Amanda, Brandon and baby Emily… A beautiful family that I had the absolute privilege of serving when i was volunteering . This is their story …. Thank You for allowing me to share in one of the most precious times in your lives.
24 September 2015…My life would never be the same. This is the day I found out that I was pregnant. I had been feeling strange for a few weeks, but thought nothing of it until I missed my periods and my boobs started hurting, so I decided I would take a pregnancy test. My fiance was at work so I decided to take the test without him knowing of it. So there I was, at the family braai on National Braai day, in the bathroom taking a pregnancy test. I took two, just to be sure of the reading I was going to get. I took the test and laid it face down on the floor as I wiped and pulled my pants up. I couldn’t resist looking before the 5 minute waiting period was over…I turned the test over and there it was, the BIGGEST surprise of my entire life.
When my husband got home, I had the positive tests laying on our bed in full view for him to see. As soon as he saw them, he looked at me and burst out in tears. It was the happiest day of our lives!! I immediately made an appointment to see a Doctor so that he could confirm this with a blood test. I waited 3 days to hear what the result said…it was confirmed. I was 6 weeks pregnant and so happy to have heard the news.
My pregnancy was pretty easy. I never had morning sickness at all, but heartburn became my enemy towards my last trimester. Everything gave me heartburn. I had no strange cravings of any kind. All I craved was ice-lollies, mangoes and sushi. Swelling of my feet was a norm especially in summer and my back ached every day as my tummy grew bigger and bigger.
My biggest fear during my pregnancy was the thought of the actual birthing process. I had my mind set on having normal birth as I had researched that women heal faster with natural birth. I was not on medical aid, so I looked around for a good facility to have my baby with. This is when I discovered a place called Alnisa Maternity Home. This place was awesome and had a beautiful facility that made me feel so at ease. They are a midwife based facility, so it was everything I was looking for as they only did natural birthing there. As the months went by and my baby was growing so beautifully in my belly, I was at ease with giving birth naturally.
10 May 2016…My husband and I got into bed, said goodnight to each other without knowing what the night had in-store for us. An hour later, I woke my husband up saying that I had peed in the bed and needed help. As I got out of bed, I felt a gush of water running down my legs…my water had broke!! It was just like in the movies…it didn’t trickle down…it GUSHED out! Quickly we got dressed, phoned Alnisa beforehand and drove immediately to them.
The next 24 hours were the longest in my entire life…NOTHING HAPPENED!
I walked up and down the long corridor, I bounced on the exercise balls, I kept my bladder empty…I did everything they told me to do…but yet NOTHING! My husband had been such a wonderful support for me through this tough time. He stayed by my side through it all, brought me food when I was hungry. It was wonderful being surrounded by someone who loves you and supports you, especially in a time like this. The midwife came to me and said that I still hadn’t dilated and that after 24 hours of my water breaking they would have to transfer me to my hospital of choice. My hospital of choice was New Somerset Hospital (state hospital).
I was told by one of the staff that I was welcome to have a Doula with me to help me through this experience. I agreed to it because I felt I needed someone who understood what I was going through. So as I lay and wait for the ambulance to come and fetch me, I was introduced to a lady by the name of Nadia. She was the Doula that volunteered to be with me. What an awesome human being!! Nadia was a constant support and help for me. She even held my hand as the catheter was being inserted. Nadia guided me through everything…from what I was feeling to where I was going to what the doctors were talking about. She made me laugh when things were tense, she kept me in the loop with everything. When the ambulance arrived, Nadia drove with me in the ambulance. She kept track of my contractions as they had just started before the ambulance showed up.
When we got to New Somerset Hospital, we went up to the maternity ward where they informed me that NOBODY was allowed with me in the ward until I was 4cm dilated. Not even my own husband.
So there I was, laying in the ward with nobody beside me. Oh, how I prayed that I would dilated quickly in order to be with my husband again. Next thing I knew I had dilated 4cm and had to move to the delivery ward where my husband could finally join me. I was so thankful to have him by my side. Through every contraction he was there squeezing my hand, no actually I was the one squeezing LOL
I had pain relief in the form of Morphine and laughing gas, none of which really helped. When I looked again, I had finally dilated fully and had two nurses by my side to assist in pushing. An hour went by and still no Emily. This is when the doctor came in and decided that a ceasarian was necessary. About 30 min later, I was in the surgery room being prepped. The spinal had no effect on me so they had to put me completely under which meant my husband would not be allowed in with me. A couple hours later I was woken up by one of the nurses, my husband and a little face I had never seen before. It was my beautiful, healthy little baby girl Emily. Through the fog of the anesthesia, I couldn’t help but think I had never seen anything more beautiful. All I could manage to do in that moment was cry.
Beautiful baby Emily sucking her fingers straight after birth
Emily and I had to stay in the hospital for a further 3 days. What an experience it was figuring everything out for the first time. Nadia messaged me with breastfeeding information and she latched on like a champ. It was an emotional roller-coaster, especially when Emily was put under a UV light for in case she had yellow jaundice. I hated seeing her in that position, but it was very necessary. The tests came back negative for jaundice and the rest of the stay in hospital she slept right next to me.
Emily and I had finally been discharged on Monday 16 May 2016. We were both so very happy to be going home. It had been a long and unforgettable 6 days for us.
Emily is 4 months old now and it has been a very interesting and mostly tiring experience, but one I would never change for the world. I love my baby girl so much and the scar is a reminder of the love a mother has for her child, a love that can never fade.
Amanda, her husband Brandon and their gorgeous daughter Emily