Well I'm finally getting round to this after spending days in hospital! So happy to be home.
Dexter Adam Russell arrived on 29th May, 12 days late, and not the girl I had been expecting!!
I went to hospital on Wednesday 27th May at 1pm to be induced. At 3:25pm I got my first prostin tablet, and settled down waiting for things to begin! Nothing happened overnight, so I had another prostin at 7:15 the next morning. My cervix was still only 1cm dilated and 50% effaced, so I was expecting to need the third prostin later that day.
At 3pm the doctor came and checked me again and said she could break my waters, so they'd just wait til there was space on labour ward and I'd go down.
I was getting mild pains at that point, and decided to wander around the ward for a while to see if I could get things going on my own.
Visiting was at 7pm, so at 6:30 I decided to have a rest before my Dad got there. I was sooo tired, I stayed in bed while he visited. The pains were picking up. At 7:20pm during one of my pains, I felt a pop, and realised my waters had gone on their own. Went to the loo, and sure enough, the minute I stood up they started to flow. They were disgusting, full of meconium and stinking
I was put on the monitor til they got my room ready in labour ward.
Arrived in labour ward at 9:25pm and had another internal check. Cevix was now fully effaced and 3cm dilated. They hooked me up to the monitor, put a monitor on baby's head, and started me on the pitocin drip (my hands and arms are all bruised cause apparently I have crap veins lol) They ended up putting the drip in the crook of my elbow, which wasn't good since it meant I couldn't realy bend my arm.
Contractions picked up quickly. Mw said they were 4 every 10mins, though there was no real let-up for me. Because baby's bum was right up under my ribs and round to the side, I was feeling alot of contractions in my back. Really hurt! So I sat on the birthing ball and was leaning forward over the bed. It was the only way I could get comfy. My Mum was sat behind me massaging my back, and had a heat pack on it too. The massage helps SO much btw.
Contractions picked up again, 5 in 10mins and getting intense. I got really uncomfortable on the ball at that point, and moved to a kneeling position on the bed, hanging over the back of it. This wasn't particularly comfy either, but I didn't want to move again so I stuck with it.
Had my cervix checked again at 3:20am and was 5cm dilated. Mw said we should have baby by about 8am. I started counting down the time! At around 3:30am the mw offered me gas and air. I hadn't asked myself as I wasn't sure if I was too early, or when it should be taken. I accepted though and let me tell you that stuff is GREAT. Doesn't take away the pain, but it distances you from it so it's not really an issue.
At 4:01am I started pushing. My body was doing it of its own accord, and I could hear the mw telling the student mw that 'some mums push at this stage. It doesn't do anything helpful but just let them do it cause it doesn't do any harm either'. Clearly I was too early to push, but I literally could not stop.
The two mws went for their tea break (clearly not concerned that the pushing was going to do anything) and another mw came in to cover (and was told 'Mum is pushing but it's too early so nothing will happen while we're gone.')
HA! Covering midwife checked and baby's head was visible. Told to push, and 2 minutes later he was out! Had a scary moment when his head was out and my contractions stopped. Tried to push anyway, but the student mw (who had come running back) put her hand in, grabbed him under the armpit and yanked him out. I think this is why I tore. I have one 2nd degree tear.
Soo... now the problematic bit.
There were paediatricians in to work on him because the amount of meconium was mad. They didn't want him to breathe til they'd suctioned it all out of him, so that was an anxious minute til I waited for his cry. He did though so I could breathe a sigh of relief.
Then one of the pediatricians came over to me while I was delivering the placenta, and told me that they couldn't tell whether my baby was a girl or a boy. He was so swollen, they couldn't tell whether his scrotum was actually labia, and whether his penis was an unusually large clitoris. At this point I was still comvinced he was a girl, but I didn't get a good look. They gave me him for skin to skin, and he had a nappy on already
When I was all cleaned up and had a bit of time alone with him, we had a check and through the swelling, we decided he was very obviously a boy! The consultant came and checked him though and ordered chromosome tests done, and glucose tests and sodium tests. I left the room cause I couldn't bear to see him getting bloods taken
They said his glucose was low so could they give him a cup feed to bring it up a bit (I'd only managed to bf once briefly so far in the fuss) so I agreed to one cup feed. They took him off to SCBU, and I went outside for some air while he was fed (and had more blood taken) I was told they'd be done in an hour. They wanted to check his bp and put him under the heat for a bit too.
So I went back and I didn't get him out. They kept him in there all day, cup feeding and having his glucose tested before and after every feed. His heels were black and blue and really sore and he screamed every time they came to do the test.
I went mental at them cause they hadn't told me they were keeping him down there to cup feed. In the end I managed to spend the night in the family room of the SCBU and bottle fed him every 3 hours. His glucose levels immediately went up when he was with me. All this meant the the breastfeeding was kind of out the window at that point.
After lots more arguing and threatening to leave the hospital (his glucose was normal at this point, and had been for ages) I was allowed to take him up to the ward with me. He was cut down to one glucose test, pre feed rather than one before and one after.
The consultant came round and checked him again and decided he could feel testicles in the scrotal sac, and there was definitely a penis there. Only abnormality was that he pees from a hole at the base of his penis rather than from the end. This is called hypospadias, which it was finally confirmed yesterday that he has. We had to go to Yorkhill children's hospital and see a specialist, whi said 'Yup, he's a boy, he has hypospadias, we'll see you in january to see about an operation.'
And so I'm home!
Dexter Adam Russell arrived on 29th May, 12 days late, and not the girl I had been expecting!!
I went to hospital on Wednesday 27th May at 1pm to be induced. At 3:25pm I got my first prostin tablet, and settled down waiting for things to begin! Nothing happened overnight, so I had another prostin at 7:15 the next morning. My cervix was still only 1cm dilated and 50% effaced, so I was expecting to need the third prostin later that day.
At 3pm the doctor came and checked me again and said she could break my waters, so they'd just wait til there was space on labour ward and I'd go down.
I was getting mild pains at that point, and decided to wander around the ward for a while to see if I could get things going on my own. Visiting was at 7pm, so at 6:30 I decided to have a rest before my Dad got there. I was sooo tired, I stayed in bed while he visited. The pains were picking up. At 7:20pm during one of my pains, I felt a pop, and realised my waters had gone on their own. Went to the loo, and sure enough, the minute I stood up they started to flow. They were disgusting, full of meconium and stinking
I was put on the monitor til they got my room ready in labour ward.Arrived in labour ward at 9:25pm and had another internal check. Cevix was now fully effaced and 3cm dilated. They hooked me up to the monitor, put a monitor on baby's head, and started me on the pitocin drip (my hands and arms are all bruised cause apparently I have crap veins lol) They ended up putting the drip in the crook of my elbow, which wasn't good since it meant I couldn't realy bend my arm.
Contractions picked up quickly. Mw said they were 4 every 10mins, though there was no real let-up for me. Because baby's bum was right up under my ribs and round to the side, I was feeling alot of contractions in my back. Really hurt! So I sat on the birthing ball and was leaning forward over the bed. It was the only way I could get comfy. My Mum was sat behind me massaging my back, and had a heat pack on it too. The massage helps SO much btw.
Contractions picked up again, 5 in 10mins and getting intense. I got really uncomfortable on the ball at that point, and moved to a kneeling position on the bed, hanging over the back of it. This wasn't particularly comfy either, but I didn't want to move again so I stuck with it.
Had my cervix checked again at 3:20am and was 5cm dilated. Mw said we should have baby by about 8am. I started counting down the time! At around 3:30am the mw offered me gas and air. I hadn't asked myself as I wasn't sure if I was too early, or when it should be taken. I accepted though and let me tell you that stuff is GREAT. Doesn't take away the pain, but it distances you from it so it's not really an issue.
At 4:01am I started pushing. My body was doing it of its own accord, and I could hear the mw telling the student mw that 'some mums push at this stage. It doesn't do anything helpful but just let them do it cause it doesn't do any harm either'. Clearly I was too early to push, but I literally could not stop.
The two mws went for their tea break (clearly not concerned that the pushing was going to do anything) and another mw came in to cover (and was told 'Mum is pushing but it's too early so nothing will happen while we're gone.')
HA! Covering midwife checked and baby's head was visible. Told to push, and 2 minutes later he was out! Had a scary moment when his head was out and my contractions stopped. Tried to push anyway, but the student mw (who had come running back) put her hand in, grabbed him under the armpit and yanked him out. I think this is why I tore. I have one 2nd degree tear.
Soo... now the problematic bit.
There were paediatricians in to work on him because the amount of meconium was mad. They didn't want him to breathe til they'd suctioned it all out of him, so that was an anxious minute til I waited for his cry. He did though so I could breathe a sigh of relief.
Then one of the pediatricians came over to me while I was delivering the placenta, and told me that they couldn't tell whether my baby was a girl or a boy. He was so swollen, they couldn't tell whether his scrotum was actually labia, and whether his penis was an unusually large clitoris. At this point I was still comvinced he was a girl, but I didn't get a good look. They gave me him for skin to skin, and he had a nappy on already
When I was all cleaned up and had a bit of time alone with him, we had a check and through the swelling, we decided he was very obviously a boy! The consultant came and checked him though and ordered chromosome tests done, and glucose tests and sodium tests. I left the room cause I couldn't bear to see him getting bloods taken
They said his glucose was low so could they give him a cup feed to bring it up a bit (I'd only managed to bf once briefly so far in the fuss) so I agreed to one cup feed. They took him off to SCBU, and I went outside for some air while he was fed (and had more blood taken
) I was told they'd be done in an hour. They wanted to check his bp and put him under the heat for a bit too.So I went back and I didn't get him out. They kept him in there all day, cup feeding and having his glucose tested before and after every feed. His heels were black and blue and really sore and he screamed every time they came to do the test.
I went mental at them cause they hadn't told me they were keeping him down there to cup feed. In the end I managed to spend the night in the family room of the SCBU and bottle fed him every 3 hours. His glucose levels immediately went up when he was with me. All this meant the the breastfeeding was kind of out the window at that point.
After lots more arguing and threatening to leave the hospital (his glucose was normal at this point, and had been for ages) I was allowed to take him up to the ward with me. He was cut down to one glucose test, pre feed rather than one before and one after.
The consultant came round and checked him again and decided he could feel testicles in the scrotal sac, and there was definitely a penis there. Only abnormality was that he pees from a hole at the base of his penis rather than from the end. This is called hypospadias, which it was finally confirmed yesterday that he has. We had to go to Yorkhill children's hospital and see a specialist, whi said 'Yup, he's a boy, he has hypospadias, we'll see you in january to see about an operation.'
And so I'm home!
xxx
