(New) Life Begins at 40: Month Nine

As exciting as it was to finally reach the last month of pregnancy, I could barely stay awake. I napped voraciously, waking briefly to eat, exercise and moan about my size.

Finishing work was a bittersweet affair. The relief I felt at finally being able to relax was tempered by a sense of my whole life changing. My daily routine of writing articles, sending amusing emails and enjoying office gossip was about to switch for – what? After nine months, I still couldn’t believe I was pregnant, and I had no idea what was in store post-birth.

Three weeks of binge-watching Curb Your Enthusiasm later, I went into early labour for three days, with my contractions switching on and off like an annoying tap. We popped into our friendly local kosher fast food emporium on day three, where I announced that I was in labour. The owner gave me some free coleslaw, making all of the pain worthwhile.

On day four, I was induced. Having been told how painful inductions are, and how long they take, I was prepared for an agonising long haul.

Well, this is perhaps the most important thing I’m going to write – my birth experience was really positive. If you’re pregnant and reading this, yours can be too. Ignore the horror stories. Think of childbirth as a happy challenge. I delivered at UCLH and the staff there are amazing, as were my doula Juliette and hubby S.

I was induced at 10am and by 6pm I was yelling in pain and getting on close personal terms with my new best friends gas and air. It turns out that I had dilated by six cm in two hours, taking the midwives, Juliette and S by surprise. I was rushed to a delivery room, yelling that I wanted to push. It was handy that I didn’t want an epidural, as there wasn’t time for one. Nearly two hours of pushing later, surrounded by cheerleaders, it happened. I gave birth. I was no longer pregnant. In an instant, I had become a mum.

I’m still getting my head around my new status.

S and I finally have a beautiful, strong little daughter. I’m watching her on the baby monitor as I type this. What’s life with her like? That’s for another blog…