Princess Leah
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I was a little obsessed with reading birth stories when I was in the third trimester, and so I really wanted to write my own. So, 5 months on im finally getting around to it.
My baby girl was due on 15th Feb. From about two week s before the due date I was having lots of Braxton hicks, which I took as a good sign. The week before I started to lose my mucus plug and everyone was telling it would be a matter of days! However, my due date came and went and I was booked in for a sweep about a week after. I was a little nervous about it as I had heard it was painful. It was nowhere near as bad as I imagined, it was probably not even as uncomfortable as a cervical smear. The midwife told me I was 1 to 2/5 dilated. At this appointment I was also booked in for an induction on Sat 27th Feb. I was really hoping I wouldnt have to have the induction so I was trying EVERYTHING that everyone was recommending to me. Nothing seemed to work so in the end I just gave up and thought I would definitely need the induction.
On the Wednesday before the induction was due I woke up at 3:15am with a pain. This wasnt too unusual, but more regular pains followed and something told me it was different this time. I started to time them and they were every 5 mins and just slightly uncomfortable. At 6am I woke up my husband and he decided not to go to work. By this time they were getting painful and I knew I was in labour. My plan had always been to stay at home as long as possible so I put on the tens machine and tried to breathe through them. I also tried having a bath, but I didnt like it because I couldnt move around. I found that each time I had a contraction I needed to kneel on the floor. The contractions got to be about 4 mins apart and I wanted to go in to the hospital it was 10:30am so Id managed about 7 hours at home. When we got there I was really embarrassed because the contractions really slowed down (apparently this happens a lot). The midwife examined me and I was still only 1-2 cm dilated. She gave me a sweep and OMG it was really painful!! After this I went home and the sweep really did something because the contractions were every 3 minutes and lasting almost a minute. I was all over the sofa and on the floor, cranking up the tens machine!! I think we were at home for about an hour and I just really wanted to go back and get some pain relief, so much for my plan! So my hubby drove me back to the hospital. I was examined again and this time I was 3cm. I bounced around on a birthing ball for a while and the midwife lit some aromatherapy candles. The pain was really intense so I decided that I wanted to pain relief. The midwife suggested diamorphine. I had always said that I didnt really want this as I was worried it would make me feel to out of it! But I said yes straight away! The best way to describe it was that I could still feel the pain, but I wasnt really bothered about it. It got to about 10pm and the diamorphine had long worn off and I was asking for the epidural. The anaesthetist was busy helping women who were needing C-Sections so hours later he still hadnt made it to me. By this time I was really tired and my contractions were painful, but had slowed down. They decided to give me the hormone drip to help speed up the contractions again and put me on a monitor for the babies heartbeat. The drip made the contractions really painful. Everytime the midwife turned it up I would ask again for the epidural but it didnt come! I started on the gas and air at this point. It didnt take the edge off any of the pain, but it gave me something to focus on while I was having the contraction. It also made my voice really weird! It was about 2am and I had been in pain for nearly 24 hours and was really exhausted. The epidural wasnt coming anytime soon so I ended up having another dose of diamorphine. I was able to doze, although each time I had a contraction I would wake up. I was really out of it and started to talk to my hubby about Archie Mitchell from Eastenders! At about 3:30am the anaesthetist made round to me. The midwife had warned me that if I seemed too drugged up from the diamorphine he might not give me the epidural, so I was trying to look ok, but it was hard to keep both eyes open and focussed on him! He gave me the epidural and it was really good for relieving the pain of the contractions and I could still move my legs around. However, I did have a really bad stitch type pain in both sides of my ribs and the anaesthetist tried different methods to relieve it, but it never went away and was really painful. I was able to get a little sleep, but probably only about half an hour. My hubby was also really exhausted but stayed with me. I was still on the monitor and the babies heart rate had dropped a few times. At one point the doctors were discussing whether to give me a C Section if my labour didnt progress, but luckily I was slowly getting more dilated.
By 2pm on Friday, a day and a half after I woke up with the pains, I was 10cm and ready to push. I still had the epidural in but felt pressure in my bum and knew it was time to push. I pushed for an hour and a half but didnt seem to be getting anywhere. Because of this failure to progress they said that they would need to help the baby out with forceps. There was about 6 people in the room at this point and when they put my legs in stirrups I really panicked and was crying. The student midwife told me to calm down (looking back shes lucky I didnt swing for her!) So they gave me an episiotomy (I never felt a thing) and it felt like the doctor was doing the washing up in there! When I had the next couple of contractions I pushed and the doctor pulled! After about 15 mins they pulled out my baby girl and put her on my chest for about 2 seconds. They then put her on a trolley paediatrician checked her over. Her apgar scores were 10, 10, 10. We named her Farrah Emma and she weighed 8lbs. They gave her back to me and she pood all over my arm! She ended up being 11 days overdue. Because I was so exhausted and the labour had been difficult I felt quite numb and upset for a few days afterwards. It took me a few weeks to feel right and actually feel happy, which I feel bad about now. The physical recovery was ok. I was in hospital for 2 nights, but this was due to needing help with breast feeding. My episiotomy wasnt too uncomfortable either, as long as I took regular paracetamol. I will say that it was all definitely worth it! Although if im lucky enough to have another baby, I hope I have an easier time!
My baby girl was due on 15th Feb. From about two week s before the due date I was having lots of Braxton hicks, which I took as a good sign. The week before I started to lose my mucus plug and everyone was telling it would be a matter of days! However, my due date came and went and I was booked in for a sweep about a week after. I was a little nervous about it as I had heard it was painful. It was nowhere near as bad as I imagined, it was probably not even as uncomfortable as a cervical smear. The midwife told me I was 1 to 2/5 dilated. At this appointment I was also booked in for an induction on Sat 27th Feb. I was really hoping I wouldnt have to have the induction so I was trying EVERYTHING that everyone was recommending to me. Nothing seemed to work so in the end I just gave up and thought I would definitely need the induction.
On the Wednesday before the induction was due I woke up at 3:15am with a pain. This wasnt too unusual, but more regular pains followed and something told me it was different this time. I started to time them and they were every 5 mins and just slightly uncomfortable. At 6am I woke up my husband and he decided not to go to work. By this time they were getting painful and I knew I was in labour. My plan had always been to stay at home as long as possible so I put on the tens machine and tried to breathe through them. I also tried having a bath, but I didnt like it because I couldnt move around. I found that each time I had a contraction I needed to kneel on the floor. The contractions got to be about 4 mins apart and I wanted to go in to the hospital it was 10:30am so Id managed about 7 hours at home. When we got there I was really embarrassed because the contractions really slowed down (apparently this happens a lot). The midwife examined me and I was still only 1-2 cm dilated. She gave me a sweep and OMG it was really painful!! After this I went home and the sweep really did something because the contractions were every 3 minutes and lasting almost a minute. I was all over the sofa and on the floor, cranking up the tens machine!! I think we were at home for about an hour and I just really wanted to go back and get some pain relief, so much for my plan! So my hubby drove me back to the hospital. I was examined again and this time I was 3cm. I bounced around on a birthing ball for a while and the midwife lit some aromatherapy candles. The pain was really intense so I decided that I wanted to pain relief. The midwife suggested diamorphine. I had always said that I didnt really want this as I was worried it would make me feel to out of it! But I said yes straight away! The best way to describe it was that I could still feel the pain, but I wasnt really bothered about it. It got to about 10pm and the diamorphine had long worn off and I was asking for the epidural. The anaesthetist was busy helping women who were needing C-Sections so hours later he still hadnt made it to me. By this time I was really tired and my contractions were painful, but had slowed down. They decided to give me the hormone drip to help speed up the contractions again and put me on a monitor for the babies heartbeat. The drip made the contractions really painful. Everytime the midwife turned it up I would ask again for the epidural but it didnt come! I started on the gas and air at this point. It didnt take the edge off any of the pain, but it gave me something to focus on while I was having the contraction. It also made my voice really weird! It was about 2am and I had been in pain for nearly 24 hours and was really exhausted. The epidural wasnt coming anytime soon so I ended up having another dose of diamorphine. I was able to doze, although each time I had a contraction I would wake up. I was really out of it and started to talk to my hubby about Archie Mitchell from Eastenders! At about 3:30am the anaesthetist made round to me. The midwife had warned me that if I seemed too drugged up from the diamorphine he might not give me the epidural, so I was trying to look ok, but it was hard to keep both eyes open and focussed on him! He gave me the epidural and it was really good for relieving the pain of the contractions and I could still move my legs around. However, I did have a really bad stitch type pain in both sides of my ribs and the anaesthetist tried different methods to relieve it, but it never went away and was really painful. I was able to get a little sleep, but probably only about half an hour. My hubby was also really exhausted but stayed with me. I was still on the monitor and the babies heart rate had dropped a few times. At one point the doctors were discussing whether to give me a C Section if my labour didnt progress, but luckily I was slowly getting more dilated.
By 2pm on Friday, a day and a half after I woke up with the pains, I was 10cm and ready to push. I still had the epidural in but felt pressure in my bum and knew it was time to push. I pushed for an hour and a half but didnt seem to be getting anywhere. Because of this failure to progress they said that they would need to help the baby out with forceps. There was about 6 people in the room at this point and when they put my legs in stirrups I really panicked and was crying. The student midwife told me to calm down (looking back shes lucky I didnt swing for her!) So they gave me an episiotomy (I never felt a thing) and it felt like the doctor was doing the washing up in there! When I had the next couple of contractions I pushed and the doctor pulled! After about 15 mins they pulled out my baby girl and put her on my chest for about 2 seconds. They then put her on a trolley paediatrician checked her over. Her apgar scores were 10, 10, 10. We named her Farrah Emma and she weighed 8lbs. They gave her back to me and she pood all over my arm! She ended up being 11 days overdue. Because I was so exhausted and the labour had been difficult I felt quite numb and upset for a few days afterwards. It took me a few weeks to feel right and actually feel happy, which I feel bad about now. The physical recovery was ok. I was in hospital for 2 nights, but this was due to needing help with breast feeding. My episiotomy wasnt too uncomfortable either, as long as I took regular paracetamol. I will say that it was all definitely worth it! Although if im lucky enough to have another baby, I hope I have an easier time!
