hi
For everyone who had their FIRST baby, if you had planned to stay home as long as possible before going in......did you really stick to this plan?
Considering you have no idea of how u will react for your first and also that unknown without baby monitoring - is everything ok with baby, is this normal and also for more pain relief.....
My plan is to stay at home as long as possible before going into midwife unit for water birth. I'm thinking of ordering a tens machine to use whilst I'm at home but wondering how realistic it is to think that I will stay at home long enough to use it? Considering it's first birth you see?
I'm a low risk birth and only 5 mins from hospital.
Would love to hear how other mums dealt with their first birth BEFORE going into hospital.
Cheers.
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http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/childbirth/1250855-Fir st-baby-did-you-manage-to-stay-home-for-as-long-as -you-thought-before-going-to-the-hospital
JimmyChoo17 · 03/07/2011 20:12
First contraction at just before 10pm, in MLU by 1.15am, 7cm dilated with cx 3 in 10 minutes, baby born 4 hours later at 5am.
I would have chosen to stay at home as long as possible and I did. No time to sit around brooding though, it was bang-bang-bang all the way for 7 hours.
Wow yours was quick! I'd like to stay away from the hospital as long as possible but have no idea how will react on the big day! How did you manage contractions and dilation at home?
Sorry about the weird title format I copied and pasted it and made a right mess! I asked mn to remove it as repasted it, so if it goes missing it was my baby brains fault mn moderator, if u r reading this u can leave it now!
We didn't really have time for the pacing at home thing - waters went and I had a bit of blood but no contractions. Decided to go to hospital as I just felt I needed to. Grunmpy dh took me (without contractions he didn't see the point of going in), dd was born in 2 hours 5 minutes so I was glad we went straight in - I had planned to stay at home as contractions built up but as it turned out I started them with 3 in 10 mins and they were intense - so not quite what the books told me
Oooo another quick one! I would hope for a quick one too...mind you as long as doest tear me in half on way out - ouch!! 
I was 8 days over, MW did a sweep at 12.30pm and said I was 3cm dilated already, no symptoms at all, no backache, no period pain, nothing. Carried on as normal and no contractions til I lay down in bed about 9.45pm.
I managed my contractions by pacing round the kitchen and bounced on my ball in between but I didn't need any painkillers, it wasn't that bad for more than a few seconds in the middle of each cx.
The duty MW told me at just before 1am to have a bath and take 2 paracetamol and call back in a few hours when cx were 3 in 10 mins, which I did, less than 10 minutes later. She was disbelieving and told me to come in but be prepared to go home.
DH drove me in, he hit 100mph along the dual carriageway . They took one look at me and got straight to business.
Gas and air was enough til transition, Pethidine helped the last part.
In the end though, its all personal. I might have a much higher or lower pain threshold than you. Have the tens ready and paracetamol on standby. Its very true that there's no medal for a medication-free birth.
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