one for Lindsay and rachel

[hayley]

hello you 2... hope your coping well with jacob and nathan...

my qestion is......

as you both went in to hospital to be checked over and found that you where both 8cm dilated already... what was the pain like? you have both described it as painful period like pains... after watching home and discovery.. and reading a few birth stories on here! i always thought that by 8cm you'd be climbing the bed in agony!! was the pain bad but not as bad as you expected?

and was the actual pushing (with gas n air only) a living night mare? or was it bearable?

x

 

[Sarah&Braydon]

hi ya i know i aint rachael or lindsay but hey ...lol

i gave birth with noting will power over came lol

 

[violet-glow]

Hope u dont mind me answering this...

when I was 8cm i was in serious pain, it does feel like period pains, but they die down and then get stronger... I was walking up and down the ward crying , silly sod I am.

The gas and air - I dont know if you've ever smoked or tried a cigarette, but you know the feeling you get when you feel really light headed, I suppose when you've been drinking alcohol and your tipsey you get this feeling aswell. Gas and air for me feels like that. It doesnt really get rid of the pain, it just kind of takes ur mind off it. The nurse took my gas & air away because I was using it to much and stopped pushing ops



Are you worried about the pain and what it feels like?


xxx

 

[tracyM]

I'm not rachel or lindsay either

With Daniel, I got to 9cm just curled up on the bed, they didn't believe me when I said I wanted to push.
With my trial of labour with Charlotte, I was screaming the place down at 2cm.

I think a lot depends on how they're lying, and how calm you can stay. Fingers crossed you get lucky!!

 

[hayley]

thanks girls..

so i suppose gas and air is similar to your first cigarette of the day - when you get light headed and feel the need to either sit or hold onto something for a few seconds... i wasn't a big smoker before i became pregnant. Mainly smoked when i went out for a drink.. so i know that feeling..

as you say.. every pregnancy is different.

I'm not nervous about the birth - kind of excited! but its my first time and i hate not knowing what i'm going to feel or what is going to happen...

any replys are appreciated! love hearing about everyones birthing experiences.

x

 

[violet-glow]

Ever had really bad diarrhea where your stomach feels like its in 2? lol
That combined with really bad period pains is how it felt for me
I found it hard laying down, all I wanted to do was walk around,
but it could be different for you.

I think its better when you dont know whats coming,
I find it wrose for me knowing whats coming


xx

 

[Rosieroo]

I had mild period pains from 12-8pm, then bad period pains til about 12am, then 'ow that hurts' til 1am, then "OMG WHAT'S HAPPENING TO ME!" for 15 mins then I got on the gas and air and Ella came out at 2am. Not nearly as bad as I'd thought it was going to be - didn't believe I was in labour til about midnight. Got to the hospital at 1.15am (fully dilated), she was out after 45 mins of getting there!

 

[Lou]

Hi Hayley

I had an epidural at 3cm's. The pain was bad and although the gas and air helped what made me demand my epidural was that the contractions were so close I wasn't getting a break inbetween to compose myself and recover a little. I'm not sure if by 8cms the contractions are close together for everyone?

Speak soon

Lou

 

[Dee1985]

im not racheal or lindsey lol but. same happened with me i got to hospital at 8cm, i think every pregnancy is different, as with my first i thought i was dying at 3cm, begging for epidural. but with my second i got to hospital thinking i was about 3cm but i was nearly ready to push

 

[hayley]

its crazy isn't it... you can never know what to expect even if it's your 2nd or 3rd birth... i suppose i should just be a little more patient and see what happens when it happens... you can read so much but it still can't prepare you...

x

 

[Lindsay]

Hi Hayley

The pain for me was like period pains but they were going round into my back and bottom. I too thought that I would be climbing the walls in agony but I wasn't (at first anyway!!) I woke up and made my breakfast and at this point was just experiencing Braxton hicks with period pains so I went upstairs and started to clean the bathroom - at 10am they started to feel worse and I complained to DH when he came in off nights - I was still cleaning the tiles in the bathroom but at about 11am they were getting worse into my back and bottom and were coming every 6-8 mins so I stopped housework and ran a bath (which did help so would recommend having a bath too!) I rang the hospital but only after DH, my mum and MIL all told me to ring up - I didn't want to mither the hospital cos I really didn't think that they were contractions - not that I knew what contractions felt like!! I was shocked to be told that I was 8cm but also relieved cos they were starting to feel bad and I didn't want to be any less!! I was really scared about labour but it wasn't that bad - I wouldn't worry about it hayley. It is painful but I concentrated on the pain and breathed through them while squeezing Dh hand really tight and it was so much more effective for me than gas and air - but everyone is different. I found the contractions better to deal with than the actual pushing, I didn't like this part - this pain was more like a stinging / burning sensation especially when the head was coming out and I really thought that I was going to poo - which I didn't!!!! but I managed to get him out with just 5 contraction / pushes so this too was very quick!!!! and the relief when the head comes out is just amazing - I wouldn't have cared if I'd given birth to a monkey!!!!! I know that everyone is different but the whole thing for me was not as scary as I had thought. The pain now is not nice, having tore in 2 places but I have my little boy and looking at him just makes it all worth while

Xxx

 

[Rachel]

Hi,

It wasnt as bad as I expected...when she examined me I only expected her to say I was 3cm dilated or something so was a bit shocked when she said I was 8cm but up untill then I coped with the pain but then needed gas and air untill I started pushing then I didnt have nothing.

The didnt really hurt that much but when his head was coming out that stung alot but that wasnt as bad as I expected either I was just more contrating on pushing as hard as I could to get him out lol

 

[violet-glow]

pethidine is that the one they put in ur leg?

Ive been tryin got find out what thats called because I had that last time and want it again! lol

xx

 

[Sitech]

Hiya..

Everyone is different and experiences pain differently. We all have different pain thresholds. All my experiences were different... first very painful, second... painful but I coped and third, not painful.

I had epidural with 2nd and 3rd as I hated gas and air and pethadine with the first.

I say see how it goes. Don't have too many expectations or read to much into another person's experience. You are you!

Good wishes,
Sitech

 

[nicki]

Hi Hayley,

Like sitech said everyones pain threshold is different & labour experience is different so fingers crossed your labour/birth is an easy one. In a way i'm looking forward to my next kiddy to see how that birth compares.

As I was induced with Jamie it would have been different (i'm told) to if i'd gone into labour naturally, apparantely its more painful because you go from not alot to whopping great contactions in a short space of time?

My contractions were v.v painful & they were lifting me off the bed! I was about 6cms when I called for the epidural & during the actual birth I had to have a top up (it had nearly worn off by this point) as the pain was agonising but that was mainly due to my spd & Jamie getting stuck didn't help the chaffing either

 

[michelle82]

i agree with nikki labour and pain all go on your pain threshold. I must have a high one! I went for a sweep and was already 2cms! dont know when that happened no pains at all. next day i got induced first they broke my waters, nothing. So i was put on a drip like nikki said apparently its more painful, anyway i was determined i didnt want an epidural and had a shot of pethidine then went on the gas and air (fab stuff) i got to 8cms and wanted to push by that time i was on pure will power which wasnt enough as matthew had a big head and got stuck!!! they managed to ventouse him out in the end and i can proudly say i did it all on nothing, although by the time i got to 8cms i would have loved an epidural and not to feel anything i was so tired i was fighthing contractions and wanted to sleep!!

 

[Urchin]

I had an epidural with my first, as my labour lasted 24 hours and I needed to sleep.
The second time I went from 5-10 cms in 20 minutes so I had no time for an epidural even though I was wanting one!

Looking back I'd rather have the fast, more painful labour, than 24 hours of slow build up and no sleep.

 

[babsi]

Also it depends on if it is a back labour. I just had one long contraction and all the pain was in my back. I had an epidural but wasn't able to push at 10cm as I had no feeling so I was in constant pain for around 3 hours pushing, it was horrible and also Kai's heartbeat went very high, over 200bpm. They were constantly monitoring it for an hour of this and I had to lay on my side for a bit and have oxygen to stabilize it.

I think it all depends on your pain threshold and I thought mine was pretty high but the pain in my back wasn't like anything I felt before.

 

[beanie]

I had an epidural as my labour was 50+ hours and I had not slept so was absolutely exhausted. However befor that I felt like I was coping ok with the pain. I agree Babsi, my back labour was really sore but I also think it was because it was so slow too. To be honest I think that listening to other peoples birth experiences can be a bad thing as it really is an individual thing. You will definately know when it is the real thing.

 

[Dee1985]

mine was back labour and was sooooooooooooo painfull and long, hARLEY WASNT BACK TO BACK AND HE FLEW OUT