Charlie:-)
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Just catching up with PF after coming home from hospital and whilst Maia is sleeping I thought I would share my birth story whilst its still fresh in my head.
Had my bloody show on my due date 21st May and started having contractions that day as well but they kept stopping and starting, the next day (Thursday) was much the same more bloody show and contractions sopping and starting.
On Friday I had a reflexology session and that afternoon and by about 4
0pm I was having very bad tummy pains worse that I had been having before. Contractions started at 60pm and me and Craig went out for a curry. When we got back we started timing them and they were coming every 20 mins. Carried on timing throughout the night and they went to every 5 mins.
Called the hospital at 1:15am Saturday and they said to take paracetamol and call back in half an hour, I had already taken paracetamol so we went to pack the last little bits of my hospital bag. Whilst packing the contractions started coming every 3 minutes so we made our way to hospital as I have to have IV antibiotics from onset of labour for GBS.
At hospital the midwife does an internal and I was 3cms and said I was in labour so was starting the IV antibiotics. The midwife I had been assigned was rubbish and wasnt explaining anything to us and insisted I was hooked up to the fetal heart monitor, which I was really unhappy about as I had specifically said in my birth plan that I didnt want to be constantly monitored. The answer I received was that it was hospital policy when GBS was positive in the mother and although all the information I had researched (copies I had with me so I could refer to) said that this was unnecessary, no matter how much I insisted I was still monitored and didnt really seem to have a say in this.
I was so glad that at 08:30am the midwives shift changed and I was now being looked after by a different much nicer one. At 09:15am I was given an internal and was really disappointed to hear I was still only 3cm and that I wasnt and hadnt been in established labour and there had been no need for me to have my IV antibiotics yet or to even be in hospital. I was devastated that the previous midwife had been so wrong and had kept me in unnecessarily when I could have been at home. Anyhow during the examination my waters broke so that meant that I had to stay in for my IV antibiotics as they now needed topping up every 4 hours, plus my waters were green and filled with meconium.
They decided to give me oxytocin to try and induce my labour to get things moving as my contractions had stopped by this time. So I agreed and they also agreed that I shouldnt be hooked up to the fetal heart monitor and that I needed to be mobile and active to help with my labour, my midwife was also shocked that I hadnt been offered a ball to use, so I was encouraged to use that as well. They started to trace babys heartbeat by attaching a clip to its head so I could move around. My midwife also prepared me for the thought that if the drip didnt work and labour didnt progress then I would probably end up having a caesarean, which I really didnt want and was really upset and got really down at this point.
The contractions started again and were much more painful than before so I lasted as long as I could but then needed gas & air at about 10pm. During the afternoon they were increasing the amount of oxytocin so that the contractions would get stronger and stronger and eventually I had pethedine as the pain was very strong.
I was due to be checked again at 18:30pm after I had been having the high dose of oxytocin for 4 hours and they found I was only 5cms with my cervix still very thick and not stretching thin at all. I was really upset and devastated I wasnt progressing, they also said that babys head was still very high up in my pelvis. So all the walking about and the exercises on the ball I had been doing in the delivery room hadnt really helped me that much, and as for the raspberry leaf tea and tablets I had been having religiously since 32 weeks .well they didnt make my cervix thinner!
They needed me to stay on the high dose for another 4 hours and would do an internal again at 10:30pm. At this point I knew I couldnt last another 4 hours on just pethidine so I asked for an epidural. I really did not want an epidural but I felt like I couldnt cope with the pain for another 4 hours, if they had of examined me and I would have been further on then say at 7 or 8 cms then I would have dug my heels in and got on with it till I was 10cms but I was exhausted and in a lot of pain and getting no where fast. I had to wait 1 and half hours for the anesthetist as he was in theatre, during this time the pethedine had worn off and the contractions were coming every couple of minutes, the pain was immense.
I wont go into the epidural as I dont want to scare or put people off but it was the worst experience of my life, 3 attempts to put it in all while I was having very strong contractions coming every couple of minutes all the while Im supposed to be staying still and not moving. Never again will I put myself through that.
So the effect of the epidural was wonderful and whilst I could still move my legs and toes I couldnt feel the pain of the contractions but I could still feel the contractions in my bum ready for when the pushing stage arrived.
So 10:30pm came and I was inspected again to be told I was only 7cms dilated, I knew this meant I was heading for surgery as the midwife had already spoke to me about this possibility if things didnt progress quicker. There were other factors as well which they were concerned about. The babys heartbeat was flat lining at around 160bpm and they wanted the heart to fluctuate between 140 and 160 rather than a constant beat around 160. My waters were filled with meconium and then within the last hour my heart rate, blood pressure and temperature all increased so the decision was made to take me to theatre.
At that point I had prepared myself mentally for a c-section and to be honest if they had left me to progress to 10cm I really dont think I would have had the energy to push the baby out. I was quite glad that there was an end in sight and I was going to have my baby very soon.
So I was taken to theatre and my baby girl Maia was born on Sunday 25th May at 00:10am a very healthy 8lb 13oz.
Maia was placed next to my head in between me and Craig whilst I was put back together and stitched up and then they put her to my breast while I was in the recovery room and I fed her for 45 minutes.
Maia had to be given IV antibiotics every 12 hours due to the GBS and because of my raised temperature during labour as it poses more of a risk of infecting the baby. We received her blood tests back yesterday to say she had the all clear of GBS and could come off the antibiotics and we could take her home.
So we had our first night at home and she has been a dream, she really didnt settle well in hospital and would only sleep on someone and wouldnt go down in her crib, but she has been brilliant at home going down in her moses basket and going straight to sleep after night feeds.
I really cant describe how I feel about my beautiful daughter, it really is the most amazing feeling in the world.
Here she is, our first photo we took of her aged 1 hour old
Click on photo for a bigger image
Had my bloody show on my due date 21st May and started having contractions that day as well but they kept stopping and starting, the next day (Thursday) was much the same more bloody show and contractions sopping and starting.
On Friday I had a reflexology session and that afternoon and by about 4
0pm I was having very bad tummy pains worse that I had been having before. Contractions started at 60pm and me and Craig went out for a curry. When we got back we started timing them and they were coming every 20 mins. Carried on timing throughout the night and they went to every 5 mins.Called the hospital at 1:15am Saturday and they said to take paracetamol and call back in half an hour, I had already taken paracetamol so we went to pack the last little bits of my hospital bag. Whilst packing the contractions started coming every 3 minutes so we made our way to hospital as I have to have IV antibiotics from onset of labour for GBS.
At hospital the midwife does an internal and I was 3cms and said I was in labour so was starting the IV antibiotics. The midwife I had been assigned was rubbish and wasnt explaining anything to us and insisted I was hooked up to the fetal heart monitor, which I was really unhappy about as I had specifically said in my birth plan that I didnt want to be constantly monitored. The answer I received was that it was hospital policy when GBS was positive in the mother and although all the information I had researched (copies I had with me so I could refer to) said that this was unnecessary, no matter how much I insisted I was still monitored and didnt really seem to have a say in this.
I was so glad that at 08:30am the midwives shift changed and I was now being looked after by a different much nicer one. At 09:15am I was given an internal and was really disappointed to hear I was still only 3cm and that I wasnt and hadnt been in established labour and there had been no need for me to have my IV antibiotics yet or to even be in hospital. I was devastated that the previous midwife had been so wrong and had kept me in unnecessarily when I could have been at home. Anyhow during the examination my waters broke so that meant that I had to stay in for my IV antibiotics as they now needed topping up every 4 hours, plus my waters were green and filled with meconium.
They decided to give me oxytocin to try and induce my labour to get things moving as my contractions had stopped by this time. So I agreed and they also agreed that I shouldnt be hooked up to the fetal heart monitor and that I needed to be mobile and active to help with my labour, my midwife was also shocked that I hadnt been offered a ball to use, so I was encouraged to use that as well. They started to trace babys heartbeat by attaching a clip to its head so I could move around. My midwife also prepared me for the thought that if the drip didnt work and labour didnt progress then I would probably end up having a caesarean, which I really didnt want and was really upset and got really down at this point.
The contractions started again and were much more painful than before so I lasted as long as I could but then needed gas & air at about 1
0pm. During the afternoon they were increasing the amount of oxytocin so that the contractions would get stronger and stronger and eventually I had pethedine as the pain was very strong. I was due to be checked again at 18:30pm after I had been having the high dose of oxytocin for 4 hours and they found I was only 5cms with my cervix still very thick and not stretching thin at all. I was really upset and devastated I wasnt progressing, they also said that babys head was still very high up in my pelvis. So all the walking about and the exercises on the ball I had been doing in the delivery room hadnt really helped me that much, and as for the raspberry leaf tea and tablets I had been having religiously since 32 weeks .well they didnt make my cervix thinner!
They needed me to stay on the high dose for another 4 hours and would do an internal again at 10:30pm. At this point I knew I couldnt last another 4 hours on just pethidine so I asked for an epidural. I really did not want an epidural but I felt like I couldnt cope with the pain for another 4 hours, if they had of examined me and I would have been further on then say at 7 or 8 cms then I would have dug my heels in and got on with it till I was 10cms but I was exhausted and in a lot of pain and getting no where fast. I had to wait 1 and half hours for the anesthetist as he was in theatre, during this time the pethedine had worn off and the contractions were coming every couple of minutes, the pain was immense.
I wont go into the epidural as I dont want to scare or put people off but it was the worst experience of my life, 3 attempts to put it in all while I was having very strong contractions coming every couple of minutes all the while Im supposed to be staying still and not moving. Never again will I put myself through that.
So the effect of the epidural was wonderful and whilst I could still move my legs and toes I couldnt feel the pain of the contractions but I could still feel the contractions in my bum ready for when the pushing stage arrived.
So 10:30pm came and I was inspected again to be told I was only 7cms dilated, I knew this meant I was heading for surgery as the midwife had already spoke to me about this possibility if things didnt progress quicker. There were other factors as well which they were concerned about. The babys heartbeat was flat lining at around 160bpm and they wanted the heart to fluctuate between 140 and 160 rather than a constant beat around 160. My waters were filled with meconium and then within the last hour my heart rate, blood pressure and temperature all increased so the decision was made to take me to theatre.
At that point I had prepared myself mentally for a c-section and to be honest if they had left me to progress to 10cm I really dont think I would have had the energy to push the baby out. I was quite glad that there was an end in sight and I was going to have my baby very soon.
So I was taken to theatre and my baby girl Maia was born on Sunday 25th May at 00:10am a very healthy 8lb 13oz.
Maia was placed next to my head in between me and Craig whilst I was put back together and stitched up and then they put her to my breast while I was in the recovery room and I fed her for 45 minutes.
Maia had to be given IV antibiotics every 12 hours due to the GBS and because of my raised temperature during labour as it poses more of a risk of infecting the baby. We received her blood tests back yesterday to say she had the all clear of GBS and could come off the antibiotics and we could take her home.
So we had our first night at home and she has been a dream, she really didnt settle well in hospital and would only sleep on someone and wouldnt go down in her crib, but she has been brilliant at home going down in her moses basket and going straight to sleep after night feeds.
I really cant describe how I feel about my beautiful daughter, it really is the most amazing feeling in the world.
Here she is, our first photo we took of her aged 1 hour old
Click on photo for a bigger image
brought a tear to my eye. Sorry you didn't get the birth you wanted but you did get a beautiful daughter 
congratulations 
xx
she's beautiful 