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4:00pm Came home from toddler group thinking BH a bit uncomfortable today, will play with cx timer.
Realise cx every 5 mins apart and wonder if things are beginning to happen. Not very uncomfortable, but go and lie down with natal birth prep CD. Have show.
6:15 Cx now 3-4 mins, 40secs long so call Doula to warn just in case. Doula doesn't think timings should be taken lightly and sets off (as is rush hour). Tells me to call Edgeware Birthing unit.
6:30 Do as doula suggests (although wondering what all the fuss is about) and call Birth centre who tell me to call back in an hour.
7:00pm Doula arrives and I show her my breathing. She makes suggestions, encourages better techniques and does little useful jobs to help me relax.
7:30pm cx coming 2-3 mins apart for 30 secs. DH puts on TENS. Parents arrive to look after DS1. Some v strong cx but the horrid bit is v short and I sometimes feel a bit silly. Perfectly happy to chat in between.
8:00pm Doula prompts me to phone birthing unit as promised. Waters still not broken. Doula breaths with me. Sometimes think the scenario is funny. Very relaxed and leaning over birth ball.
8:30pm Cx horrid but manageable with breathing. Doula breathing in my ear. Helpful and sometimes funny. Bit fed up of DS whinging in other room so decide to go into birth unit.
8:45pm Phone birthing unit to tell them I'm coming. Lie down in back of car. Get DH to turn up Virgin very very loud. Very relaxed, - almost asleep in between cx with rocking of car, Disappointed to arrive at birthing unit.
9:10pm Arrive at Edgeware. Don't want to get out of car as am happy lying there with my breathing and TENS. Force myself to, and am shown to a lovely room with wooden furniture. The room is already dim, and the pool has already been filled with the underwater lighting switched on.
9:15pm kneel on floor for cx and mat miraculous appears for my knees. DH and Doula take turns massaging. Don't like the cx much but can talk and joke in between them. Doula talks me through them and DH breathes with me, plus using TENS.
9:45pm MW comes in to do admission checks, and read birth plan. Have a couple of horrid cx that get me whist on my back. MW encourages me to get up for them but I'm too slow. Promise myself will ask for pool or gas and air immediately after routine checks.
10:00pm Have some nasty cx with a bit of screaming. Doula pushes my shoulders down and does heavy breathing in my ear. Don't think it is very funny any more, but manage to regain breathing control each time even though screaming at the beginning.
10:15pm 'Get this blardy TENS macine off me, I'm getting in the pool, I don't care how early the labour'. I went to the loo with DH and changed into pool vest and knickers, screamed through 2 cx but DH helped with breathing.
10:23 Got in pool. Cx stopped for a few mins so wondered if I was in labour after all. Then BIG painful cx and my bum exploded. I thought all my insides had come out of my bottom in one very big fart. Made a big noise too. Looked behind me expecting a gruesome sight, - poo at the very least, but there was nothing. My waters had just broken.
10:30 Next cx hurt LOADS. Screamed for gas and air which appeared instantly. Shouted that I needed to push. Was told to take knickers off then so the MW could see what was happening. Lost it a bit saying I couldn't do it. I couldn't stand the thought of 8 more hours of this, and was scared of the pushing feeling given that I was convinced I was no more than 2-3cm dilated. Surely it would split me in two? It certainly felt like it.
10:45 Baby's head and face could be seen. I sucked heavily on gas and air. It wasn't taken off me and my use in between cx wasn't limited. I pushed and screamed into the mouth piece a couple of times. I didn't like it but felt I had some control now and a choice between lots of stinging and a quick end, or less stinging and a dragged out end. I therefore pushed into the pain as much as I could bear to get it done with.
10:51 Baby's head popped out. I sat back and stared at it inbetween my legs. Was told to let go of gas and air and give another gentle push.
10:53 Baby's body popped out, and I grabbed her and pulled her up.
10:54 I sat on the pools step with baby on chest.
10:56 baby breastfeeding, me in shock but feeling amazing. Keeping us both warm in pool. Hardly any mess in pool at all. Water very clean.
11pm Cord stopped pulsating. MW told me that she had never waited until the placenta was out before cutting the cord before, but was happy to 'try' it as it was in my birth plan. She agreed to be hands off.
11:05pm Baby still bfing in pool. I had an urge to push and the placenta came out with no blood at all.
11:15 Finally got out of the pool. Kept baby. BF baby for nearly an hour. ____________________________________
Needed stitching for minor 2nd degree tears. MW understood my need for detail so showed me her work in a mirror afterwards. She also gave a running commentry of the placenta inspection and gave me my notes to read the following morning before she went off shift, alhough, tbh, they were only 6 paragraphs long and incredibly dull.
__________________________________
Anyway, whilst there were a couple of quite horrible moments, the experience was fantastic and I would not be completely against going through it again.
There was lots of luck involved, but quite a large part of the luck was 'engineered' by having spent so much time researching my options to ensure I was as relaxed and as 'uninterfered' with as possible.
The Edgeware birth centre is fantastic and very hands off. Despite this, the mw didn't leave my side for the whole 'hour and three quarters' that I was in labour there.
My Doula was brilliant, and whilst I did have a good mw, ensured I was very relaxed BEFORE I even got to the birthing unit!
DH, Katrina and I retired for the night in an en-suite room with a double bed!
awwwwwwww lovely - and i love you went of all together in a big double bed - i remember the bum explodig bit with my water birth as waters go - it neevr did that on my dry land birth - it must be soething to do with water pressure - oooooh anyway congrats i have been waiting for this little story
HUGE congratulations to you Star, Katrina and your DP. What a lovely birth story, plenty of detail! I have to admit you did make me laugh when you said the bit about your bum exploding! I'm glad you had such a positive experience after your last one and you have made me feel more relaxed about my own impending birth! Well done you!
wow, i'm amazed that during something as enduring and painful as giving birth, you were able to keep a mental note of everything in such detail! plus with all the times.
Although I was fairly obsessed with the clock during my last labour too, and, with the notes to back it up have a fairly detailed birthing story of those 17 hours.
What a fantastic story! I'm so glad that you and your DD had such a different experience from last time. I'm sure that it was all down to the fantastic preparation that you did. Congratulations!
Huge congrats Starlight and family on the arival of Katrina - beautiful name BTW!
I am so very pleased that it went so well for you this time I know it is an old cliche, but these things do have a way of working themselves out (Will try to remember that when my panic sets in!)
So wonderful to ready your birth story - just what you would have wanted after all that anxiety and preparation. Well done you for fighting so hard to get the birth you wanted, you really deserved some luck this time round.
And a big welcome to Katrina. Looking forward to joining you on that postnatal thread soon (though not too soon in my case, no rush here!!!).
Aw, well done Starlight! Congratulations to you and your family and welcome to little Katrina. (Doh, I knew I'd miss the announcement as soon as I had to log off yesterday...)
So pleased it went well for you, sounds amazing and the birth centre sounds fantastic. See you on the PN threads but don't abandon us late September ones yet, will you? We'll need some cheering on from the graduates!
Congratulations! So delighted for you, especially after your concerns. Told you it was easier second time round, didn't I? Hope you are all doing OK and DS is being friendly but not too friendly .
Baby Starlett LOVES bfing so MN is taking a bit of a back seat at mo. as trying to co-sleep.
I am still on a high from the birth though and am sending Starlett magic dust to all who are pg.
Knowing what it CAN be like has helped recover from the first birth, but at the same time made me a little MORE angry about it. Can't believe just some very simple and straightforward adjustments can have such a massive impact. It never even occurred to me to THINK about an epidural, let alone beg for one for 6 hours.
I wasn't too interested in gas and air either until the second stage, as I was worried it would interfere with my concentration and control.
Congratulations starlight what a lovely positive birth story. Well done you!! Welcome to the world Katrina!
MW centre sounds out of this world.. a double bed??? wow!! My poor dp had to sleep on the cold hospital floor whilst we waited to be 'let out of the asylum' following birth of dd!! Homebirth this time..(hopefully!!)
What a great birth story Starlight! Glad it went the way you wanted - it doesn't sound as if a homebirth could have been much better. Very of the double bed afterwards.....although my DH actually wants to go home so he can get some sleep and be able to take over during the day so I can have a rest!
Amazing story Starlight. So pleased you got the birth you wanted .
Ensuite Room with Double Bed! I'm definitely checking out the Edgeware Birth Centre for next time (hated being left alone in a ward full of other people's screaming babies - didn't get a wink of sleep).
I've seen it now Starlight! Fabulous news and I'm so glad it went better for you this time. It sounds like your doula was just what you needed, and you did get the pool in the end after all. Love to you all. Twink xx
you must've had someone taking notes!
