A whirlwind birth

My previous doctor, the late dr Emmanualle Bareiro-Duarte used to tease me that the 6th kid would be free. I would just laugh at him especially after Yusuf was born and he kept saying he would see me again soon. Little did I know that I would in fact be contacting his office less than a year later only to discover that he had sadly passed away in his sleep shortly after being diagnosed with cancer. It was just last year that he delivered little Yusuf into this world, almost missing the birth because he was born so quickly. He jokingly told us that next time I would give birth in the parking lot. And guess what...I almost did!

Yaasier and I had a sense that this little man was in a hurry to join our family so we expected he would be born before his due date, but not a whole 2 weeks! My last doctors appointment was on tuesday and I said to her that I didn't think I would last another 2 weeks. But I expected I would at least make it to my next appointment which was scheduled for next tuesday. But just as short and fast as this pregnancy was made known to us, as quickly did little Uthmaan make his appearance...half a pregnancy and half the labour time...

It all started on wednesday night at about midnight when I experienced some really bad lower back pain. But I was still able to sleep and still able to see to Yusuf when he woke for his bottle at 3am. It was only at about 6am that I felt my first contraction. But it was mild enough that I could still tend to Sumayah when she woke up crying and mild enough that I was able to go downstairs to make myself some tea. However the regularity of the contractions made me stop to take note and the intensity started to increase quite quickly. By the time I finished drinking my tea I had timed non stop contractions of 30 seconds duration every 5 minutes. So I went upstairs to tell Yaasier. He was busy getting ready for work so I decided to take a hot shower to see if the contractions would subside. They didn't. They continued to get more intense and started to last longer. So we knew...this was the day. Quickly we had to put arrangements in place for the other kids in the event I was still in labour late afternoon. As it happens both Sumayah and Bilaal were home sick. Fortunately we had Abigail on her way who would be there with the kids when we went to hospital but she could only stay till 4pm. My neighbour kindly made herself available from 4pm onwards despite having 2 young kids of her own. The problem was that the au pair who normally comes from 5pm till 8pm just so happened to have an exam that evening so she wasn't available. But judging by the progression of labour we were expecting baby to be born by 4pm latest...little did we know...baby had other plans!

While waiting for Abigail to arrive I tried to make sure I had everything I needed in my hospital bag, which I was so relieved I packed just the week before. We also phoned all our loved ones from the UK to the Cape to let them know what was happening. But by the time Abigail arrived at 8.30am labour was in full swing. Bilaal was super excited, but Sumayah didn't understand what was happening. I recall bracing myself on the kitchen table in excruciating pain and Sumayah nonchalantly asking me 'mommy, are you going to make me something to drink?' Bilaal got so annoyed with her and reprimanded her 'how can mommy make you something to drink, she's gna have a baby, can't you see she's in pain?!' And then he proceeded to ask me where does the baby come out! While Yaasier was getting my bags upstairs I suddenly started feeling the urge to push so I decided to get in the car so long and recall shouting from the garage 'Yaasier! We need to leave now!' Poor Yaasier was moving as fast as he could all the while I'm telling him 'we need to get to the hospital NOW! But don't drive so fast...slow down...just get to the hospital quick! Aaaah!' Fortunately the hospital is just 5 minutes from our house and as we approached the entrance I said 'I'm not going to be able to walk in!' So Yaasier just left his car in the drop off zone at the hospital entrance to help me in and I just plonked myself into the first wheelchair I saw and shouted at the security guard 'go quickly!' We arrived in the maternity ward at about 9am and as we approached the nurses station I shouted 'I can feel I need to push! Dr Loock!'

There was a huge rush and scramble with a flurry of activity all around me it was all hands on deck! I recall hearing someone say 'lets just first get her bottoms off or this baby's gna be born in her pants...' I had one person pulling off my boot, one pulling off my bottoms, another person trying to put on my hospital gown and a whole bunch of scrambling around to  get me on the bed and prepped for birth. Then I hear the nursing sister say  'ok just move her into delivery now I can see the head!' No kidding! The sensation to push was getting stronger! As they rush me into the delivery room knocking into walls and doorways on the way I remember hearing one of the nurse's phones ringing to the song 'ice ice baby...so now stop, collaborate and listen...' while the nurses are telling me not to push yet and me shouting in pain. And then suddenly...no pain...the calm before the storm...I could see the waters bulging and the next second I felt a really strong contraction coming on. My waters burst and within seconds, at 9.13am baby popped out onto the bed crying his healthy little lungs out just as my doctor ran into the room.

And that is how Uthmaan Abrahams made himself known to the world...tiny, vernix covered perfection. I looked up at dad and knew that we were both instantly in love with our new little man. One of my favourite moments after every birth is watching Yaasier brim with pride and instant love for both baby and me. He's always so filled with admiration for me yet I know that I would not have the strength I have without him by my side. And we will need each other now more than ever now that we are officially parents of 4!