Shockingly, we were able to make it to the hospital on time!
If you haven’t read my previous blog, click on the link below –
Fire and NO Fuel brought on my contractions.
Honestly, I could have never imagined myself being driven to the hospital in a taxi to give birth. But hey, there’s a first time for everything.
So before we went into the hospital, Tom suggested we make a quick stop to get some snacks and juice before going inside. I thought I would be okay because the closer we got to the hospital, my contractions seemed to calm down. We did a quick look around, but when that last contraction hit, Tom decided just to pay for what we had in our hands and head straight to the gate. I had a mini-contraction while we were signing in. COVID regulations forbade Tom from going in, but the security guards were considerate and told him he could escort me to the maternity ward, but he had to leave straight after. We first had to check in for a COVID test, although the nurses arranged for us to do a swab test in the maternity ward. We were lucky to get one of the staff members driving up and down with a golf cart to take us to maternity, which was on the other side of the hospital grounds.
But from the moment I got to the hospital, which was about noon, I had no more contractions for a few hours. I carried very small with MJ; I could’ve passed for being 2nd trimester pregnant still. The nurses looked at me strangely when I told them I was possibly in labor since I had no contraction symptoms and my stomach was still very small. But they referred me to a private room; that was such a relief and surprise since I was imagining giving birth in a crowded ward with a dozen other moms screaming and pushing at the same time.
When I got to my delivery room, we were told to wait. It wasn’t long before a nurse came in to hook my stomach up to a machine to monitor baby MJ’s heartbeat. At this point, we were still expecting a boy, since at least three different scans showed signs of a boy. The nurse was overwhelmed with several moms giving birth that day. I heard the doctors say they were full all day, with multiple c-sections back-to-back as well. Although we both could tell the nurse was worried about MJ’s readings, she kept reassuring us everything was fine, even though we uneducated people saw abnormal signs that didn’t look quite right. It’s unclear if she ever managed to consult a doctor based on my readings since she kept chasing Tom out and he just stayed. MJ is his first baby as well, and he wasn’t going to miss her birth for the world!
Around 5 p.m. or 6 p.m., Tom was getting nervous about trying to get home. We didn’t have a car or friends to take him home, and our dogs had not been fed all day because of the rush in the morning. He decided the baby most probably won’t be coming today since I haven’t had contractions since being at the hospital. We decided together that it would be better if I just stayed at the hospital, just in case something did happen.
I think we both realized very quickly that it was the biggest mistake we were making. As soon as Tom walked out the door, my heart nearly stopped. I had a full-blown panic attack, and my contractions kicked off with a vengeance. I nearly walked out the door and followed Tom. I knew I wouldn’t be able to do this without him and was so scared to be alone in a strange place.
What felt like 10 hours was probably only 10 minutes, but the relief and calmness I felt the second Tom came back through that door made it feel like I could finally breathe again, and my contractions died off again. I just burst into tears and told him he’s stuck with me till birth. We can call a neighbor in the morning to feed the dogs.
Soon after, the night shift nurse came to see us and introduced herself as Mamma Zulu. She did a quick read of the baby, and I could tell she was a little concerned. She was much kinder and more considerate, telling us all the procedures she thought would be okay and not making us panic. She did a second reading, and by the third one, she called the doctor. The doctor was really angry that nobody had alerted him that MJ was in distress a lot sooner, and he immediately told the nurse to get me prepped for surgery. We couldn’t have asked for a better nurse or doctor.
In the next Post:
Stay tuned for our next article, Preparing and Welcoming Our Baby Girl, MJ, into the World!
Comment below on how your birthing experience was in a public hospital or private hospital!
Need a prayer? Prayer Requests
Please subscribe to our main Ministries daily scripture study – Koa Sinag Ministries
Have a Testimony of how God has changed or intervened in your life? Tell us your story! Give God Praise!
Need some inspiration? Check out others Testimonies!
Have you checked out our online store? We have a tonne of fascinating and colourful PDF books, toys, kids’ apparel, and much more, including complimentary PDFs for home schoolers!