It seems a lifetime ago now (it was I suppose) but so many people have been asking me to tell the story of how I arrived that I thought I'd throw in an extra blog just to complete the picture...
It was 1st March. I remember the date because it was the day after 29th February and apparently they don't come round too often. I was tucked up in Mummy's womb listening to Daddy trying to get Mummy to propose... apparently it's OK for the girls to ask once every four years. Mum stuck to her guns though and refused to pop the question so I resigned myself to the fact that I'd be born out of wedlock. I had no idea that it would be so soon though.
Poor Charlie had something call Chicken Pox which had kept him off school so mum had been off work for a few days taking care of him. He was just coming to the end of it so wasn't in too bad shape.
Mummy's friend Katrina came round for a coffee in the morning (and a hot cross bun!). She stayed for an hour or so and then after she left Mummy and Charlie were going to take a walk to the shop. I knew there was something wrong before Mummy did. It was like being in a bath and someone pulling out the plug. Just as Mummy opened the front door she felt a funny, warm sensation down her leg. I knew where it was coming from. Mummy tried to remain calm but after a few minutes, with no sign of it stopping, she phoned Warwick hospital for some advice. They told Mummy to get to the hospital as soon as possible. I agreed!
But what to do with Charlie? Mummy phoned her friend Kate who works from home to see if she could come and sit with Charlie. Kate didn't answer but called back to see who had called her. As soon as Mummy told her that her waters had broken she was round to the house in a flash. She banned Mummy from driving herself to the hospital and insisted on taking her. Luckily, Lynda the cleaner was at the house so Kate drove Mummy to hospital and Lynda stayed a bit longer than usual and doubled up as Charlie's entertainer for an hour.
In the meantime, Mummy had telephoned Daddy and Grandma to let them know what was going on. Daddy was working at Kuoni head office in Dorking. He was in a meeting when Mummy phoned him so he ignored her call! When mummy called straight back he figured there might be something wrong so this time he answered. Mummy thought she was sounding calm but later feedback suggested otherwise. Good news though, Daddy was on his way!
Mummy asked Grandma if she could come down from Yorkshire to look after Charlie just in case anything happened. Grandma's first job was to locate Grandad who was out working on a gardening job somewhere near Selby!
Kate drove me and Mummy to Warwick hospital and went with us to the labour ward. She was so calm, Mummy was in good hands! Kate stayed with Mummy for half an hour and then went to get Charlie who then had tea at Thomas' house and had a great afternoon playing with Thomas and his little brother William.
In the meantime, Mummy was given a check over at the hospital and told that everything looked fine. From my position it was clear that everything wasn't fine and I knew that my time in the cosy womb was nearly up... I just had to find my way out! Even so, I heard them tell Mummy that her cervix was still closed (I'd soon fix that!) and that she would have to stay in hospital for 48 hours to be monitored. She also had to have a scan the next day to see to what extent her waters had broken.
None of this was going down well with Mummy - 48 hours in hospital! What a pain!
Shortly after Mummy had been checked over, Daddy turned up. He'd gunned it round the M25 and up the M40 (obviously staying well within the national speed limits!) It was good to hear Daddy's voice and good to know that he'd made it in time. I knew what was coming next and Mummy was going to need Daddy by her side if my plan worked!
Mummy and Daddy chatted for a bit and came up with a list of names for me, in the event that I was going to turn up early. Now Mummy and Daddy are not very good on agreeing names. My poor brother Charlie wasn't named at all until a week after he was born even though on that occasion they had a full nine months to make up their minds! Anyway, the naming process involved each of them coming up with a name for each letter of the alphabet. You wouldn't believe some of the names that made the shortlist...
While they were having this conversation I was desperately trying to let them know that time was up. I was kicking for an exit but apart from Mummy telling Daddy that I felt 'a bit low down', I wasn't getting my message over. To make matters worse, at this point Mummy sent Daddy off to get her a newspaper and some magazines to keep her occupied during her stay in hospital. It suddenly looked as though I was going to have make my move without Dad around!
There's no nice way of saying this, so here goes.... Whilst Daddy was away buying newspapers, Mummy went to the toilet. It was at this point that my hard work began to pay off and she sensed that not everything was quite as it should be. Let's just say Mummy had a bit of a rummage and felt something strange. Little did she know at that point but I'd finally made a break through. Literally. The 'strange something' she could feel was my left foot! And now that I was through I wasn't planning on hanging around!
Mummy got back to her bed and rang for a nurse. She told the nurse that she thought I might be coming out but the nurse took a quick look and couldn't see anything. At this point Daddy turned back up just as Mummy was telling the nurse to have a closer look. Daddy said later that the moment the nurse saw my foot, her face changed to panic in an instant and she nearly knocked him over trying to get to the big red button at the top of the bed! Finally I'd managed to get my point across... I was coming out and nothing was going to stop me!
In a flash Mummy was swarmed all over by nurses, doctors and anyone else who could get in on the act. Mummy was wheeled into a delivery room. I wasn't wasting this time... between the button being pushed and arriving in the delivery room I'd managed to wiggle my right foot out and anyone who cared to take a look (which my dad did) could see my knees beginning to appear!
Daddy counted a total of 16 staff in the room at this point and realised that we were dealing with some serious shit. Mummy was also in a bit of a flap now. Surely her baby wasn't arriving yet? She wouldn't be cooked enough! Mummy was scared and Daddy was heading in the scared direction.
One of the nurses rigged Mummy up to a monitor and they found my heartbeat. This made Mummy feel a little bit better but she was still very nervous. Daddy was relatively calm and telling Mummy not to worry.
Mummy wasn't having any contractions or anything, it was all a bit weird. The doctors explained that they were going to deliver me right away (or at least as soon as the Senior Consultant and Head Midwife arrived). An incubator was brought into the delivery room along with enough medical kit to open a small field hospital. A nice Doctor was explaining to Mummy and Daddy that when I came out I would need a lot of attention and then, worse still I would have to be taken immediately by a special ambulance to another hospital because Warwick wasn't equipped to look after me.
The doctors didn't know at this point where I would end up, it was a question of which hospital had space for me.
I was desperate to get out but someone was going to have to grab my legs and pull. I'd managed to wriggle as far as my waist but I was going to need some help with my head! At this point the Senior Consultant arrived. He was about 75 with swept back long grey hair. He was carrying the Telegraph under one arm and wearing a Cotswold tweed check shirt. He looked for all the world like he was on his way to a horse auction!
Then another man arrived in the room. This one was dressed top to toe in tight Lycra cycling gear with a bunch of keys on a bunny rabbit keyring attached to his belt. Daddy asked him if he was the entertainer... and was ignored! Without anyone saying another word the cyclist got down to the sharp end, grabbed my legs (which were now turning blue!) and started to pull! Turns out he was the Senior Midwife! He'd just cycled home when his bleeper went off so he came straight back!
Mummy was told to push, even though she had no inclination to do so, and after two pushes and a couple of 'aargghs' from Mum (in quite a loud voice by the way!) I was pulled out, popped into a plastic bag, messed about with, connected to tubes and wires, and put in an incubator.
I was out! If I had known then what I know now, maybe I would have waited a bit longer but at the time I was just happy to be here. Poor Mummy was out of action for a bit - she still had a placenta to get rid of - but Daddy came over to see me. He'd been really good up to this point but he took one look at me and started crying. I would soon learn that this was to become the standard response to meeting me for the first time!
I was weighed and thankfully it was good news. I was a bit of a porker for my age coming in at just over a kilo. Mum and Dad were told that this would help me in my next hours, days and weeks.
Mum and Dad were then told that I would be moved to Walsgrave hospital in Coventry. This was good news as it was the closest hospital to them with a neonatal unit.
And that's where I am! Mum and Dad were given one last look at me in the middle of my life support unit. I must have looked so tiny and out of place in the middle of all that machinery! I didn't like saying goodbye to them. I sort of knew even then that the next few weeks were going to be tough and I wanted them close!
Mum had a cry when she said goodbye and I heard Dad say that it would help if they sent me off with a name. 'Poppy' said Mum without hesitation. 'Lola' said Dad.
'Popy Lola' they both said to the Doctors, and so my name was written on the card and attached to the incubator.
Poppy Lola - 1st March 2012
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