Our son was born at 1:50pm, just an hour and a half after labour had started at home. After just a whisper of a touch, he was quickly taken to a table to be checked. I felt he would be fine, in fact it never occurred to me he might not be. It took several minutes for them to stabilise his breathing and then he was put in an incubator and taken to NICU.
The discovery that we were having twins was a shock. There had been some difficult adjustments to accommodate our first born; what had we done now! But the news sank in and the palpitations receded. First priority was to keep Bridget healthy and well. Avoid stress we were told, Bridget sold her business and beloved ute. But every trip to the hospital raised thorny issues or revealed new problems, and several nights sleep would be lost each time. We were aware of an increased likelihood of medical intervention, either by induction or caesarean and the chain reaction of further intervention that often results.
Amanda and I were patiently waiting for our baby to arrive (well I was) during November 2007. We had both become well acquainted with Emily by feeling her movements and watching her respond to noises, namely my laughter, while Amanda was pregnant. Three days after the due date, Emily made her intentions clear to Amanda that she was ready to meet us in the flesh.
Our second baby is due in less than a week. In the gentle excitement and anticipation, I am aware of how different it all feels this time around. Our new baby is arriving into a ready-made family, one that started over two years ago with the birth of our beautiful boy Jordi.
Everybody has been presented with a script (birth plan), depicting the perfect HOME Birth. I, Keishana the Drama Queen Leading Lady have been preparing like Renee Zellwegger in Bridget Jones Diary for this event. Am looking decidedly plump and very, very pregnant with a belly to make most actresses fall over. Haven’t been able to see my toes since Allaura was 5 months in the making and now, can’t see anything apart from the other side of the room!