The Arrival of Sulaiman

At 5pm, on Sunday 12th February, I got my first contraction. Painful but bearable. By 10pm they were coming on strong every 10 minutes. I waited it out at home for as long as possible. By 1.15am contractions were 5 minutes apart for over 2 hours and oh-so-bloody painful.

I made the mistake of going to the hospital too early when I was in labour with Ayub, and ended up confined to a hospital bed for 12 freakin hours before he arrived. No way was I doing that again. So I thought, 5 minutes apart, over the span of 2 hours. I must be at least 7cm dilated by now. AT LEAST.

Hisham and I drove to the hospital. Oh, the pain. Lay down on the bed to be checked by the doctor. And… 5cm. 5CM! WHAT?! I couldn’t believe it. Doc burst my water bag, and then came the most excruciating 45  minutes of my life. The pain was unbearable. Never before. My whole body shook. The contractions came over and over and overlapped. It sucked. But I reached 10cm just like that (finger snap).

I pushed. His head got stuck halfway. He turned blue. I pushed. And pushed. And pushed. Out came the head. Everyone told me to stop. His umbilical cord was around his neck. The head nurse screamed. Nurses ran in. Lots of them. They shoved my legs to my chest. And I pushed. And he was born.