Hi everyone
My baby boy was born on 30th August 5 days overdue.
I had no signs I was going to go in to labour - no plug, no show etc. I had been trying to do lots of walks to bring it on, and I did notice an increase in BHs, but I had been doing LOTS of raspberry leaf tea....
I went to bed around midnight on monday and after a few minutes felt a tightening like period pain that made me think...hmmmm. This continued through the night but I slept on and off, til about 4am when they were getting more intense. I got up and got a hot water bottle, which helped. By 6am I was waking my hubby as I'd had a bloody show and been to the toilet about 3 times, I knew it wasnt a false alarm!
I got in the bath and just breathed through each contraction - breathe in as long as you can, then out as long as you can. This really helped. After a couple of hours I got out of the bath and hooked up my TENS. This also really helped. I was having contractions 3 mins apart so we rang the hospital and they said to go in.
I was so disappointed when they said I was only 1cm. My contractions were so close together and lasting over a minute. However, I wasnt sent home as at that moment my waters broke, and there was meconium. Unfortunately the birth pool went out the window as I had to be monitored. Turns out its common in overdue babies and LO was fine, but I had to wear the monitor for my whole labour and couldnt move around much.
I was bleeding quite alot and examined again a couple of hours later - hey presto, it was because I was dilating so quickly, I was 7cm! Hence why trhe contractions were so close. I then got on the gas and air which was GREAT. It didnt make me feel sick or drunk, just really helped take the edge off. I think the pushing stage lasted around an hour, and MAN they are not kidding about ring of fire! I gave birth leaning over the back of the bed and gravity certainly helped. I had a couple of small tears which required stitches, midwives said hardly surprising as our little one was over 8 1/2 lb and I am quite small! My hubby used a cold flannel on my head which was really comforting, we also froze some sports bottles of water and these defrosted slowly giving me iced water in labour - heaven.
Overall it was hard (they dont call it labour for nothing!) but the pain WAS bearable.
My top tips so far for labour and afterwards....
- try everything you can to get through the early stages. Water, heat and TENS really helped along with position changes
- Remember to breathe calmly through contractions
- You will feel like youve been kicked between the legs in the days after labour. Stock up on paracetamol for those afterpains too.
- Try and get some really good breastfeeding support before leaving hospital. I didnt get offered much and tried my best but ended up with sore nipples. Just getting settled with it now after a week, I could have saved myself that pain by getting help. I also HIGHLY recommend a nursing pillow. I could not get a good position by holding LO myself = sore nipples!
- Around day 2-3 I was feeding constantly, its babies way of stimulating your milk supply. It was a pain, but worth it, as my milk came in well and LO is thriving. Its only a short phase and is not what breastfeeding will be like forever.
- A grobag swaddling blanket has been our best friend for night times - LO will sleep between feeds if swaddled
-For those worried about tummy - my bump was HUGE, and a week later, my tummy is heading towards flat again. Its unbelievable how quickly things can shrink down again.
Think thats it for now....good luck to all you ladies waiting! It is SO worth it in the end! xxx
My baby boy was born on 30th August 5 days overdue.
I had no signs I was going to go in to labour - no plug, no show etc. I had been trying to do lots of walks to bring it on, and I did notice an increase in BHs, but I had been doing LOTS of raspberry leaf tea....
I went to bed around midnight on monday and after a few minutes felt a tightening like period pain that made me think...hmmmm. This continued through the night but I slept on and off, til about 4am when they were getting more intense. I got up and got a hot water bottle, which helped. By 6am I was waking my hubby as I'd had a bloody show and been to the toilet about 3 times, I knew it wasnt a false alarm!
I got in the bath and just breathed through each contraction - breathe in as long as you can, then out as long as you can. This really helped. After a couple of hours I got out of the bath and hooked up my TENS. This also really helped. I was having contractions 3 mins apart so we rang the hospital and they said to go in.
I was so disappointed when they said I was only 1cm. My contractions were so close together and lasting over a minute. However, I wasnt sent home as at that moment my waters broke, and there was meconium. Unfortunately the birth pool went out the window as I had to be monitored. Turns out its common in overdue babies and LO was fine, but I had to wear the monitor for my whole labour and couldnt move around much.
I was bleeding quite alot and examined again a couple of hours later - hey presto, it was because I was dilating so quickly, I was 7cm! Hence why trhe contractions were so close. I then got on the gas and air which was GREAT. It didnt make me feel sick or drunk, just really helped take the edge off. I think the pushing stage lasted around an hour, and MAN they are not kidding about ring of fire! I gave birth leaning over the back of the bed and gravity certainly helped. I had a couple of small tears which required stitches, midwives said hardly surprising as our little one was over 8 1/2 lb and I am quite small! My hubby used a cold flannel on my head which was really comforting, we also froze some sports bottles of water and these defrosted slowly giving me iced water in labour - heaven.
Overall it was hard (they dont call it labour for nothing!) but the pain WAS bearable.
My top tips so far for labour and afterwards....
- try everything you can to get through the early stages. Water, heat and TENS really helped along with position changes
- Remember to breathe calmly through contractions
- You will feel like youve been kicked between the legs in the days after labour. Stock up on paracetamol for those afterpains too.
- Try and get some really good breastfeeding support before leaving hospital. I didnt get offered much and tried my best but ended up with sore nipples. Just getting settled with it now after a week, I could have saved myself that pain by getting help. I also HIGHLY recommend a nursing pillow. I could not get a good position by holding LO myself = sore nipples!
- Around day 2-3 I was feeding constantly, its babies way of stimulating your milk supply. It was a pain, but worth it, as my milk came in well and LO is thriving. Its only a short phase and is not what breastfeeding will be like forever.
- A grobag swaddling blanket has been our best friend for night times - LO will sleep between feeds if swaddled
-For those worried about tummy - my bump was HUGE, and a week later, my tummy is heading towards flat again. Its unbelievable how quickly things can shrink down again.
Think thats it for now....good luck to all you ladies waiting! It is SO worth it in the end! xxx
