Congratulations Tessasmum, Diege and JenJam (only just beat you to it!) - Tessasmum I can't believe you enjoyed the experience! I know what you mean about just before you got the gas and air though.
After I posted, the MW came back, then had a long second stage - 12pm was 5cm dilated, and when she checked me next at 6pm I was 7cm, but then my waters broke as she did the internal, so it really got strong - the worst thing was having a strong contraction while she was still doing it and having to lay on my back
Then the pain got so unbearable that although I had decided to try to do without gas and air if poss, I gave in and asked if she had it, and she did - that was a trip! I started off taking it off for between contractions but was so out of it that I kept forgetting to put it back on again and really felt the pain, so I ended up just keeping it on the whole time from then. Then half an hour later I woke up out of my dream world to MW saying 'we're going to have to take you into hospital, his heart beat is too low' - the baby's heart beat had gone down to 80bpm in the middle of a contraction, twice, and she didn't want to risk it so phoned the ambulance. I started crying because I was so scared of having a c-section and didn't want to end up with that by going to hospital, but it was fun riding in an ambulance with sirens wailing and getting taken on a stretcher (even with my bright green virgin airline socks on!).
Don't remember much after that until I vomited on DH (having already done it quite a few times that day!) and realising my legs were up in the air in stirrups and I was on my back (bang goes the active birth plan) and the mW was urging me to push when I got the urge, and this doctor was telling me if I didn't get the baby out in the next few minutes they were going to have to use the ventouse. Oh, and I heard MW asking for the drip to be prepared (that really got me going). The funny thing was that I never got the urge to push - even though I was fully dilated then - anyone know why that is? SoI pushed like mad, even though I couldn't feel what I was pushing, DH said my veins stood out in my neck and I went red in the face. But it seemed like 10 secs later that they did an episiotomy (didn't knwo that till later) and got him out with the suction cup, with me pushing at the same time. And this big jelly like thing popped out and got put on my chest - sweeet!
Then they sewed me up - ouch. Apparently the cord was around his neck, accounting for the lowered heart rate, and when he pulled the placenta out (DH said it was the baby, but I'm not sure) the cord snapped and blood splattered all over the ceiling! I weakly asked MW if I could breastfeed, wondering if my one remaining thing on my birth plan would still happen, but I couldn't till i was sutured up. Oh well, not the end of the world! Gave birth at 8:24pm and he was 8lb 7oz.
Mu stitches hurt like mad, and breasts are sore, and I'm hyperemotional and very tired, but other than that I'm fine!