Welcome mama - of course you can join us. Post away! When are you due? Add yourself to the stats thread too.
Cali your birth story is fabulous - well done you! I'm glad the stressy-MW was kicked out of your delivery room.
Are you home now? How are you both? Pics on FB?
I have finally typed my birth story for MN (virtually same as FB version but obviously no names).
It's lengthy - here you go!
Ok, finally I'm posting my story!
So you know I'd been losing bits of plug and had a show. DH stayed home from work on the Friday when I had my show just in case. We had a nice day as a family, got some last minute bits and went for lunch.
On Friday evening my brothers came to visit, we all sat around eating pizza and chatting. I had some awful Braxton Hicks which seemed to freak out my poor SIL.
DD and I went to bed really early. I'd been awake since 3am and felt exhausted. DD woke me at 1:30am for milk. She nursed for an hour by which time I was having contractions so I told her I'd have to stop.
She hadn't eaten much the day before so DH took her down for breakfast (at 2:30!) and I dozed between contractions which were roughly every 15 mins. I found them manageable bit I still had to breathe through them more or less from the start.
At 5am I thought I'd check on DH. He looked exhausted but DD was happily playing on the sofa bed. So we swapped, he went to bed and I sat up with DD. She asked to feed at 5:30am so I fed her to sleep, which fortunately was very quick and then dozed next to her on the sofa bed.
I was still having regular contractions but was coping. Eventually I got up and made a cup of tea and emptied the dishwasher.
I think it was about 8am when I decided to just give my MW a headsup and text my stepmum asking if she would watch DD for the day.
I told the MW not to come out yet (she's 40 mins away). We got DD dressed and she, very reluctantly, went to her grans. Actually, she was very upset and I felt terrible about sending her away. I had one more contraction and then it all just stopped. So then guilt set in for sending DD away in tears and changing my step-mums plans and waking my MW.
DH and I decided to walk to the shop, about a mile and a half each way, to see if it started things again. It didn't. We got back at about 9:30am, DH made tea and toast and we cuddled in bed and slept until 11:30am which was actually lovely!
At about half 11 I was woken by quite a strong contraction and jumped out of bed to breath and lean on the wall.
We'd already partially filled the pool and put the cover on. We came downstairs, pottered around, had some lunch. The contractions were still every 15 mins so I just thought it was slow labour/false alarm .
By mid-afternoon I was finding the backpain a bit much so DH suggested a shower. It was brilliant at helping my back pain so I stayed in for ages. I asked him if he'd called the MW and just get her to check the baby's heartbeat and position. I also asked that he call my step-mum and ask for DD to come home.
I got out of the shower and he came in and said MW was on her way and that DD was sleeping but would be home soon. Stepmum mentioned she'd had a fall when climbing to get a balloon and banged her eye on the table.
DD (2.9) arrived home just before the MW got here. Her eye had some blood crusted in the corner, was almost swollen closed and just black. I was so devastated and just sobbed. I'd sent her away thinking I was going to have the baby that day and for nothing. No baby, massive black eye. And you know when you just know it would have been one of those moments when your child just wanted you.
So I was sobbing quite uncontrollably when they MW arrived. She was really calming, hugged me and said "these things happen and she's fine now look". I was glad she was there.
So this was 5pm. She observed a few contractions, felt the baby (still LOT and slightly oblique, not engaged) but HB fine and I was ok (urine, bp etc).
DH made dinner for us all but I skipped it and continued to contract every 15 mins. At about 7.30pm DH took DD for a bath and the MW asked what I wanted her to do - leave me in peace or stay. She said she'd do whatever I wanted.
I really couldn't decide. I knew I wasn't in the zone because I was chatting between contractions and generally doing ok.
She suggested I get in the pool (which was till 40 degrees despite being filled hours before). I said it felt far too early to get in the pool and I was worried it would slow things down. She said if that happened I could just get out.
So I wandered around the house collecting lamps for the kitchen and the MW set up the resus stuff on the dining table.
I wasn't quite sure what to do, do I strip off or get in with a top on... I decided that if she hadnt seen my boobs by now after me breastfeeding my toddler at virtually every visit then it would be a miracle. And anyway, she was going to see it all soon anyway.
So I got in naked. It was 8:30pm. The pool was lovely. I just floated around a bit and my contractions slowed slightly at first but after a short amount of time they picked up again.
I found them much more manageable in the warm water but still felt they weren't getting to be anything like "real labour". At this point the back up MW arrived and I was a bit surprised because I thought I was going to be ages yet.
DD appeared in the kitchen with DH really upset. She wanted to get in the pool. So in she got, she loved it. Bouncing around singing "I'm deep, I'm deep, I'm deep!". But she wanted to bounce on me when I had contractions and it was too hard so I asked DH to take her out.
I laboured a bit longer and she appeared again, really sobbing asking for mummy milk. I was going to say no but I could tell she was tired and thought if I could feed her to sleep I might get some peace.
I got out of the pool and had a contraction. Out of the water was so hard. I fed DD on the sofa and had 3 contractions in fairly quick succession.
I eventually said I couldn't take anymore and she went upstairs with DH. I practically dived back into the pool.
I don't remember much after this. Contractions were still ok, didn't feel closer together but my notes say they were 3 in 10 mins.
I started to shake, my legs were uncontrollable and I remember laughing and telling the MW. Then I felt a bit sick so she passed me a bowl. I wasn't actually sick so I dismissed any hopes of it being transition.
Then suddenly I felt a bit pushy. Only a bit, and mentioned it to the mw. She didn't seem surprised and said to just go with it.
The next thing I felt this massive thing in my birth canal. Wow! I hadnt really thought about what it would feel like to feel the baby move down. Then my body just started pushing. It was such an intense feeling, I was quite surprised and my contractions hadn't got as bad as I anticipated so I had expected to be hours. I hadn't even got to the gas and air!
She seemed to move down fairly quickly and then I felt her crowning. Then she popped back in. The MWs encouraged me to move from all fours to lean back into a squat. She crowned and popped back in again and then with the next contraction her head was out.
The MW asked if I wanted to look down at my baby's head or touch it - something I expected to do - but I was so surprised she was almost here that I couldnt do it.
I noticed that DH and DD were there watching and went back to closing my eyes.
The MWs then encouraged me to stand for the next contraction which pushed her body out and seemed never ending and then out she came!
I vaguely noticed the MW unravelling the cord from her neck and then she told me to lift my leg so she could pass the baby underneath to me.
I sat back in the water and someone suggested I have a look at what I had. I admit, at first glance, I thought she was a boy and was a bit confused when DH said a girl after I said "is it a boy?". The second stage had only been 20 minutes.
I cuddled her in the water and was just a bit stunned. It was 10:55pm.
After 20 mins I wanted to get out. I stood to get out and found my leg muscles so exhausted and cramping I couldn't get out. DD1 was stood waiting for me to get out and said "mummy your vagina's wet". I had to sit back in the water because laughing made my contractions worse.
I stood again, got out and out came the placenta, caught in a potty by a quick-reflexed MW.
I was examined on the sofa: 1 degree tear and a graze. I opted not to have them stitched.
DD1 asked for milk and to go to bed. So on went the paper knickers and I walked DD1 upstairs to bed while DH carried DD2.
It was midnight now so DD1 fed to sleep in seconds and I got into bed with DH and DD2 while the mw made tea and toast and tidied up. It was just lovely. DD2 latched on really easily which was something I'd worried about.
DH & I couldn't stop talking about it all and we eventually went to bed at 2:30am. He went and slept on the sofa bed and I had the kingsize bed with the DDs.
I think I am still on a bit of a high from it all. I keep crying at the thought of not seeing my mw again. She's visited quite a few times and is coming again tomorrow.
So that's it, sorry for the delay! It just took so long go write because I'm not particularly concise!