Kittique
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2010
- Messages
- 411
- Reaction score
- 0
My daughter Sadie Primrose is now almost 5 weeks old and I often think about the labour with mixed feelings still - but overall it was a very positive experience and I would do it again! I was always looking for positive birth stories for first time mums so I thought i'd share mine! It will probably be very long.
Background - I'd been having regular scans as baby was measuring small plus she was not a big mover - she could go 12 hours without moving so i was being closely monitored.
3am on the 5th April at 39 weeks I was woken up by an odd sensation in my lower tummy, it wasn't all that painful but felt different to braxton hicks - it didn't really feel like tightening, more of a tingly pain. These kept coming, irregularly for a few hours and got a bit stronger but died off by about 9am, annoyingly when i had my appointment for CTG monitoring! The monitor did not pick up any contractions
We went to a friends house near the hospital (we are 40 mins away!) and had a relaxing afternoon with lunch and a movie. Contractions came back but were around 20 minutes apart all day long, so nothing to get excited about! I thought this would go on for days, even weeks. So we headed home... how i wish i'd slept a bit more when i had the chance...
Once we were home early evening they started again and carried on all night long, coming every 5-10 min, they never were regular so each time we called triage they told us to wait until they were regular. By 9am the next morning after 2 days no sleep we rang the hospital and told them i was coming in. I needed to know if I was at least making progress! When we got there the midwife checked babies heart beat. She found it, it slowed down then stopped... I have never been so terrified. She listened again and it was 90bpm and was rushed to labour ward. I thought this was it i'm having a c section right now! They quickly put me on the monitor and babies hb had recovered, thank god! They left me on the monitor and the Dr came in. Her hb remained stable so they were going to leave her in for now... The dr checked me i was 100% effaced, 2cm dialated. He gave me a sweep without telling me he was going to, so that was a shock... quite aggressive too, but if it meant i'd progress quicker that was ok. They sent me to the ward to monitor regularly and see how i progressed. That was about 11am.
After all that stress, my contractions stopped completely I figured i'd be a while in the ward then sent home. I got on the ball and bounced and bounced! Contractions returned. Hurrah! I walked and walked round that hospital all day long. Still they were not regular at all, varying from 3 min to 8 min apart, but getting more painful but not unbearable at all. I closed my eyes and breathed through them all. I found that bouncing on the ball, I would feel a twinge and if I stopped bouncing it would fade but if I carried on it would develop into a big contraction! All monitoring was fine and I was to be checked again at 8pm.
At 8pm I was still the same, 2cm. So disappointed! Though the midwife said the waters were bulging and gave me another, FAR less aggressive (!) sweep. After another hour or so I was sure I must be further along so a new midwife came and checked me, I was 4cm! Yay! This sounds weird and it may have been the sleep deprivation but I was starting to get really disorientated, when I was having contractions I felt a bit out of it and weird dream like thoughts were coming into my head that didn't make much sense. Odd.
The new midwife gave me gas and air and went to arrange my transfer to the birthing centre. The gas was AMAZING. I had no pain relief up until that point and the pain was getting more intense, the gas made my face numb and I didn't care as much about the pain as I felt a bit drunk and giddy
Sadly I had to put the gas down whilst we transferred to the birth centre and once there I was straight back on the gas! I was given a beautiful room and the huge tub was being filled ready for me to get in. The midwives had to go over my notes so I sucked on the gas and air non stop whilst I waited - Andrew was still timing and finally contractions were 3 min apart regularly. They then suddenly started coming on top of each other, with maybe 15-20 seconds in between. I told the midwife and she said I am only 4cm it will be a long while yet. I waited what seemed like forever whilst they went over my notes and told me I was not suitable for birth centre, I had to go to consultant led labour ward due to the size/reduced movements. Noo! I had to put my gas down again! That was all I cared about at that stage.
We got to labour ward and I couldn't even speak, I was asked to go and pee and my waters broke. It wasn't what I'd expected when they broke. It (TMI) felt like hot syrup..I was expecting a waterfall type gush. After they broke it seemed like the room filled with people (I could barely open my eyes at this point) who were taking my BP, desperately trying to get the monitor on me to get her HB which they could not get. This part was pretty stressful actually. They ended up putting a clip on her head as they couldnt get the HB and found I was 7cm. Now the contractions were just insane! I asked how long I had left and was told it could be a fair few hours yet as it's my first baby. It was about 11pm at this point only 2 hours after being 4cm. I was desperate so asked for an epidural, thinking I could not take it getting more intense than this and lasting hours. I had the IV placed (usually a massive needle phobic- didn't give a crap or even notice it) and the anesthetist arrived quickly.
Getting into a ball position is SO hard when you are contracting constantly. I threw up all over myself and the midwives
so had to put a gown on. The anesthetist tried to site the epidural 3 times and it wouldn't' work. I was having contractions almost constantly so she only had a few seconds in between to try and get the needle in. I remember thinking WHY am I not numb yet and kept asking if 'it was in yet' 
On the third attempt I felt something just drop right down and I screamed 'she's coming out!' Now I turned into some kind of demon! I crawled to the top of the bed (which was really high up), grabbed onto the lamp hanging off the wall and wrapped my IV up in and just screamed. My poor DH face was that of pure terror. I didn't even realise at this point her heart kept dropping and they were getting a bit concerned. I was TOTALLY out of it, in a completely different world. Once i'd been forced off the lamp the midwives checked and yes, her head was crowning. And yes, I had pooped. I t happens ladies and there is nothing you can do about it! I thought pushing would be easy, but it was SO hard to push down when a contraction came. I just gave it everything I had and pushed so hard and screamed at the same time. I have to say it was not that painful down there - I didn't feel ring of fire. I had been doing perennial massage with oil for a few weeks before the birth - it must have worked. After 1 push they had me stop and breathe and do small pushes, something came over me and I was suddenly able to control myself and did it ! Then, one more push and she was here.
At 11.37pm on April 6th after just 2 hours active labour and 7 minutes pushing Sadie was born! 6lb 10oz. Not small at all!
I've always found birth stories always end here and I was not as prepared for the what happened next so I'll do the final stage too!
After she was born she was placed on my chest and I was in total utter shock. I couldn't believe what had just happened and I was in a daze for a good half hour after. I was then sick all over myself again and felt really dizzy. I had the injection in my leg and then the midwife pushed really hard on my stomach and pulled the cord. This felt really odd and I hadn't expected it! I thought the placenta would just slide out. They tried again after 10 min and it did come out, followed by a lot of blood. It was totally normal blood loss but again I didn't know what to expect. The midwife then told me to grab the gas again as she had to check for tears *gulp*. It was a bit sore when she did this and they REALLY check iykwim... she was shocked as she couldn't see any tears just a few grazes and called another midwife in to check - all fine no stitches needed
After that the midwives encouraged me to try and feed her right away and she latched on immediately! It was such a surreal experience. They left us alone for an hour or so and brought me tea and toast. DH and I just sat there in awe over what had just happened, looking at her little face. After that time together the midwife wanted me to take a shower and go to the ward. I couldn't even stand up I was so exhausted, but she was pretty insistent. I managed to stand up (WEIRD after having a huge bump, your sense of gravity is all off) but the thought of getting in the shower, I thought i'd pass out! Thankfully she let me go to the ward to shower which I did a few hours later when I could actually stand up. Seemed a bit off to me, just had a baby minutes ago - quick get in the shower immediately!
Back in the ward the midwife I'd seen just a few hours before popped in, surprised to see me back so soon
We did not sleep a wink that night in the hospital, but it was nice to be together there. DH was allowed to stay all night. The next day after Sadie being checked by a pediatrician and having hearing tests we were allowed home.
Now here she is at 5 weeks and 8lb 4 oz exclusively BF baby
worth every minute of pain! She is a small girl, still barely in newborn clothes but in perfect proportion!
Background - I'd been having regular scans as baby was measuring small plus she was not a big mover - she could go 12 hours without moving so i was being closely monitored.
3am on the 5th April at 39 weeks I was woken up by an odd sensation in my lower tummy, it wasn't all that painful but felt different to braxton hicks - it didn't really feel like tightening, more of a tingly pain. These kept coming, irregularly for a few hours and got a bit stronger but died off by about 9am, annoyingly when i had my appointment for CTG monitoring! The monitor did not pick up any contractions
We went to a friends house near the hospital (we are 40 mins away!) and had a relaxing afternoon with lunch and a movie. Contractions came back but were around 20 minutes apart all day long, so nothing to get excited about! I thought this would go on for days, even weeks. So we headed home... how i wish i'd slept a bit more when i had the chance...
Once we were home early evening they started again and carried on all night long, coming every 5-10 min, they never were regular so each time we called triage they told us to wait until they were regular. By 9am the next morning after 2 days no sleep we rang the hospital and told them i was coming in. I needed to know if I was at least making progress! When we got there the midwife checked babies heart beat. She found it, it slowed down then stopped... I have never been so terrified. She listened again and it was 90bpm and was rushed to labour ward. I thought this was it i'm having a c section right now! They quickly put me on the monitor and babies hb had recovered, thank god! They left me on the monitor and the Dr came in. Her hb remained stable so they were going to leave her in for now... The dr checked me i was 100% effaced, 2cm dialated. He gave me a sweep without telling me he was going to, so that was a shock... quite aggressive too, but if it meant i'd progress quicker that was ok. They sent me to the ward to monitor regularly and see how i progressed. That was about 11am.
After all that stress, my contractions stopped completely
I figured i'd be a while in the ward then sent home. I got on the ball and bounced and bounced! Contractions returned. Hurrah! I walked and walked round that hospital all day long. Still they were not regular at all, varying from 3 min to 8 min apart, but getting more painful but not unbearable at all. I closed my eyes and breathed through them all. I found that bouncing on the ball, I would feel a twinge and if I stopped bouncing it would fade but if I carried on it would develop into a big contraction! All monitoring was fine and I was to be checked again at 8pm.At 8pm I was still the same, 2cm. So disappointed! Though the midwife said the waters were bulging and gave me another, FAR less aggressive (!) sweep. After another hour or so I was sure I must be further along so a new midwife came and checked me, I was 4cm! Yay! This sounds weird and it may have been the sleep deprivation but I was starting to get really disorientated, when I was having contractions I felt a bit out of it and weird dream like thoughts were coming into my head that didn't make much sense. Odd.
The new midwife gave me gas and air and went to arrange my transfer to the birthing centre. The gas was AMAZING. I had no pain relief up until that point and the pain was getting more intense, the gas made my face numb and I didn't care as much about the pain as I felt a bit drunk and giddy
Sadly I had to put the gas down whilst we transferred to the birth centre and once there I was straight back on the gas! I was given a beautiful room and the huge tub was being filled ready for me to get in. The midwives had to go over my notes so I sucked on the gas and air non stop whilst I waited - Andrew was still timing and finally contractions were 3 min apart regularly. They then suddenly started coming on top of each other, with maybe 15-20 seconds in between. I told the midwife and she said I am only 4cm it will be a long while yet. I waited what seemed like forever whilst they went over my notes and told me I was not suitable for birth centre, I had to go to consultant led labour ward due to the size/reduced movements. Noo! I had to put my gas down again! That was all I cared about at that stage.We got to labour ward and I couldn't even speak, I was asked to go and pee and my waters broke. It wasn't what I'd expected when they broke. It (TMI) felt like hot syrup..I was expecting a waterfall type gush. After they broke it seemed like the room filled with people (I could barely open my eyes at this point) who were taking my BP, desperately trying to get the monitor on me to get her HB which they could not get. This part was pretty stressful actually. They ended up putting a clip on her head as they couldnt get the HB and found I was 7cm. Now the contractions were just insane! I asked how long I had left and was told it could be a fair few hours yet as it's my first baby. It was about 11pm at this point only 2 hours after being 4cm. I was desperate so asked for an epidural, thinking I could not take it getting more intense than this and lasting hours. I had the IV placed (usually a massive needle phobic- didn't give a crap or even notice it) and the anesthetist arrived quickly.
Getting into a ball position is SO hard when you are contracting constantly. I threw up all over myself and the midwives
so had to put a gown on. The anesthetist tried to site the epidural 3 times and it wouldn't' work. I was having contractions almost constantly so she only had a few seconds in between to try and get the needle in. I remember thinking WHY am I not numb yet and kept asking if 'it was in yet' On the third attempt I felt something just drop right down and I screamed 'she's coming out!' Now I turned into some kind of demon! I crawled to the top of the bed (which was really high up), grabbed onto the lamp hanging off the wall and wrapped my IV up in and just screamed. My poor DH face was that of pure terror. I didn't even realise at this point her heart kept dropping and they were getting a bit concerned. I was TOTALLY out of it, in a completely different world. Once i'd been forced off the lamp the midwives checked and yes, her head was crowning. And yes, I had pooped. I t happens ladies and there is nothing you can do about it! I thought pushing would be easy, but it was SO hard to push down when a contraction came. I just gave it everything I had and pushed so hard and screamed at the same time. I have to say it was not that painful down there - I didn't feel ring of fire. I had been doing perennial massage with oil for a few weeks before the birth - it must have worked. After 1 push they had me stop and breathe and do small pushes, something came over me and I was suddenly able to control myself and did it ! Then, one more push and she was here. At 11.37pm on April 6th after just 2 hours active labour and 7 minutes pushing Sadie was born! 6lb 10oz. Not small at all!
I've always found birth stories always end here and I was not as prepared for the what happened next so I'll do the final stage too!
After she was born she was placed on my chest and I was in total utter shock. I couldn't believe what had just happened and I was in a daze for a good half hour after. I was then sick all over myself again and felt really dizzy. I had the injection in my leg and then the midwife pushed really hard on my stomach and pulled the cord. This felt really odd and I hadn't expected it! I thought the placenta would just slide out. They tried again after 10 min and it did come out, followed by a lot of blood. It was totally normal blood loss but again I didn't know what to expect. The midwife then told me to grab the gas again as she had to check for tears *gulp*. It was a bit sore when she did this and they REALLY check iykwim... she was shocked as she couldn't see any tears just a few grazes and called another midwife in to check - all fine no stitches needed
After that the midwives encouraged me to try and feed her right away and she latched on immediately! It was such a surreal experience. They left us alone for an hour or so and brought me tea and toast. DH and I just sat there in awe over what had just happened, looking at her little face. After that time together the midwife wanted me to take a shower and go to the ward. I couldn't even stand up I was so exhausted, but she was pretty insistent. I managed to stand up (WEIRD after having a huge bump, your sense of gravity is all off) but the thought of getting in the shower, I thought i'd pass out! Thankfully she let me go to the ward to shower which I did a few hours later when I could actually stand up. Seemed a bit off to me, just had a baby minutes ago - quick get in the shower immediately!
Back in the ward the midwife I'd seen just a few hours before popped in, surprised to see me back so soon
We did not sleep a wink that night in the hospital, but it was nice to be together there. DH was allowed to stay all night. The next day after Sadie being checked by a pediatrician and having hearing tests we were allowed home.Now here she is at 5 weeks and 8lb 4 oz exclusively BF baby
worth every minute of pain! She is a small girl, still barely in newborn clothes but in perfect proportion!
