MrsMalowey
Mummy to Sophie
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- Feb 17, 2011
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So finally I feel like I can sit down and right this without feeling too traumatised! Little Sophie arrived on 11.10.11 at 2.14am after a difficult 36 hour labour and emergency c section. This story might be a little long!!
So I woke up on the Sunday 9th October ready for the car boot but decided to sleep on instead. Then my OH woke me up and said the walking might help her along and at 3 days overdue, reluctantly I agreed! We walked for 2 hours and then went home to relax.
Around 2pm that day, MIL came round and I noticed I was getting slightly painful tightenings in the bottom of my bump but I didn't mention it to her. I told my OH but it really wasnt that bad at this point. My best friend also came round and by then the cramps were every 15 mins or so but not too painful. By 8pm that night though they were every 5-8 minutes and very regular but it was definitely bearable. I was on here chatting to BnB friends and they all convinced me i should call the hospital who said to come in if i wanted to be checked over. I decided to leave it a little longer but they got worse and i wanted to see what the deal was and we went to l&d at 2am to get checked. By this point i had also had a small amount of pink CM. When we arrived i was examined by a lovely midwife but I was only 1/2cm dilated and 0 effaced. She gave me a sweep to help things alongbut said i could be like that for days before true labour started. Straight after the sweep I had a bloody show when we got home and went to bed but couldn't sleep as i was still really uncomfortable from the tightenings. Did managed to get a few hours though.
Got up on the Monday morning and my OH called work and said he wouldnt be coming in. Starting getting horrible contractions pretty much immediately, it was agony and 5 mins apart lasting 60secs. I called my MW and she said she would pop over and check on me. At this point, i really was in quite alot of pain. Just as I put down the phone, I laid on the sofa to try and get some relief and when i stood up my water broke and gushed everywhere! Anyway the MW came over and examined me and said I was only 1cm dilated and gave me another sweep. She told me to get in the bath to try and move things along and then she left. I started to worry that my contractions were so painful but was so early along, and that some people get past this point without even knowing they are in labour?! I got in the bath but my contractions stepped up a notch and i had to get out. Then it really got fun. I got out the bath and started having some extreme contractions. I was butt naked from the bath and couldn't walk more than a few steps so i laid on the bed and was biting down on the duvet with every contraction. My OH came and told me to come downstairs so i made it downstairs and was naked on my hands and knees (made the pain slightly better) in the lounge throwing up into a strategically placed saucepan! It was hell! I begged my OH to take me to l&d and he kept telling me we should wait a little longer. With how painful it was i was worried we were going to leave it too late and i just kept thinking how i wanted some pain relief!! On the way to hospital i called my mum to come with us, although originally she wasn't supposed to come.
Got to l&d after one hell of an awful car journey which involved me practically screaming out the car window. They examined me and i was still 1cm!! I knew something wasn't right I was in total agony and everyone kept telling me i wasnt in labour til i was 1cm. The MW there, who was also pregnant told me everyone handles pain differently. I cried and felt like i was a total failure for handling it so badly. I kept apologising to everyone for being a wuss and thinking if i was really nice maybe she'd sneak me me some pain relief as they'd said i couldnt have anything til i was 3cm! I asked if they would send me home and the MW said I was in no state to leave
and she gave me pethidine which she said wouldnt help with the pain but would calm me down, which it didnt!
So I sat there contracting in agony for another 4 hours whilst being told I wasn't in labour. Examined again, 2cm. I was in hell it was so painful and told I couldn't have anymore pain relief til 3 cm. By this point the monitor was showing that babies heart was dipping on each contraction so numerous doctors were called in.. I was panicking as it was so painful and only 2cm. The only way I could handle contractions was by getting my OH to breathe exactly the same time as me, which made him nearly pass out.
Finally I got to 3cm and a doctor came in after checking the babys heart again. She offered me an epidural to my surprise! When i was pregnant i was so against an epi but at this point i was getting desperate and exhausted. I thought I would really have to fight for one but it seems at this point she knew something was wrong and i shouldnt be in this much pain for nothing. I said yes and they gave me g&a in the meantime which did nothing except made me sound like a man! !
They monitored her heart and it continued to dip on every contraction but with he epi I was dilating quickly, like a cm every half hour. My OH went out for a cigarette and heard a doctor in the corridor say get prepped for a c section. He didnt tell me this til after though. They decided to check the babies blood oxygen by taking a blood sample from her head. The dr warned me if it was low a c section would be needed. The cut off was 7 and hers was 7.19 so really close. I was 6cm by then. They left me another 15 mins and re did the test, I had dilated to 7/8cm and her head had forced down the birth canal but the oxygen levels read 6.5. All of a sudden sirens were going, loads of staff rushed in and I was wheeled to theatre for an emergency section
my epi was topped up but I could still feel the pain when they cut into me. I told them i could feel it and they said I could either put up with the pain or they'd put me to sleep. I said I'd deal with the pain. They told me it would take 10 minutes but it took nearly 40 minutes of extreme tugging, pulling and yanking to get her out and I could feel every second of it. It turns out that her arm was over her face and her chin was tucked under my pelvic bone which is why every contraction was agonising, I wasn't just being a wimp! All the MW who told me i had a low pain threshold hadn't even checked which way she was facing (she was also sunnyside up) and would never have come out naturally.
All of a sudden I started shaking, I'd had a reaction to the epi and it had shut off oxygen to my blood vessels. I couldn't stop my whole upper body shuddering and my teeth chattering. My whole body ached all over and I felt sick. I asked my OH for a bucket but as he leaned in I threw up all over him! Literally all over him and the floor.
In the end they got her out, I waited for her to cry and she didn't. I asked my oh if she was okay and his face went blank and he started crying. I kept asking the doctor is she was alright but she wouldnt answer me and kept trying to take my blood pressure, like 20 times but it wouldnt work from all the shaking. All I could hear was people shouting get the resuscitaire etc. I was obviously worried but at that point i felt so ill from all the shaking and being sick and couldn't stop. I kept waiting for them to write up her apgar scores as all i could see from the bed was a whiteboard with info on it but they didnt. After 10 mins I heard a tiny grunt and my OH went over. He said she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen and was crying his eyes out. They tried to show her to me but I couldn't look I felt so ill. Then they took her away it took two hours of puking and shaking for the epi to wear off. It was actually worse than the contractions.
Andy and my mum went out quickly and saw her and took a couple of photos. I got stitched up and moved back to the room i was on before where they checked me etc. Andy and Mum went home and they told me to sleep but i had so much adrenaline it wasn't going to happen.
I got taken to a ward with 6 other ladies who had their babies and was told Sophie would be bought to me in the morning. I couldn't sleep and waited til 10am and no baby so asked a MW. They told me she had been taken to special care and the nicu asked me to come straight down. At this point i had no idea there had been a problem with Sophie except that she had been a bit poorly straight after the birth.
I was wheeled down in a wheelchair and saw my poor pale floppy Sophie in an incubator hooked up to a drip, heart monitor and a 100 other wires
We spent 7 days in the nicu, 4 days in intensive care, one in the nursery and 3 in the private room we were allowed to have. I held her for the first time on day 3 for a quick breastfeed and she's a pro now we have the latch right. At first i had to express colostrum into a syringe so she could still have it.
She had low oxygen levels in her blood, a puncture in her lung, group B strep, septacemia, low sugar levels, problems with her kidney and liver functions. She was put on a course of 7 day anti b's and I got roomed in at the hospital so I could breast feed her on demand. I was so uncomfortable from the c section it was horrendous and I didn't go outside for 7 days. I spent most of day 6 crying my eyes out and even made myself sick from all the tears. Luckily the nurses saw how much I was affected and sent us home a day early which i'll thank them forever for.
After the birth i had to sign a something about the c section because there wasnt even time for me to sign a consent form. I also had a chat with a doctor about how the hospital should have noticed she was in the wrong position for a natural birth. They apologised for the all the trouble. We are quite sure that if they had noticed sooner she wouldn't have been poorly as she only contracted the strep in the last few hours of labour when things got really difficult.
We are home now and Sophie is doing really well.
Here's some pics of my gorgeous perfect baby Sophie xx
https://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n527/zoedee123/181d072b.jpg
https://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n527/zoedee123/5484a4a0.jpg
https://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n527/zoedee123/1268d130.jpg
So I woke up on the Sunday 9th October ready for the car boot but decided to sleep on instead. Then my OH woke me up and said the walking might help her along and at 3 days overdue, reluctantly I agreed! We walked for 2 hours and then went home to relax.
Around 2pm that day, MIL came round and I noticed I was getting slightly painful tightenings in the bottom of my bump but I didn't mention it to her. I told my OH but it really wasnt that bad at this point. My best friend also came round and by then the cramps were every 15 mins or so but not too painful. By 8pm that night though they were every 5-8 minutes and very regular but it was definitely bearable. I was on here chatting to BnB friends and they all convinced me i should call the hospital who said to come in if i wanted to be checked over. I decided to leave it a little longer but they got worse and i wanted to see what the deal was and we went to l&d at 2am to get checked. By this point i had also had a small amount of pink CM. When we arrived i was examined by a lovely midwife but I was only 1/2cm dilated and 0 effaced. She gave me a sweep to help things alongbut said i could be like that for days before true labour started. Straight after the sweep I had a bloody show when we got home and went to bed but couldn't sleep as i was still really uncomfortable from the tightenings. Did managed to get a few hours though.
Got up on the Monday morning and my OH called work and said he wouldnt be coming in. Starting getting horrible contractions pretty much immediately, it was agony and 5 mins apart lasting 60secs. I called my MW and she said she would pop over and check on me. At this point, i really was in quite alot of pain. Just as I put down the phone, I laid on the sofa to try and get some relief and when i stood up my water broke and gushed everywhere! Anyway the MW came over and examined me and said I was only 1cm dilated and gave me another sweep. She told me to get in the bath to try and move things along and then she left. I started to worry that my contractions were so painful but was so early along, and that some people get past this point without even knowing they are in labour?! I got in the bath but my contractions stepped up a notch and i had to get out. Then it really got fun. I got out the bath and started having some extreme contractions. I was butt naked from the bath and couldn't walk more than a few steps so i laid on the bed and was biting down on the duvet with every contraction. My OH came and told me to come downstairs so i made it downstairs and was naked on my hands and knees (made the pain slightly better) in the lounge throwing up into a strategically placed saucepan! It was hell! I begged my OH to take me to l&d and he kept telling me we should wait a little longer. With how painful it was i was worried we were going to leave it too late and i just kept thinking how i wanted some pain relief!! On the way to hospital i called my mum to come with us, although originally she wasn't supposed to come.
Got to l&d after one hell of an awful car journey which involved me practically screaming out the car window. They examined me and i was still 1cm!! I knew something wasn't right I was in total agony and everyone kept telling me i wasnt in labour til i was 1cm. The MW there, who was also pregnant told me everyone handles pain differently. I cried and felt like i was a total failure for handling it so badly. I kept apologising to everyone for being a wuss and thinking if i was really nice maybe she'd sneak me me some pain relief as they'd said i couldnt have anything til i was 3cm! I asked if they would send me home and the MW said I was in no state to leave
and she gave me pethidine which she said wouldnt help with the pain but would calm me down, which it didnt!So I sat there contracting in agony for another 4 hours whilst being told I wasn't in labour. Examined again, 2cm. I was in hell it was so painful and told I couldn't have anymore pain relief til 3 cm. By this point the monitor was showing that babies heart was dipping on each contraction so numerous doctors were called in.. I was panicking as it was so painful and only 2cm. The only way I could handle contractions was by getting my OH to breathe exactly the same time as me, which made him nearly pass out.
Finally I got to 3cm and a doctor came in after checking the babys heart again. She offered me an epidural to my surprise! When i was pregnant i was so against an epi but at this point i was getting desperate and exhausted. I thought I would really have to fight for one but it seems at this point she knew something was wrong and i shouldnt be in this much pain for nothing. I said yes and they gave me g&a in the meantime which did nothing except made me sound like a man! !
They monitored her heart and it continued to dip on every contraction but with he epi I was dilating quickly, like a cm every half hour. My OH went out for a cigarette and heard a doctor in the corridor say get prepped for a c section. He didnt tell me this til after though. They decided to check the babies blood oxygen by taking a blood sample from her head. The dr warned me if it was low a c section would be needed. The cut off was 7 and hers was 7.19 so really close. I was 6cm by then. They left me another 15 mins and re did the test, I had dilated to 7/8cm and her head had forced down the birth canal but the oxygen levels read 6.5. All of a sudden sirens were going, loads of staff rushed in and I was wheeled to theatre for an emergency section
my epi was topped up but I could still feel the pain when they cut into me. I told them i could feel it and they said I could either put up with the pain or they'd put me to sleep. I said I'd deal with the pain. They told me it would take 10 minutes but it took nearly 40 minutes of extreme tugging, pulling and yanking to get her out and I could feel every second of it. It turns out that her arm was over her face and her chin was tucked under my pelvic bone which is why every contraction was agonising, I wasn't just being a wimp! All the MW who told me i had a low pain threshold hadn't even checked which way she was facing (she was also sunnyside up) and would never have come out naturally. All of a sudden I started shaking, I'd had a reaction to the epi and it had shut off oxygen to my blood vessels. I couldn't stop my whole upper body shuddering and my teeth chattering. My whole body ached all over and I felt sick. I asked my OH for a bucket but as he leaned in I threw up all over him! Literally all over him and the floor.
In the end they got her out, I waited for her to cry and she didn't. I asked my oh if she was okay and his face went blank and he started crying. I kept asking the doctor is she was alright but she wouldnt answer me and kept trying to take my blood pressure, like 20 times but it wouldnt work from all the shaking. All I could hear was people shouting get the resuscitaire etc. I was obviously worried but at that point i felt so ill from all the shaking and being sick and couldn't stop. I kept waiting for them to write up her apgar scores as all i could see from the bed was a whiteboard with info on it but they didnt. After 10 mins I heard a tiny grunt and my OH went over. He said she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen and was crying his eyes out. They tried to show her to me but I couldn't look I felt so ill. Then they took her away
it took two hours of puking and shaking for the epi to wear off. It was actually worse than the contractions.Andy and my mum went out quickly and saw her and took a couple of photos. I got stitched up and moved back to the room i was on before where they checked me etc. Andy and Mum went home and they told me to sleep but i had so much adrenaline it wasn't going to happen.
I got taken to a ward with 6 other ladies who had their babies and was told Sophie would be bought to me in the morning. I couldn't sleep and waited til 10am and no baby so asked a MW. They told me she had been taken to special care and the nicu asked me to come straight down. At this point i had no idea there had been a problem with Sophie except that she had been a bit poorly straight after the birth.
I was wheeled down in a wheelchair and saw my poor pale floppy Sophie in an incubator hooked up to a drip, heart monitor and a 100 other wires
We spent 7 days in the nicu, 4 days in intensive care, one in the nursery and 3 in the private room we were allowed to have. I held her for the first time on day 3 for a quick breastfeed and she's a pro now we have the latch right. At first i had to express colostrum into a syringe so she could still have it.
She had low oxygen levels in her blood, a puncture in her lung, group B strep, septacemia, low sugar levels, problems with her kidney and liver functions. She was put on a course of 7 day anti b's and I got roomed in at the hospital so I could breast feed her on demand. I was so uncomfortable from the c section it was horrendous and I didn't go outside for 7 days. I spent most of day 6 crying my eyes out and even made myself sick from all the tears. Luckily the nurses saw how much I was affected and sent us home a day early which i'll thank them forever for.
After the birth i had to sign a something about the c section because there wasnt even time for me to sign a consent form. I also had a chat with a doctor about how the hospital should have noticed she was in the wrong position for a natural birth. They apologised for the all the trouble. We are quite sure that if they had noticed sooner she wouldn't have been poorly as she only contracted the strep in the last few hours of labour when things got really difficult.
We are home now and Sophie is doing really well.
Here's some pics of my gorgeous perfect baby Sophie xx
https://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n527/zoedee123/181d072b.jpg
https://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n527/zoedee123/5484a4a0.jpg
https://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n527/zoedee123/1268d130.jpg
much respect hun xxxxxxx
it sounds like a traumatic birth but you did AMAZINGLY well and I have been amazed at how wonderful you have handled everything. And now look at little Sophie, breastfeeding like a pro and a picture of health 
She is absolutely beautiful! What a perfect baby girl you have. 
I've left out a few bits that I forgot. At one point she had a lumber puncture because they thought she could have brain damage from the strep b but it was clear thank god!
