I came to this section to get the homebirth thing for my sig, and realised I never put the story on...so here it is, a very belated story! Toby was born on 1st March 2012 weighing 9lb. He's my first baby and it took some persuading to have him at home as my BMI was high. Sorry it's so long, I wrote it a couple of days after having him so is quite detailed!
After being a week 'overdue' and many braxton hicks I was beginning to think I was never going to give birth! On Feb 28th, after a week of eating pretty much only curry, we got Dominos pizza and went to bed fairly early. I woke up at about 1.30am and thought I had wet myself a little as my pants were wet I went to the loo and got changed. I was having mild period like pains, but had been having them for weeks on and off so didn't get excited.
When I woke in the morning I felt really constipated so drank some orange juice and had the leftover pizza in the hope that would 'get things moving'. I browsed the internet for a while, had a nap and then started to bake some cinnamon buns. I was quite uncomfortable as I still felt constipated and was having pains on and off (still didn't realise they were contractions!). I baked some more and did a bit of cleaning. I lay down on the sofa to eat one of the buns and watch TV, but I got a little gush of waters. I was still not sure if it was wee or waters (despite trying to smell it for the sweet smell that they're supposed to be, haha!). I was feeling increasingly uncomfortable and thought I would try to time the pains, just incase...they weren't very regular, every 5/6mins or so, but then not for 10mins. I texted OH to let him know, but was still trying not to get my hopes up! It was about 3pm and I realised I had forgotten to eat lunch so decided to just eat another bun (greedy!) but the same happened when I sat down...at this point I was thinking it was my waters, but STILL was trying not to get my hopes up/in denial!
The pains were every 4/5mins and quite sore by about 4.30pm so I asked OH if it would be ok to come home from work early. He told me I should ring the hospital to let them know and he would get a taxi home (which ended up taking longer than if he had just come his usual way on public transport!). I rang the hospital and said I wasn't sure if it was my waters, and when she asked if I was having contractions I said I just felt constipated. She asked me to come in so they could test the waters. OH got home around 6pm and told me to ring them back cos we both thought if I went in then I'd end up staying (plus by this point the contractions were causing me to make noises and were coming every 2/3mins). The midwife who was coming out to me to gave me a call and said she would come at 8pm.
In the meantime I was putting laundry away and making the bed between contractions...think I was in denial that I was in labour. D arrived at 8pm and examined me, I was 4cm. I asked how long she thought it would be and she said she expected a baby by breakfast time. She read my birth plan/notes and asked if she could invite a student midwife, L. I didn't know what to do with myself, sat watching tv whilst bouncing on my birth ball and kept offering the midwife tea/food! OH and I went into the spare room (baby's room, but still has a double bed in). We put on a dim lamp and had a cuddle in bed, I tried doing some techniques I had read about imagining the contractions were waves which didn't seem to work for me! We burnt an incense stick too.
At 10pm the student midwife arrived and introduced herself. OH got everyone snacks. He massaged my back for a while and then I tried bouncing on the birth ball. D asked if I wanted a bath/shower, but despite having it in my birth plan for pain relief I said no. Everytime I went to the loo I got a huge contraction, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and demanded OH go get my make up bag so I could fix it! L came in every so often to check the heartbeat and take my blood pressure. I was walking round the room trying to just breathe through contractions (but probably sounding rather cow-like!). OH fell asleep for about half an hour (bless him, I would've been angry but I just didn't care!).
At 1.30am L examined me and looked disappointed. I asked how many, and if I was still on 4cm. She said she thought so, but would get D to check. D examinded me and said I was at least 8! I was so relieved! I decided to try gas&air at that point but couldn't get the hang of it and didn't really like the fact I felt spaced out so stopped it.
D tried to get me in a comfy position, on all fours leaning over the back of the bed and told me how to move back as I pushed. I was surprised and asked if I really could push already!! OH went to the loo and he was surprised to come back and see me pushing. I was expecting to say silly things during the 'transition', but all I said was that I didn't think I wanted a baby anymore. After a couple of pushes D had to help as my cervix was over his head so I had to change position to push. Tried lying on my side in bed leaning on OH with one leg on D. L got me a glass of water which OH fed me through straw between pushes and a bowl of water to throw over me later (in an attempt to stop me tearing?) Felt like the pushing wasn't doing anything I informed OH it was now his turn to do the pushing for a while and that I would now like to go to hospital for an epidural (which everyone else found amusing). Apparently I had a graze and L was holding pads against me to top the blood, but I didn't realise at the time!
At 3.29am I finally I pushed his head out then with the next contraction and some 'small pushes' the rest of him came flying out, he was put on my tummy as his cord was too short for him to reach my boob. OH and I looked at him and each other in shock, but very happy! The cord stopped pulsing after about 10mins and OH cut it. I breastfed for a while and the placenta came out quickly and easily with a little push and some 'coughs'. D dressed Toby and gave him vit k. she helped me to the bathroom where I did a wee and then had a shower. Took 3 attempts to get off the loo and into shower because I felt so dizzy. Got into bed (with wet hair!) and was shown how to feed him lying down. Said goodbye and thank you to midwives. OH and I cuddled him for a little while and then went asleep (we were exhausted!)
After being a week 'overdue' and many braxton hicks I was beginning to think I was never going to give birth! On Feb 28th, after a week of eating pretty much only curry, we got Dominos pizza and went to bed fairly early. I woke up at about 1.30am and thought I had wet myself a little as my pants were wet I went to the loo and got changed. I was having mild period like pains, but had been having them for weeks on and off so didn't get excited.
When I woke in the morning I felt really constipated so drank some orange juice and had the leftover pizza in the hope that would 'get things moving'. I browsed the internet for a while, had a nap and then started to bake some cinnamon buns. I was quite uncomfortable as I still felt constipated and was having pains on and off (still didn't realise they were contractions!). I baked some more and did a bit of cleaning. I lay down on the sofa to eat one of the buns and watch TV, but I got a little gush of waters. I was still not sure if it was wee or waters (despite trying to smell it for the sweet smell that they're supposed to be, haha!). I was feeling increasingly uncomfortable and thought I would try to time the pains, just incase...they weren't very regular, every 5/6mins or so, but then not for 10mins. I texted OH to let him know, but was still trying not to get my hopes up! It was about 3pm and I realised I had forgotten to eat lunch so decided to just eat another bun (greedy!) but the same happened when I sat down...at this point I was thinking it was my waters, but STILL was trying not to get my hopes up/in denial!
The pains were every 4/5mins and quite sore by about 4.30pm so I asked OH if it would be ok to come home from work early. He told me I should ring the hospital to let them know and he would get a taxi home (which ended up taking longer than if he had just come his usual way on public transport!). I rang the hospital and said I wasn't sure if it was my waters, and when she asked if I was having contractions I said I just felt constipated. She asked me to come in so they could test the waters. OH got home around 6pm and told me to ring them back cos we both thought if I went in then I'd end up staying (plus by this point the contractions were causing me to make noises and were coming every 2/3mins). The midwife who was coming out to me to gave me a call and said she would come at 8pm.
In the meantime I was putting laundry away and making the bed between contractions...think I was in denial that I was in labour. D arrived at 8pm and examined me, I was 4cm. I asked how long she thought it would be and she said she expected a baby by breakfast time. She read my birth plan/notes and asked if she could invite a student midwife, L. I didn't know what to do with myself, sat watching tv whilst bouncing on my birth ball and kept offering the midwife tea/food! OH and I went into the spare room (baby's room, but still has a double bed in). We put on a dim lamp and had a cuddle in bed, I tried doing some techniques I had read about imagining the contractions were waves which didn't seem to work for me! We burnt an incense stick too.
At 10pm the student midwife arrived and introduced herself. OH got everyone snacks. He massaged my back for a while and then I tried bouncing on the birth ball. D asked if I wanted a bath/shower, but despite having it in my birth plan for pain relief I said no. Everytime I went to the loo I got a huge contraction, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and demanded OH go get my make up bag so I could fix it! L came in every so often to check the heartbeat and take my blood pressure. I was walking round the room trying to just breathe through contractions (but probably sounding rather cow-like!). OH fell asleep for about half an hour (bless him, I would've been angry but I just didn't care!).
At 1.30am L examined me and looked disappointed. I asked how many, and if I was still on 4cm. She said she thought so, but would get D to check. D examinded me and said I was at least 8! I was so relieved! I decided to try gas&air at that point but couldn't get the hang of it and didn't really like the fact I felt spaced out so stopped it.
D tried to get me in a comfy position, on all fours leaning over the back of the bed and told me how to move back as I pushed. I was surprised and asked if I really could push already!! OH went to the loo and he was surprised to come back and see me pushing. I was expecting to say silly things during the 'transition', but all I said was that I didn't think I wanted a baby anymore. After a couple of pushes D had to help as my cervix was over his head so I had to change position to push. Tried lying on my side in bed leaning on OH with one leg on D. L got me a glass of water which OH fed me through straw between pushes and a bowl of water to throw over me later (in an attempt to stop me tearing?) Felt like the pushing wasn't doing anything I informed OH it was now his turn to do the pushing for a while and that I would now like to go to hospital for an epidural (which everyone else found amusing). Apparently I had a graze and L was holding pads against me to top the blood, but I didn't realise at the time!
At 3.29am I finally I pushed his head out then with the next contraction and some 'small pushes' the rest of him came flying out, he was put on my tummy as his cord was too short for him to reach my boob. OH and I looked at him and each other in shock, but very happy! The cord stopped pulsing after about 10mins and OH cut it. I breastfed for a while and the placenta came out quickly and easily with a little push and some 'coughs'. D dressed Toby and gave him vit k. she helped me to the bathroom where I did a wee and then had a shower. Took 3 attempts to get off the loo and into shower because I felt so dizzy. Got into bed (with wet hair!) and was shown how to feed him lying down. Said goodbye and thank you to midwives. OH and I cuddled him for a little while and then went asleep (we were exhausted!)
its called 'transition'. Even I remember saying I wanted to go to the hospital when I was having my 3rd baby at home. But those thoughts and feelings often mean your baby is very close by 
you need to start reading some Ina May books! Her guide to childbirth will open yur eyes and it's full of HB stories too 
