SKR_Derby
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Hi everyone sorry for the delay in posting my birth story but since it's been Christmas and New Year i've not really had much chance to log onto PF.
I was booked in for a midwife appointment on 14/12/2010 for my regular checkup (I was 40 + 1 day) but not with my usual midwife. I asked if it was possible to have a sweep as I was concerned that baby would not arrive before Christmas and she agreed. The sweep was unsuccessful as my cervix was too high so I spent the next few days gulping down raspberry leaf tea and pineapples and bouncing on my birthing ball in the hope that these would all get things moving. By the weekend I thought to myself this baby will come when it's ready and hubby and I were going to enjoy what could be the last weekend being just the 2 of us and just chill out.
On Sunday evening we had a roast dinner and watched a bit of tv and went to bed. I woke up at 00.45am with contractions which were lasting about 50 seconds and were about 2 / 3 mins apart. My pad and underwear were also wet through. I woke my husband and asked him to time them and we agreed that we would ring the hospital to give them a heads up. I was coping with the contractions really well and used my breathing techniques I learned through the hypnobirthing course. I thought to myself if I go into hospital now I would probably get sent back home as I wouldn't be dilated enough. The midwife said that she was happy for us to go into hospital but I wanted to stay at home a little longer until the pain got more intense. I had a warm bath at about 2am and just sat there for about an hour. I asked hubby to give the hospital bag a final check to ensure everything was packed and we made our way to the hospital about 4.15am when the contractions got alot stronger. On arrival I was given an internal examination and much to my surprise was told that I was 4cm dilated and I could be taken to the delivery room!
Hubby and I were so happy as I really thought I would be told I was only 1 or 2cm dilated and would be sent back home.
The midwife asked if we wanted to use the birthing pool
and took us to our room. She began filling the pool which was SO cool! The birthing pool was huge and looked more like a hot tub! The water came from 2 holes in the ceiling and looked like a waterfall! The room was decorated beautifully and my hypnobirthing CD was playing in the background. The first part of my labour I really felt as though I was at a luxury spa and not in hospital...it was that good! I was in the pool from 5.30am and managed the next 4 hours with no pain relief, just breathing through my contractions. I was examined at 9.30am and had dilated to 6cm. I was so relaxed and was sleeping between my contractions. I remember the midwife coming every so often to check my pulse and baby's heartbeat and hubby would ask me to sip on water to keep myself hydrated. Another 4 hours passed and I was checked again but I was still only 6cm dilated and was told the my waters hadn't fully broken so was asked if I would like midwife to break them and I agreed. I was told that I would be checked again in another couple of hours to see if I was progressing. I told hubby to go and eat lunch as he may not get time after if things started to kick off. When midwife returned from lunch she told me that I would need to move to consultant led care as I had been in the pool for over 8 hours and hadn't got passed 6cm and it was hospital policy to now move things along. I was very upset as I thought things had been going so well up until this point but hubby was so encouraging and told me that it was the best for our baby.
About 5.30pm I was put on a drip and was given hormones (syntocinon) to make my contractions stronger and more regular. The contractions were now coming in thick and fast and I could see on the monitor that I was having 3 - 5 contractions every 2 mins. I was on gas and air which had been great but everytime I inhaled it my contractions were at their peak before the g&a would kick in! The midwife asked if I wanted any other pain relief and although I really didn't want to I couldn't think about going another few hours like this so agreed to have pethedine. Luckily the effects of this (drowsiness) didn't affect my baby but made me very drowsy between contractions which I didn't mind at all. A consultant came in about 9pm to check me (I was 8cm now) and told me that I may have to have a c-section as the baby had been birthing for so long and may be getting distressed. This is what I had been dreading and now just felt like my nightmare was becoming real. The midwife and my hubby could see that I was very upset by this and they were both so great in making me believe and feel that whatever happened would only be the best for baby and me. The consultant said that she wanted to get a second opinion before confirming whether I would be having a c-section or not. She left the room ad returned about 15 mins later (which felt like the longest 15 mins of my life) and said that they would give me another hour to see if I could dilate to 10cm...I was so relieved! I was in alot of pain now but didn't care and just wanted the contractions to keep coming so I would be fully dilated. Another doctor came to examine me at 10.10pm and said I was ready and could start pushing...!!
I chose not to have g&a whilst pushing so managed this without any pain relief. The last 1hr 30 mins really flew by and I pushed and pushed with each contraction! After the contraction passed I felt the baby move back up again. Midwife said she could feel the baby's head and asked if I wanted to feel (I think she did this on purpose to give me that last bit of strength and motivation to push), and I could feel his hair!! I pushed with all my might and felt the ring of fire (but it didn't feel as bad as some people have described the pain) and little baby Jovan arrived at 11.23pm on Monday evening. He was so calm and was placed straight on my chest for skin to skin. I had to have stitches as I tore but midwife said it wasn't quite a 2nd degree tear but would still need stitching. Placenta was delivered by giving an injection. I was discharged from hospital on Tuesday evening.
I didn't quite get the water birth I had hoped for but I can honestly say that my labour experience was such a positive one and my hubby was amazing I would not have been able to do as well as I did without him. My midwife was also so lovely, I couldn't have asked for a better one. I am so pleased I did the hypnobirthing course as I really don't see how I would have had such a positive attitude towards my labour - I highly recommend it!
Jovan is now 2 weeks old and I cannot believe how fast time is flying. I will post some pics soon, need to get his next feed ready now!
x
I was booked in for a midwife appointment on 14/12/2010 for my regular checkup (I was 40 + 1 day) but not with my usual midwife. I asked if it was possible to have a sweep as I was concerned that baby would not arrive before Christmas and she agreed. The sweep was unsuccessful as my cervix was too high so I spent the next few days gulping down raspberry leaf tea and pineapples and bouncing on my birthing ball in the hope that these would all get things moving. By the weekend I thought to myself this baby will come when it's ready and hubby and I were going to enjoy what could be the last weekend being just the 2 of us and just chill out.
On Sunday evening we had a roast dinner and watched a bit of tv and went to bed. I woke up at 00.45am with contractions which were lasting about 50 seconds and were about 2 / 3 mins apart. My pad and underwear were also wet through. I woke my husband and asked him to time them and we agreed that we would ring the hospital to give them a heads up. I was coping with the contractions really well and used my breathing techniques I learned through the hypnobirthing course. I thought to myself if I go into hospital now I would probably get sent back home as I wouldn't be dilated enough. The midwife said that she was happy for us to go into hospital but I wanted to stay at home a little longer until the pain got more intense. I had a warm bath at about 2am and just sat there for about an hour. I asked hubby to give the hospital bag a final check to ensure everything was packed and we made our way to the hospital about 4.15am when the contractions got alot stronger. On arrival I was given an internal examination and much to my surprise was told that I was 4cm dilated and I could be taken to the delivery room!
Hubby and I were so happy as I really thought I would be told I was only 1 or 2cm dilated and would be sent back home.The midwife asked if we wanted to use the birthing pool
and took us to our room. She began filling the pool which was SO cool! The birthing pool was huge and looked more like a hot tub! The water came from 2 holes in the ceiling and looked like a waterfall! The room was decorated beautifully and my hypnobirthing CD was playing in the background. The first part of my labour I really felt as though I was at a luxury spa and not in hospital...it was that good! I was in the pool from 5.30am and managed the next 4 hours with no pain relief, just breathing through my contractions. I was examined at 9.30am and had dilated to 6cm. I was so relaxed and was sleeping between my contractions. I remember the midwife coming every so often to check my pulse and baby's heartbeat and hubby would ask me to sip on water to keep myself hydrated. Another 4 hours passed and I was checked again but I was still only 6cm dilated and was told the my waters hadn't fully broken so was asked if I would like midwife to break them and I agreed. I was told that I would be checked again in another couple of hours to see if I was progressing. I told hubby to go and eat lunch as he may not get time after if things started to kick off. When midwife returned from lunch she told me that I would need to move to consultant led care as I had been in the pool for over 8 hours and hadn't got passed 6cm and it was hospital policy to now move things along. I was very upset as I thought things had been going so well up until this point but hubby was so encouraging and told me that it was the best for our baby.About 5.30pm I was put on a drip and was given hormones (syntocinon) to make my contractions stronger and more regular. The contractions were now coming in thick and fast and I could see on the monitor that I was having 3 - 5 contractions every 2 mins. I was on gas and air which had been great but everytime I inhaled it my contractions were at their peak before the g&a would kick in! The midwife asked if I wanted any other pain relief and although I really didn't want to I couldn't think about going another few hours like this so agreed to have pethedine. Luckily the effects of this (drowsiness) didn't affect my baby but made me very drowsy between contractions which I didn't mind at all. A consultant came in about 9pm to check me (I was 8cm now) and told me that I may have to have a c-section as the baby had been birthing for so long and may be getting distressed. This is what I had been dreading and now just felt like my nightmare was becoming real. The midwife and my hubby could see that I was very upset by this and they were both so great in making me believe and feel that whatever happened would only be the best for baby and me. The consultant said that she wanted to get a second opinion before confirming whether I would be having a c-section or not. She left the room ad returned about 15 mins later (which felt like the longest 15 mins of my life) and said that they would give me another hour to see if I could dilate to 10cm...I was so relieved! I was in alot of pain now but didn't care and just wanted the contractions to keep coming so I would be fully dilated. Another doctor came to examine me at 10.10pm and said I was ready and could start pushing...
!! I chose not to have g&a whilst pushing so managed this without any pain relief. The last 1hr 30 mins really flew by and I pushed and pushed with each contraction! After the contraction passed I felt the baby move back up again. Midwife said she could feel the baby's head and asked if I wanted to feel (I think she did this on purpose to give me that last bit of strength and motivation to push), and I could feel his hair!! I pushed with all my might and felt the ring of fire (but it didn't feel as bad as some people have described the pain) and little baby Jovan arrived at 11.23pm on Monday evening. He was so calm and was placed straight on my chest for skin to skin. I had to have stitches as I tore but midwife said it wasn't quite a 2nd degree tear but would still need stitching. Placenta was delivered by giving an injection. I was discharged from hospital on Tuesday evening.
I didn't quite get the water birth I had hoped for but I can honestly say that my labour experience was such a positive one and my hubby was amazing I would not have been able to do as well as I did without him. My midwife was also so lovely, I couldn't have asked for a better one. I am so pleased I did the hypnobirthing course as I really don't see how I would have had such a positive attitude towards my labour - I highly recommend it!
Jovan is now 2 weeks old and I cannot believe how fast time is flying. I will post some pics soon, need to get his next feed ready now!
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