Friday 23rd may (due date) - had a sweep at the appointment, & a further one at 40+4. After each one I lost my mucus plug & had mild pains, but nothing ever started.
Friday 30th may - I went to my 41 week appointment and had my 3rd sweep. I was 2cm fully effaced but I had been this way since the 40 week sweep so started preparing for an induction. The midwife did her usually monitoring of the heart beat & though she could hear declarations so I was sent to the hospital for monitoring. Got there around 3pm I think, monitoring was fine however the consultant wanted to assess me himself. He did a 4th sweep, said I was 2-3cm & wanted to admit me to labour ward. So I was admitted there, had further monitoring & was told by the consultant that the midwives would break my waters if nothing started naturally soon as I was 41 weeks so he thought they might as well get it going. However that never happened as further drs and midwives monitored me and baby and said there wasn't any point in intervention and said I should wait to go into natural labour which I agreed to. We Spent a few hours on labour ward strapped to the monitors having a few possible contractions & then I had a bright red bloody show, nothing like the ones I had after the 3 sweeps by the midwives. I was then discharged around 8pm & went home. Throughout the evening I started having stronger pains like period pains but nothing too painful so I just went to bed & never bothered timing any contractions (I didn't time any throughout the whole labour so I have no idea about how far apart any were).
At around 12 midnight I woke up having a strong contraction & knew I wouldn't be able to sleep through them from then on so I got up and went into the lounge as not to disturb my partner (he's terrible if he's had no sleep & wanted him to be fully awake for the labour!!) I took a few paracetamol I think & started doing a few jobs walking around to help bring on the contractions. 2am my waters felt like they had gone, but it wasn't a pop & gush it felt like I was peeing myself but just from the wrong place.i Called the hospital and was told to go in. When we got there she had to use a horrible speculum to see if my waters had gone and she didn't think they had & asked if I had wet myself!! It was defiantly waters I know. In the end she agreed as she could see water pooling?! So said it was my hind waters But that I was still 2-3cm so gave me codeine and sent me home.
I tried to keep active at home bouncing on my ball & walking round which helped with the pain as well. By 7am I really wanted to go back & start with some pain relief so we went back at about 8am, I was examined again and was told I was 3cm! So not really progressing at all but the contractions felt painful. I was only offered more codeine & really didn't want to leave but the midwife just suggested walking round the hospital & to come back in a few hours, I think they were busy & I wasnt officially in active labour. We decided just to go home. By this point I was so tired & I don't really remember much of what I was doing, I kind of felt like I was half asleep, just trying to breath through the contractions which felt like they were coming very close together. At 12pm we decided again to go back where I was met by a horrible young midwife. She felt two of my contractions and said they didn't seem strong or long enough to be labour & I was obviously coping well & she said she wouldn't examine me due to possible risk of infection. I was booked in for induction later that night & sent home again. I was so mad but felt like there was nothing I could do but I knew I was getting close to having my baby but just did as they said.
Back at home I was laid on the sofa, half asleep breathing through contractions each time I had one squeezing my partners hand (very hard apparently), oh I also had hot wheat bags on my front & back as I was having back pains as well.
At around 2-2:30 I really can't remember, I felt a big pop & gush, and was completely soaked in waters. My partners mum helped me get to the bathroom & get changed & told me to let her know if I got pressure in my bum or an urge to push. The pain was a lot worse once the waters went & I started to feel faint urges to push, I kept begging my mil & partner to take me to hospital. My partners mum phoned the hospital then put me in the car & took us to the hospital. I couldn't breath properly through contractions they was so bad & the car ride was awful. I had apparently made a pushing noise at home but my mil didn't tell me as not to panic me.
It was about half 3 when we got there. The ward was so busy & no one answered the ward doors to us for what felt like forever. This was when I started pushing uncontrollably, & I was banging on the doors for them to let us in. A student lead us to the assessment triage room (the room with 2 beds where you are examined first before being admitted it a delivery room). We were left there for a short while & I was pushing more, so I shouted for someone to get a midwife quick. She came in & examined me & said my cervix had gone, she's seemed a bit panicked & I was in so much pain I didn't know what was going on, she then handed me some gas & air from a small can (the ones the use for home births I think) & told me to start pushing with my next contraction. At 3;54 After 1-2 pushes the head was visible. I was still in the triage room as she said there wasn't enough time to get me safely into a delivery room. Another midwife came in at the end, the one who 4 hours previous had refused to examine me & laughed about sending me home, she also tried taking the gas off me but my mil wouldn't let her. I'd had no pain relief up to pushing apart from codeine so I wasn't letting them take the gas away now.
After a lot of pushing at 4:37pm our baby girl was born, weighing 8lb 1/2 an ounce. It was a Hugh shock as all the way through my pregnancy everyone thought we would have a boy. Emily was put straight on my chest & then they tried to deliver the placenta but forget the injection! The midwife gave me the injection but it took longer to work because it was given late. She kept pushing on my stomach which was uncomfortable & eventually I gave a little push & it came out.
I finally got in a delivery room & had my stitches as I had a 2 nd degree tear.
Hope this post wasn't too long. I wanted to be detailed as I loved reading long detailed birth stories when I was pregnant. Defiantly trust your instincts when your in labour, I should have forced them to let me stay then it wouldn't have been so dramatic but in the end I got a beautiful healthy baby so that's all that matters.
Good luck & congratulations to all you mums
Friday 30th may - I went to my 41 week appointment and had my 3rd sweep. I was 2cm fully effaced but I had been this way since the 40 week sweep so started preparing for an induction. The midwife did her usually monitoring of the heart beat & though she could hear declarations so I was sent to the hospital for monitoring. Got there around 3pm I think, monitoring was fine however the consultant wanted to assess me himself. He did a 4th sweep, said I was 2-3cm & wanted to admit me to labour ward. So I was admitted there, had further monitoring & was told by the consultant that the midwives would break my waters if nothing started naturally soon as I was 41 weeks so he thought they might as well get it going. However that never happened as further drs and midwives monitored me and baby and said there wasn't any point in intervention and said I should wait to go into natural labour which I agreed to. We Spent a few hours on labour ward strapped to the monitors having a few possible contractions & then I had a bright red bloody show, nothing like the ones I had after the 3 sweeps by the midwives. I was then discharged around 8pm & went home. Throughout the evening I started having stronger pains like period pains but nothing too painful so I just went to bed & never bothered timing any contractions (I didn't time any throughout the whole labour so I have no idea about how far apart any were).
At around 12 midnight I woke up having a strong contraction & knew I wouldn't be able to sleep through them from then on so I got up and went into the lounge as not to disturb my partner (he's terrible if he's had no sleep & wanted him to be fully awake for the labour!!) I took a few paracetamol I think & started doing a few jobs walking around to help bring on the contractions. 2am my waters felt like they had gone, but it wasn't a pop & gush it felt like I was peeing myself but just from the wrong place.i Called the hospital and was told to go in. When we got there she had to use a horrible speculum to see if my waters had gone and she didn't think they had & asked if I had wet myself!! It was defiantly waters I know. In the end she agreed as she could see water pooling?! So said it was my hind waters But that I was still 2-3cm so gave me codeine and sent me home.
I tried to keep active at home bouncing on my ball & walking round which helped with the pain as well. By 7am I really wanted to go back & start with some pain relief so we went back at about 8am, I was examined again and was told I was 3cm! So not really progressing at all but the contractions felt painful. I was only offered more codeine & really didn't want to leave but the midwife just suggested walking round the hospital & to come back in a few hours, I think they were busy & I wasnt officially in active labour. We decided just to go home. By this point I was so tired & I don't really remember much of what I was doing, I kind of felt like I was half asleep, just trying to breath through the contractions which felt like they were coming very close together. At 12pm we decided again to go back where I was met by a horrible young midwife. She felt two of my contractions and said they didn't seem strong or long enough to be labour & I was obviously coping well & she said she wouldn't examine me due to possible risk of infection. I was booked in for induction later that night & sent home again. I was so mad but felt like there was nothing I could do but I knew I was getting close to having my baby but just did as they said.
Back at home I was laid on the sofa, half asleep breathing through contractions each time I had one squeezing my partners hand (very hard apparently), oh I also had hot wheat bags on my front & back as I was having back pains as well.
At around 2-2:30 I really can't remember, I felt a big pop & gush, and was completely soaked in waters. My partners mum helped me get to the bathroom & get changed & told me to let her know if I got pressure in my bum or an urge to push. The pain was a lot worse once the waters went & I started to feel faint urges to push, I kept begging my mil & partner to take me to hospital. My partners mum phoned the hospital then put me in the car & took us to the hospital. I couldn't breath properly through contractions they was so bad & the car ride was awful. I had apparently made a pushing noise at home but my mil didn't tell me as not to panic me.
It was about half 3 when we got there. The ward was so busy & no one answered the ward doors to us for what felt like forever. This was when I started pushing uncontrollably, & I was banging on the doors for them to let us in. A student lead us to the assessment triage room (the room with 2 beds where you are examined first before being admitted it a delivery room). We were left there for a short while & I was pushing more, so I shouted for someone to get a midwife quick. She came in & examined me & said my cervix had gone, she's seemed a bit panicked & I was in so much pain I didn't know what was going on, she then handed me some gas & air from a small can (the ones the use for home births I think) & told me to start pushing with my next contraction. At 3;54 After 1-2 pushes the head was visible. I was still in the triage room as she said there wasn't enough time to get me safely into a delivery room. Another midwife came in at the end, the one who 4 hours previous had refused to examine me & laughed about sending me home, she also tried taking the gas off me but my mil wouldn't let her. I'd had no pain relief up to pushing apart from codeine so I wasn't letting them take the gas away now.
After a lot of pushing at 4:37pm our baby girl was born, weighing 8lb 1/2 an ounce. It was a Hugh shock as all the way through my pregnancy everyone thought we would have a boy. Emily was put straight on my chest & then they tried to deliver the placenta but forget the injection! The midwife gave me the injection but it took longer to work because it was given late. She kept pushing on my stomach which was uncomfortable & eventually I gave a little push & it came out.
I finally got in a delivery room & had my stitches as I had a 2 nd degree tear.
Hope this post wasn't too long. I wanted to be detailed as I loved reading long detailed birth stories when I was pregnant. Defiantly trust your instincts when your in labour, I should have forced them to let me stay then it wouldn't have been so dramatic but in the end I got a beautiful healthy baby so that's all that matters.
Good luck & congratulations to all you mums
