The morning it all happened

On the way to hospital at 5.30 am on 30 December.  We are calm and happy - we've both had time for a good shower and Romain had a strong coffee to fortify him for the day ahead.

It's about 6 am and the contractions have started.  We've been welcomed at the hospital by a really nice nurse, who has shown us to a quiet, dark room, got me organised in bed and given Romain his second strong coffee for the day.  I'm hooked up to a machine which shows how big the contractions are.  They are registering quite high and foolishly I think that it is all going to be a piece of cake!

Fast forward about 5.5 hours and we are both a bit stunned to find ourselves parents.  It happened really quickly.  I  had wanted a natural birth without any drugs, but by about the 5 hour mark, I was ready for anything anyone would give me.  I asked for gas, but the midwife said she didn't like to give women gas because it made them nauseous!  I couldn't believe it!  I would have happily suffered through a bit of nausea at that point.  I was ready to ask for an epidural and next minute, I was being told I could start pushing.  About 10 minutes later, Leo came shooting out!  So in the end I got through it all without any drugs at all - thank god for years of practice with yoga breathing and a Vipassana meditation course which helped me to focus and deal with the pain.  Romain was a huge help too and stayed with me the whole time - rubbing my back in the early contractions and letting me squeeze his hand to a pulp - I wouldn't have made it through without him.