by Daisy-jam

Created on: August 24, 2010

Giving birth

Giving birth for the first time was not what I had thought it would be like. Of course I knew it would be painful, stressful and tiring, but the the most stressful part was dealing with my husband.

We arrived at the hospital for my scheduled inducement, only to be told upon examination that I had gone into labor on my own without realizing it. I was 19 and a first time mum to be . I thought the pains in my tummy were gas, which I had suffered from constantly throughout the pregnancy. My husband unfortunately on the receiving end of this unfortunate condition, along with inability to control my bladder at inopportune moments.

In the hurry of getting me to the hospital on time for my induction, my husband had forgotten to bring my suitcase which contained my clothes, clothes for the baby, CD.....the list goes on. I had the suitcase packed and ready to go by the door for 4 weeks. I was so proud of my organizational skills during the last month of pregnancy which was a huge achievement as I pretty much lost my ability to think logically for most of the nine months.

My friend was also in labor at the same time as me and in the room opposite. This was comforting as it was nice to share the experience with someone else, also a new mum to be. It was a nice experience until my friend was given pethidine, a pain relief and had unfortunate reaction to it. She began to hallucinate and shout 'get those sea lions out of here'. Needless to say, I requested that my husband close our door to drown out her screams. 

My friend gave birth to her son about an hour later, and as is the tradition of new dads in London where I grew up, the new dad takes his friends to the local pub to 'wet the babies head'. This is a tradition and basically means that  the new dad gets bought drinks and celebrates his new status. "I'm sorry, who did all the work"?.

My husband was invited to attend this little soiree, but only after he had gone home to collect my suitcase, but no, he didn't make it home until after the celebration.

By the time my husband arrived back at the hospital, I was in the last stage of labour and seeing his stupid grinning face didnt make it an easier. I cannot print what I said to him but other women will totally understand if their husband has been less than supportive during labor.

The special moment arrived and when I held my son for the first time, I forgot all the pain and the anger that I had expressed to my husband. That was until I looked at the

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