SQUIRT IS HERE!!!!!

We are so pleased to announce that Squirt has arrived! He did make an early appearance just like I predicted! He arrived on April 2nd, 9:40pm weighing 7lb 9oz, 50cm in length....and for all those people who don't follow me on facebook, I'm sure you would like to know what his name is; this little man is called Bennett and here he is all brand new:

Bennett aka Squirt!

So of course this blog is all about his entrance into this world so what's needed!?.....ahhhh that would be a good birth story cause I'm sure you all are wanting to know every nitty gritty detail about what happened on that night! So here it goes!

38 weeks 4 days

10:30am

Me and Hunter wake up from a late sleep in, we have a few cuddles and giggles in bed and like usual I'm needing a toilet trip, so I waddle over to the en-suite and notice I'm feeling a bit gooey down there so I grab some toilet paper and wipe and I notice some of my mucus plug is coming out in bits and pieces. Hunter being the typical toddler is standing in front of me while I'm on the toilet and I say to him "this is going to be an interesting day!". I've also noticed I'm feeling a bit crampy (like light period pain) so I'm getting a bit suspicious that things have started but I say to Squirt that I have a very busy day so he's not allowed to come today.

12:30pm

Sara arrives at my house as we have my pre-op appointment at Greenlane hospital for the elective c-section which is supposed to be happening on Friday (3 more days). We load my boy Hunter into the car and then head out to pick Holly up early from kindy and then drop them both off at Lance's mum's place (Sara's mum-in-law), we then head out to the hospital for the appointment.

2pm

We both need to go toilet so we rush into the toilets before the appointment and once I'm in the stall I notice my bloody show has happened with more of my mucus plug coming out and once I go to the toilet I notice the cramping is starting to get stronger....we walk out into the corridor and I say to Sara "omg Sara! my bloody show just happened", her head whips around at the speed of light and says "whaaaaaaat! oh my gosh oh my gosh do you think we should ring Dereck!? (our obstetrician)" to which I reply "pfffft no no labour could still be days away and by that time I'll be having the c-section..."

2:45pm

Our appointment is over and done with and I've been given all the forms and times for arrival and surgery times etc for Friday, I text hubby and tell him about my bloody show and the cramping and he texts back saying that I'll probably have a baby tonight, he's having a good laugh about it.
We then head over to the cafe since the appointment went faster than what we thought and we get some lunch and coffee's. We are tossing up whether to call Dereck or not and we make the decision to head back to my place before picking the kids up and just let him know what's going on as there is no harm in filling him in.

3:30pm

Cramps are actually turning into contractions that are ranging from 2 - 6 minutes apart, we arrive back at my place and before calling Dereck I go to the toilet.....holy shitballs there is a huge brown mucus plug in my undies, I instantly nickname him 'Mr Slug'. I shout out to Sara "ummmmm oh my gosh there is a huge slug in my undies!", I show her and her eyes bulge out of their sockets, I then ring Dereck and I tell him all about my bloody show, the giant slug and the contractions, and he immediately says "women's assessment unit it is for you, I'll meet you there". I say to Sara "lets go get the kids sorted and pick up your hospital stuff cause you're probably having a baby tonight!"

6pm

We arrive at Auckland Hospital, the husbands are also just arriving and I'm hooked up to the CTG machine which is showing some obvious contractions.
7pm

Dereck arrives, takes one look at the CTG readings and says "yup you're in labour, you're having a baby tonight, say at around 8pm"....Sara goes into instant panic mode and I'm barking orders at her to ring Dianne and Murray (Lance's parents) and ring the husbands, because they had popped out to get some dinner. Everyone is on hyper speed mode but we soon get told we have been bumped down a place in theatre as an emergency c-section comes in (funnily enough we later learn that it was a friend of ours having her twins!! small world aye!), we are relieved as it actually gives us some time to let it sink in that we are about to have a baby!
My contractions are getting stronger and I'm silently cringing which each one and before I know it the surgical team is coming up to get us!! eeeek this is getting super real now!!!!!

8pm'ish

I'm wheeled down the corridors and I have a tribe of people rushing behind me keeping up with the bed, we reach the surgical area doors and then it's just me and Sara who then go beyond those doors, everyone else is to wait.....
Sara is then taken away to get dressed in her sexy scrubs and the final paperwork is signed for my surgery and I have a final talk with the anaesthetist and we are then taken through to theatre and I'm then prepped for surgery, my spinal block goes in and before long my bottom half is going numb, they help me lie down on the table, other bits and pieces are done and regardless of being through this before and the "ice test" they do to test if the block has worked I start getting nervous that I'm going to feel the knife slice me open as I can still feel fingertips pressing down on my stomach, the anaesthetist assures me it's ok, I will feel "pressure" but won't feel the pain and he says they do not test with knives to which I have a giggle over. To make me feel better and to reassure me Dereck then asks if I felt the pincher's on my belly and I say "oh! no I didn't feel a thing!" so I then give him the all clear to go ahead, next thing I hear is Dereck saying oh so calmly "cut" and it's all underway....
Sara is sitting next to me, she's recording on a little camcorder and we're just chatting away while Dereck is working his magic, eventually all of these hands are all over me and my stomach and rib area is getting yanked and pulled and pushed and I'm thinking blimin heck my tummy is morphing into a giant vagina and it's getting manhandled like crazy!!! Then suddenly someone says "the baby is coming now!", Sara stands up to watch her son coming into the world and all of a sudden I feel a huge pressure being released and this baby is pulled free and all I hear is "waaaaaaaa waaaaaaaaaaaaa waaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!" He's absolutely protesting about all of this but it's music to our ears and Sara is overcome with emotion and bursts into tears, she looks at me and says "I'm crying!" with tears rolling down her face and I start laughing saying "really! I hadn't noticed", we have a giggle over that and they then bring Squirt around the screen so I can see him and here is this perfect purple gooey baby crying away....besides my own son being born this was the most beautiful sight I have seen.
Sara gets to go over to the little baby table where his stats are being done, his apgar score is 9 at 1 minute, (excellent!) and Sara also gets to cut the remainder of the cord. She then brings him back over to where I am and sits next to me having skin to skin while I get stitched up.
I keep looking at Sara and all I see is love and pure happiness on her face and it's the most rewarding feeling ever. I have given my sister the most precious gift on this earth!
10:30'ish pm

Sara leaves the theatre to go into the recovery room with Squirt and I'm only a few minutes behind her, I'm wheeled out and I look over and see Sara and Lance. Lance is craddling Squirt in his arms having his first cuddle and he's looking down on his son and he is just fully absorbed into him, he is so in love! I'm wheeled in next to them and I just lay there looking at Sara and Lance and feel so honoured I get to witness this very intimate moment in their lives, Lance keeps looking at Sara and you can see he is falling in love with Sara all over again, it just melts my heart and reminds me of the first moments me and Terry had while meeting our son for the first time, I must've fallen in love with my husband 50 times over again that day!
The birth of your babies is the most magical day you will ever experience, there is nothing that can prepare you for it and it will give you a lifetime of memories!

Holly meeting her baby brother for the first time.

It's hard to believe that this journey is now at it's end, it's been such an adventure, such a unique experience. I would like to take a few minutes to thank everyone who offered so much love and support through this journey, a huge thank you to my best friend Sarah who shared every moment of this journey, who literally knew within minutes of that first pregnancy test and who kept her phone on her in those late hours of Bennett's arrival just to know everything was ok and who text and rung me all throughout the days I was in hospital, she makes sure to boss me around making sure I am resting and recovering and provides me with so many laughs. 

A huge thank you to my sis-in-law Sandy, I don't need to go into detail as to why I am thanking you, you know already ;)
Thank you to Lance's family who in turn became my family throughout this journey, we will always share such a special connection and I have never known such a beautiful, caring, loving family.
Of course thank you to my family, family should always be a clan who you can always turn to and put trust into and my family always offered this.
The biggest thank you needs to go to my husband, without you this beautiful baby boy would not be here, it was your "permission" that made this all happen. You are a selfless supportive man who is one in a million, there are not many men on this earth that would allow their wives to have a baby with another man and have a smile on his face all the way through the 9 months, you cooked and cleaned, vacuumed and scrubbed, you took care of our son and still worked 6 days a week. You are a legend, my one and only and I will always be grateful for all you sacrificed.

My bond with my sister was already tremendous before all of this happened but now there are no words to describe the relationship we share with each other. We will forever have each other's backs in life. Nothing is impossible. Where there is great love, there are always miracles.