Bunnikins
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Ok I decided to share my birth story as i see a lot of scared mums who are overdue and really dont want inductions.. i was exactly the same, but in the end had no choice!
Baby was showing no signs of arriving at all. I had a sweep at 41 weeks gestation and nothing happened other than a bloody show which went on right until delivery. I got all excited when i saw it on the day of the sweep
but it meant nothing in my case!
I was soooo stressed. I felt sure that something would go wrong. My baby had been in there too long... my placenta couldnt last this long surely? I was counting EVERY kick and panicking like mad if i went even half an hour without feeling anything. I was a nervous wreck right from 40 - 42 weeks. It was awful. I told myself to not get excited about having a baby, just incase something awful happened. Looking back i really should have explained all this to the MW and maybe she could have got me in earlier (or maybe not! This is the NHS afterall).
Induction was booked for 40 + 15 days and i just knew that nothing would happen before this.
The day came, and i was booked at 11am. I rang the ward, yep, they had beds.. so off i went... terrified as i hadnt felt baby move much that morning.
Got there and was taken to a lovely room of my own, with TV and my own bathroom with bath.
I was attatched to a monitor and i could hear the beautiful sound of my baby's heartbeat, which was fine
The nurse explained she would insert a pessary, which should hopefully start contractions off.. i dont remember what it was called now but just the standard induction pessary thingy. It looked like a little strip of paper.. really tiny. It went in and there was a string dangling out like a tampon, which was good cos i was paranoid about it falling out everytime i went to the loo... but it didnt.
I went for a walk around the exciting ward
I was a little uncomfortable after a bit with backache and a heavy feeling down below. It couldn't be contractions though (or so i thought!) as it was constant. Went back to my room and watched TV with hubby and the heavy backache feeling continued. The MW came in every few hours to re-attach the monitor.
At 7pm i was fairly uncomfortable.. but still a constant discomfort not on and off like i would imagine contractions to be.
I got in the bath.. i was so uncomfy.. i got out of the bath again and into bed... i couldnt get comfy at all. I was officially in pain! The MW re-attached the monitor again and i kept my eye on the trace that picked up tightenings and i started to notice it kept peaking every 10 mins, and my discomfort was getting worse at these times. It gradually got worse and worse.
I was examined.. and all was well. I was dilated (2cm).. and it got worse and worse again, i couldnt concentrate on the TV.
When the MW next came in i told her i was in pain, and she offered me gas and air. I tried it but i have a vomiting phobia and i had it in my head that gas would make me sick
so i wasnt really going for it.. and it didnt seem to do anything anyway!
I was examined again whilst in extreme pain... i was 6cm and baby was back to back.
I was transferred to labour ward.. by this time contractions were agony and there didnt seem to be much time between them.. plus the time between them i was still in pain, just not quite as much pain! I cant really describe the pain of them.. just BAD.. and all over, back and front and down below and everywhere.
I was taken to my own room in labour ward, which is all a bit of a blur but i remember it had its own bathroom and a nice picture on the wall of a meadow. Nice.
I was examined... baby still back to back, things progressing but contractions apparently werent coming fast enough, so i was hooked up to a pitocin drip.
Things got BAAAADDD here. Contractions went from bad to excruciating. I told MW i couldnt do it and needed something (i didnt really plan on having anything.. again i was scared of drugs cos of the risk of vomiting.. and scared of epidural cos i was scared of that paralysed legs feeling)
MW said i could either have a morphine based drug.. which would "take the edge off" , or an epidural which sould give me a "pain free labour". ok the pain free labour thing sounds gooooood right now.. so i choose that option. 
The anaethetist came and i sat in the position and she told me to keep very still, so i prayed a contraction wouldnt come whilst she did it.. one did come but i somehow managed to breathe through it and keep still and quiet.. the doc seemed very young, i didnt want her to jab it in the wrong bit of my spine!
I felt it going in like a cold, icy thing trickling in and ahhh, relief.. the pain was gone, best thing ever! I could now have a laugh with the MW and hubby.
Time passed, and the pains came back. I topped myself up.. it did nothing.. i felt no cold icy thing and my back felt wet, im sure it must have come out. Eventually i am in worse pain than before.. the MW tells me the doc is in theatre so cant come for a while, so i experience around 1 or 2 hours worth of AGONY!
Finally the doc came, tinkered.. i was still in pain so she asked if i wanted another putting in... erm, YES!
It was put in as before and ahhh, relief.. no pain what so ever.
I was examined.. i was 10cm.. baby still back to back, so a doc comes in to check, yep its definitely back to back. They tell me this baby probably isnt gonna come out without assistance, but we will try an hour of pushing anyway 
I pushed and pushed with all my might.. i couldnt feel anything, but i knew when a contraction came cos it felt tight.. and the monitor told us when they came anyway. They say i pushed really well, but baby wasnt budging at all.
They say i need to go to theatre where forceps will be tried and if that fails.. a C section. I dont really care at this point even though before hand i would have been terrified at the thought! I really really didnt want forceps! or c section! All the best laid plans...
Another, more senior doc comes in before i get taken to theatre and he has a good rummage inside me.. (i dont feel a thing). He says the baby actually WILL come out without any need for theatre. Cheers for the optomism doc
They get the forceps out and tell me to push.. i push.. twice.. and out comes a baby! I feel something large passing through but no pain at all. A wriggly, crying little baby is placed on me.
A doc checks her head for damage.. all is fine.. she is weighed and handed to me. She is 9lb 4oz, with dark hair, not like i imagined at all. The most lovely baby i have ever seen. MW takes a pic of me, my hubby and baby.. i look frightful! Hubby rings everyone... baby born at 5.50am after a 10ish hour long labour.
The placenta is pulled out after a lot of stitching and fiddling.. none of which i feel. I ask to look at the placenta, cos it caused me a lot of worry thinking it was gonna pack in.. it looked.. meaty (I dunno what theyre supposed to look like!) MW says it looks fine and looked like it had a bit of life left in it yet.
So nothing to worry about then!
Baby was showing no signs of arriving at all. I had a sweep at 41 weeks gestation and nothing happened other than a bloody show which went on right until delivery. I got all excited when i saw it on the day of the sweep
but it meant nothing in my case! I was soooo stressed. I felt sure that something would go wrong. My baby had been in there too long... my placenta couldnt last this long surely? I was counting EVERY kick and panicking like mad if i went even half an hour without feeling anything. I was a nervous wreck right from 40 - 42 weeks. It was awful. I told myself to not get excited about having a baby, just incase something awful happened. Looking back i really should have explained all this to the MW and maybe she could have got me in earlier (or maybe not! This is the NHS afterall).
Induction was booked for 40 + 15 days and i just knew that nothing would happen before this.
The day came, and i was booked at 11am. I rang the ward, yep, they had beds.. so off i went... terrified as i hadnt felt baby move much that morning.
Got there and was taken to a lovely room of my own, with TV and my own bathroom with bath.
I was attatched to a monitor and i could hear the beautiful sound of my baby's heartbeat, which was fine
The nurse explained she would insert a pessary, which should hopefully start contractions off.. i dont remember what it was called now but just the standard induction pessary thingy. It looked like a little strip of paper.. really tiny. It went in and there was a string dangling out like a tampon, which was good cos i was paranoid about it falling out everytime i went to the loo... but it didnt.
I went for a walk around the exciting ward
I was a little uncomfortable after a bit with backache and a heavy feeling down below. It couldn't be contractions though (or so i thought!) as it was constant. Went back to my room and watched TV with hubby and the heavy backache feeling continued. The MW came in every few hours to re-attach the monitor. At 7pm i was fairly uncomfortable.. but still a constant discomfort not on and off like i would imagine contractions to be.
I got in the bath.. i was so uncomfy.. i got out of the bath again and into bed... i couldnt get comfy at all. I was officially in pain! The MW re-attached the monitor again and i kept my eye on the trace that picked up tightenings and i started to notice it kept peaking every 10 mins, and my discomfort was getting worse at these times. It gradually got worse and worse.
I was examined.. and all was well. I was dilated (2cm).. and it got worse and worse again, i couldnt concentrate on the TV.
When the MW next came in i told her i was in pain, and she offered me gas and air. I tried it but i have a vomiting phobia and i had it in my head that gas would make me sick
so i wasnt really going for it.. and it didnt seem to do anything anyway! I was examined again whilst in extreme pain... i was 6cm and baby was back to back.
I was transferred to labour ward.. by this time contractions were agony and there didnt seem to be much time between them.. plus the time between them i was still in pain, just not quite as much pain! I cant really describe the pain of them.. just BAD.. and all over, back and front and down below and everywhere.
I was taken to my own room in labour ward, which is all a bit of a blur but i remember it had its own bathroom and a nice picture on the wall of a meadow. Nice.
I was examined... baby still back to back, things progressing but contractions apparently werent coming fast enough, so i was hooked up to a pitocin drip.
Things got BAAAADDD here. Contractions went from bad to excruciating. I told MW i couldnt do it and needed something (i didnt really plan on having anything.. again i was scared of drugs cos of the risk of vomiting.. and scared of epidural cos i was scared of that paralysed legs feeling)
MW said i could either have a morphine based drug.. which would "take the edge off" , or an epidural which sould give me a "pain free labour". ok the pain free labour thing sounds gooooood right now
.. so i choose that option. The anaethetist came and i sat in the position and she told me to keep very still, so i prayed a contraction wouldnt come whilst she did it.. one did come but i somehow managed to breathe through it and keep still and quiet.. the doc seemed very young, i didnt want her to jab it in the wrong bit of my spine!
I felt it going in like a cold, icy thing trickling in and ahhh, relief.. the pain was gone, best thing ever! I could now have a laugh with the MW and hubby.
Time passed, and the pains came back. I topped myself up.. it did nothing.. i felt no cold icy thing and my back felt wet, im sure it must have come out. Eventually i am in worse pain than before.. the MW tells me the doc is in theatre so cant come for a while, so i experience around 1 or 2 hours worth of AGONY!
Finally the doc came, tinkered.. i was still in pain so she asked if i wanted another putting in... erm, YES!
It was put in as before and ahhh, relief.. no pain what so ever.I was examined.. i was 10cm..
baby still back to back, so a doc comes in to check, yep its definitely back to back. They tell me this baby probably isnt gonna come out without assistance, but we will try an hour of pushing anyway I pushed and pushed with all my might.. i couldnt feel anything, but i knew when a contraction came cos it felt tight.. and the monitor told us when they came anyway. They say i pushed really well, but baby wasnt budging at all.
They say i need to go to theatre where forceps will be tried and if that fails.. a C section. I dont really care at this point even though before hand i would have been terrified at the thought! I really really didnt want forceps! or c section! All the best laid plans...
Another, more senior doc comes in before i get taken to theatre and he has a good rummage inside me.. (i dont feel a thing). He says the baby actually WILL come out without any need for theatre. Cheers for the optomism doc
They get the forceps out and tell me to push.. i push.. twice.. and out comes a baby! I feel something large passing through but no pain at all. A wriggly, crying little baby is placed on me.
A doc checks her head for damage.. all is fine.. she is weighed and handed to me. She is 9lb 4oz, with dark hair, not like i imagined at all. The most lovely baby i have ever seen. MW takes a pic of me, my hubby and baby.. i look frightful! Hubby rings everyone... baby born at 5.50am after a 10ish hour long labour.
The placenta is pulled out after a lot of stitching and fiddling.. none of which i feel. I ask to look at the placenta, cos it caused me a lot of worry thinking it was gonna pack in.. it looked.. meaty (I dunno what theyre supposed to look like!) MW says it looks fine and looked like it had a bit of life left in it yet.
So nothing to worry about then!
