Luca’s Early and Unexpected Surprise Arrival…

What a surprise Adam and I had when our little one decided to come early at 37+5.

Meet Luca Jane Alexander born 31.01.23, 2.79kgs, small but healthy. We are still shocked that she is here but so happy!

We really were not prepared for her arrival. I finished work on Friday with Adam doing his last night shift Sunday night which is when I first started to experience cramping. And I say cramping instead of contractions which is really what it was, as I did not know this was the start of my labour. Once it was going though, there was never really a time that it stopped. I experienced mild and irregular contractions Sunday night, throughout Monday and Monday night. They were uncomfortable but bearable and at this point I was still waiting to experience Branxton hicks .

Midnight Monday I woke up to 2 within 15 minutes and thought no way can I sleep if this continues. I went to the bathroom and noticed bleeding which caused some mild concern as I still had not put 2 and 2 together that I was in labour.  I ended up calling maternity who said to try and get some sleep, use a heat pack and take panadol. I couldn’t get back to sleep to I decided to have a bath and this is when the contractions picked up in intensity.

Subconsciously I had very dim lighting during this time which I think contributed to getting closer to active labour.

After getting out of the bath, I was basically glued to the toilet and found I was bleeding more and more. I asked my husband Adam to call the hospital who said to head over and get checked but they’d probably send us home. It took a while and lots of encouragement from Adam to leave the bathroom and get to the car. As I had constant period like pain in my lower belly and back, I found it hard to be upright/walk and this also made me feel as though I never had a break between contractions. After getting into the car, this is when my contractions really ramped up.

Upon arrival to the hospital, I had about half a cervical check as I found it quite painful but the midwife was able to determine that Luca had dropped right down and could feel the head. Adam confirmed at this point with the midwife that it was “go time” and we realised we were about to meet our little baby. With the support of Adam, our lovely midwife and some gas, Luca arrived within the hour of getting to the hospital.

What an intense and amazing experience this was for the both of us! Adam remembered to ask to dim the lights, I did not remember anything I wanted.

I truly believe what we learnt by going to our Calmbirth course, helped us both mentally push through this often confusing and intense experience.