A flood of hopes and dreams spring from the busiest 24 hours in Middlemore Hospital's maternity ward, reports ALAN PERROTT.
It's even money whether it was trick or treat to have given birth at Middlemore Hospital on Hallowe'en.
In the hectic hours between 7 am on October 31 and 7 am
on November 1, 32 New Zealanders took their first breath.
That's a baby every 45 minutes, a 24-hour record for Middlemore Hospital and the first time it cracked 30.
The Herald spoke to 10 of the mothers who played the leading roles on the night. The remaining mothers could not be contacted or wanted to keep their experience private.
The hospital staff who supported them are also glowing, and will hold a small celebration next week.
Marion Heeney, Middlemore's general manager of women's health, is proud of how her staff handled the workload.
"Everything went really well. They were busy and working hard, but it went pretty systematically."
Staff midwife Lyn Pryor was on duty from 11 pm to 7 am and performed or assisted with 4 deliveries.
She puts a lot of the credit down to the presence of two experienced charge midwives, who directed the heavy traffic with aplomb.
"That helped immensely and made the night seem that much easier.
"But it was an adrenaline rush. We just got in and did what we had to do."
Middlemore Hospital's maternity unit has 12 delivery rooms, more than enough for the average daily arrival of 15 babies.
But that was not enough for this mini baby boom. After some nifty adjustments, the mother and baby care unit became an ad hoc delivery suite.
A midwife in the delivery area said: "It's like an airport - they come and go, either home or to outlying hospitals."
The stars: twins, a boy born at 5.34 pm and weighing 7lb 4 oz, and a girl born at 5.47 pm and weighing 6lb 8oz, on October 31. "We haven't got names yet, we've been too busy to think."
Proud parents: Natasha Graham, 29, a full-time mum (again), and Karl Corrin, 29, a car parts salesman, from Papakura.
Time in labour: induced at 9 am. Others present: husband.
Pain relief: "I had the works because I had to. I'd only had gas before."
Other children: three boys, Storm, 8, Jacob, 4, and Caleb, 3. "I was shooting for a girl this time."
Dreams for twins' future: "I just want them to be happy, successful maybe."
Advice for new mums: "Don't do it, but if you do, don't have twins. One is OK."
How was the birth?: "We came back from Australia because I didn't want to have the babies there, then got stuck in the rush of all those mums. Usually you get to relax for a little while, but it was give birth, shower, then straight up to the ward. I got sent to the ward at Botany Downs and that was full too."
The star: Stefan Windbuchler, a 7lb 14oz boy, born at 12.10 am on November 1.
Proud parents: Pani Windbuchler, 25, a full-time mum, and Brook Windbuchler, 24, an aluminium windows installer, of Clendon.
Time in labour: 4 hours.
Others present: husband. Previous children: Leon, 7, and Tiana, 1.
Dreams for baby's future: "Considering how the world is, the main thing is to be safe and healthy."
Advice for new mums: "Get an independent midwife, otherwise you might get stuck in the queue."
How was the birth? "It all happened so fast I didn't get to call my mum to come and watch. And all the time there were mums pacing up and down the corridor waiting for beds, I just wanted to get out of there. I've booked my husband in for a vasectomy, I'll tell him when he gets home from work."
The star: Alexis Ngatai Coleman, a 7lb 10oz girl, born at 10.45 pm on October 31.
Proud parents: Kelly Ngatai, 17, a fulltime mum and Shannon Coleman, 18, a fibre optic cable technician, of Mt Wellington.
Time in labour: 3 hours.
Others present: partner, mum, mum-in-law, three sisters and one niece.
Pain relief: gas and pethidine. Previous children: Kalis, 13 months.
Dreams for child's future: "I don't know, but I'd like her to be a lawyer or a doctor. I just hope she is happy with whatever she does."
Advice for new mums: "Take any pain relief they offer you, there's nothing like the pain of giving birth."
How was the birth? "It was a full house, they were just pushing them through and there were three babies born while I was in labour. Lots of screaming babies and screaming mums, so I didn't stay for long."
The star: Nathan Matthew Purdie, a 7lb 6oz boy, born at 6.06 pm on October 31.
Proud parents: Deanne Purdie, 32, a fulltime mum and Geoff Purdie, 31, a retail manager, of Papatoetoe.
Time in labour: 3 1/2 hours.
Others present: husband.
Pain relief: gas.
Previous children: Christopher, 4.
Dreams for baby's future: "At the end of the day I just hope that he has a loving family and a roof over his head. If he turns out to be another Tiger Woods, that would be a bonus."
Advice for new mums: "Accept help if people offer it and go with your instincts."
How was the birth? "It was fantastic. The staff were excellent and very helpful. I don't know if it was chaotic outside our door, but we were fine."
The stars: Fionna Lynn, a 6lb girl born at 3.30 pm, and Mufarani, a 7lb boy born at 3.32 pm, on October 31.
Proud parents: Salati Savaiinaea, 35, a full-time mum, and Vaovasatoa Savaiinaea, 30, unemployed, of Papatoetoe.
Time in labour: none - it was a caesarean.
Others present: husband.
Pain relief: epidural.
Other children: none.
Dreams for twins' future: "After watching the news on television, I just want them to be great kids who get along well, grow well and are healthy."
Advice for new mums: "A caesarean looks a lot easier."
How was the birth? "I saw some women arrive who just gave birth straight away, but I was happy having a caesarean birth. I was shocked when I found out I was having twins, but now I'm very happy with them."
The star: Isabel Apera, an 8lb 8oz girl, born at 7.04 am on November 1.
Proud parents: Catherina Apera, 20, a full-time mum, and Junior Tepako, 23, a student, of Papakura.
Time in labour: 3 hours.
Others present: midwife. "It would have been good to have the father there, but he fell asleep."
Pain relief: gas.
Other children: Deon, 2, and Terry, 1.
Dreams for baby's future: "I want her to stay in school, hopefully get a good education and then get a good job."
Advice for new mums: "Don't have too many kids - one is enough for anyone."
How was the birth? "The place was swamped. It wasn't a lot of fun, there were screaming mums either side of me."
The star: Ethan Shanly, a 7lb 5oz boy, born at 3.06 am on November 1.
Proud parents: Selina Shanly, 23, a full-time mum, and Nathan Shanly, 28, a civil engineer, of Half Moon Bay.
Time in labour: 6 hours.
Others present: husband and mum.
Pain relief: none. "I thought it was a false alarm and left it too late to get medication."
Other children: Skye, 2.
Dreams for baby's future: "If he follows his father's interests he'll probably get into cars and engines."
Advice for new mums: "Don't leave it too late to get pain relief."
How was the birth? "They were so busy, they had mothers delivering in the mother and baby care unit and were shipping everyone out as quick and as best they could. Seeing it was our second, they left us to deal with the worst of the contractions, but came quickly when he started to arrive."
The star: Jack Sutcliffe, an 8lb 15oz boy, born at 12.30 am on November 1.
Proud parents: Suzanne Sutcliffe, 31, a full-time mum, and David Sutcliffe, 35, an underwriter, of Waiuku.
Time in labour: 2 hours.
Others present: sister.
Pain relief: pethidine.
Other children: James, 3.
Dreams for baby's future: "David wants a legbreak bowler, but I think the best thing is to just have a future, given everything that's going on."
Advice for new mums: "Sleep and rest and be nice to your husband. Remember, it's their baby, too."
How was the birth? "It was an experience. They were full so I had to give birth in mother and baby unit, a beautiful room with carpet - not the ideal thing to walk on with all the fluid involved. I'd have liked an epidural, but the room wasn't set up for that."
The star: Deven-Raeanne Dawson Wilson, a 7lb 3oz girl, born at 6.34 am on November 1.
Proud parents: Rochelle Wilson, 26, who runs her own business, and Tony Dawson, 31, a salesman, of Papakura.
Time in labour: 13 hours.
Others present: husband, sister-in-law, mum and dad, and sister.
Pain relief: epidural after 10 hours.
Other children: none.
Dreams for baby's future: "I haven't thought about career paths yet - who knows what will happen. I just want her to be happy. But everyone says she'll be a pianist because she has long fingers."
Advice for new mums: "Have an epidural."
How was the birth? "I remember telling the midwife to swipe some woman across from me because she was screaming so much. It was Hallowe'en and the storm was wicked, so it was all pretty full-on."
The star: Manaaki Wairua Hudson, a 7lb 6oz boy, born at 11.25 am on October 31.
Proud parents: Roxie Tauranga-Hudson, 25, a teacher, and Dwayne Hudson, 26, a student, of Manurewa.
Time in labour: 23 hours, "and that was fast - my first two took three days."
Others present: husband and dad.
Pain relief: gas and pethidine.
Other children: Joshua, 7, Bronte, 5, Arorangi, 22 months.
Dreams for the baby: "My husband wants him to be an All Black lock, but I just want him to be the best that he can be."
Advice for new mums: "The pain isn't that bad when it's over. You really do forget all about it."
How was the birth? "It was really good and not that busy. Actually, I thought things were rather slow while I was there."
A flood of hopes and dreams spring from the busiest 24 hours in Middlemore Hospital's maternity ward, reports ALAN PERROTT.
It's even money whether it was trick or treat to have given birth at Middlemore Hospital on Hallowe'en.
In the hectic hours between 7 am on October 31 and 7 am
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