The night before my due date I had a lot of indigestion and backache and early in the morning I had a show so I was surprised and excited that things might be starting. I didnt expect anything soon though so my husband and I decided to go for a due date day out to celebrate. We had a nice Mexican lunch and then went to the cinema. Half way through the film I started getting contractions! I had been having loads of Braxton hicks since 37 weeks but these were different and I was pretty certain this was it.
We went home and they carried on about 5-7 minutes apart but relatively painless so I went to bed. By about 2am though they had got much worse and I got my husband to put the tens machine together. This was great! We headed to the hospital at 6am and I was 3cm dilated. I was getting on OK with the tens, bouncing on the ball and when the pool room opened up I went in and it was amazing. I had been using natal hypnotherapy through my pregnancy and I think it really helped. I wasnt able to manage any visualisations but I found myself keep repeating the more and more you relax, the more you and your baby will benefit in my head.
After 4 hours I was 6cm but another 4 hours later I was still only 6cm so the midwife broke my waters. Soon after this the contractions started coming much faster, stronger and more painful and I was sucking down the gas and air. I felt the need to push and at this point it looked like I was going to get my lovely, natural water birth.
Unfortunately, despite being fully dilated, after 3 hours pushing baby wasnt budging and has his head stuck to the side. By this point I had been taken out the pool and was on the bed in stirrups which was everything I didnt want. When the decision was finally made to take me to theatre I knew there was no other choice as I had tried as hard as possible. The contractions on the way down were terrible as I now knew they had no purpose, but when I finally got the spinal it was bliss!
They thought they would have to do a c-section but tried turning baby first which worked and baby James Alexander was born by forceps at 8.16pm on 16th March. They gave him straight to me and we had good skin to skin before my husband took him.
They delivered my placenta but then my uterus wouldnt stop bleeding so they eventually inflated a balloon inside to compress it and sewed up my 2nd degree tear and episiotomy. The next day I had to have a blood transfusion as my blood pressure was still so low but after 2 nights in recovery I got to come home with my perfect little boy.
It was long, painful, and not as planned but I would do it all again tomorrow!
We went home and they carried on about 5-7 minutes apart but relatively painless so I went to bed. By about 2am though they had got much worse and I got my husband to put the tens machine together. This was great! We headed to the hospital at 6am and I was 3cm dilated. I was getting on OK with the tens, bouncing on the ball and when the pool room opened up I went in and it was amazing. I had been using natal hypnotherapy through my pregnancy and I think it really helped. I wasnt able to manage any visualisations but I found myself keep repeating the more and more you relax, the more you and your baby will benefit in my head.
After 4 hours I was 6cm but another 4 hours later I was still only 6cm so the midwife broke my waters. Soon after this the contractions started coming much faster, stronger and more painful and I was sucking down the gas and air. I felt the need to push and at this point it looked like I was going to get my lovely, natural water birth.
Unfortunately, despite being fully dilated, after 3 hours pushing baby wasnt budging and has his head stuck to the side. By this point I had been taken out the pool and was on the bed in stirrups which was everything I didnt want. When the decision was finally made to take me to theatre I knew there was no other choice as I had tried as hard as possible. The contractions on the way down were terrible as I now knew they had no purpose, but when I finally got the spinal it was bliss!
They thought they would have to do a c-section but tried turning baby first which worked and baby James Alexander was born by forceps at 8.16pm on 16th March. They gave him straight to me and we had good skin to skin before my husband took him.
They delivered my placenta but then my uterus wouldnt stop bleeding so they eventually inflated a balloon inside to compress it and sewed up my 2nd degree tear and episiotomy. The next day I had to have a blood transfusion as my blood pressure was still so low but after 2 nights in recovery I got to come home with my perfect little boy.
It was long, painful, and not as planned but I would do it all again tomorrow!
