After three years of infertility, we were finally expecting a little girl. Excited was an understatement!
I was due May 9th, and that day came and went. I tried everything but castor oil trying to help her get here, but nothing worked. Everyone kept saying she'll get here when she's ready. I was so sick of hearing that after many years I was just so ready to meet our daughter.
I was 41 weeks + 1 day and set to be induced at 1.30 pm but at 1.30 am, I woke up so uncomfortable and unable to sleep. I had so much to look forward to and my morning planned, but our baby had other plans. After 30 minutes of back pain, and thought, what are the odds I was having contractions? But without a doubt, I had woken up to contractions lasting 1 minute every 5 minutes. I gave it till 3 am to be sure, and I woke up my husband, he was surprised, we laughed. He jumped into action to be as supportive as I needed and got us ready.
I phoned the hospital at 3.30 am and was told to try to take some Panadol for pain relief. Since it's my first baby, the aim was to try and labour at home as much as possible. Soon after, I threw up the Panadol.
I barely got to 4.30 am when my husband called back to tell them I couldn't stay home any more. We were told to come in for assessment. At 5 am I get told I'm 4cm dilated. They moved me to the delivery room.
I told the midwife I knew I wanted the epidural as soon as possible. I don't have a high pain tolerance. Everything hurt, and the back labour was so painful. It's 5.15 am, and the midwife explains that due to the impending shift change over at 6 am, the current anesthesiologist didn't want to stay back to do my epidural, and I would have to wait until 6. 
I was scared that I would progress too quickly and would miss getting my pain relief because it was 7.30 am by the time he got to me. I was so relieved once we were done, but he left, and we realised there was a problem. The epidural only worked on my left side! My husband was not allowed to stop rubbing out my right back/hip. The midwife turned up the epidural and put me on my side in the hopes that gravity could have the medicine get to my right side- it did not work. They did the ice test and were confused that this had happened. By now, I was still in pain all down half the side of my body.
The anesthesiologist was called back and finally got back to me at 11.30 am. Forty-five minutes of attempts later, they had eventually replaced it, and I could feel the relief so quickly after he was gone. I definitely wasn't expecting to feel as much relief as I did, but I had so many doses by now I couldn't feel anything!
I wish I knew now the problem that would cause me because before I knew it was 2 pm and I'm being told it's time to push! I couldn't believe it, I was told to push with each contraction, but I couldn't feel them at all.
My husband and midwives had to look at the monitors and tell me when to push. After an hour, I was making really slow progress. I couldn't feel my body or muscles; I couldn't feel my daughter. The epidural was working too well, and now it's 3.15 pm, and I'm informed my baby's in distress and needs to come out now. So I was advised I need to have an assisted delivery, the room became full of doctors and nurses, and I was given an episiotomy with forceps.
I was gutted but was okay with what needed to be done to get her here safely.
After 14 hours of labour at 3.36 pm, my beautiful baby girl Hunter Rose was born healthy and 3.65kgs. 
I was bleeding too much that they were ready and almost had to take me away to surgery, but they got that under control. Then frustratingly, the epidural finally started to wear off as they were doing my stitches. I had to be given a local anaesthetic so they could finish and top it off. They couldn't locate a gauze when they were cleaning up, and it was mistakenly still left in me.
Fortunately it was caught very early but could've gone badly, and three weeks later, I was back and hospitalised for mastitis.
My daughter's birth was not ideal, I didn't really have a birth plan other than whatever was needed for her to be here safely, but next time I know what I don't want and will ensure I'm more educated.
