Well, I had an appointment for last Tuesday (2nd October) with the consultant, to set a date for an ElCS - I really didn't want to keep it, so hatched a plot with the acupuncturist.
I had one session on the Friday afternoon, where nothing much happened, then another one on Saturday afternoon. Saturday night, I started getting contractions which lasted about a minute and came down to about 5-6 minutes apart - I phoned the hospital, and they told me not to come in just yet, but the make plans, as it sounded like I was in early labour. The pains fizzled out at about 4.30am though, and I managed to get some sleep.
On Sunday I felt dreadful: I had really nasty period cramps going down into my legs, and was really going to the loo a lot.
I had acupuncture again on Sunday afternoon (seems like another dimension now), then when I came home, the period cramps got stronger, and more unpleasant, and I was running back and for to the loo all the time.
Took some paracetemol then went to bed with the TENS machine on, woke at 10.30ish and had a show - got very excited!! Went back to bed, and woke at 11.20 to a gush of pink liquid - panicked a bit as I thought I was bleeding, so phoned the hospital, and they told me it was probably just more of the show. 11.45, I had another gush, and started getting BIG contractions, so phoned them again, and they told me to go in, as they thought my waters had probably gone. They also said that they'd only keep me in if I was in established labour.
By the time we arrived the contractions were rolling in every 2 minutes or so, and when I was examined I was already 5 cm dliated. I'd asked if the pool was free the minute I walked in through the door, and was told that some interest had been shown in it, but I was quite forceful about wanting it ... and as the consultant had written about water on my notes, I was taken to the pool room. At the 1st examination, I was told that baby was back-to-back, so getting in the water was just magic!
After a while, the contractions were really hurting my back, and I got the urge to push. Wonderful midwife told me that this was probably because of position of baby, and that I'd need to breathe through them for the time being. I had the good old gas and air, to take the urge off the need to push.
At about 4am, the midwife suggested that she examine me, although it wasn't really time, as I was having real problems blowing through the urge to push, so I got out of the water, and she examined me, to find that the baby was in fact already on her way down the birth canal!
I got back in the water, and started pushing, midwife was fabulous, quite firm with me, but not at all in my face. Eventually, it got to 5.30am, and as I had had a previous section, and was getting quite tired, she suggested I get out of the water, and we would assess whether I needed to go upstairs to the CLU.
The thought of not getting my natural vbac, and the walk from the pool to the mattress seems to have given me a 2nd wind, as I got down onto all fours and pushed the baby out 10 minutes later.
I tore quite badly (wonderful midwife sewed me up beautifully!), and also needed a managed 3rd stage as I was getting to the edge of the bleeding being classed as a pph, so consented to the injection.
Mairwen fed before we left the delivery room, then we went back to the original room we had come from where we had a wonderfully unhassled period of skin-to-skin, and got to know our new baby.
That was Monday 1st October - we came home later on Monday afternoon, and have been getting to know our daughter. I've had some difficulty establishing breastfeeding, but have been superbly supported by the midwives and breastfeeding cousellors at the hospital, and I think we're getting there.
I've exorcised a lot of demons in the past couple of days!!