Blue_bear
Mum to 1 and 1 cooking
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So, our little man finally made it into the world on the 7.7.11 @ 11.25pm. Weighing a perfect 8lbs.
I was 4 days over due in the end and i swear it was the longest 4 days of my life! I had a sweep on the Monday evening so felt like i was waiting for that to start things off...
Anyway it all kicked off at 5am Weds, i woke up with a pain i had not experienced before and knew immediately that if i had another one that this was most definately 'it'. Low and behold 20 mins later i had another pain the same. Very low down period cramp, going right through to my back.
Told hubby that i thought it was very early contarctions but after weeks of being teased by false alarms we were determined not to think too much of it and i wanted to try and stay active and take my mind of things, then if it progressed, great.
Ended up being in Tesco at 6.30am doing our weekly shop. Pains still coming but not timing. They were strong enough to make me stop and breathe when i had one but not unbearable.
I now know that when its the real thing, paracetamol do nothing!!
From here we went and had a full english at the cafe on the way home
Figured i maight need my strength at some point....hubby suggested i start timing pains but i knew they were still not really that close so didnt want to concentrate on them.
We took the food shopping home and around 9ish decided to go and wander round town. We didnt need anything, i just needed to keep moving.
Pains still coming....
Managed to get through the afternoon, couldnt sleep even though i wanted too, i woke up to every pain. Started timing at this point aqnd got int he bath to see if that helped. It didnt really.
DH called Mat Unit and they said i could go in and get checked out if i felt the need too, i wanted to go in as although i was coping, i just need to find out if i was dilating etc.
Labour ward was really busy so i had a little wait in a room but i was just pacing up and down. Sitting down - especially in the car, hurts! As it turned out, because the hospital were so busy my community mw had been called in to help so she had recognised my name and come straight in. She watched me through some contractions and then examined me. The sweep had done the job and my cervix was fully effaced and i was 1cm and my waters were bulging (Important info!). Ok, not much but still i was happy that this was it and my body was doing something.
It of course was not enough to warrant me staying at the hospital so she sent me home and said to cope as best i could for as long as i could.
We got home and i got back in the bath again as it did help the pain in my back a little if nothing else. Hubby cooked me some pasta for dinner.
After all this things really started to hot up, the pains were getting stronger and really making me breathe through them. Shortly after i ate, my dinner made a reappearance....being sick whilst having contractions is no fun let me tell you!
I felt a little out of control at this point but i knew itwas too early to go back to the hospital yet. Hubby suggested we try and go to bed. I couldnt sleep and just spent the whole time getting in and out the bath and being sick.
It got to 3am when he called the mat unit back and they said to go in.
It was still busy when we got there so we had to wait again. I had a room in the birth centre as that was where i was hopefully giving birth. I was in a fair amount of pain by this point and the contractions were about every 4mins apart lasting 1min. I was just pacing the room and again, being sick.
Finally got examined, was 2cm! WTF! I was hoping at least 3/4 but progress is progress. MW could see i wasnt doing all that well and was getting pretty tired from being sick. She tested my urine and i was severly dehydrated, meaning they wanted me to stay in. This meant being moved out of the birth centre though as i needed treatment, so i was gutted as i could see my nice water birth slipping away...
I got hooked up to drips and given some codine and the next i really remember is it being about 7am ish. The codine made me reeeeally drowsy.
At this time they decided i had to move up onto the ward as i still needed more fluids and i wasnt in active labour. I was devestated as it meant hubby had to leave me!!
I did not do too well in the next few hours, i hated being alone and i was still contracting painfully every 5 mins. My way of dealing with this pain was to almost zone out. I couldnt talk through it, i just had to focus and breathe.
When hubby returned at 11am, i still hadnt been reassesed properly. Although the ward sister took it upon herself to tell me that i clearly wasnt in labour as i wasnt in pain and that i would be better off at home!! I broke down in tears when i saw DH, he went balistic and i at last got seen.
At this point i think i would have died if i had still been 2cm, i just wanted to get things going. I knew at this poin i wasnt going to cope without and epidural, i just needed to be 4cm to get one. The same mw said there was no way. On exam, doc said straight away 4cm, fully effaced, waters bulging (!). I was so happy, i got one up on the snotty cow who was so rude and patronsing. They went outside my bay to do the write up and the Dr had a right go at her, made me feel better!
Just because you dont scream like a banshee, does not mean you are not in pain....
Got taken straight back downt o labour ward and epi came pretty quickly. It didnt hurt at all going in, it was just awkward getting into the position she needed me in. Hubby said she had to have a couple of attempts at it and was having to push really hard. I was none the wiser!
Then came yet another shift change, i have seen so many different mw's by this point i didnt care. The next few hours went fairly quickly. The pain had gone and i felt ok again, its an odd feeling not being able to move your legs but it was nice all the same.
Then came a problem....I was re-examined, they were wanting to break my waters. They laid me down flat and immediately i felt sick again and got really light headed. They sat me back up quick and they lost Joshua's Heartbeat on the ctg, then there was mad panic while they tried to figure out what was happening. It was so scary as i was feeling pretty out of it, my blood pressure had dropped through the floor. MW put a clip on baby's head to get a better heart rate reading but on doing so she realised, i had no waters!!
Where had they gone?! I then had to have various IV antibiotics as it wasnt at all clear when they went and they rather take the precaution. They had to turn the epidural off for a while as it had swept up my body and i was numb upto my chin! Turns out i am quite sensitive to drugs!
More hours passed...I was re-examined again, hoping to be around 7 ish cm. I was 9cm, whoop!
They put the epi back on as i started to feel things again and also put up the hormone drip to start upping the contractions to get the last bit going.
Fast forward another couple of hours and it was time to start pushing. I would only be allowed to push for an hour unassisted, i was determined i could do this.
They got me started and i started pushing, i couldnt feel a thing. This was good for the pain aspect but really hard for the fact i couldnt feel where i was pushing to. I got pretty frustrated by this, i didnt feel i was making any progress even though i was being assured i was.
The senoir Dr came in after just over an hour and after watching me push for a bit longer told me she was going to have to use forceps to help. This was the absolute last thing me or hubby had wanted when planning the birth, but had a very quick chat and said he needed to come out now, what ever the means. I felt i really trusted the Dr too.
She got the forceps in place and i pushed and pushed some more. Some where in the blur i remember her telling me she had to give me an episiotomy as he had the cord round his neck! This explains why i couldnt push him out myself, he had just been sliding back up again.
1 more big push and he was out and crying, the wave of emotions is unexplainable, i kept asking if he was ok, its all i cared about! Little did i know i was bleeding pretty heavily at this point.
Hubby has first cuddle and i was passed him to have skin on skin, the same moment i decided to be violently sick, yet again....
Felt like an absolute age that i was being stitched up, think i managed to make some sort of joke about what she was doing down there and she then informed me i had required 4 layers of stitches
I simply didnt care anymore, i had my boy....i would have done it all again in a second....
Got moved back up to the ward at 3am ish and didnt sleep a wink for staring at my little man in his cot next to me, i couldnt believe we had made this little bundle.
Finally got home Saturday afternoon, had to stay in that extra night because of the waters issue, Joshua had to have obs for 24hours and i had to because of m blood loss and because i was so sick i had +4 ketones in my urine at some point.
So thats my story....a long one that it is Over 40 hours from start to finish and i am VERY sore but its bearable and better as each day passes.
So i guess my tips would be...
To emphasise to anyone doing a birth plan or is considering being dead set against an epidural....stay open minded!
Everyone is different and handles pain and labour in different ways. You really do not know how you are going to feel until you get there. You definately dont get any medals for 'being tough' and 'struggling through without' your the only one that can decide. I know whole heartedly now that i could not have done it without the epidural, i just got so weak and tired on top of the pain.
Trust your instincts! I knew i was further along than the mw on the ward said i was, dont worry about being insistant, especiall if in pain. Thank god my hubby was my voice.
And finally, stay hydrated and eat and drink as much as you can. Being dehydrated does make contractions worse!
And finally....although i had a few very scary moments. It was 100% worth every second. Focus on the end result.
We are besotted by our little fella.
I was 4 days over due in the end and i swear it was the longest 4 days of my life! I had a sweep on the Monday evening so felt like i was waiting for that to start things off...
Anyway it all kicked off at 5am Weds, i woke up with a pain i had not experienced before and knew immediately that if i had another one that this was most definately 'it'. Low and behold 20 mins later i had another pain the same. Very low down period cramp, going right through to my back.
Told hubby that i thought it was very early contarctions but after weeks of being teased by false alarms we were determined not to think too much of it and i wanted to try and stay active and take my mind of things, then if it progressed, great.
Ended up being in Tesco at 6.30am doing our weekly shop. Pains still coming but not timing. They were strong enough to make me stop and breathe when i had one but not unbearable.
I now know that when its the real thing, paracetamol do nothing!!
From here we went and had a full english at the cafe on the way home
Figured i maight need my strength at some point....hubby suggested i start timing pains but i knew they were still not really that close so didnt want to concentrate on them.We took the food shopping home and around 9ish decided to go and wander round town. We didnt need anything, i just needed to keep moving.
Pains still coming....
Managed to get through the afternoon, couldnt sleep even though i wanted too, i woke up to every pain. Started timing at this point aqnd got int he bath to see if that helped. It didnt really.
DH called Mat Unit and they said i could go in and get checked out if i felt the need too, i wanted to go in as although i was coping, i just need to find out if i was dilating etc.
Labour ward was really busy so i had a little wait in a room but i was just pacing up and down. Sitting down - especially in the car, hurts! As it turned out, because the hospital were so busy my community mw had been called in to help so she had recognised my name and come straight in. She watched me through some contractions and then examined me. The sweep had done the job and my cervix was fully effaced and i was 1cm and my waters were bulging (Important info!). Ok, not much but still i was happy that this was it and my body was doing something.
It of course was not enough to warrant me staying at the hospital so she sent me home and said to cope as best i could for as long as i could.
We got home and i got back in the bath again as it did help the pain in my back a little if nothing else. Hubby cooked me some pasta for dinner.
After all this things really started to hot up, the pains were getting stronger and really making me breathe through them. Shortly after i ate, my dinner made a reappearance....being sick whilst having contractions is no fun let me tell you!
I felt a little out of control at this point but i knew itwas too early to go back to the hospital yet. Hubby suggested we try and go to bed. I couldnt sleep and just spent the whole time getting in and out the bath and being sick.
It got to 3am when he called the mat unit back and they said to go in.
It was still busy when we got there so we had to wait again. I had a room in the birth centre as that was where i was hopefully giving birth. I was in a fair amount of pain by this point and the contractions were about every 4mins apart lasting 1min. I was just pacing the room and again, being sick.
Finally got examined, was 2cm! WTF! I was hoping at least 3/4 but progress is progress. MW could see i wasnt doing all that well and was getting pretty tired from being sick. She tested my urine and i was severly dehydrated, meaning they wanted me to stay in. This meant being moved out of the birth centre though as i needed treatment, so i was gutted as i could see my nice water birth slipping away...
I got hooked up to drips and given some codine and the next i really remember is it being about 7am ish. The codine made me reeeeally drowsy.
At this time they decided i had to move up onto the ward as i still needed more fluids and i wasnt in active labour. I was devestated as it meant hubby had to leave me!!
I did not do too well in the next few hours, i hated being alone and i was still contracting painfully every 5 mins. My way of dealing with this pain was to almost zone out. I couldnt talk through it, i just had to focus and breathe.
When hubby returned at 11am, i still hadnt been reassesed properly. Although the ward sister took it upon herself to tell me that i clearly wasnt in labour as i wasnt in pain and that i would be better off at home!! I broke down in tears when i saw DH, he went balistic and i at last got seen.
At this point i think i would have died if i had still been 2cm, i just wanted to get things going. I knew at this poin i wasnt going to cope without and epidural, i just needed to be 4cm to get one. The same mw said there was no way. On exam, doc said straight away 4cm, fully effaced, waters bulging (!). I was so happy, i got one up on the snotty cow who was so rude and patronsing. They went outside my bay to do the write up and the Dr had a right go at her, made me feel better!
Just because you dont scream like a banshee, does not mean you are not in pain....
Got taken straight back downt o labour ward and epi came pretty quickly. It didnt hurt at all going in, it was just awkward getting into the position she needed me in. Hubby said she had to have a couple of attempts at it and was having to push really hard. I was none the wiser!
Then came yet another shift change, i have seen so many different mw's by this point i didnt care. The next few hours went fairly quickly. The pain had gone and i felt ok again, its an odd feeling not being able to move your legs but it was nice all the same.
Then came a problem....I was re-examined, they were wanting to break my waters. They laid me down flat and immediately i felt sick again and got really light headed. They sat me back up quick and they lost Joshua's Heartbeat on the ctg, then there was mad panic while they tried to figure out what was happening. It was so scary as i was feeling pretty out of it, my blood pressure had dropped through the floor. MW put a clip on baby's head to get a better heart rate reading but on doing so she realised, i had no waters!!
Where had they gone?! I then had to have various IV antibiotics as it wasnt at all clear when they went and they rather take the precaution. They had to turn the epidural off for a while as it had swept up my body and i was numb upto my chin! Turns out i am quite sensitive to drugs!
More hours passed...I was re-examined again, hoping to be around 7 ish cm. I was 9cm, whoop!
They put the epi back on as i started to feel things again and also put up the hormone drip to start upping the contractions to get the last bit going.
Fast forward another couple of hours and it was time to start pushing. I would only be allowed to push for an hour unassisted, i was determined i could do this.
They got me started and i started pushing, i couldnt feel a thing. This was good for the pain aspect but really hard for the fact i couldnt feel where i was pushing to. I got pretty frustrated by this, i didnt feel i was making any progress even though i was being assured i was.
The senoir Dr came in after just over an hour and after watching me push for a bit longer told me she was going to have to use forceps to help. This was the absolute last thing me or hubby had wanted when planning the birth, but had a very quick chat and said he needed to come out now, what ever the means. I felt i really trusted the Dr too.
She got the forceps in place and i pushed and pushed some more. Some where in the blur i remember her telling me she had to give me an episiotomy as he had the cord round his neck! This explains why i couldnt push him out myself, he had just been sliding back up again.
1 more big push and he was out and crying, the wave of emotions is unexplainable, i kept asking if he was ok, its all i cared about! Little did i know i was bleeding pretty heavily at this point.
Hubby has first cuddle and i was passed him to have skin on skin, the same moment i decided to be violently sick, yet again....
Felt like an absolute age that i was being stitched up, think i managed to make some sort of joke about what she was doing down there and she then informed me i had required 4 layers of stitches
I simply didnt care anymore, i had my boy....i would have done it all again in a second....
Got moved back up to the ward at 3am ish and didnt sleep a wink for staring at my little man in his cot next to me, i couldnt believe we had made this little bundle.
Finally got home Saturday afternoon, had to stay in that extra night because of the waters issue, Joshua had to have obs for 24hours and i had to because of m blood loss and because i was so sick i had +4 ketones in my urine at some point.
So thats my story....a long one that it is
Over 40 hours from start to finish and i am VERY sore but its bearable and better as each day passes. So i guess my tips would be...
To emphasise to anyone doing a birth plan or is considering being dead set against an epidural....stay open minded!
Everyone is different and handles pain and labour in different ways. You really do not know how you are going to feel until you get there. You definately dont get any medals for 'being tough' and 'struggling through without' your the only one that can decide. I know whole heartedly now that i could not have done it without the epidural, i just got so weak and tired on top of the pain.
Trust your instincts! I knew i was further along than the mw on the ward said i was, dont worry about being insistant, especiall if in pain. Thank god my hubby was my voice.
And finally, stay hydrated and eat and drink as much as you can. Being dehydrated does make contractions worse!
And finally....although i had a few very scary moments. It was 100% worth every second. Focus on the end result.
We are besotted by our little fella.
