K
katekatekate
Guest
Hello. 
Robyn is 9 days old today and we actually cant imagine life without her. Now that she's having a nap I'm going to write my birth story. Times and
stuff will be slightly guestimated because I was too busy giving birth to note everything down.
Here are the basic details just on the 'off chance' that you can't be bothered to read my birth novel.
Robyn Elizabeth Armitage was born on March 16th and 12:51pm weighing 7lbs 5oz. She was delivered vaginally but with the help of forceps.
Monday (March 15th) -
In the very early hours of Monday morning I kept waking up every 30 or 45 minutes with a sort of stomach ache which felt like period cramps and after giving up trying to sleep, I get up at 6am (which is anything but me). After mentioning it to my OH, we decide that it could be contractions but I wasn't convinced because they didn't hurt as much as I'd expected. Throughout the day I had mild contractions coming every 20 minutes and I was losing a lot of watery discharge so I decided to ring my midwife who told me to come into hospital for a monitering. At the hospital we were told that I was 'on the way' but to go home and wait it out. That evening we had a hot indian curry, a long walk and a hot bath. A few minutes or so after I got out of the bath my contractions became so painful that I had to stop, bend over and breathe through them. Straight away after that they started coming every few minutes and we decided it was time that we went back to the hospital.
Tuesday (16th March)
1am -
By the time we got to the hospital, it was 1am and technically Tuesday. A lovely midwife monitered me straight away and it turned out that I was already 2cm dilated. She offered me pain relief, which I decided to turn down until I felt I really needed it and she told me she would come back in 4 hours to see how far I had progressed. I felt more or less fine for almost 3 hours and sat with my OH and MIL talking and putting face wipes on forehead (it was HOT in that ward) and having my back rubbed when it got to be painful enough for me to consider getting some pain relief. I asked to be checked over by the midwife to see if it was worth getting pain relief now (I cant remember which one, I think she offered me diamorphine) or waiting until I went into the delivery room.
After checking me again she discovered that I was already 7cm dilated and that it was time to go to the delivery room anyway which turned out to be the giant home-from-home delivery suite with ensuite bathroom (yeyy!).
4am (or thereabouts) -
The midwife gave me a big tank of gas and air, told me how to use it and more or less left myself and my birthing partners to it. Gas and air was amazing and did wonders to the back pain I was experiencing (apparently baby was pressed against my nerves - it was UNBELIEVABLY painful). Hours and hours passed as I went through contraction after contraction mostly bent over the end of the bed, using the glorious gas and air.
At what I think was around 9am, I was told to 'push when I felt I needed to' but after a good 3 hours I still felt nothing. I think was at this point when the midwives decided to break my waters for me. The midwives were getting worried now and took a fetal scalp blood scample to check on Robyn. They didn't tell me the results but they did tell me that they would have to call for the surgeon if she had still not been delivered within the next hour. So off my head on gas and air, and completely fucked from being in labour for so long I tried to 'push' anyway (which I assumed was like trying to poo). Apparently it did work because she started to crown but she just wasn't coming out as fast as they'd hoped. This is when it all went to shit. A surgeon came in and explained to me that they would have to take me to theatre, give me a spinal block and deliver her themselves and if this went wrong then they would have to perform an emergency c-section. By this point I was completely gutted and scared and bealing my eyes out from my contractions, intense back pain and thought of not giving birth to her naturally. I signed the form anyway for the sake of Robyns safety but it broke my heart. After 10 minutes or so it turned out they had changed their minds and were going to do a forceps delivery in the delivery suite which made me feel tons better. The delivery was a complete blur of pain, discomfort and people shouting encouragment. I think I had 3 needles in my vagina, a suppository up my bum, a catheter (which was honestly the worst thing ever) and an episiotomy and ofcourse the forceps. I think the entire process took about an hour (only by working it all out now) but it was the most painful and uncomfortable hour of my life. I still had to push her out, only now the surgeon was pulling her also so it made everything easier. She took about 3 or 4 hard pushes to get out which was the weirdest feeling but once she was out everything changed.
Robyn was born at 12:51pm weighing 7lbs and 5oz.
She made the tiniest cry and then she was wrapped up and given to me. I remember feeling really relaxed and happy when I held her. I was crying with happiness and nothing at all mattered. They delivered the placenta and stitched me up and gave me a couple more injections for about an hour but I cant remember caring about a thing. I gave her to my OH because I wanted him to hold her too and I just sat there hooked up on drugs in a weirdly relaxed state. The next thing I know it was 3pm and Robyn was being dressed and I was being put on a drip because my pulse, temperature and blood pressure were abnormally high and they thought I might have an infection.
4pm -
After 3 or so hours of laying there in a very dozed state I suddenly became very aware that I was lying in a pool of my own blood and asked if I could get up. Unfortunately I couldn't because I was on a drip hooked up to fluids which also meant that I didn't have two hands free to hold Robyn. Instead I just laid there staring at her, thinking how beautiful she was. After much haggling with the midwives they finally agreed to put a cap on my drip and let me have a bath. They also decided that I would have to stay overnight because of my drip, potential infection and because Robyn wasn't feeding as sufficiently as they wanted her to. I had to stay overnight without my OH (which was awful considering we've only ever spent 3 nights apart since we started living together in September 08) and look after Robyn all on my own with stitches and my drip in and all the while being drugged up to my eyeballs. Thankfully the next day my pulse, temperature and blood pressure were all back to normal and Robyn was feeding fine and we got to go home. And we all lived happily ever after.
I can't thank Leeds General Infirmary enough for being so good to us. The hospital is lovely as are the doctors, nurses, midwives and surgeons. I'd also like to thank my OH (he occasionally snoops on here) and MIL for being amazing birth partners and being by my side the entire time. My OH really rose to the occasion despite being squeamish and is a better father than I ever thought he could be (which says alot because I always had faith in him).
Photos - Robyn a few hours old, Robyn 1 day old at home, Robyn 4 days old, Robyn 4 days old, Robyn 7 days old.
Robyn is 9 days old today and we actually cant imagine life without her. Now that she's having a nap I'm going to write my birth story. Times and stuff will be slightly guestimated because I was too busy giving birth to note everything down.
Here are the basic details just on the 'off chance' that you can't be bothered to read my birth novel.
Robyn Elizabeth Armitage was born on March 16th and 12:51pm weighing 7lbs 5oz. She was delivered vaginally but with the help of forceps.
Monday (March 15th) -
In the very early hours of Monday morning I kept waking up every 30 or 45 minutes with a sort of stomach ache which felt like period cramps and after giving up trying to sleep, I get up at 6am (which is anything but me). After mentioning it to my OH, we decide that it could be contractions but I wasn't convinced because they didn't hurt as much as I'd expected. Throughout the day I had mild contractions coming every 20 minutes and I was losing a lot of watery discharge so I decided to ring my midwife who told me to come into hospital for a monitering. At the hospital we were told that I was 'on the way' but to go home and wait it out. That evening we had a hot indian curry, a long walk and a hot bath. A few minutes or so after I got out of the bath my contractions became so painful that I had to stop, bend over and breathe through them. Straight away after that they started coming every few minutes and we decided it was time that we went back to the hospital.
Tuesday (16th March)
1am -
By the time we got to the hospital, it was 1am and technically Tuesday. A lovely midwife monitered me straight away and it turned out that I was already 2cm dilated. She offered me pain relief, which I decided to turn down until I felt I really needed it and she told me she would come back in 4 hours to see how far I had progressed. I felt more or less fine for almost 3 hours and sat with my OH and MIL talking and putting face wipes on forehead (it was HOT in that ward) and having my back rubbed when it got to be painful enough for me to consider getting some pain relief. I asked to be checked over by the midwife to see if it was worth getting pain relief now (I cant remember which one, I think she offered me diamorphine) or waiting until I went into the delivery room.
After checking me again she discovered that I was already 7cm dilated and that it was time to go to the delivery room anyway which turned out to be the giant home-from-home delivery suite with ensuite bathroom (yeyy!).
4am (or thereabouts) -
The midwife gave me a big tank of gas and air, told me how to use it and more or less left myself and my birthing partners to it. Gas and air was amazing and did wonders to the back pain I was experiencing (apparently baby was pressed against my nerves - it was UNBELIEVABLY painful). Hours and hours passed as I went through contraction after contraction mostly bent over the end of the bed, using the glorious gas and air.
At what I think was around 9am, I was told to 'push when I felt I needed to' but after a good 3 hours I still felt nothing. I think was at this point when the midwives decided to break my waters for me. The midwives were getting worried now and took a fetal scalp blood scample to check on Robyn. They didn't tell me the results but they did tell me that they would have to call for the surgeon if she had still not been delivered within the next hour. So off my head on gas and air, and completely fucked from being in labour for so long I tried to 'push' anyway (which I assumed was like trying to poo). Apparently it did work because she started to crown but she just wasn't coming out as fast as they'd hoped. This is when it all went to shit. A surgeon came in and explained to me that they would have to take me to theatre, give me a spinal block and deliver her themselves and if this went wrong then they would have to perform an emergency c-section. By this point I was completely gutted and scared and bealing my eyes out from my contractions, intense back pain and thought of not giving birth to her naturally. I signed the form anyway for the sake of Robyns safety but it broke my heart. After 10 minutes or so it turned out they had changed their minds and were going to do a forceps delivery in the delivery suite which made me feel tons better. The delivery was a complete blur of pain, discomfort and people shouting encouragment. I think I had 3 needles in my vagina, a suppository up my bum, a catheter (which was honestly the worst thing ever) and an episiotomy and ofcourse the forceps. I think the entire process took about an hour (only by working it all out now) but it was the most painful and uncomfortable hour of my life. I still had to push her out, only now the surgeon was pulling her also so it made everything easier. She took about 3 or 4 hard pushes to get out which was the weirdest feeling but once she was out everything changed.
Robyn was born at 12:51pm weighing 7lbs and 5oz.
She made the tiniest cry and then she was wrapped up and given to me. I remember feeling really relaxed and happy when I held her. I was crying with happiness and nothing at all mattered. They delivered the placenta and stitched me up and gave me a couple more injections for about an hour but I cant remember caring about a thing. I gave her to my OH because I wanted him to hold her too and I just sat there hooked up on drugs in a weirdly relaxed state. The next thing I know it was 3pm and Robyn was being dressed and I was being put on a drip because my pulse, temperature and blood pressure were abnormally high and they thought I might have an infection.
4pm -
After 3 or so hours of laying there in a very dozed state I suddenly became very aware that I was lying in a pool of my own blood and asked if I could get up. Unfortunately I couldn't because I was on a drip hooked up to fluids which also meant that I didn't have two hands free to hold Robyn. Instead I just laid there staring at her, thinking how beautiful she was. After much haggling with the midwives they finally agreed to put a cap on my drip and let me have a bath. They also decided that I would have to stay overnight because of my drip, potential infection and because Robyn wasn't feeding as sufficiently as they wanted her to. I had to stay overnight without my OH (which was awful considering we've only ever spent 3 nights apart since we started living together in September 08) and look after Robyn all on my own with stitches and my drip in and all the while being drugged up to my eyeballs. Thankfully the next day my pulse, temperature and blood pressure were all back to normal and Robyn was feeding fine and we got to go home. And we all lived happily ever after.
I can't thank Leeds General Infirmary enough for being so good to us. The hospital is lovely as are the doctors, nurses, midwives and surgeons. I'd also like to thank my OH (he occasionally snoops on here) and MIL for being amazing birth partners and being by my side the entire time. My OH really rose to the occasion despite being squeamish and is a better father than I ever thought he could be (which says alot because I always had faith in him).
Photos - Robyn a few hours old, Robyn 1 day old at home, Robyn 4 days old, Robyn 4 days old, Robyn 7 days old.
xx
xx
