...after poss the longest 'live' birth thread in MN history?! Here.
Well I'm doing one anyway, for those who like all the details in one post, instead of spread across 400.
Admitted to hospital at 2pm on Monday 5th October, at 40+5, for induction due to gestational diabetes.
Vaginal exam showed I was 1cm dilated (2nd baby, so expected) but cervix was still posterior, thick and only partially effaced. Bishop's Score 5/15 or 3/10, depending which scale you prefer. Prostin pessary administered after a bit of monitoring, and am told that nothing more will happen today unless I go into labour.
Wake around 1am Monday night/Tues morning with mild period type pain. By 2:15am pains are coming every 4 mins, and recalling that I gave birth to dd within 12 hours of getting such pains every 7 mins I feel optimistic that I'll have my baby soon. By morning the pains have settled to more of a dull ache, so less optimistic.
Monitored and examined again Tuesday morning and now 2cm, but no other changes. Given second pessary at 10:45am. Contractions start up again, and get to roughly every 6 minutes, but by end of afternoon am no further along, so am given another pessary.
Wake Wedns morning to find contractions have stopped.
Wedns morning am about to have another prostin when a paperwork error (3rd dose not been written up in notes) leads to delay. Eventually given 4th dose, and told that waters will be broken that evening, although it will be tricky due to state of cervix. No contractions at all following 4th prostin.
Wedns night am told no room in delivery, so can't be taken down to have waters broken, so will be 8am the next morning instead.
8am Thurs am told still no room in delivery, so will have to wait until there is. Eventually taken down for ARM at 6pm on Thursday.
Waters are broken at 6:51pm, and I begin dancing around the delivery suite and bouncing vigorously on a ball, whilst dh and the doula watch me like a sideshow! Have managed to negotiate that they will leave me longer than the standard 2 hours before administering synto drip.
First small tightening felt at 8:50, but doesn't really progress. At 11:23pm decide to call it a night and go back up to ward, risking that there might not be a bed in delivery again the next morning.
Am woken at 2:50 having contractions, and get up for some rasp leaf tea and a chat with the midwife. Am contracting every 3 or 4 mins, and ask to go on monitor to check strength. Contractions die off a bit, but am then made to stay on monitor until 5:15am, when I get back to bed for another 30 mins sleep before people start getting up. At 6:30am I am got up by mw saying we are going down immediately to continue with synto drip.
VE shows that I am now 3cm, and slightly less posterior, but mw isn't sure whether both layers of membranes are gone or just one. Shift change of midwives, and am then back to the one who had broken my waters the night before. She has another go, but it's not clear whether they were fully broken and have just remade or not. At 7:58 the needle is put in ready for the synto. There is then a slight delay as they like to ensure that they can cover a c-sec if baby is distressed by drip, and there are already several going on.
9:23am the synto drip is started at 1ml/hour.
At 9:53am the drip is turned up to 2ml/hr.
At 10:29am the drip is turned up to 4ml/hr.
At 10:40 I begin gas and air, as contractions are really hotting up!
Am examined at 11:25 and am disappointed to learn that I'm still only 4cm, and cervix, although thinner, is still not thin. Contractions are already every 2.5mins and hitting 70% on the monitor, hence the disappointment. At 4cm this is classed as the official start of labour.
By 12noon I accept that I'm not going to get through another 4 or 5 hours of this without some pain relief, so ask for morphine. Am told morphine will take around 15 mins to take effect, and it is administered approx 12:15pm.
At 12:20pm I mention that I'm going to need to push very soon! Mw sees head crowning, and rushes off to get stuff ready for injection for 3rd stage. Later discovered that everyone was a bit concerned because baby's heart rate was dropping a bit too much at this point, but I was too out of it at the time to have a clue, and thought that the concern was simply that the monitor kept losing contact as I was writhing around the bed.
At 12:35pm Duncan Elliot is born.
Doula checks song that was playing for me, as she knew that we weren't certain from dd's birth. It is Journey South singing All of You .
Have skin to skin with Duncan and let him investigate breast whilst I deliver placenta. Meanwhile dh posts on MN and then phones parents.
First proper breastfeed at 12:55pm.
Am examined for tears and have a small first degree one, that would take 1 or 2 stitches. Opt not to be stitched (had 3 stitches with dd for a similar tear, so figure I'll be able to compare the options afterwards!).
1:20 I take a much needed shower whilst ds has a cuddle with his daddy.
He weighed 8lbs 4oz, and we suspect just got a hit of the morphine, as he slept very well overnight in hospital, but now requires cuddles for sleep!
Thanks again to all those who kept me going with moral support on my other thread.