kitten2014
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Finally had a chance to get my story on here before it gets too hazy....
Phoebe abigail was born at 11.14pm on her due date 15th April weighing 8lb 9oz. No problems during pregnancy except that as of her latest scan 4 days before due date she hadnt engaged....
Started feeling early labour contractions at 3.20am tuesday and tried to rest for first hour, informed doula and midwife and kept timing them, they started at 2 in 10mins and by 7.30am were 3 in 10mins so decided to wake hubby up (was sleeping next door to help me get decent sleep), he then got the lounge ready and prepared the pool. I got a shower and some brekkie and got my candles and music prepared. We started filling pool up and I spent some time on the ball. Doula came over that afternoon followed by the midwife at teatime,
I started spending more time in the pool and got the lights dimmed etc. It became apparent from the midwife checking me that she wasnt engaging so the doula tried the sidelying release (check out spinning babies - this was a lifesaver and ensured she engaged-only thing that worked!) and each time we did this she engaged a bit further...the contractions were still 3 in 10mins and it wasn't until 1am on the Wednesday that they confirmed I was in established labour - I was living in the pool by this point getting out for toilet breaks, drinking water and snacking on biscuits/pasta etc little and often....as the sun rose the next day I was finding it hard to remain in the zone and so OH put binbags on the windows to block out the light and started playing Maggie Howell's hypnobirthing cd...
I agreed to an examination due to the no of hrs in labour and was pleased to discover was 8cm!...she had engaged further but the midwife was concerned that my membrane was very tough and therefore my waters hadnt broken fully yet (just a few leaks along with mucus plug so far) again sidelying release helped this to a point (squeezing that area) but it was eventually decided would have assistance breaking waters as only went from 8-9cm dilation in 7hrs.
By 5pm the second midwife arrived giving the first one a break and the doula remained with us napping when she could...I was then in active labour 6-11pm. the worst part of pushing before the crowning phase was when she went past back passage, the sensations made you think you were going for no.2 when in actual fact hardly produced anything (best part about water - no smell/mess) but remember vividly before this reaching down and feeling my bum hole and saying out loud that its all puckered with a shocked voice which got everyone laughing.... no inhibitions at all lol
Hardest part was head as she was back to back 11.5cm diameter! OH nearly lost all feeling in his hands n neck as was pulling/gripping so hard as I was leant over the pool lifting opposite legs up into a squat to enable a larger area for the pelvis this made contractions less painful and more productive... The amount of times thought I nearly had it, I ran out of breath it was frustrating as well as painful (they dont lie when they say two steps forward, one step back with the head like putting on a turtle neck jumper, if you dont pull hard enough at widest point it goes back up.......they kept trying to check progress of the head and at one point asked them why they were still touching me and they said they weren't...baby was turning her head whilst crowning! this was a very strange sensation not to mention some kicks I felt as if she was saying 'I cant stay like this forever, get me outta here!'...
The position I was in wasnt working anymore and so changed to lying with back to side of pool, OH had his arms under my arms supporting me and midwives held my legs so I could float, this enabled me to focus entirely on contractions/pushing...the noises I started making at this point were very animalistic as I practised with a variety and discovered which one enabled me to push for longer and it was so gutteral that had sore throat for 2 days afterwards!...the motivation of the midwives telling me to feel her head during crowning was amazing...all I could do was laugh and say 'I can feel her hair!'...the relief as the head was born was intense....Body was the easy part - the contractions were slower and allowed me to catch my breath and ease her out in two contractions - this part IS similar to going for a No.2 - the head crowning is NOTHING like a no.2 despite what people will tell you....I then felt a distinct pop as the body was released and just collapsed over the side of the pool.... I was then asked to reach down and bring her up which felt like ages but was only a matter of seconds.. cant describe the moment when you first see your baby and also one of the midwives was snapping away at that point and so pleased she did she got some ace photos despite nearly dropping camera in water (hadnt put the strap around her neck lol), 3rd stage happened naturally an hr n half later out of the water which was my choice and then the midwives had to examine me to check for tears and erm...ensure the muscles were still intact in both areas (yikes wasnt ready for that lol)
Think active pushing was approx an hr or so cant remember lol. Was shattered as only managed 1hr nap in the morning and had only had 4hrs sleep day before. Two things didnt know about whole process...with all the effort in active labour had hiccups n burps galore lol - really quite distracting and annoying as couldnt catch a breath in time. Also period pain cramps after r a bitch. One tiny tear no pain relief n she was born calmly in water! Despite duration I got what I wanted with an ace team around me and no pain relief!
silliest/funniest parts of the whole process:
1. Had a bogey all the way through labour trying to makes its escape and during active labour it got annoying, hubby tried to pass me a tissue but slapped his hand away and just blew and wiped with bare hand/arm lol...couldnt care less at this point....
2. as was keeping dark lighting and trying to go into my zone had my eyes closed through a lot of the labouring in the pool and once when went to go to toilet which normally meant leaning hands on OH's shoulders like a train to walk through, realised he wasnt facing away from me like usual and nearly poked his eyes out...
3. My words when she was being pushed past back passage - breathing through a contraction then realising the pushing was activating that area and saying things like 'here she comes...oh, no its just more poo....' with a really frustrated voice....
4. burping/hiccuping between contractions....
5. Due to amount of time in the pool my legs had gone numb...I had spent almost 24hrs kneeling up in the water and so kept stretching between contractions early on but towards end couldnt...once when trying to get out tried to change from kneeling to squatting and one of my feet just didnt obey and flopped back in the water it was so seized up....
6. at 3rd stage was sat on sofa but had to try standing up to allow placenta to come out, couldnt support myself so went into a squat - it took OH and two midwives to lift me back up to sofa as had lost all energy/sensation in legs
7. During active labour but before crowning was leaning over pool with hand around OH's neck...well at one point nearly grabbed and pulled his ears!
Think thats about it, amazing experience, very empowering but wow it was certainly a marathon for me....clearly Phoebe didnt want to arrive on the first day and took ages to engage and on the second day I was determined she would be born by midnight and she was with 46mins to spare!
Phoebe abigail was born at 11.14pm on her due date 15th April weighing 8lb 9oz. No problems during pregnancy except that as of her latest scan 4 days before due date she hadnt engaged....
Started feeling early labour contractions at 3.20am tuesday and tried to rest for first hour, informed doula and midwife and kept timing them, they started at 2 in 10mins and by 7.30am were 3 in 10mins so decided to wake hubby up (was sleeping next door to help me get decent sleep), he then got the lounge ready and prepared the pool. I got a shower and some brekkie and got my candles and music prepared. We started filling pool up and I spent some time on the ball. Doula came over that afternoon followed by the midwife at teatime,
I started spending more time in the pool and got the lights dimmed etc. It became apparent from the midwife checking me that she wasnt engaging so the doula tried the sidelying release (check out spinning babies - this was a lifesaver and ensured she engaged-only thing that worked!) and each time we did this she engaged a bit further...the contractions were still 3 in 10mins and it wasn't until 1am on the Wednesday that they confirmed I was in established labour - I was living in the pool by this point getting out for toilet breaks, drinking water and snacking on biscuits/pasta etc little and often....as the sun rose the next day I was finding it hard to remain in the zone and so OH put binbags on the windows to block out the light and started playing Maggie Howell's hypnobirthing cd...
I agreed to an examination due to the no of hrs in labour and was pleased to discover was 8cm!...she had engaged further but the midwife was concerned that my membrane was very tough and therefore my waters hadnt broken fully yet (just a few leaks along with mucus plug so far) again sidelying release helped this to a point (squeezing that area) but it was eventually decided would have assistance breaking waters as only went from 8-9cm dilation in 7hrs.
By 5pm the second midwife arrived giving the first one a break and the doula remained with us napping when she could...I was then in active labour 6-11pm. the worst part of pushing before the crowning phase was when she went past back passage, the sensations made you think you were going for no.2 when in actual fact hardly produced anything (best part about water - no smell/mess) but remember vividly before this reaching down and feeling my bum hole and saying out loud that its all puckered with a shocked voice which got everyone laughing.... no inhibitions at all lol
Hardest part was head as she was back to back 11.5cm diameter! OH nearly lost all feeling in his hands n neck as was pulling/gripping so hard as I was leant over the pool lifting opposite legs up into a squat to enable a larger area for the pelvis this made contractions less painful and more productive... The amount of times thought I nearly had it, I ran out of breath it was frustrating as well as painful (they dont lie when they say two steps forward, one step back with the head like putting on a turtle neck jumper, if you dont pull hard enough at widest point it goes back up.......they kept trying to check progress of the head and at one point asked them why they were still touching me and they said they weren't...baby was turning her head whilst crowning! this was a very strange sensation not to mention some kicks I felt as if she was saying 'I cant stay like this forever, get me outta here!'...
The position I was in wasnt working anymore and so changed to lying with back to side of pool, OH had his arms under my arms supporting me and midwives held my legs so I could float, this enabled me to focus entirely on contractions/pushing...the noises I started making at this point were very animalistic as I practised with a variety and discovered which one enabled me to push for longer and it was so gutteral that had sore throat for 2 days afterwards!...the motivation of the midwives telling me to feel her head during crowning was amazing...all I could do was laugh and say 'I can feel her hair!'...the relief as the head was born was intense....Body was the easy part - the contractions were slower and allowed me to catch my breath and ease her out in two contractions - this part IS similar to going for a No.2 - the head crowning is NOTHING like a no.2 despite what people will tell you....I then felt a distinct pop as the body was released and just collapsed over the side of the pool.... I was then asked to reach down and bring her up which felt like ages but was only a matter of seconds.. cant describe the moment when you first see your baby and also one of the midwives was snapping away at that point and so pleased she did she got some ace photos despite nearly dropping camera in water (hadnt put the strap around her neck lol), 3rd stage happened naturally an hr n half later out of the water which was my choice and then the midwives had to examine me to check for tears and erm...ensure the muscles were still intact in both areas (yikes wasnt ready for that lol)
Think active pushing was approx an hr or so cant remember lol. Was shattered as only managed 1hr nap in the morning and had only had 4hrs sleep day before. Two things didnt know about whole process...with all the effort in active labour had hiccups n burps galore lol - really quite distracting and annoying as couldnt catch a breath in time. Also period pain cramps after r a bitch. One tiny tear no pain relief n she was born calmly in water! Despite duration I got what I wanted with an ace team around me and no pain relief!
silliest/funniest parts of the whole process:
1. Had a bogey all the way through labour trying to makes its escape and during active labour it got annoying, hubby tried to pass me a tissue but slapped his hand away and just blew and wiped with bare hand/arm lol...couldnt care less at this point....
2. as was keeping dark lighting and trying to go into my zone had my eyes closed through a lot of the labouring in the pool and once when went to go to toilet which normally meant leaning hands on OH's shoulders like a train to walk through, realised he wasnt facing away from me like usual and nearly poked his eyes out...
3. My words when she was being pushed past back passage - breathing through a contraction then realising the pushing was activating that area and saying things like 'here she comes...oh, no its just more poo....' with a really frustrated voice....
4. burping/hiccuping between contractions....
5. Due to amount of time in the pool my legs had gone numb...I had spent almost 24hrs kneeling up in the water and so kept stretching between contractions early on but towards end couldnt...once when trying to get out tried to change from kneeling to squatting and one of my feet just didnt obey and flopped back in the water it was so seized up....
6. at 3rd stage was sat on sofa but had to try standing up to allow placenta to come out, couldnt support myself so went into a squat - it took OH and two midwives to lift me back up to sofa as had lost all energy/sensation in legs
7. During active labour but before crowning was leaning over pool with hand around OH's neck...well at one point nearly grabbed and pulled his ears!
Think thats about it, amazing experience, very empowering but wow it was certainly a marathon for me....clearly Phoebe didnt want to arrive on the first day and took ages to engage and on the second day I was determined she would be born by midnight and she was with 46mins to spare!
