I am going to be getting some rest and bonding time, enjoying the calm of the newborn period before the storm of everyday life with 3! kids begins.

It has been written...

As you may know, I have been impatiently awaiting the arrival of the new Abrahams baby. Partly due to excitement, partly due to the sheer discomfort of waddling around like a whale in the kalahari in this Jozi heat... not to mention the prelabour aches and pains I've been having on and off for 2 weeks already. But yesterday something changed... perhaps it was the calm that entering the final week till due date brings or perhaps it really is the clarity of thought I have been needing all along. While lying awake in the darkness with my good friend preggy insomnia to keep me company the words "It has been written" sprung to mind. I have been driving myself potty googling the signs of labor hoping to catch a glimpse into my future and predict when baby will arrive, reading up all kinds of words of wisdom on how to get things started. But I realised... or rather I always knew, but finally accepted yesterday that no matter what we do, there are certain things that have already been written... the date you will be born being one of them. Some might argue 'but what about those who have elective c-sections?' Well think about it even then, there will always be circumstances around that decision that will limit your choice of date. So if I had to march into my doctors office this morning and demand that I would like this baby out right away and would like a c-section, it's not like he will just drop everything and voila the birthdate is decided upon. I would still need to be assessed and the doctor's schedule, hospital bookings anaethetist and many other factors, will have to come together to come to a date... a date that has already been written. So while lots of walking and some other kinky suggestions usually recommended to naturally induce labor may well bring me closer to the ultimate event... in the end baby will still only be born when he is meant to be born... on the date it has been written.

So in the mean time I shall kick back and relax while I now patiently await the big event. The not knowing when or how is after all what makes it all so exciting! At least that's what I tell myself while I shift my position to find a more comfortable once again, to no avail.