Ok as promised... here’s my labour story - which did not go at all as I expected!
First of all, if you were sitting at home like I was worrying that you hadn’t experienced anything like these mysterious Braxton Hicks contractions, don’t worry. I hadn’t had a single one (or hadn’t noticed!) before I went into labour. Given my lack of any of the telltale symptoms of oncoming labour, I was fairly certain on Friday morning that I’d see 41 weeks!
As we sat watching tv on the Friday evening I noticed that my bump would go quite hard at the front and at the same time I’d get some lower back pain. I said to DH that this felt very different. As I lay in bed I couldn’t get comfortable, and the pain seemed to be worse. I tried to get to sleep but couldn’t. At 2am I woke DH and said “You know, I think we need to go to the birth centre”. We called and they told us to have a bath and try to relax, they thought I was in early labour, they suggested having a warm bath and calling back in 30 mins!
After 15 mins we were calling back already because we had realised that the contractions were less than two minutes apart and lasting for 40 seconds!!!
So off we go to the birth centre. Its midwife led and we were keen to give birth there. We get in and it’s just as I had hoped, dimmed lighting, relaxing music... all that jazz. The midwife sets me onto a ball and I start trying to breathe through the contractions. Then my waters break! And this is when it all went a bit awry. My waters break and the midwife looks, then calmly says - “Ah, I’m sorry but it looks like you’ll need to be transferred to the hospital - the baby has pass meconium which is why the waters are discoloured” she explained that the chances are the baby would be fine but hat because of the risk of meconium aspiration, I needed to be at the hospital. To be honest I wasn’t worried, afterwards DH told me he was worried - but i wasn’t.. but then I had plenty else to focus on.
She summons the ambulance and examined me, we discover I’m fully dilated and she says she isn’t even sure we would make it to the hospital!
Ambulance arrives and everyone is actually in fairly good spirits, I made a joke about having never been in an ambulance before.. the midwife came with me and poor DH had to grab the car and follow us. This was my first opportunity to have any pain relief! Everything had happened so quickly that we just hadn’t had a chance! So I sucked on the gas and air, I was happy to find that it does work for me, having heard it doesn’t for everyone.
15 mins later and I’m being wheeled in a delivery suite at the hospital... a new midwife greeted us and took a look at me, took the gas and air away and said - “ok this is it you need to push! “
I pushed for an hour and then she was born
my labour is recorded in my notes as lasting 2hr25 mins which started from the time I arrived at the birth centre to the time I gave birth. I think I was a bit in shock at how quickly it had all happened!
We had a paediatric doctor on hand as she was born to check her over, he was happy with her.. sleep had skin to skin, delayed cord clamping, DH cut the cord and we were done!
Did manage a 2nd degree tear and got gas and air whilst they did the stitches... sent me a bit loopy. Apparently when the midwife said “I’m sorry but I’m going to have to put a suppository up your bum” I replied, “But Sally, we’ve only just met!”
Had to stay one night in the maternity ward with obs on Charlotte for 12 hours to check she hadn’t got a infection from the meconium... all was fine and we were discharged on then Sunday.
So there you have it - baby born two days before due date, super duper short labour... would never have predicted that!
Wanted to write it down whilst I remembered the details.!