Ok so here goes, sorry this is a long one....
I had a sweep on the Tuesday morning and by Wednesday evening I was having regular tightening, every 5 mins and they went on till Thursday lunchtime but came to nothing. I was gutted. Neednt have worried though as they came back again on Friday evening, just before we were about to go out for a curry for Bobs birthday. By the time we finished the meal they were coming every 3 mins and were a lot stronger, I knew this was it. Lasted out at home till about 4am, then went to the hospital to get checked out.
I was 4-5cm and was assigned a birthing room which was great, huge bean bags, cushioned mats and a humungous birthing pool. Labour was REALLY slow going, baby had come down so low the cervix was posterior, it also became clear later on that baby had turned back to back which wasnt helping matters. Got to about 3pm on Saturday and having had some gas and air I wanted to try the birthing pool. The water was great but because it was so big I actually felt quite alone, Bob, bless him, got in with me. We were there for about 5 hours!! Bob was the talk of the delivery suite. By 8pm we were still only at 7cm and I was getting demoralised, especially as I had got into the zone and was coping with the contractions well. Then things started going a bit pear shaped.
Babys hb had been racing occasionally and then all of a sudden dropped so the midwife could not pick it up at all. All of a sudden I was being helped out of the pool, put on a bed and hooked up to monitors, I had to lay on my side for the hb to be picked up which was a really bad position for me pain wise, especially as the water had been helping me so much. I was given some pethidine which did nothing for me as it only took the edge off what was for me an increased level of pain anyway. Gas and air was making me sick so had to go on for a bit without anything. The position I was lying in meant labour wasnt progressing at all so eventually the doctor prescribed me syntocinon and I asked for an epidural as I was so tired I could not envision going on much longer without relief.
The epidural worked for the most part, it just missed a point in my groin, which with the syntocinon felt like all the pain was now centred there. I had to have gas and air to get through the contractions despite everything. By this point I was thinking would nothing go right.
Eventually the mw said the magic words, 10cm, and she left me to carry on for an hour to allow the head to descend. When the hour was up she told me to push, I had completely forgotten that I had to do this and didnt really have much energy left, by this point I had been at it for 34 hours. After another hour the doctor came in and used the ventouse to help me get Freddie out, thankfully he turned right at the last minute otherwise she would have had to do it in surgery.
The moment Freddie came out was the best moment of my life, Bob was amazing throughout the labour, it has definitely brought us a lot closer together, he surprised me by the amount of love and care he showed me, I didnt think anyone could love someone that much. Freddie was born at 6.51am on Sunday 3rd Oct, missing his dads birthday by a day, he weighed 8lbs 11oz.
Freddie was really poorly after the birth, he was covered in meconium and had breathed lots of it in. They had to suction his lungs and they found later one of them had collapsed during delivery due to the stress. He was taken to SCBU and had a chest train fitted. From that point on he made a really quick recovery, I was breastfeeding him by Monday afternoon and on Tuesday Bob and I were able to stay in a parents room at the SCBU with Freddie before he was discharged on Wednesday. He is doing brilliantly now and has gained weight since being discharged on Weds, hes only 30g under his birth weight. He is a gorgeous little man and although the labour was long and hard he was all worth it.
I had a sweep on the Tuesday morning and by Wednesday evening I was having regular tightening, every 5 mins and they went on till Thursday lunchtime but came to nothing. I was gutted. Neednt have worried though as they came back again on Friday evening, just before we were about to go out for a curry for Bobs birthday. By the time we finished the meal they were coming every 3 mins and were a lot stronger, I knew this was it. Lasted out at home till about 4am, then went to the hospital to get checked out.
I was 4-5cm and was assigned a birthing room which was great, huge bean bags, cushioned mats and a humungous birthing pool. Labour was REALLY slow going, baby had come down so low the cervix was posterior, it also became clear later on that baby had turned back to back which wasnt helping matters. Got to about 3pm on Saturday and having had some gas and air I wanted to try the birthing pool. The water was great but because it was so big I actually felt quite alone, Bob, bless him, got in with me. We were there for about 5 hours!! Bob was the talk of the delivery suite. By 8pm we were still only at 7cm and I was getting demoralised, especially as I had got into the zone and was coping with the contractions well. Then things started going a bit pear shaped.
Babys hb had been racing occasionally and then all of a sudden dropped so the midwife could not pick it up at all. All of a sudden I was being helped out of the pool, put on a bed and hooked up to monitors, I had to lay on my side for the hb to be picked up which was a really bad position for me pain wise, especially as the water had been helping me so much. I was given some pethidine which did nothing for me as it only took the edge off what was for me an increased level of pain anyway. Gas and air was making me sick so had to go on for a bit without anything. The position I was lying in meant labour wasnt progressing at all so eventually the doctor prescribed me syntocinon and I asked for an epidural as I was so tired I could not envision going on much longer without relief.
The epidural worked for the most part, it just missed a point in my groin, which with the syntocinon felt like all the pain was now centred there. I had to have gas and air to get through the contractions despite everything. By this point I was thinking would nothing go right.
Eventually the mw said the magic words, 10cm, and she left me to carry on for an hour to allow the head to descend. When the hour was up she told me to push, I had completely forgotten that I had to do this and didnt really have much energy left, by this point I had been at it for 34 hours. After another hour the doctor came in and used the ventouse to help me get Freddie out, thankfully he turned right at the last minute otherwise she would have had to do it in surgery.
The moment Freddie came out was the best moment of my life, Bob was amazing throughout the labour, it has definitely brought us a lot closer together, he surprised me by the amount of love and care he showed me, I didnt think anyone could love someone that much. Freddie was born at 6.51am on Sunday 3rd Oct, missing his dads birthday by a day, he weighed 8lbs 11oz.
Freddie was really poorly after the birth, he was covered in meconium and had breathed lots of it in. They had to suction his lungs and they found later one of them had collapsed during delivery due to the stress. He was taken to SCBU and had a chest train fitted. From that point on he made a really quick recovery, I was breastfeeding him by Monday afternoon and on Tuesday Bob and I were able to stay in a parents room at the SCBU with Freddie before he was discharged on Wednesday. He is doing brilliantly now and has gained weight since being discharged on Weds, hes only 30g under his birth weight. He is a gorgeous little man and although the labour was long and hard he was all worth it.
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