divershona
Mummy to Kaya :)
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I've just written this all out on paper to see how long it would be and its nearly 2 and a half A4 sheets so i'm warning you now this is going to be a long one 
but i'll give you a summary first.
Kaya Elizabeth Louise Smith was born by a virtually unassisted vaginal delivery at 11:40pm on the 24th of November (4 days overdue) weighing in at a whopping 8lb 11oz (the biggest baby in my family before her was only 7lb 4oz!!!) and 53cm long.
If you want the rest of the story I would recommend putting the kettle on (or getting the OH to) and make a cuppa and grab a couple of biccies
... you might be here for a while! 
Anyone who read the updates that Lois did for me will already know some of this. Oh and there are some of the funny things that I said at the end hehe
And now for the details...and hope you enjoy reading!
10:30am
Went to see the midwife for my sweep which was soooooo uncomfortable and sore! she said that I was already 5cm dilated, stretching to about 6.5cm, I was fully effaced and told me not to bother making an appointment to see her the following week because I would definately be in active labour within the next 48 hours! I couldn't believe that I was already half way there and it hadn't even hurt!! I was expecting her to tell me that I was about 3cm dilated at most! Anyways that got me really excited but I daren't believe anything would actually happen, seeing as I had been cramping quite alot the night before but they weren't regular ... although now I think that was me in early labour because of how dilated I was when the MW checked me.
11:00 - 11:15am
I started having some serious cramping and tightenings which my midwife had said would happen after my sweep so i didn't think too much of it at first until it started to hurt a little bit so I thought that I would head home from town and wait for things to calm down. I text my OH whilst I was in town to let him know that it could be the start of something but not to come home just yet as it could be ages and I didn't want him missing college if he didn't need to.
12:00pm
Got home and the cramps were starting to hurt a bit more so i had a couple of paracetamol and a hot bath ... figured if it was the real thing then the bath would help the pain and if it was false labour then it would more than likely make the cramps go away. When I got out the bath I was still cramping and I thought that I would time them ... they were coming at constant 4 minute intervals and lasting about 30-40 seconds so I was going to text my OH to come home (he was at college) as i felt like i was in proper labour but he was already on his way back ... I'd been keeping him updated with how frequent the contractions were and he figured that it was the real thing and he didn't want me to be on my own whilst I was in pain. He got home about 1:00pm and I got him to check the timing of my contractions and they were now every 3 minutes and about 35 to 40 seconds long. By this time I was really needing to stop and breathe through the contractions so we phoned the hospital who said to come down but doubted that I was in labour and I was just having some strong cramps after my sweep. HAHAHAHA how wrong they were!
2:30pm
Got to the hospital and my contractions had slowed down to about 5 minutes apart, but they were definately contractions!
MW wasn't sure whether to let me stay in or just send me home as I was coping with the contractions quite well. The MW examined me to see if I had dilated anymore and I had, 6cm stretching to just under 8cm and the contractions then went back up to 3 minutes apart after her examination of me so they let me stay in and moved me from the triage ward up to the labour and delivery ward as I was in active labour.
4pm
the pain from the contractions was getting worse and the MW said that I could have some co-drydamol (I think thats what it was called but I'm not sure ... it was basically strong paracetamol) to help with the pain. Which I kept telling OH was having no effect but thinking back now it probably was and its just that my contractions had got stronger so I didn't notice it (which OH told me at the time and I refused to believe him)
5pm
decided that I wanted a bath to see if it would help with the pain and it worked wonders, relieved all the pressure from my back and made the contractions alot easier to deal with too but were getting more painful and the bath was getting cold ( I love hot baths normally and the midwife had only run it luke warm
) when i got out the contractions seemed alot stronger and were getting more painful but pacing the corridor on the labour ward definately helped in between contractions ... and the midwife's station was at the perfect height to lean on when I had a contraction.
6:45pm
Got moved into my own labour and delivery room (was in a 4 bed room before) and I got my gas and air and loved it ... made me feel so drunk! It took the edge off of the contractions and made them alot easier to deal with as I had the gas and air tube thingy to distract myself with. It was shift change over at 7pm and before the MW that had been looking after me went I asked her if she thought my LO would be here before midnight because I wanted to try and get some sleep tonight She said that she doubted it and I felt like crying.
Just under an hour later the pain was getting really bad from the contractions and I asked about getting in the waterpool to see if it would help. MW went and checked and the pool on the ward that i was in was broken but she said the one on the other labour ward was working so went to fill that up. In the meantime I was saying that if the waterpool didn't help with the pain I wanted an epidural (something that i'd said that I really didn't want before i was in labour!) as I didnt think I could do it anymore (cried my eyes out at my OH too) my OH persistantly reminded me that I really didn't want the epidural and I wouldn't take no for an answer. The MW apparently filled the pool up wrong the first time 
(I don't remember being told this but my OH told me afterwards)
8pm
got into the waterpool and I honestly think its the best thing I could have done when I was in labour. It took the pressure off and soothed my muscles in between contractions. When I was in the pool I started to get a really strong urge to push and it was really really hard not to push but the MW told me not to so I had to resist. I kept dropping the gas and air tube over the side of the pool and my OH had to keep picking it up for me ... I bit the mouth piece off at one point and was nearly crying at OH when he was taking so long to put it back on (it probably wasn't that long but I was having a contraction and I felt like he'd "stolen" the gas and air from me)
Because the contractions were getting really painful and I was getting such strong urges to push I started to get upset again that I couldn't do it and was begging the midwife for an epidural. The MW and my OH eventually convinced me to try some diamorphine before I made a decision about the epidural.
8:45pm
Got out of the pool and got the diamorphine. as the midwife was getting it ready i told her I didn't want it and to just get me an epidural! OH again had to convince me that an epidural wasn't what I wanted and because I'd said I didn't want it she had to check with me that I wanted it and i told her to just give me the diamorphine! The diamorphine was brilliant, I was still having the urge to push but it wasn't with every contraction and the urges were easier to deal with than in the pool. (the diamorphine didn't make me sleepy either!)
10:30pm
By now it felt as though the diamorphine was wearing off and I was asking for an epidural again as the contractions were coming really close together and were really strong, my OH was brilliant and asked me if it was really what I wanted and I told him that unless I was allowed to push NOW! then I wanted one!
The midwife checked me and I was now 10cm dilated and I could push!
I pushed and pushed and my OH and the MW were constantly telling me that I was doing really really well and that she was nearly there! It got to the ring of fire and the midwife said that bubs had loads of hair, and i got to feel it and that gave me the energy to keep pushing through, the midwife said that she would have to give me and episiotomy otherwise I would definately tear as my bits were too small to let baby out. (she didn't say bits though)
She did the episiotomy about 11:30pm and Kaya Elizabeth Louise Smith was born at 11:40 pm. It took two pushes to get her body out once her head was out and she was placed onto my chest while the MW cut her cord. Straight afterwhich my OH called my dad and then my sister to tell them that i'd had a baby girl and that they had a granddaughter and niece.
The midwife then had to examine me to see if I had torn anywhere and I had the gas and air again for that as it was really sore! She discovered a 3rd degree perenial tear which would need stitching by the Dr. The Dr came and examined me and told me that I would have to go to theatre to get a spinal block and get stitched up as the tear was so severe. I broke down and cried at that point that I really needed my dad and that I wouldn't be going to theatre without my dad! My OH phoned my dad again (who was still at home) and he came down to the hospital. In the 5 minutes it took for my dad to get there the Dr and the anaesthetist agreed that I could get the spinal in the delivery room and they'd stitch me up in there seeing as I was so panicky about going to theatre. The delivery room got turned into a mini theatre and it took about 2 hours and a total of 47 stitches to get me stitched up. My OH had skin to skin with kaya while i was getting stiched up and I got some with her when I'd been stitched up at about 3am.
Kaya and I came home from hospital the evening after she was born and have settled right into family life with the OH. Kaya is soooo perfect and I love her so much already, I can't believe its a week since she was born! She's a happy little girl and she sleeps really well, letting OH and I sleep for a good 3 and a half to 4 hours at a time over night which we are really gratefull for.
And now for the funny bits ... I know you'll enjoy these, I did when OH told me them
"who the fu*k designed white dressing gowns for labour?" I'd bought a white dressing gown to use whilst in the hospital and I had it on whilst in labour and it was getting dirty from me leaking on it so i took it off and was naked the rest of the time because i was too hot (the midwife was looking at my foof anyway)
When i was in the water pool i turned to the midwife and said "I don't mean to be rude but why do you look like a smurf?" and she replied with " Well... I think that is rather rude actually" she had on those blue scrubs and whenever I looked at her she reminded me of a smurf hehe. ( I did apologise to her after Kaya was born though)
When i got my gas and air back when i got into the pool i said that it made me feel drunk again and that my OH should get the champagne out because our LO would be here soon.
When I was walking from the pool room back to my delivery room I saw one of the other girls from my antenatal classes who was due on the same day as me coming onto the delivery ward and i told her that she wanted the gas and air and to trust me on that!
When Kaya was crowning I turned to my OH and told him that the ring of fire felt like f*king fire.
I don't know how many of you will have read that whole thing but I'm impressed if you did, sorry it was soooooooo long and here are some pictures of my beautiful baby girl.
but i'll give you a summary first.Kaya Elizabeth Louise Smith was born by a virtually unassisted vaginal delivery at 11:40pm on the 24th of November (4 days overdue) weighing in at a whopping 8lb 11oz (the biggest baby in my family before her was only 7lb 4oz!!!) and 53cm long.
If you want the rest of the story I would recommend putting the kettle on (or getting the OH to) and make a cuppa and grab a couple of biccies
... you might be here for a while! Anyone who read the updates that Lois did for me will already know some of this. Oh and there are some of the funny things that I said at the end heheAnd now for the details...and hope you enjoy reading!
10:30am
Went to see the midwife for my sweep which was soooooo uncomfortable and sore! she said that I was already 5cm dilated, stretching to about 6.5cm, I was fully effaced and told me not to bother making an appointment to see her the following week because I would definately be in active labour within the next 48 hours! I couldn't believe that I was already half way there and it hadn't even hurt!! I was expecting her to tell me that I was about 3cm dilated at most! Anyways that got me really excited but I daren't believe anything would actually happen, seeing as I had been cramping quite alot the night before but they weren't regular ... although now I think that was me in early labour because of how dilated I was when the MW checked me.
11:00 - 11:15am
I started having some serious cramping and tightenings which my midwife had said would happen after my sweep so i didn't think too much of it at first until it started to hurt a little bit so I thought that I would head home from town and wait for things to calm down. I text my OH whilst I was in town to let him know that it could be the start of something but not to come home just yet as it could be ages and I didn't want him missing college if he didn't need to.
12:00pm
Got home and the cramps were starting to hurt a bit more so i had a couple of paracetamol and a hot bath ... figured if it was the real thing then the bath would help the pain and if it was false labour then it would more than likely make the cramps go away. When I got out the bath I was still cramping and I thought that I would time them ... they were coming at constant 4 minute intervals and lasting about 30-40 seconds so I was going to text my OH to come home (he was at college) as i felt like i was in proper labour but he was already on his way back ... I'd been keeping him updated with how frequent the contractions were and he figured that it was the real thing and he didn't want me to be on my own whilst I was in pain. He got home about 1:00pm and I got him to check the timing of my contractions and they were now every 3 minutes and about 35 to 40 seconds long. By this time I was really needing to stop and breathe through the contractions so we phoned the hospital who said to come down but doubted that I was in labour and I was just having some strong cramps after my sweep. HAHAHAHA how wrong they were!
2:30pm
Got to the hospital and my contractions had slowed down to about 5 minutes apart, but they were definately contractions!
MW wasn't sure whether to let me stay in or just send me home as I was coping with the contractions quite well. The MW examined me to see if I had dilated anymore and I had, 6cm stretching to just under 8cm and the contractions then went back up to 3 minutes apart after her examination of me so they let me stay in and moved me from the triage ward up to the labour and delivery ward as I was in active labour. 4pm
the pain from the contractions was getting worse and the MW said that I could have some co-drydamol (I think thats what it was called but I'm not sure ... it was basically strong paracetamol) to help with the pain. Which I kept telling OH was having no effect but thinking back now it probably was and its just that my contractions had got stronger so I didn't notice it (which OH told me at the time and I refused to believe him
) 5pm
decided that I wanted a bath to see if it would help with the pain and it worked wonders, relieved all the pressure from my back and made the contractions alot easier to deal with too but were getting more painful and the bath was getting cold ( I love hot baths normally and the midwife had only run it luke warm
) when i got out the contractions seemed alot stronger and were getting more painful but pacing the corridor on the labour ward definately helped in between contractions ... and the midwife's station was at the perfect height to lean on when I had a contraction.6:45pm
Got moved into my own labour and delivery room (was in a 4 bed room before) and I got my gas and air and loved it ... made me feel so drunk! It took the edge off of the contractions and made them alot easier to deal with as I had the gas and air tube thingy to distract myself with. It was shift change over at 7pm and before the MW that had been looking after me went I asked her if she thought my LO would be here before midnight because I wanted to try and get some sleep tonight
She said that she doubted it and I felt like crying. Just under an hour later the pain was getting really bad from the contractions and I asked about getting in the waterpool to see if it would help. MW went and checked and the pool on the ward that i was in was broken
but she said the one on the other labour ward was working so went to fill that up. In the meantime I was saying that if the waterpool didn't help with the pain I wanted an epidural (something that i'd said that I really didn't want before i was in labour!) as I didnt think I could do it anymore (cried my eyes out at my OH too) my OH persistantly reminded me that I really didn't want the epidural and I wouldn't take no for an answer. The MW apparently filled the pool up wrong the first time (I don't remember being told this but my OH told me afterwards) 8pm
got into the waterpool and I honestly think its the best thing I could have done when I was in labour. It took the pressure off and soothed my muscles in between contractions. When I was in the pool I started to get a really strong urge to push and it was really really hard not to push but the MW told me not to so I had to resist. I kept dropping the gas and air tube over the side of the pool and my OH had to keep picking it up for me ... I bit the mouth piece off at one point and was nearly crying at OH when he was taking so long to put it back on (it probably wasn't that long but I was having a contraction and I felt like he'd "stolen" the gas and air from me)
Because the contractions were getting really painful and I was getting such strong urges to push I started to get upset again that I couldn't do it and was begging the midwife for an epidural. The MW and my OH eventually convinced me to try some diamorphine before I made a decision about the epidural.
8:45pm
Got out of the pool and got the diamorphine. as the midwife was getting it ready i told her I didn't want it and to just get me an epidural! OH again had to convince me that an epidural wasn't what I wanted and because I'd said I didn't want it she had to check with me that I wanted it and i told her to just give me the diamorphine! The diamorphine was brilliant, I was still having the urge to push but it wasn't with every contraction and the urges were easier to deal with than in the pool. (the diamorphine didn't make me sleepy either!)
10:30pm
By now it felt as though the diamorphine was wearing off and I was asking for an epidural again as the contractions were coming really close together and were really strong, my OH was brilliant and asked me if it was really what I wanted and I told him that unless I was allowed to push NOW! then I wanted one!
The midwife checked me and I was now 10cm dilated and I could push!
I pushed and pushed and my OH and the MW were constantly telling me that I was doing really really well and that she was nearly there! It got to the ring of fire and the midwife said that bubs had loads of hair, and i got to feel it and that gave me the energy to keep pushing through, the midwife said that she would have to give me and episiotomy otherwise I would definately tear as my bits were too small to let baby out. (she didn't say bits though
) She did the episiotomy about 11:30pm and Kaya Elizabeth Louise Smith was born at 11:40 pm. It took two pushes to get her body out once her head was out and she was placed onto my chest while the MW cut her cord. Straight afterwhich my OH called my dad and then my sister to tell them that i'd had a baby girl and that they had a granddaughter and niece.
The midwife then had to examine me to see if I had torn anywhere and I had the gas and air again for that as it was really sore! She discovered a 3rd degree perenial tear which would need stitching by the Dr. The Dr came and examined me and told me that I would have to go to theatre to get a spinal block and get stitched up as the tear was so severe. I broke down and cried at that point that I really needed my dad and that I wouldn't be going to theatre without my dad! My OH phoned my dad again (who was still at home) and he came down to the hospital. In the 5 minutes it took for my dad to get there the Dr and the anaesthetist agreed that I could get the spinal in the delivery room and they'd stitch me up in there seeing as I was so panicky about going to theatre. The delivery room got turned into a mini theatre and it took about 2 hours and a total of 47 stitches to get me stitched up. My OH had skin to skin with kaya while i was getting stiched up and I got some with her when I'd been stitched up at about 3am.
Kaya and I came home from hospital the evening after she was born and have settled right into family life with the OH. Kaya is soooo perfect and I love her so much already, I can't believe its a week since she was born! She's a happy little girl and she sleeps really well, letting OH and I sleep for a good 3 and a half to 4 hours at a time over night which we are really gratefull for.
And now for the funny bits ... I know you'll enjoy these, I did when OH told me them
"who the fu*k designed white dressing gowns for labour?" I'd bought a white dressing gown to use whilst in the hospital and I had it on whilst in labour and it was getting dirty from me leaking on it so i took it off and was naked the rest of the time because i was too hot (the midwife was looking at my foof anyway
)When i was in the water pool i turned to the midwife and said "I don't mean to be rude but why do you look like a smurf?" and she replied with " Well... I think that is rather rude actually" she had on those blue scrubs and whenever I looked at her she reminded me of a smurf hehe. ( I did apologise to her after Kaya was born though
)When i got my gas and air back when i got into the pool i said that it made me feel drunk again and that my OH should get the champagne out because our LO would be here soon.
When I was walking from the pool room back to my delivery room I saw one of the other girls from my antenatal classes who was due on the same day as me coming onto the delivery ward and i told her that she wanted the gas and air and to trust me on that!
When Kaya was crowning I turned to my OH and told him that the ring of fire felt like f*king fire.
I don't know how many of you will have read that whole thing but I'm impressed if you did, sorry it was soooooooo long
and here are some pictures of my beautiful baby girl. 
