August 5, 2025 • 27 mins
In this weeks episode, Ksenija is pulling our attention back to an incredible interview between Jessie Stephens and Nothing To Wear & You Beauty host Leigh Campbell. When it comes to life, Leigh Campbell is very prepared. But there was one thing she really couldn't prepare for, the birth of her son. Because even the most well-intentioned of plans can be derailed in an instant, or in this case, 32 hours.
Leigh sits down with Jessie Stephens, alongside her husband Rich, to talk about their birth story...
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CREDITS
Hosts: Ksenija Lukich & Jessie Stephens
Guests: Leigh Campbell and Rich Gioutsos
Producer: Gia Moylan & Ella Maitland
Executive Producer: Elissa Ratliff
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
You're listening to a Muma Mia podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Mamma Mia acknowledges the traditional owners of land and waters
that this podcast is recorded on. We pay our respects
to elders past, present and emerging, and feel privileged to
continue the sharing of birth stories and knowledge that has
been a fundamental part of Indigenous culture.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
Hi.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
I'm Cassania Lukij and this is diary of a birth.
I wanted to share this conversation the very talented Jesse
Stephens had with Mamma MIA's very own Lee Campbell a
few years ago. It's a story of strength, determination and love.
So let's hand this episode over to Jesse.
Speaker 4 (01:03):
For three years, Lee and Rich wanted to have a baby,
but what started as an exciting, life changing decision soon
became fraught with anxiety and distress. There were miscarriages, unsuccessful
rounds of IVF, bad news, and over again, as the
idea of becoming a mum seemed to slip further away.
(01:27):
By the end of twenty eighteen, Lee was ready to
accept that her future wouldn't have a baby in it,
and then she felt pregnant naturally. So it's no surprise
that on that Thursday night two years ago. Lee was
excited and on the show today she's going to walk
us through exactly what happened during her thirty two hours
(01:49):
of birth, starting at the induction. So what were the
expectations when you go in to be induced. Is the
idea that the contractions start and then boom, baby out,
We're all done.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
Sort of. So I was induced at thirty nine one,
so thirty nine weeks and one day. Because I was
an advanced maternal age or as they liked to call
geriatric pregnancy, my baby was measuring big and I had
a lot of anxiety around birth, so I wanted to
just get him out. So I was induced at eight
o'clock on a Thursday night, so I thought Friday morning
i'd have a baby. My whole family taken the Friday
(02:23):
off to come see the baby.
Speaker 4 (02:25):
Okay, what does being induced mean?
Speaker 1 (02:27):
Induce means you haven't gone into labor naturally, so you're
given a cocktail of drugs to essentially signal to your
body to go into labor. Induction can look really different
for a lot of people. I know now, I thought
it would just kick me into labor and i'd go through,
you know, a couple of hours or several hours, but
for me, that's not how it worked.
Speaker 4 (02:45):
How soon after being induced did it start to hurt.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
Not until the Friday morning. So they induced me and
they said okay, good night, and Rich my husband, was
sleeping next to me, and I was like, wait, what
when does a baby come? And they're like, oh no,
this is going to take forever. So they induced me
by giving me a drug through the drip, if I
remember correctly, there's a few different ways you can be induced,
but mine was through the drip and then I essentially
just went to sleep all of Thursday night, which was
(03:10):
such an anticlimax. My whole family was messaging and I
was like, guys, nothing's happening. And it wasn't until Friday
morning that I started to get kind of mild period pain.
And I've slowly slowly started.
Speaker 4 (03:22):
And is that how you would describe it? Because you
have endos, so you know what period pain feels like.
Correct would you describe it as kind of the pain
that you get just when you're going to get your period,
which is sort of I always think of it as
it feels like someone's like a Chinese black a Chinese
burn on your ovaries? Is that what we're feeling.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
The very very very beginning. Yes, but I was nowhere
near active labor at this stage. I was still only
half a centimeter dilated, so I had so far to go,
but I was like, oh, this is quite ouchy. On
the Friday morning, my mom and dad were staying down
the road, and so they came and they just hung
out all Friday, and I was like, oh, where's my baby.
I put my normal clothes back on. I was walking
(04:02):
around the grounds of the hospital. I was really trying
to get things moving. My water hadn't even broken at
this stage. They gave me ended up giving me three
rounds of the drip that's the most amount of the
chemical they can give you, or the drug hormone, and
then they broke my waters manually.
Speaker 4 (04:17):
Okay, tell me what that involves, because I've heard it
like a hook.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
Yeah, it's like a big knitting needle, and like they
tried to do it after the first and second round
of drugs, but they just couldn't even get it up there.
So I was really nowhere near ready to give birth.
Speaker 4 (04:30):
Does that hurt? Are we talking perapsmear or more painful
than a perhaps me?
Speaker 1 (04:35):
Perhaps me?
Speaker 4 (04:35):
Not bad?
Speaker 1 (04:36):
I guess because I knew now, I know what came after.
It was just uncomfortable. It was just a midwife's hand
and a kind of a knitting needle situation, and they
just yeah, essentially prick the balloon and then all the
water and gushes out. But even then then I thought
the baby would just come as well. Yes, no, So
my water was broken on the Friday mid morning, and
(04:58):
then slowly the period pain type feeling got more intense
on and off. So I guess I was like, are
these contractions and they're like, no, You're still not in
active labor. I had a few showers, a few baths.
I'm also quite an impatient person, so I was just
extremely bored.
Speaker 4 (05:13):
What were you doing? Like, can you go and just
sit on Instagram? Watch television series? Is that the vibe?
Speaker 1 (05:18):
I was just sitting on a bouncy ball on my phone,
chatting to mom and dad. They'd go get some food,
come back. Rich was hanging out. It was just hanging
out in like a really sterile hotel room. Essentially. I
was boring, really boring. And then it got to about
six pm and I was like, okay, I'm in a
fair bit of pain, and like you said I've got
INDO and used to really bad period pain. So I
was like, oh, clearly the baby's half an hour away,
(05:40):
and they're like, you are two centimeters dilated. But I
always knew I wanted an epidural, and I said, okay,
I mean I'd been there for twenty four hours and
I hadn't really slept essentially the night before from excitement.
So I was like, I want the epi durole now,
and they're like, it's best to wait, and I was like,
I really want it now. So they gave it to
me at that stage reluctantly, and then I guess that's
where shit started to get real.
Speaker 4 (06:01):
And when you got the epidural, when you are saying, no,
I need it right right now, out of ten pain
level of the epidural before like the contractions that you're going, okay,
I need to have some pain.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
We're probably only a five now. I know what I
had to come to compare it to.
Speaker 4 (06:16):
And you said period pain. But when you're dilating, it's
your cervix, right, yes, So can you feel that?
Speaker 1 (06:24):
I couldn't know. All I could feel was now, I
know my son was trying because the chemicals had said, hey,
so my son or my baby was trying to get
down and get going, So it just felt like pressure,
like period pray and pressure where I guess your uterus
is like convulsing to get the lining out, very similar
to that, just that but starting to intensify.
Speaker 4 (06:45):
Okay, so you get the epidural And I recently saw
a photo of an epi durl and I panicked because
it's as long as myalm. It's too big. It's like
the end needle. Bit it's not like getting a vaccination. No,
did you panic when you saw it or were you
just like SnO relief. I didn't.
Speaker 1 (07:01):
What they do is they lay you on your side
and you're monitored, obviously so that because you are having
for me, mild contractions to that stage, so they have
to do it in between contractions to make sure that
you don't move or your spine doesn't move, and you're
covered by like I guess like a surgical gown type thing,
so you can't even see what they're doing behind you.
Just looking at my husband's face probably not ideal because
(07:21):
he was a bit like oh wow, and I was like, okay,
I don't really want to know.
Speaker 5 (07:26):
Yeah, I just tried to remain calm and do what
was necessary. But yeah, I don't mind needles, but having
heard from other people the size of that needle, I
thought it was best to look away. But I did
see the look on her face and it didn't look
like anything that I would like to try soon.
Speaker 4 (07:44):
That's Lee's husband, Rich, and he's going to be popping
in throughout the episode to make sure that we're getting
both sides of the story and to clarify a few things,
like the size of the needle. So, Lee, does it
hurt when the needle goes into your spine?
Speaker 1 (08:00):
Yeah, it's not ideal. It feels like a really bad
like a wasp sting or something like. It's really stingy,
but it's only short, short term pain, and then everything
is amazing.
Speaker 4 (08:10):
How quickly until everything's amazing?
Speaker 1 (08:12):
So they put in, I guess kind of like a
catheter type dovbacker and then you've got what's sorry, no,
not catheter's is not the right word. Wait, did a
cat angler? Catheters to do a wei? But they put
that in your fanny as well because you did that hurt.
They do it after the epidurals kicked in, so you
obviously are paralyzed from the waist down, so you can't
get up and WII. So at this stage you have
to stop drinking water. You're not eating anyway, You're not hungry.
(08:35):
I can't remember if well, no, I didn't eat anything
after that. But they've turned on the epidural drug and
you have a little button that you can top yourself
up every so often. But then they put the thing
in so you wean into a pack. But it's all
just beautiful. From there, you feel fuzzy and delightful. I
just felt so great. And this was probably eight or
(08:55):
nine o'clock at night by the time the epidural man
had come and done all that, and I was just
so happy.
Speaker 4 (09:01):
Did you then manage to get any sleep? Because you
would be I would think it almost feels like you're
jet lagged because you have not slept in a very
long time. Are you able to just have a snoop yep?
Speaker 1 (09:11):
So at that stage I was starting to feel really tired,
and the epidural was making me feel tired, and Rich
was just chilling with me and watching the contractions, and
my contractions were starting to like I was going into
active labor, starting to rise and fall on the machine.
But I couldn't feel a thing. I could see if
my tummy was contracting, and he was like, wow, this
is crazy, and I was like, yeah, I can't feel anything.
So we both started to go to bed. He again
(09:31):
was in a bed next to me, and the nurses
just they come in quite regularly and check on you,
so you can't really have a big snooze. But I
was drifting for a couple of hours until about two
in the morning.
Speaker 4 (09:43):
And what did you feel at two in the morning
that work.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
You und So two in the morning, I just had
this really weird sensation down one side of my body,
like just a slither and I was like, oh, that
didn't feel very nice. And then a minute or two
later it happened again, but it was down a bigger
section of my body. And essentially what was happening was
the epidural was wearing off.
Speaker 4 (10:01):
But this is your whole body, Like are you talking
like your arm into your leg?
Speaker 1 (10:04):
Yes?
Speaker 4 (10:05):
Why is that hurting?
Speaker 1 (10:06):
Because for me, contractions hurt everywhere.
Speaker 4 (10:10):
I'm sure I thought it was only his stomach.
Speaker 1 (10:12):
No, And this is not to scare anyone. I am
just so pro drugs. And I was so pro I
didn't want to be that warrior that felt everything. I
wanted to feel as less as possible. And so essentially,
you know, the nurses came and said, your epidurals wearing off,
and I was like, that's cool, just keep pressing this
button and they're like, no, no, it's not working on
you anymore. Like that's why chance and it happens. Apparently
(10:34):
it's not that common, but it happens. And so essentially
it was just wearing off across my body, and so
I was feeling labor. I was in labor, but a
lot of women that have been injuiced will know the
contractions are more intense when you're having an induced labor
because it's not real. It's synthetic. Well, it's really happening,
but it's not your body's time, so it can feel
more intense. So I went from being really drowsy and
(10:55):
asleep to having full contractions quite quickly. And did you panic?
I did panic a little bit because I'd prepared for
birth in terms. I've done the epino, which is the
balloon that stretches your bits.
Speaker 4 (11:09):
Does that hurt?
Speaker 1 (11:10):
Yeah, that's kind of uncomfortable, But I prepare as you know.
So I really wanted to have my bits prepped.
Speaker 4 (11:15):
And that's too stretch your badge, but also your is
it called a perineum correct.
Speaker 1 (11:20):
So with my obstetrician, you also see a female physio
and she checks that whole area out. They put their
hand in there and teach you how to push so
that you make sure you're pushing on the right muscles.
You do a lot of practice, and she had identified
that I had a really small peraneum, so I was
terrified of tearing. Hence why I was so good with
the epino. Every night. I was like pumping it up
and it's not pleasant. And I remember being really sick
(11:42):
in late pregnancy and I coughed and the epino went
flying across the room. Anyway, my area was so ready
to give birth. But when the epidural wore off, I
guess because I just knew I was getting an epiduril
from early on, I hadn't researched breathing or like any
of that. Really kind of coping, yes, And I just
remember being the most primal version of myself. I was
(12:03):
holding onto the bed and it was all scrunched up,
and I was like screaming and Rich was.
Speaker 4 (12:07):
Like, whoa, yep, let's let Rich confirm how bad that
was for Lee.
Speaker 5 (12:13):
Lee's got a very good pain threshold, so I know
from her side when she was starting to indicate that
she was in pain, that it must be really really
bad for her to be reacting in the way that
she was. I think she was pretty well within her
rights to have those looks on her face.
Speaker 1 (12:28):
And the nurses are like, you're only five centimeters, have
got a fair way to go, and I was like,
absolutely not. I just can't do this. But as soon
as the contraction went away, you just feel completely normal.
Speaker 4 (12:38):
It's almost rangers better.
Speaker 1 (12:40):
Than normal because the relief yeah, and the adrenaline yes.
And I would chat to Rich for a minute and
then he'd look at the screen and go, Okay, get ready,
and I was like, no, no, don't stop.
Speaker 4 (12:48):
It, because I imagine, you know, when you're really sick
with like food poisoning, and you're like, oh my god,
I'm gonna throw up, and then after you throw up,
you're like, this is the best feeling I've ever had
because I'm not throwing up anymore.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
That's exactly what it's. It's like the worst minute of
your life and then the best minute of your life.
Speaker 4 (13:01):
So the worst minute of your life. Are we getting
pretty close to ten out of ten? Pain?
Speaker 1 (13:05):
Oh yeah. I'd like take my hat off to women
who do natural, drug free labor, because for me, it
felt like the devil was inside me. And I'm not
trying to scare other people. I would do it a
thousand times over. I'm so actually pleased that I did
get to experience it and know what it's like. But
I'm just not good with pain. I never wanted to
feel the pain. I was never curious, and so I
(13:28):
was like, this is not what I signed up for.
But that's birth for you.
Speaker 4 (13:31):
So what are your options at that stage? Because you're
someone who likes to be in control and likes to
be organized, and I can't think of a situation where
you are less in control than your body has gone
n to the epidural. Do you get presented with a
number of options where you get to logically go through
them and.
Speaker 1 (13:48):
Think I will do see not at that stage, And
it's ironic, I guess, because that's just the preparation for
motherhood is that you can't plan really. So at that stage,
I was just in labor and I was going through
contractions and feeling them like millions and billions of other
women have. So I'm making it sound really awful, But
at that stage I was just in labor for a
couple of hours, and then it got till about four
(14:09):
in the morning, and all these bells and noises started
to happen, and a lot of midwives came in, and
long story short, I had become feeble very quickly. So
my favorite show to over forty.
Speaker 4 (14:21):
Did that just happen during childbirth? Or was that unrelated?
Speaker 1 (14:24):
No, it was related. It was because my son was
in distress. He was stuck essentially, and again because I
still wasn't dilated enough. He'd been trying to get out
for a while, so his heart rate skyrocketed, my fever skyrocketed,
and that's when the midwives were like, Hey, we've really
got to get this baby out. We're gonna have to
do an emergency cesarian. Are you okay with that? And sure,
(14:45):
I mean, what are your options? But also for me,
very superficially, I was like, if that means the end
of contraction, it's fantastic. By this stage, it's been thirty
two hours. I haven't slept I'm pretty delirious.
Speaker 4 (14:57):
This is what you think about people who have to
labor for all those hours and then have a sea section.
It's like, why did I bother with the labor? Yeah?
Were you annoyed that you'd wasted so much time?
Speaker 1 (15:05):
I wasn't annoyed so much that if I was to
have a second child, i'd have a plan. Cesarean now,
knowing what I've been through, but you know, that's life.
So I was amazed by how quickly everything happened from
that stage. My obstetrician, who wasn't there yet because I
was nowhere near birth, just turned up. She was there
and obviously they'd called her and she lives close to
the hospital, but I just remember her walking in. She
(15:26):
was in a pe Nation tracksuit for something in the morning,
and I was like, I love your tracksuit, and she
was like, okay, yeah cool.
Speaker 4 (15:33):
So what time is this and a wee getting towards
the weekend?
Speaker 1 (15:36):
Saturday morning? Okay, it's four am Saturday morning, got it,
And so she was very calm. I loved her bedside manow,
which I think is really important in that moment, and
she just said, it's going to be great. We're going
to get your baby out. I just need you to
sign these forms and understand the risks and blah blah blah.
And I was like, sure, just can we sign it
before the next contractions. And then I was in a
private hospital where I didn't realize they don't operate, so
(15:59):
you had to be wheeled from the private hospital to
the public hospital into an operating theater instead of a
birthing suite, which was all stuff I learned at the time.
So I'm going through elevators and up and down and
riches coming with me and he's got scrubs on.
Speaker 4 (16:12):
And are you having contractions all through that time?
Speaker 1 (16:14):
Yep, I'm having contractions all through that time. And then
when I got into theater, because I had an epidural
port in my back, they could use that for the block.
So an epidural and a block is obviously quite different,
but it was great that it could be so quick
because they just use that port. And then basically you're
paralyzed from the shoulders down because they're operating. It's major surgery.
And I remember they use a bit of ice and
(16:36):
they just rub it up on in your neck and
you can feel it, and then they rub it further
down and you go, nut can't feel it anymore, so
they know that you're ready to go for surgery.
Speaker 4 (16:43):
What was that relief?
Speaker 1 (16:44):
Like, oh great, because all the pain stopped. I remember
lying on my back and I was like, am I
still even pregnant? Because I was a bit delirious and
I couldn't feel a thing, And it was incredibly quick.
I was so impressed. But everyone was so calm and nice,
and they're like, you're gonna have your baby now, and
really excited and like, I'm sure their time was a
vehescence for them, but they didn't make me feel panicked
(17:06):
in any way. And then in you go, and.
Speaker 4 (17:09):
They put a sheet up, don't they so you can't see.
Speaker 1 (17:12):
They put a sheet up, So I guess when they're
making the incisions, because they again learned later that they
cut through. I think it's either seven or nine layers,
some horror onto a bit, some a vertical, so it's
not all just across. And then what seems like two
seconds later, my beautiful obstetrician dropped the sheet and she said, okay,
I'm going to deliver your baby now. She said, look up,
(17:32):
look up, because I could use my neck and I
was like, no, no, no, no, She goes, no, I'm
going come on, sit up, you got to you gotta watch,
and out of my tummy or I guess like a
vaginal birth. They make it seem as natural, yeah, out
of commas as possible. And they lifted him out and
then she held him up and she said, tell everyone.
Speaker 5 (17:48):
What it is.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
And I was like, that's a boy.
Speaker 4 (17:52):
So how did Rich feel at this point?
Speaker 5 (17:54):
Just complete euphoria to see a child come up, and
we didn't know the sex, of course, and to see
that it was a boy. Yeah, it was just the
most beautiful and most amazing moment of our lives.
Speaker 4 (18:06):
And what's your first response seeing this thing that your
body has created over nine months? Is it absolute or
do you freak? Does it look like an alien? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (18:18):
He looked, Oh my god, I'll show you my photos
after this if anyone. He looked like a total alien.
And my husband has like a bum chin, yep, and
this little tiny baby boy just had the biggest bum chin.
And the first thing I said was his chin.
Speaker 5 (18:30):
His chin.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
And then they take them away and Rich left from
up near my head and they go and cut the
umbilical cord and then we got an extended amount of
time with him on my chest. I think they do
that to distract you while you're being sewn up.
Speaker 4 (18:43):
Were you distracted for a little bit?
Speaker 1 (18:45):
And then the baby and Rich went up to recovery
And then what I didn't realize was it takes about
forty five minutes to stitch you up. So Alexander was
born at five oh five, and I didn't go back
up to recovery to in the six of some stage,
and Rich and the baby were doing skin on skin
that whole time.
Speaker 5 (18:59):
It was, again, just the most euphoric experience, you know,
to all of a sudden have this incredible responsibility. This
child is relying on you for everything now, So yeah,
quite incredible just to be one on one gazing into
each other's eyes, and yeah, it's just a pinch me
kind of moment where you've thought about this for a
(19:20):
lot of your life and now it's real and just
the most amazing feeling in the world.
Speaker 4 (19:26):
So how was Lee going being sewn up?
Speaker 1 (19:29):
Lying there at the end. I was so delirious by
this stage, but I was looking up at like the
surgery lights stuff, and then I could see what they
were doing, and I was like, oh wait, they're stitching
my whole body backup. And the assisting obstetrician his name
was Alexander, because they said what's the baby's name? And
I was like Alexander and the guy was like, oh,
that's my name, and I was like, oh, how original.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:49):
So by that stage I was just delirious and felt
really dopey and like.
Speaker 4 (19:55):
And you've gone through an ordeal over days at this
point when you see that baby on your chest that
looks a little bit like an alien Like they're very cute, but.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
They're also like the terrifying.
Speaker 4 (20:08):
Is it instant love or is it like what is
that thing? For me?
Speaker 1 (20:12):
It was just shock, I think from everything I'd been through.
I mean, obviously I loved him, but I didn't like
have this rush and gush of.
Speaker 4 (20:19):
Like I think it's important to normalize because a lot
of women are made to expect that it's going to
be this, oh my god, I die for you, which
of course that's an element of it, but you've also
never seen anything.
Speaker 1 (20:28):
It's like a wtf just happened? Because it's interesting. We
I host a podcast called This Lorismuth Little Kids for
parents that have young children, and then We had an
expert on recently who said childbirth and having a newborn
is like having a major car accident and then starting
a new job as a brain surgeon the next day.
And it's like, it's so true, true. When you wheeled
(20:51):
up to recovery, I guess I thought you would order
to have this time with your baby, and you do.
But within the first fifteen minutes I had a midwife
coming in milking my breasts for colostrum. So it's not
like you have this really beautiful moment alone. I guess
maybe you do with a natural birth, but with emergency cesarium.
I had already been away from him for an hour
or so, so I guess they needed the colostrum quickly.
Speaker 4 (21:12):
I'm not sure that you just want to go to sleep. Yeah, yeah, oh.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
I was pretty high on everything that morning, but by
lunchtime I just crashed and they were like, you need
to keep trying to feed, and I was like, take
him away. I want to everyone leave me alone.
Speaker 4 (21:26):
Importantly, how were the photos, Because you'd blow dried your hair,
but you've been through an ordeal when the photo gets
taken and you like take it again from a different angle.
Speaker 1 (21:36):
No, God, no, you don't care by that stage. I
mean again, I take my hat off to all the
nurses and midwives because they take your phone and I
have the most incredible photos of him being pulled out
and Rich and I from in the suite. They use
portrait mode. They dead set look like I had a
professional photographer. I mean, they're gruesome and horrific, and I've
got nipples the size of dinner plates. And it's all
not social media, you know, appropriate, But it's such incredible
(21:58):
stuff to have. But no, I don't even know why
I did my hair at fake tan because I'd had
that many bars and showers the day before to help
with the pain. And obviously none of that matters. But
when you've never had a baby before, you think it does,
and then it's a big old mess.
Speaker 4 (22:13):
And I think with C sections people can imagine that. Okay,
so they do a little, this tiny little incision, then
the baby comes out and then you're just like good
to go. I've heard that's not the case that the
recovery is. I think I've heard you say we're talking
twelve months to be back to what you were. Yes,
what do people not prepare you for when it comes
(22:34):
to C section recovery.
Speaker 1 (22:35):
Look for me, I just hadn't even considered it as
an option because I thought I was being induced for
a vaginal birth. I didn't even look into it, to
be honest. So, and there's a big difference between a
plant cesarian and an emergency cesarian because emergency they're just
getting in there and getting the baby out to save
people's lives. So the first day for me, anyway, you
can't walk, so you have a machine, like a compression
(22:56):
machine on your legs to keep your blood flowing so
that you don't get any blood clots or anything.
Speaker 4 (23:00):
So you still have the catheter thing in right.
Speaker 1 (23:01):
Now, You still have the catheter, so you can eat
and drink as normal, although you don't do a poof
for quite a few days, and that in itself is
its own event.
Speaker 4 (23:08):
And how about because aren't you bleeding? What do they
do about the bleeding?
Speaker 1 (23:11):
You just don't have anything on down the bottom, and
your midwife comes and changes your pad slash nappy because interestingly,
I didn't think you'd bleed much having a cesarean, because
I thought they took it all out the sunroof. But
you still have quite a lot of gunk and blood
that comes out of your vagina obviously, so they just
rip the blanket back and change your pad, and you've
got several maternity pads on. But by then you don't care.
(23:32):
You've got people milking your boobs. You're basically just splayed
in a like on a bed, just going whatever, touch
what you want, just take it. Just help me.
Speaker 4 (23:41):
How are you, like abdominal's feeling, because if you're trying
to sit up, you're trying to get out of bed, like,
is the wound hurting or is it also the muscles
underneath all of it?
Speaker 1 (23:51):
For me? So I could get up the next day.
So Sunday morning, I got up to have my first
shower and midwife helps you. You've had major, major surgery.
They've cut through your whole course, so you can't sit
up the way you think you can. You have to
use that pully hand thing because you have to use
your hands and your legs because your care is just
not intact. It's all stitched together. They're so used to
it they help you. I guess it's they have skills
(24:12):
to help someone that's had surgery isn't as well as
childbirth and you're on great drugs. Really good drugs in
the hospital, so it wasn't as bad when I got
home and I was so you know, preoccupied with keeping
this baby alive and you forget to take your drugs.
That's when you're like, oh, wow, I've had major surgery.
But the physio comes around at the hospital and teaches
you how to pivot and sit because you can't use
(24:32):
your core, So it's all very well managed for me.
Probably the worst part was getting my stitches out the
day I left, because I had a new nurse and
it was her first turn to remove my stitution.
Speaker 4 (24:44):
How did she tell you that?
Speaker 3 (24:45):
That's not a.
Speaker 4 (24:46):
Detail yet it was pretty horrific, as in, it really
hurt because wouldn't they do it some kind of anesthetic.
Speaker 1 (24:51):
No, no, no, no, no, they just pluck them out.
Speaker 4 (24:53):
I don't like that.
Speaker 1 (24:54):
Yeah, And also I'm surprised how low you're Cesaian. It's
like right in your vagina, like crease, like you know
where you fold when you sit. Yes, it's right in
my fold. So it's really nice. Little like if I
were a bikini, you can't see anything. So I'm really
pleased with that.
Speaker 4 (25:08):
And how did the healing go? Like, how are you
feeling two weeks, after four weeks, after eight weeks.
Speaker 1 (25:12):
Off, our apartment didn't have a lift of heaps of
flights of stairs, so I really struggled with that because
stepping up and down again you use a lot of
your core for so much that you don't realize. So
the first few weeks were pretty bad. It's a common
misconception you can't drive for six weeks, as long as
you can turn to check your blind spot, which my
obstrition checked. I could drive after like ten days, which
(25:33):
was fine, and then recovery was pretty slow. I must
say I didn't help myself. I didn't do all the
things they told me to because I just was thinking
about the baby.
Speaker 4 (25:39):
What do they tell you to do like exercises?
Speaker 1 (25:42):
No, they tell you to not do things, But of
course I was doing everything. It's so hard to rest.
People tell you to rest, but new mums are often martyrs,
and you know, people come over to see the baby,
but you're making tea and cutting up cake and don't
do that new mums.
Speaker 4 (25:55):
And picking up Can you pick up the baby?
Speaker 1 (25:58):
You can pick up the baby, they're so little. Yeah,
you've got to be really careful and if you do
have help it's important to call on that help.
Speaker 4 (26:05):
And I've never had a baby, but I would like
to one day for someone like me, What would be
your one piece of advice or the one thing that
you could tell me to prepare for this thing that
sounds bloody, terrifying and all so beautiful, but so many
women have been through it, and.
Speaker 1 (26:23):
I'm just like, such a rite of passage, isn't it?
But it's so terrifying. I would just explore all options because,
as we said before, I'm such a planner. I was like,
I'm being induced toff a vaginal birth, and every step
of that process I had explored mentally and emotionally, but
I hadn't thought what if it happens to cinesaia. You
know what if this happens because I was so sure
that I knew what was happening, So just consider all options.
(26:45):
It might end up like this, It might end up
like that. I don't regret anything. A lot of people say, oh,
you know what a traumatic birth, and I'm like, no way.
I got my son and it's such a cool story.
And I got to feel labor and then I got
to have a cesarean Like I basically had a bit
of everything in one go, and I don't regret any
of it. It's really cool and like it's really special.
Speaker 4 (27:04):
It's a great story too.
Speaker 1 (27:07):
I think the nurses there are like, Wow, who's this
chick that came on with blow dried hair? Surely I'm
not the first one, but then the way I left,
they were like, there she is.
Speaker 4 (27:14):
The Kardashians did it like, I'm a beauty.
Speaker 1 (27:18):
Editors my job, but yeah, I left looking very disheveled
and have been that way since. That's mother would.
Speaker 3 (27:25):
Thank you for listening to Diary of a Birth. If
you like our show, don't forget to subscribe and write
see you next week.
Speaker 2 (27:32):
Bye.
You're listening to a Muma Mia podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Mamma Mia acknowledges the traditional owners of land and waters
that this podcast is recorded on. We pay our respects
to elders past, present and emerging, and feel privileged to
continue the sharing of birth stories and knowledge that has
been a fundamental part of Indigenous culture.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
Hi.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
I'm Cassania Lukij and this is diary of a birth.
I wanted to share this conversation the very talented Jesse
Stephens had with Mamma MIA's very own Lee Campbell a
few years ago. It's a story of strength, determination and love.
So let's hand this episode over to Jesse.
Speaker 4 (01:03):
For three years, Lee and Rich wanted to have a baby,
but what started as an exciting, life changing decision soon
became fraught with anxiety and distress. There were miscarriages, unsuccessful
rounds of IVF, bad news, and over again, as the
idea of becoming a mum seemed to slip further away.
(01:27):
By the end of twenty eighteen, Lee was ready to
accept that her future wouldn't have a baby in it,
and then she felt pregnant naturally. So it's no surprise
that on that Thursday night two years ago. Lee was
excited and on the show today she's going to walk
us through exactly what happened during her thirty two hours
(01:49):
of birth, starting at the induction. So what were the
expectations when you go in to be induced. Is the
idea that the contractions start and then boom, baby out,
We're all done.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
Sort of. So I was induced at thirty nine one,
so thirty nine weeks and one day. Because I was
an advanced maternal age or as they liked to call
geriatric pregnancy, my baby was measuring big and I had
a lot of anxiety around birth, so I wanted to
just get him out. So I was induced at eight
o'clock on a Thursday night, so I thought Friday morning
i'd have a baby. My whole family taken the Friday
(02:23):
off to come see the baby.
Speaker 4 (02:25):
Okay, what does being induced mean?
Speaker 1 (02:27):
Induce means you haven't gone into labor naturally, so you're
given a cocktail of drugs to essentially signal to your
body to go into labor. Induction can look really different
for a lot of people. I know now, I thought
it would just kick me into labor and i'd go through,
you know, a couple of hours or several hours, but
for me, that's not how it worked.
Speaker 4 (02:45):
How soon after being induced did it start to hurt.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
Not until the Friday morning. So they induced me and
they said okay, good night, and Rich my husband, was
sleeping next to me, and I was like, wait, what
when does a baby come? And they're like, oh no,
this is going to take forever. So they induced me
by giving me a drug through the drip, if I
remember correctly, there's a few different ways you can be induced,
but mine was through the drip and then I essentially
just went to sleep all of Thursday night, which was
(03:10):
such an anticlimax. My whole family was messaging and I
was like, guys, nothing's happening. And it wasn't until Friday
morning that I started to get kind of mild period pain.
And I've slowly slowly started.
Speaker 4 (03:22):
And is that how you would describe it? Because you
have endos, so you know what period pain feels like.
Correct would you describe it as kind of the pain
that you get just when you're going to get your period,
which is sort of I always think of it as
it feels like someone's like a Chinese black a Chinese
burn on your ovaries? Is that what we're feeling.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
The very very very beginning. Yes, but I was nowhere
near active labor at this stage. I was still only
half a centimeter dilated, so I had so far to go,
but I was like, oh, this is quite ouchy. On
the Friday morning, my mom and dad were staying down
the road, and so they came and they just hung
out all Friday, and I was like, oh, where's my baby.
I put my normal clothes back on. I was walking
(04:02):
around the grounds of the hospital. I was really trying
to get things moving. My water hadn't even broken at
this stage. They gave me ended up giving me three
rounds of the drip that's the most amount of the
chemical they can give you, or the drug hormone, and
then they broke my waters manually.
Speaker 4 (04:17):
Okay, tell me what that involves, because I've heard it
like a hook.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
Yeah, it's like a big knitting needle, and like they
tried to do it after the first and second round
of drugs, but they just couldn't even get it up there.
So I was really nowhere near ready to give birth.
Speaker 4 (04:30):
Does that hurt? Are we talking perapsmear or more painful
than a perhaps me?
Speaker 1 (04:35):
Perhaps me?
Speaker 4 (04:35):
Not bad?
Speaker 1 (04:36):
I guess because I knew now, I know what came after.
It was just uncomfortable. It was just a midwife's hand
and a kind of a knitting needle situation, and they
just yeah, essentially prick the balloon and then all the
water and gushes out. But even then then I thought
the baby would just come as well. Yes, no, So
my water was broken on the Friday mid morning, and
(04:58):
then slowly the period pain type feeling got more intense
on and off. So I guess I was like, are
these contractions and they're like, no, You're still not in
active labor. I had a few showers, a few baths.
I'm also quite an impatient person, so I was just
extremely bored.
Speaker 4 (05:13):
What were you doing? Like, can you go and just
sit on Instagram? Watch television series? Is that the vibe?
Speaker 1 (05:18):
I was just sitting on a bouncy ball on my phone,
chatting to mom and dad. They'd go get some food,
come back. Rich was hanging out. It was just hanging
out in like a really sterile hotel room. Essentially. I
was boring, really boring. And then it got to about
six pm and I was like, okay, I'm in a
fair bit of pain, and like you said I've got
INDO and used to really bad period pain. So I
was like, oh, clearly the baby's half an hour away,
(05:40):
and they're like, you are two centimeters dilated. But I
always knew I wanted an epidural, and I said, okay,
I mean I'd been there for twenty four hours and
I hadn't really slept essentially the night before from excitement.
So I was like, I want the epi durole now,
and they're like, it's best to wait, and I was like,
I really want it now. So they gave it to
me at that stage reluctantly, and then I guess that's
where shit started to get real.
Speaker 4 (06:01):
And when you got the epidural, when you are saying, no,
I need it right right now, out of ten pain
level of the epidural before like the contractions that you're going, okay,
I need to have some pain.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
We're probably only a five now. I know what I
had to come to compare it to.
Speaker 4 (06:16):
And you said period pain. But when you're dilating, it's
your cervix, right, yes, So can you feel that?
Speaker 1 (06:24):
I couldn't know. All I could feel was now, I
know my son was trying because the chemicals had said, hey,
so my son or my baby was trying to get
down and get going, So it just felt like pressure,
like period pray and pressure where I guess your uterus
is like convulsing to get the lining out, very similar
to that, just that but starting to intensify.
Speaker 4 (06:45):
Okay, so you get the epidural And I recently saw
a photo of an epi durl and I panicked because
it's as long as myalm. It's too big. It's like
the end needle. Bit it's not like getting a vaccination. No,
did you panic when you saw it or were you
just like SnO relief. I didn't.
Speaker 1 (07:01):
What they do is they lay you on your side
and you're monitored, obviously so that because you are having
for me, mild contractions to that stage, so they have
to do it in between contractions to make sure that
you don't move or your spine doesn't move, and you're
covered by like I guess like a surgical gown type thing,
so you can't even see what they're doing behind you.
Just looking at my husband's face probably not ideal because
(07:21):
he was a bit like oh wow, and I was like, okay,
I don't really want to know.
Speaker 5 (07:26):
Yeah, I just tried to remain calm and do what
was necessary. But yeah, I don't mind needles, but having
heard from other people the size of that needle, I
thought it was best to look away. But I did
see the look on her face and it didn't look
like anything that I would like to try soon.
Speaker 4 (07:44):
That's Lee's husband, Rich, and he's going to be popping
in throughout the episode to make sure that we're getting
both sides of the story and to clarify a few things,
like the size of the needle. So, Lee, does it
hurt when the needle goes into your spine?
Speaker 1 (08:00):
Yeah, it's not ideal. It feels like a really bad
like a wasp sting or something like. It's really stingy,
but it's only short, short term pain, and then everything
is amazing.
Speaker 4 (08:10):
How quickly until everything's amazing?
Speaker 1 (08:12):
So they put in, I guess kind of like a
catheter type dovbacker and then you've got what's sorry, no,
not catheter's is not the right word. Wait, did a
cat angler? Catheters to do a wei? But they put
that in your fanny as well because you did that hurt.
They do it after the epidurals kicked in, so you
obviously are paralyzed from the waist down, so you can't
get up and WII. So at this stage you have
to stop drinking water. You're not eating anyway, You're not hungry.
(08:35):
I can't remember if well, no, I didn't eat anything
after that. But they've turned on the epidural drug and
you have a little button that you can top yourself
up every so often. But then they put the thing
in so you wean into a pack. But it's all
just beautiful. From there, you feel fuzzy and delightful. I
just felt so great. And this was probably eight or
(08:55):
nine o'clock at night by the time the epidural man
had come and done all that, and I was just
so happy.
Speaker 4 (09:01):
Did you then manage to get any sleep? Because you
would be I would think it almost feels like you're
jet lagged because you have not slept in a very
long time. Are you able to just have a snoop yep?
Speaker 1 (09:11):
So at that stage I was starting to feel really tired,
and the epidural was making me feel tired, and Rich
was just chilling with me and watching the contractions, and
my contractions were starting to like I was going into
active labor, starting to rise and fall on the machine.
But I couldn't feel a thing. I could see if
my tummy was contracting, and he was like, wow, this
is crazy, and I was like, yeah, I can't feel anything.
So we both started to go to bed. He again
(09:31):
was in a bed next to me, and the nurses
just they come in quite regularly and check on you,
so you can't really have a big snooze. But I
was drifting for a couple of hours until about two
in the morning.
Speaker 4 (09:43):
And what did you feel at two in the morning
that work.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
You und So two in the morning, I just had
this really weird sensation down one side of my body,
like just a slither and I was like, oh, that
didn't feel very nice. And then a minute or two
later it happened again, but it was down a bigger
section of my body. And essentially what was happening was
the epidural was wearing off.
Speaker 4 (10:01):
But this is your whole body, Like are you talking
like your arm into your leg?
Speaker 1 (10:04):
Yes?
Speaker 4 (10:05):
Why is that hurting?
Speaker 1 (10:06):
Because for me, contractions hurt everywhere.
Speaker 4 (10:10):
I'm sure I thought it was only his stomach.
Speaker 1 (10:12):
No, And this is not to scare anyone. I am
just so pro drugs. And I was so pro I
didn't want to be that warrior that felt everything. I
wanted to feel as less as possible. And so essentially,
you know, the nurses came and said, your epidurals wearing off,
and I was like, that's cool, just keep pressing this
button and they're like, no, no, it's not working on
you anymore. Like that's why chance and it happens. Apparently
(10:34):
it's not that common, but it happens. And so essentially
it was just wearing off across my body, and so
I was feeling labor. I was in labor, but a
lot of women that have been injuiced will know the
contractions are more intense when you're having an induced labor
because it's not real. It's synthetic. Well, it's really happening,
but it's not your body's time, so it can feel
more intense. So I went from being really drowsy and
(10:55):
asleep to having full contractions quite quickly. And did you panic?
I did panic a little bit because I'd prepared for
birth in terms. I've done the epino, which is the
balloon that stretches your bits.
Speaker 4 (11:09):
Does that hurt?
Speaker 1 (11:10):
Yeah, that's kind of uncomfortable, But I prepare as you know.
So I really wanted to have my bits prepped.
Speaker 4 (11:15):
And that's too stretch your badge, but also your is
it called a perineum correct.
Speaker 1 (11:20):
So with my obstetrician, you also see a female physio
and she checks that whole area out. They put their
hand in there and teach you how to push so
that you make sure you're pushing on the right muscles.
You do a lot of practice, and she had identified
that I had a really small peraneum, so I was
terrified of tearing. Hence why I was so good with
the epino. Every night. I was like pumping it up
and it's not pleasant. And I remember being really sick
(11:42):
in late pregnancy and I coughed and the epino went
flying across the room. Anyway, my area was so ready
to give birth. But when the epidural wore off, I
guess because I just knew I was getting an epiduril
from early on, I hadn't researched breathing or like any
of that. Really kind of coping, yes, And I just
remember being the most primal version of myself. I was
(12:03):
holding onto the bed and it was all scrunched up,
and I was like screaming and Rich was.
Speaker 4 (12:07):
Like, whoa, yep, let's let Rich confirm how bad that
was for Lee.
Speaker 5 (12:13):
Lee's got a very good pain threshold, so I know
from her side when she was starting to indicate that
she was in pain, that it must be really really
bad for her to be reacting in the way that
she was. I think she was pretty well within her
rights to have those looks on her face.
Speaker 1 (12:28):
And the nurses are like, you're only five centimeters, have
got a fair way to go, and I was like,
absolutely not. I just can't do this. But as soon
as the contraction went away, you just feel completely normal.
Speaker 4 (12:38):
It's almost rangers better.
Speaker 1 (12:40):
Than normal because the relief yeah, and the adrenaline yes.
And I would chat to Rich for a minute and
then he'd look at the screen and go, Okay, get ready,
and I was like, no, no, don't stop.
Speaker 4 (12:48):
It, because I imagine, you know, when you're really sick
with like food poisoning, and you're like, oh my god,
I'm gonna throw up, and then after you throw up,
you're like, this is the best feeling I've ever had
because I'm not throwing up anymore.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
That's exactly what it's. It's like the worst minute of
your life and then the best minute of your life.
Speaker 4 (13:01):
So the worst minute of your life. Are we getting
pretty close to ten out of ten? Pain?
Speaker 1 (13:05):
Oh yeah. I'd like take my hat off to women
who do natural, drug free labor, because for me, it
felt like the devil was inside me. And I'm not
trying to scare other people. I would do it a
thousand times over. I'm so actually pleased that I did
get to experience it and know what it's like. But
I'm just not good with pain. I never wanted to
feel the pain. I was never curious, and so I
(13:28):
was like, this is not what I signed up for.
But that's birth for you.
Speaker 4 (13:31):
So what are your options at that stage? Because you're
someone who likes to be in control and likes to
be organized, and I can't think of a situation where
you are less in control than your body has gone
n to the epidural. Do you get presented with a
number of options where you get to logically go through
them and.
Speaker 1 (13:48):
Think I will do see not at that stage, And
it's ironic, I guess, because that's just the preparation for
motherhood is that you can't plan really. So at that stage,
I was just in labor and I was going through
contractions and feeling them like millions and billions of other
women have. So I'm making it sound really awful, But
at that stage I was just in labor for a
couple of hours, and then it got till about four
(14:09):
in the morning, and all these bells and noises started
to happen, and a lot of midwives came in, and
long story short, I had become feeble very quickly. So
my favorite show to over forty.
Speaker 4 (14:21):
Did that just happen during childbirth? Or was that unrelated?
Speaker 1 (14:24):
No, it was related. It was because my son was
in distress. He was stuck essentially, and again because I
still wasn't dilated enough. He'd been trying to get out
for a while, so his heart rate skyrocketed, my fever skyrocketed,
and that's when the midwives were like, Hey, we've really
got to get this baby out. We're gonna have to
do an emergency cesarian. Are you okay with that? And sure,
(14:45):
I mean, what are your options? But also for me,
very superficially, I was like, if that means the end
of contraction, it's fantastic. By this stage, it's been thirty
two hours. I haven't slept I'm pretty delirious.
Speaker 4 (14:57):
This is what you think about people who have to
labor for all those hours and then have a sea section.
It's like, why did I bother with the labor? Yeah?
Were you annoyed that you'd wasted so much time?
Speaker 1 (15:05):
I wasn't annoyed so much that if I was to
have a second child, i'd have a plan. Cesarean now,
knowing what I've been through, but you know, that's life.
So I was amazed by how quickly everything happened from
that stage. My obstetrician, who wasn't there yet because I
was nowhere near birth, just turned up. She was there
and obviously they'd called her and she lives close to
the hospital, but I just remember her walking in. She
(15:26):
was in a pe Nation tracksuit for something in the morning,
and I was like, I love your tracksuit, and she
was like, okay, yeah cool.
Speaker 4 (15:33):
So what time is this and a wee getting towards
the weekend?
Speaker 1 (15:36):
Saturday morning? Okay, it's four am Saturday morning, got it,
And so she was very calm. I loved her bedside manow,
which I think is really important in that moment, and
she just said, it's going to be great. We're going
to get your baby out. I just need you to
sign these forms and understand the risks and blah blah blah.
And I was like, sure, just can we sign it
before the next contractions. And then I was in a
private hospital where I didn't realize they don't operate, so
(15:59):
you had to be wheeled from the private hospital to
the public hospital into an operating theater instead of a
birthing suite, which was all stuff I learned at the time.
So I'm going through elevators and up and down and
riches coming with me and he's got scrubs on.
Speaker 4 (16:12):
And are you having contractions all through that time?
Speaker 1 (16:14):
Yep, I'm having contractions all through that time. And then
when I got into theater, because I had an epidural
port in my back, they could use that for the block.
So an epidural and a block is obviously quite different,
but it was great that it could be so quick
because they just use that port. And then basically you're
paralyzed from the shoulders down because they're operating. It's major surgery.
And I remember they use a bit of ice and
(16:36):
they just rub it up on in your neck and
you can feel it, and then they rub it further
down and you go, nut can't feel it anymore, so
they know that you're ready to go for surgery.
Speaker 4 (16:43):
What was that relief?
Speaker 1 (16:44):
Like, oh great, because all the pain stopped. I remember
lying on my back and I was like, am I
still even pregnant? Because I was a bit delirious and
I couldn't feel a thing, And it was incredibly quick.
I was so impressed. But everyone was so calm and nice,
and they're like, you're gonna have your baby now, and
really excited and like, I'm sure their time was a
vehescence for them, but they didn't make me feel panicked
(17:06):
in any way. And then in you go, and.
Speaker 4 (17:09):
They put a sheet up, don't they so you can't see.
Speaker 1 (17:12):
They put a sheet up, So I guess when they're
making the incisions, because they again learned later that they
cut through. I think it's either seven or nine layers,
some horror onto a bit, some a vertical, so it's
not all just across. And then what seems like two
seconds later, my beautiful obstetrician dropped the sheet and she said, okay,
I'm going to deliver your baby now. She said, look up,
(17:32):
look up, because I could use my neck and I
was like, no, no, no, no, She goes, no, I'm
going come on, sit up, you got to you gotta watch,
and out of my tummy or I guess like a
vaginal birth. They make it seem as natural, yeah, out
of commas as possible. And they lifted him out and
then she held him up and she said, tell everyone.
Speaker 5 (17:48):
What it is.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
And I was like, that's a boy.
Speaker 4 (17:52):
So how did Rich feel at this point?
Speaker 5 (17:54):
Just complete euphoria to see a child come up, and
we didn't know the sex, of course, and to see
that it was a boy. Yeah, it was just the
most beautiful and most amazing moment of our lives.
Speaker 4 (18:06):
And what's your first response seeing this thing that your
body has created over nine months? Is it absolute or
do you freak? Does it look like an alien? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (18:18):
He looked, Oh my god, I'll show you my photos
after this if anyone. He looked like a total alien.
And my husband has like a bum chin, yep, and
this little tiny baby boy just had the biggest bum chin.
And the first thing I said was his chin.
Speaker 5 (18:30):
His chin.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
And then they take them away and Rich left from
up near my head and they go and cut the
umbilical cord and then we got an extended amount of
time with him on my chest. I think they do
that to distract you while you're being sewn up.
Speaker 4 (18:43):
Were you distracted for a little bit?
Speaker 1 (18:45):
And then the baby and Rich went up to recovery
And then what I didn't realize was it takes about
forty five minutes to stitch you up. So Alexander was
born at five oh five, and I didn't go back
up to recovery to in the six of some stage,
and Rich and the baby were doing skin on skin
that whole time.
Speaker 5 (18:59):
It was, again, just the most euphoric experience, you know,
to all of a sudden have this incredible responsibility. This
child is relying on you for everything now, So yeah,
quite incredible just to be one on one gazing into
each other's eyes, and yeah, it's just a pinch me
kind of moment where you've thought about this for a
(19:20):
lot of your life and now it's real and just
the most amazing feeling in the world.
Speaker 4 (19:26):
So how was Lee going being sewn up?
Speaker 1 (19:29):
Lying there at the end. I was so delirious by
this stage, but I was looking up at like the
surgery lights stuff, and then I could see what they
were doing, and I was like, oh wait, they're stitching
my whole body backup. And the assisting obstetrician his name
was Alexander, because they said what's the baby's name? And
I was like Alexander and the guy was like, oh,
that's my name, and I was like, oh, how original.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:49):
So by that stage I was just delirious and felt
really dopey and like.
Speaker 4 (19:55):
And you've gone through an ordeal over days at this
point when you see that baby on your chest that
looks a little bit like an alien Like they're very cute, but.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
They're also like the terrifying.
Speaker 4 (20:08):
Is it instant love or is it like what is
that thing? For me?
Speaker 1 (20:12):
It was just shock, I think from everything I'd been through.
I mean, obviously I loved him, but I didn't like
have this rush and gush of.
Speaker 4 (20:19):
Like I think it's important to normalize because a lot
of women are made to expect that it's going to
be this, oh my god, I die for you, which
of course that's an element of it, but you've also
never seen anything.
Speaker 1 (20:28):
It's like a wtf just happened? Because it's interesting. We
I host a podcast called This Lorismuth Little Kids for
parents that have young children, and then We had an
expert on recently who said childbirth and having a newborn
is like having a major car accident and then starting
a new job as a brain surgeon the next day.
And it's like, it's so true, true. When you wheeled
(20:51):
up to recovery, I guess I thought you would order
to have this time with your baby, and you do.
But within the first fifteen minutes I had a midwife
coming in milking my breasts for colostrum. So it's not
like you have this really beautiful moment alone. I guess
maybe you do with a natural birth, but with emergency cesarium.
I had already been away from him for an hour
or so, so I guess they needed the colostrum quickly.
Speaker 4 (21:12):
I'm not sure that you just want to go to sleep. Yeah, yeah, oh.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
I was pretty high on everything that morning, but by
lunchtime I just crashed and they were like, you need
to keep trying to feed, and I was like, take
him away. I want to everyone leave me alone.
Speaker 4 (21:26):
Importantly, how were the photos, Because you'd blow dried your hair,
but you've been through an ordeal when the photo gets
taken and you like take it again from a different angle.
Speaker 1 (21:36):
No, God, no, you don't care by that stage. I
mean again, I take my hat off to all the
nurses and midwives because they take your phone and I
have the most incredible photos of him being pulled out
and Rich and I from in the suite. They use
portrait mode. They dead set look like I had a
professional photographer. I mean, they're gruesome and horrific, and I've
got nipples the size of dinner plates. And it's all
not social media, you know, appropriate, But it's such incredible
(21:58):
stuff to have. But no, I don't even know why
I did my hair at fake tan because I'd had
that many bars and showers the day before to help
with the pain. And obviously none of that matters. But
when you've never had a baby before, you think it does,
and then it's a big old mess.
Speaker 4 (22:13):
And I think with C sections people can imagine that. Okay,
so they do a little, this tiny little incision, then
the baby comes out and then you're just like good
to go. I've heard that's not the case that the
recovery is. I think I've heard you say we're talking
twelve months to be back to what you were. Yes,
what do people not prepare you for when it comes
(22:34):
to C section recovery.
Speaker 1 (22:35):
Look for me, I just hadn't even considered it as
an option because I thought I was being induced for
a vaginal birth. I didn't even look into it, to
be honest. So, and there's a big difference between a
plant cesarian and an emergency cesarian because emergency they're just
getting in there and getting the baby out to save
people's lives. So the first day for me, anyway, you
can't walk, so you have a machine, like a compression
(22:56):
machine on your legs to keep your blood flowing so
that you don't get any blood clots or anything.
Speaker 4 (23:00):
So you still have the catheter thing in right.
Speaker 1 (23:01):
Now, You still have the catheter, so you can eat
and drink as normal, although you don't do a poof
for quite a few days, and that in itself is
its own event.
Speaker 4 (23:08):
And how about because aren't you bleeding? What do they
do about the bleeding?
Speaker 1 (23:11):
You just don't have anything on down the bottom, and
your midwife comes and changes your pad slash nappy because interestingly,
I didn't think you'd bleed much having a cesarean, because
I thought they took it all out the sunroof. But
you still have quite a lot of gunk and blood
that comes out of your vagina obviously, so they just
rip the blanket back and change your pad, and you've
got several maternity pads on. But by then you don't care.
(23:32):
You've got people milking your boobs. You're basically just splayed
in a like on a bed, just going whatever, touch
what you want, just take it. Just help me.
Speaker 4 (23:41):
How are you, like abdominal's feeling, because if you're trying
to sit up, you're trying to get out of bed, like,
is the wound hurting or is it also the muscles
underneath all of it?
Speaker 1 (23:51):
For me? So I could get up the next day.
So Sunday morning, I got up to have my first
shower and midwife helps you. You've had major, major surgery.
They've cut through your whole course, so you can't sit
up the way you think you can. You have to
use that pully hand thing because you have to use
your hands and your legs because your care is just
not intact. It's all stitched together. They're so used to
it they help you. I guess it's they have skills
(24:12):
to help someone that's had surgery isn't as well as
childbirth and you're on great drugs. Really good drugs in
the hospital, so it wasn't as bad when I got
home and I was so you know, preoccupied with keeping
this baby alive and you forget to take your drugs.
That's when you're like, oh, wow, I've had major surgery.
But the physio comes around at the hospital and teaches
you how to pivot and sit because you can't use
(24:32):
your core, So it's all very well managed for me.
Probably the worst part was getting my stitches out the
day I left, because I had a new nurse and
it was her first turn to remove my stitution.
Speaker 4 (24:44):
How did she tell you that?
Speaker 3 (24:45):
That's not a.
Speaker 4 (24:46):
Detail yet it was pretty horrific, as in, it really
hurt because wouldn't they do it some kind of anesthetic.
Speaker 1 (24:51):
No, no, no, no, no, they just pluck them out.
Speaker 4 (24:53):
I don't like that.
Speaker 1 (24:54):
Yeah, And also I'm surprised how low you're Cesaian. It's
like right in your vagina, like crease, like you know
where you fold when you sit. Yes, it's right in
my fold. So it's really nice. Little like if I
were a bikini, you can't see anything. So I'm really
pleased with that.
Speaker 4 (25:08):
And how did the healing go? Like, how are you
feeling two weeks, after four weeks, after eight weeks.
Speaker 1 (25:12):
Off, our apartment didn't have a lift of heaps of
flights of stairs, so I really struggled with that because
stepping up and down again you use a lot of
your core for so much that you don't realize. So
the first few weeks were pretty bad. It's a common
misconception you can't drive for six weeks, as long as
you can turn to check your blind spot, which my
obstrition checked. I could drive after like ten days, which
(25:33):
was fine, and then recovery was pretty slow. I must
say I didn't help myself. I didn't do all the
things they told me to because I just was thinking
about the baby.
Speaker 4 (25:39):
What do they tell you to do like exercises?
Speaker 1 (25:42):
No, they tell you to not do things, But of
course I was doing everything. It's so hard to rest.
People tell you to rest, but new mums are often martyrs,
and you know, people come over to see the baby,
but you're making tea and cutting up cake and don't
do that new mums.
Speaker 4 (25:55):
And picking up Can you pick up the baby?
Speaker 1 (25:58):
You can pick up the baby, they're so little. Yeah,
you've got to be really careful and if you do
have help it's important to call on that help.
Speaker 4 (26:05):
And I've never had a baby, but I would like
to one day for someone like me, What would be
your one piece of advice or the one thing that
you could tell me to prepare for this thing that
sounds bloody, terrifying and all so beautiful, but so many
women have been through it, and.
Speaker 1 (26:23):
I'm just like, such a rite of passage, isn't it?
But it's so terrifying. I would just explore all options because,
as we said before, I'm such a planner. I was like,
I'm being induced toff a vaginal birth, and every step
of that process I had explored mentally and emotionally, but
I hadn't thought what if it happens to cinesaia. You
know what if this happens because I was so sure
that I knew what was happening, So just consider all options.
(26:45):
It might end up like this, It might end up
like that. I don't regret anything. A lot of people say, oh,
you know what a traumatic birth, and I'm like, no way.
I got my son and it's such a cool story.
And I got to feel labor and then I got
to have a cesarean Like I basically had a bit
of everything in one go, and I don't regret any
of it. It's really cool and like it's really special.
Speaker 4 (27:04):
It's a great story too.
Speaker 1 (27:07):
I think the nurses there are like, Wow, who's this
chick that came on with blow dried hair? Surely I'm
not the first one, but then the way I left,
they were like, there she is.
Speaker 4 (27:14):
The Kardashians did it like, I'm a beauty.
Speaker 1 (27:18):
Editors my job, but yeah, I left looking very disheveled
and have been that way since. That's mother would.
Speaker 3 (27:25):
Thank you for listening to Diary of a Birth. If
you like our show, don't forget to subscribe and write
see you next week.
Speaker 2 (27:32):
Bye.
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