Hi Ladies
As promised here is my birth story. It’s a long one so there may be lots of typing errors and you may want to sit down with a drink
SATURDAY 15TH
As you all know I was having on/off contractions since Tuesday, finally on Saturday they started getting really close every 4-5minutes. We decided to go to l+d and they said I was 2cm and sent me home.
All Saturday night I was having these awful painful contractions, I couldn’t sleep and they were so close I couldn’t even time them. I am not sure when my waters went as it wasn’t a gush more of a trickle when I stood up. I was in and out of bed, the bath, the sofa etc . I took some paracetamol as directed by the midwife but that didn’t help.
SUNDAY
Eventually at 5am on Sunday morning we went back to l+d, I was now 4cm dilated so was admitted.
OH forgot my bag in the rush to get back to hospital so he popped back home and I started on the gas and air. I was having nonstop contractions and I kept making pushing noises. The midwife told me to get on the bed so she could examine me as she thought this baby would be coming very fast.
She examined me and I was still only 4cm so I was pushing for no reason. She tried to calm me down and tell me to stop but I couldn’t help it. OH got back and I was still on the gas and air and doing the pushing and they had to keep telling me to stop as it wasn’t helping me at all, it was making my cervix close rather than soften and open. I was soooo bruised too from the fake pushing.
By 8am I was still doing this and a consultant was called and they said I had to go on epidural right away as I was causing damage to my cervix. Baby’s head was also in an awkward position so the anethisitst was called and I had the epidural.
Once the epi was in by about 9am all was going well, contractions were coming and I was being monitored closely as there were signs of meconium in my waters. I was checked every 4 hours by a doctor for progress. By 12pm I was 5cm and they weren’t really happy with that so they put me on some drugs to help bring on the contractions. During the next few hours the contractions were slowing right down to 3 every 10minutes so they upped my dose of drugs however this then started making the baby’s heart rate decrease and became really erratic. By 2pm I was 6cm but the doctor still wasn’t happy. He told me he had to do a test on the baby by taking a blood sample from her head to check her oxygen levels. This was done at about 3.30 and when the results came back it showed the baby was in a lot of distress. The senior doctor came in and said that there was not choice but to go to theatre for an Emergency C Section.
My other half was allowed in theatre, I was numbed so was wide awake. Matilda was delivered at 4.01pm and weighted 6lb11oz. She was taken to recus as she didn’t cry right away, my OH left me to see to her and cut the cord (they left it long so he could). Meanwhile I was being stitched up etc. It took an hour in total and I was then taken to recovery.
In recovery things started to go quite badly, my body temperature plummeted and I was stone cold, although sweating like crazy and shaking uncontrollably. My sheets were changed twice in 30minutes. My blood pressure was so low they couldn’t even get a reading. Then it was noticed that I was bleeding from my wound.
At about 8pm the surgeons came and said that I had to go back to theatre as they thought I was bleeding internally. They had to explain that the worst case could be my uterus being removed if there was bleeding and I was uncontrollable. My OH at this time was just in shock, he was with the baby through all this. This time I would be put to sleep and OH couldn’t come. I was petrified, I really thought I may not make it and I looked at OH and told him to look after our baby girl and was taken away.
I remember being put to sleep and it felt like seconds later they were waking me up saying its all ok now, there’s nothing wrong it’s all good. I was drowsy obviously but they said it was all good and there was no bleeding, everything was good and in-tact.
So this then left the question as to what was wrong with me…..I was still really cold, my BP and HR was low and I was losing so much water etc. The outcome in the end was that I had some sort of infection. Bloods were taken, etc etc I was so out of it I don’t know what they were doing to me but I was very ill. My OH called my parents and they came rushing on the train from London, another senior doctor came to me and said that I needed to spend the night on the high dependency unit for really close monitoring but that the baby couldn’t be with me. Obviously I had to leave her and we decided it would be best for us all if the hospital nurses watched her overnight. OH was shattered and we had nothing at home for her prepared. So she went to the nurses and I went to HDU at about 2am.
MONDAY
I was closely monitored through the night, I was on so many drugs I had needles/drips everywhere. I was checked every 20 minutes, I was awake but drowsy, no chance of sleeping. I was up and awake at around 8am and could sit up in bed, although a bit drowsy I could have visitors. Matilda was still with the nurses but my family and OH got there at 8am and took turns between sitting with me and her. I was frustrated that she had to be bottle fed right away but it did give my OH the chance to bond with her.
After lunch at about 2pm they said they were happy with my progress and that I could go back to the delivery suite and be with my baby. I was so relieved, I still couldn’t move out of bed but I just wanted to see my girl.
I was then on the delivery suite and I had my family around me helping with feeding and changing Matilda. I still can’t change her bottom as I can’t bend over well enough but I was determined to get her on the breast so the midwife helped me. It was hard as I was soooooo tired still (by now I had not slept since Friday night) so they still helped with top ups on formula.
TUESDAY
Tuesday I was finally allowed on a normal ward and was helped with getting in and out of bed, this was a turning point as I could actually move etc. I could pick Matilda up out of her cot and sit in a chair. It was hard moving around but took some time; I still wasn’t the most mobile so they were continuing to observe me. My iron levels were very low so they weren’t letting me home yet. Being on my own at night was hard as I had to keep getting up to feed Matilda and I was shattered. Still no real sleep
WEDNESDAY
Wednesday was pretty much the turning point; I was fresh faced, happy and contented. Matilda was feeding well and I could move around a lot more….still no bending. I managed a nappy change as you could raise the beds really high. I had plenty of visitors in terms of my OH and parents.
A doctor came to see me at around 2pm and said he was happy with my progress and did I want to go home, I jumped at the chance and said yes. So they prepared all my notes, drugs and discharge letter. We finally left hospital at 8.30pm and got home.
BACK AT HOME
Being back at home is great, so much more comfy but still very hard. I cannot do anything but sit down and walk a little. I am feeding the baby on demand and she seems very content with it. I had a breakdown yesterday afternoon as my OH is so tired and he has to do everything, my mum is still with us so that’s a help but she can’t drive and we have no food in the house and it all just got so much. I was also dreading Matilda's next feed as the breastfeeding was starting to hurt and she bruised me. I started crying that I can’t do it and we decided next feed to put her on a bottle just the once. She didn’t like it, she drank all of it then cried and cried….we changed her bum, sang to her everything but she would not settle. I am so annoyed I gave in.
I had a midwife visit that showed me how to latch on although I still find it very hard when you have one hand holding a baby and the other trying to latch. They are happy with me and Matilda and today I’ll be having my stitches removed.
OH and I are trying to get into a routine now, he is doing the nappy changes and I am doing the feeding. Were both so tired though and hopefully now were both ok we can start getting into a routine. Matilda is much more settled on the breast than anything else so we are going to persevere.
We have other worries now too though, our cat came home with his tooth pushed into his face, OH rushed him to the vets and he is having major surgery today. I am now a nervous wreck about him…he’s healthy and fit so we hope all goes ok.
My OH isn’t working and what with me now needing him 24/7 he can’t look for work so he’s panicking about money. I have so many dear family that will help us out but you know men they want to provide and he is feeling very down right now.
Anyway ladies, after all that reading you will be tired. Taken me ages to type this so I am going to have a nice drink.
Matilda is absolutely stunning, she’s smaller than expected and her clothes are soooooo big for her but hopefully she will grow into them soon.
I can’t post a pic as my phone is playing up, but will do soon. She looks a lot like her Daddy.
Ladies, sending you all love and kisses. Thanks for the concerned messages. All the best to the bumps, babies and TTC ladies.
I’ll try and catch up sooner rather than later
Lots of Love
C + Matilda
He's been sleeping ALL DAY today pretty much except for feedings. Last time this happened we had a hell of a time trying to get him down for the night. I'm so damn tired man, night time feedings really start to catch up with you. It gets frustrating too, he does this thing where as I'm trying to get him to latch, he shoves his hands in his mouth, or he'll push my boob or grab my nipple and it takes awhile to get him to settle down and just take it. And then there is the issue that one of my breasts produces too much milk and usually once a day after eating from that side he'll throw it up 
We have a two week check up tomorrow though so I'm going to talk to the pediatrician about that. He's still having more than enough pee and poopie diapers though so I don't know if it's anything to be worried about or what. I'm anxious to find out how much he weighs, he must be gaining weight with how much he nurses! I'm dreading having to put him in the car seat though, last time we were driving him home he went ballistic and was screaming and crying so bad, made me feel terrible 
