Taboo917
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jan 13, 2014
- Messages
- 1,427
- Reaction score
- 0
Our handsome little chap was born the day after his due date on 21st January.
I had a midwife appointment on 19th where I thought I was getting a sweep but at the appointment she changed her mind and booked it for the Thursday (she's since told be she suspected labour was imminent-thanks for the heads up lol!) So due date came and went without much fanfare as I'd used up all my disappointment on Monday and had quite a chilled out day and went to bed convinced I was in it for the long haul.
Woke up at 4am I assumed for my usual 4-5am wee and as I walked to the loo basically wet myself and wondered if I'd finally lost all control of my urinary function or this was it! Two further trips to the toilet, 2 pairs of jogging bottoms drenched along with saturated knickers pads and a general trail of destruction behind me I woke DH around 4:45 to say not to panic but my waters had gone. Was still working on the assumption there could be hours to go.
4:45 got back into bed to try and get some more sleep but had a couple of period cramp like pains that were pretty sore. Panicked that if it already hurt at this point I was going to be terrible in labour! Got up and popped a couple of paracetamol and decided to read instructions on tens machine in living room and set it up.
4:50 Trying to set tens machine up was hilarious as couldn't concentrate through the pain. The pains seemed to be coming quite quickly and had me hopping about while trying to put the tens machine together. DH got up and said he'd go to tescos and get sandwiches (he was told this was one of his jobs when labour started!) He had a shower and by time he was out of the shower I told him he couldn't go.
5am - started timing contractions. Seemed to be every 2 or 3 minutes which seemed too close together to me so assumed I was recording them wrongly on my app. DH made crumpets for breakfast while I hopped in the shower (and washed my hair!!) Couldnt face eating anything in the end.
5-5:30 - another ridiculous sight of me trying to dry and straighten my hair through the contractions! At 5:15 DH gave me my notes and the phone and said I needed to phone the hospital. After taking my details they asked to call me back as they had some emergencies going on. Called back 10mins later and after listening to me on phone for 10/15 mins said to come in.
6am - Got to hospital, now in an incredible amount of pain but told DH to leave bags in car as I was probably just not coping well. Taken into room for assessment, swearing like a sailor at this point then apologising in the 5 second break between contractions. Exam confirmed I was already 8cm!! Shocked but also relieved that my reaction to the pain was justified!
6:30 - Wheeled round to room, straight onto a mattress on the floor (had asked for a pool but by time we got to the room even I was starting to realise there wasn't time to fill it!)
Ended up on all fours with arms and head resting on a bean bag. No hospital bags so my lovely
labour nightie was unused and I was just in the vest I arrived in with a hospital blanket wrapped over my bum. Given gas and air but didn't have any impact by that stage so I just used the mouthpiece to clamp down on during contractions! MW that was with me was lovely but actually from post natal ward - hospital was exceptionally busy so she was filling in until another MW was free!
Am pretty much allowed to start pushing straight away, hear myself growling like a wild animal and briefly think to myself "my god I'm like those woman you hear on one born every minute that terrify everyone else"...then carry on screaming! Second midwife comes in after about 15/20 minutes and assumes it's my second baby(!) After about another 15mins or so the head is out. The pain of that and the wait between it coming out and being allowed to push the body out was indescribable...but all too soon at 07:21 Caleb was born and brought up through my legs for me to see and it was forgotten.
Had the injection to deliver the placenta and DH cut the cord and then had cuddles while the placenta was delivered and I was examined. Asked if we wanted to see the placenta and bizarrely I did-can't believe the size of it and the sac!
Caleb was 8lb15 and I ended up with a second degree tear that they had to check hadn't gone through the perineum (aka they had to put a finger up my bum!) Luckily it stopped just short. I had been terrified of having to be stitched up and having an injection down there but I hardly felt the injection and only felt the odd stingy bit when being stitched and the MW quickly added some more anaesthetic to those areas so it was nowhere near as bad as i expected.
We were allowed to stay in the room all day as Caleb was feeding well we were being allowed to be discharged that afternoon so they said there wasn't much point moving me to the ward. Bled quite a bit when I got up for a shower but only 350ml in total which is apparently normal (a can of coke full of blood seems like a lot to me but what do I know?!) Being discharged at 4pm the same day as having Caleb was the most surreal experience ever!
I was so sure that I was in for one of the 30 hour labours id heard about from all my friends that until I heard "8cm" I honestly thought I was just absolutely terrible at labour...it never occurred to me that my birth experience would be under 3.5 hours from start to finish!!!
I had a midwife appointment on 19th where I thought I was getting a sweep but at the appointment she changed her mind and booked it for the Thursday (she's since told be she suspected labour was imminent-thanks for the heads up lol!) So due date came and went without much fanfare as I'd used up all my disappointment on Monday and had quite a chilled out day and went to bed convinced I was in it for the long haul.
Woke up at 4am I assumed for my usual 4-5am wee and as I walked to the loo basically wet myself and wondered if I'd finally lost all control of my urinary function or this was it! Two further trips to the toilet, 2 pairs of jogging bottoms drenched along with saturated knickers pads and a general trail of destruction behind me I woke DH around 4:45 to say not to panic but my waters had gone. Was still working on the assumption there could be hours to go.
4:45 got back into bed to try and get some more sleep but had a couple of period cramp like pains that were pretty sore. Panicked that if it already hurt at this point I was going to be terrible in labour! Got up and popped a couple of paracetamol and decided to read instructions on tens machine in living room and set it up.
4:50 Trying to set tens machine up was hilarious as couldn't concentrate through the pain. The pains seemed to be coming quite quickly and had me hopping about while trying to put the tens machine together. DH got up and said he'd go to tescos and get sandwiches (he was told this was one of his jobs when labour started!) He had a shower and by time he was out of the shower I told him he couldn't go.
5am - started timing contractions. Seemed to be every 2 or 3 minutes which seemed too close together to me so assumed I was recording them wrongly on my app. DH made crumpets for breakfast while I hopped in the shower (and washed my hair!!) Couldnt face eating anything in the end.
5-5:30 - another ridiculous sight of me trying to dry and straighten my hair through the contractions! At 5:15 DH gave me my notes and the phone and said I needed to phone the hospital. After taking my details they asked to call me back as they had some emergencies going on. Called back 10mins later and after listening to me on phone for 10/15 mins said to come in.
6am - Got to hospital, now in an incredible amount of pain but told DH to leave bags in car as I was probably just not coping well. Taken into room for assessment, swearing like a sailor at this point then apologising in the 5 second break between contractions. Exam confirmed I was already 8cm!! Shocked but also relieved that my reaction to the pain was justified!
6:30 - Wheeled round to room, straight onto a mattress on the floor (had asked for a pool but by time we got to the room even I was starting to realise there wasn't time to fill it!)
Ended up on all fours with arms and head resting on a bean bag. No hospital bags so my lovely
labour nightie was unused and I was just in the vest I arrived in with a hospital blanket wrapped over my bum. Given gas and air but didn't have any impact by that stage so I just used the mouthpiece to clamp down on during contractions! MW that was with me was lovely but actually from post natal ward - hospital was exceptionally busy so she was filling in until another MW was free!
Am pretty much allowed to start pushing straight away, hear myself growling like a wild animal and briefly think to myself "my god I'm like those woman you hear on one born every minute that terrify everyone else"...then carry on screaming! Second midwife comes in after about 15/20 minutes and assumes it's my second baby(!) After about another 15mins or so the head is out. The pain of that and the wait between it coming out and being allowed to push the body out was indescribable...but all too soon at 07:21 Caleb was born and brought up through my legs for me to see and it was forgotten.
Had the injection to deliver the placenta and DH cut the cord and then had cuddles while the placenta was delivered and I was examined. Asked if we wanted to see the placenta and bizarrely I did-can't believe the size of it and the sac!
Caleb was 8lb15 and I ended up with a second degree tear that they had to check hadn't gone through the perineum (aka they had to put a finger up my bum!) Luckily it stopped just short. I had been terrified of having to be stitched up and having an injection down there but I hardly felt the injection and only felt the odd stingy bit when being stitched and the MW quickly added some more anaesthetic to those areas so it was nowhere near as bad as i expected.
We were allowed to stay in the room all day as Caleb was feeding well we were being allowed to be discharged that afternoon so they said there wasn't much point moving me to the ward. Bled quite a bit when I got up for a shower but only 350ml in total which is apparently normal (a can of coke full of blood seems like a lot to me but what do I know?!) Being discharged at 4pm the same day as having Caleb was the most surreal experience ever!
I was so sure that I was in for one of the 30 hour labours id heard about from all my friends that until I heard "8cm" I honestly thought I was just absolutely terrible at labour...it never occurred to me that my birth experience would be under 3.5 hours from start to finish!!!
