April 2014... Thread 1

[BoobsTooBig]

Hi girls thought as that thread it quite full we could start a new one here.
Hope you don't mind pink.
How you girls all feeling today? I swear I keep forgetting I'm pregnant when symptoms disappear randomly. But I'm at such early stages, one of the babies of the bunch at just 5+2

Both mine were very 'normal'.
Dd1 noticed first contraction at 12.30. Went into hospital shortly after cos I was only 39 weeks and so many people (including mw) said 1st baby like to come at 41 weeks, I thought something was wrong
Sent home shocked at finding I was actually in labour. Used tens and tried to sleep but far too excited. Went back to hospital about 8ish in established labour and wanting g&a. Waters broke about an hour later and dd1 born at 10.40 with just a slight tear.
Dd2 born at home. 39+3 after curry and sex (twice, DH deserves a medal!) got up to go to the loo and my waters went at 12.30. Contractions 5 mins apart straight away so called mw but then stayed at 5 mins for several hours.
Childcare went to pot so lucky I had a HB as dd was asleep for most of it then woke up about 5 so DH tucked her into our bed with chocolate cereal and a video.
2nd stage was about 10 mins and dd2 was born at 6.40. DH scooped dd1 up and had her downstairs before I'd turned round or the cord had stopped pulsing so she watched DH cut the cord
I'm planning another HB this time but may try a pool.
Happy to share more if any if you 1st timers are particularly concerned about anything (or anyone thinking of trying a HB), I don't want to be too much of a birth boor though.

Weirdly I want to know the good and the bad. Dh said yesterday he wants to watch OBEM etc so that he can see what happens in each scenario.

I'm making DH and both dd's watch all the obem series to be prepared for what could happen.

Well I'm home on my PC and so I can tell you all my story. Are you sitting comfortably?

I was booked for a homebirth (had my pool all inflated, had bought enough towels to sink the titanic, all the extras and whatnot) and waited.

I was due 16th August but I really wanted a september baby (school start related) so refused all sweeps and offers of induction, though I did agree to a scan when I reached 42 weeks to check all is well with the placenta, as is the recommendation.

At 40+12 I had a stretch and sweep (not painful, just a bit 'rummagy'). Then next morning (Wednesday 28th Sept) I started getting period-pain type feelings, about 15 minutes apart. Yay!

I sent DH off to work as I knew it wasn't going to go quickly (contractions were well spaced and not painful). This went on all day and then all night, me bouncing on my birthing ball, reading the entire internet. Still nothing very painful, about 10 minutes apart.

I rang the hospital to say: I'm booked for a homebirth. I don't need a midwife just yet, but just to let you know I've started getting contractions. I'll ring again when they get to 5 minutes apart. They said they'd ring me in the morning to see how I was getting along.

Thursday (29th Sep) morning and I was about 7 minutes apart. A midwife rang me to see how I was getting along. I said just fine (contractions were noticeable but easily breathed through) and mentioned I was booked for a scan that day at noon - did I really have to go in for it, since I'm now in spontaneous labour? They said yes, I must come in.

Taxi to hospital, then a scan, when all contractions stopped. I was told liquor (lye-kwor) levels were worryingly low and I'd need to wait to speak to the registrar about that.

We waited in the antenatal waiting room. Contractions picked up a pace and I was trying reeeeeally hard to keep things together and not freak out the delicately pregnant around me (teeny tiny bumps and all glowing skin, me breathing deeply and visualising beautiful blue colours).

Midwife rang me again to see how I was getting on (thinking I was still at home). I explained liquor was low and she said: oh, well they won't let you go home now, but we haven't got any room here on delivery, so hang tight in antenatal.

I carried on labouring in antenatal, was thirsty as hell but had no water. Eventually 8pm I was told there was room for me in postnatal, where I was hooked up to a monitor.

Thursday evening, hooked up to a monitor, baby's heart is 170bpm - very high. Was told I was probably dehydrated (no shit - I've been labouring for the past 8 hours without a drop to drink, thank you very much).

So I'm hooked up on a drip and waiting for a room to be free in delivery. Contractions now really painful, but nothing too crazy. FAR more painful was going for a wee. OMFG, my pelvic floor has never hurt this much. Weird.

Late Thursday night I'm moved to a delivery room - the moment I'm released from the belt monitor the pain of the contractions goes from about 7 to a 3. Bloody stupid monitor, made things more painful by keeping me immobile on the bed. I'm assessed as 3-4cm. Not even established labour. Bugger.

Told to wait. Some hours pass and they offer to break my waters, to get labour established. Well, I've been here 40 hours, so yeah, why the hell not.

They break my waters and say: we'll give you four hours and then we'll come back and check your progress.

The most painful experience of my entire life begins. Three hours of mind-boggling, eyeball popping pain happens. I start to lose the plot in a big way. I can't tell up from down and am surprised I am even capable of feeling this much pain. Contractions were lasting 7 minutes long (not 1 minute long) and there would be mere seconds in between. WTF is going on?

I begged OH to get the midwife. THIS level of pain must be transition. I am checked - still 3-4cm. My world falls apart at this point. Really!? not even transition?

Gas and Air is offered. I agreed to try it. Marvellous stuff. I can now think straight. I am back in the room. Syntocinon drip is offered. I agree to it but remember that it makes labour more painful. I remembered that extraordinary, mind warping pain from before and, knowing THAT was not even transition, I asid I want an epidural - FIRST.

I get one, G&A is taken away, I labour. I don't have the pain in the pelvic floor area anymore, but I still get contraction pains. I ask mildly whether I can have the gas and air back. Midwife twigs something is off - turns out the epi needle wasn't in properly and so wasn't working. It was repositioned, but I ended up numb only to just above my knees. Hours had gone by and I'd been coping just fine with the contractions so when a whole new epi was offered I said no. I felt I could cope without.

Transition came and went, I pushed for two hours but baby was stuck.

Anyway, obstetrician says it's going to be forceps or maybe even an EMCS. I looked at the clock. It was 23:50 Friday 31 August. I WAS GOING TO GET MY SEPTEMBER BABY!!! YEAH!!

So into theatre, spinal block (I refused to let go of the G&A and took in the canister, haha). I was asked whether an episitiomy was ok. Right now? HELL YES! and out was the baby. I was on edge (so much had gone wrong. What next?) but within 2 seconds my baby wailed. They held up the baby for us to see whether it was a boy or a girl (a boy! How lovely) and he was taken away to be weighed. Ten pounds five ounces. Holy mackerel, he was sumo.

After the birth I felt bloody exhausted but worse, I was totally incontinent. TOTALLY bladder incontinent. I had no sensation nor control whatsoever. I was kept in for a week because of this, given x-rays and felt nothing (even when my bladder was artificially filled to capacity with a dye through a catheter). I had six catheters put in because they kept falling out. It turns out that pain, that mind-searing pain was my BLADDER and not contractions. The force onto it had caused nerve shock - it last about 6 weeks.

The actual labour pains were ok. So ok, in fact, that I refused an epidural offer. Imagine that! Or maybe my endorphins were sky, sky high from the OTHER pain at my bladder.

Labour was 71 hours from start to finish. And, after-effects aside (which are HIGHLY unusual - none of the midwives had come across this before) my labour was actually ok. I did not hate it. In fact, i was very relaxed and joking with the midwives (I went through 4 shift changes) in between contractions. I am actually looking FORWARD to this labour, because I now know what I'm capable of. You will also be awesome - however you decide to labour, with or without an epidural, with or without a birthing pool, with or without pethidine. You'll be amazing. I promise you that. It's something and a half and the outcome is brilliant.

I know I'm. We to this thread and everything but would you mind if we stopped with the birth stories? It's so early that tbh with the good stories I don't want to be thinking about them and imagining my baby's birth because it would make a miscarriage even more devastating. And the bad birth stories, well, they're not really appropriate right now..?

That was supposed to say I know I'm new to this thread

Hello all :)

Feell funny today. And so jealous of everyone with the same due date as me 4/4/14 and having scans soon. Its not fair. Stamps feet!

Learn - that sounds like a mission! I'd be a zombie with no sleep by that point.

Thunder - sorry if you're offended by the discussion as I suspect I started it because I said I had been worrying about it.

I'm not sure I will make it to 12 weeks or full term, and a miscarriage would be devastating. And I'm well aware that risk is present throughout, not just initially. But I personally can't ignore my current situation and the thoughts going around my stressed head. I have really appreciated all the info on here as I've been clueless about most things.

I would presume it better to hear the bad stories now rather than freak out about it a month before it's your go. If people just clearly mark that it's a birth story then those that don't want to read it are free to skip.

birth stuff
All 4 of mine were lovely. Ranged from 4hrs 30mins to 2hrs20mins. 2 spontaneous 1 after a sweep and one perfect induction. All were early. No pain relief, no stitches. It's actually the part of this I'm most looking forward to.

I agree. I've really enjoyed reading the birth stories posted, both good and bad. But it would be good if they were clearly marked at the start so people who don't want to read them can skip over it.

Mine was a birth and half, BUT I wasn't totally exhausted from lack of sleep. I think you get the right dose of hormones coursing through you and that keeps you going and focused. I found it easier than DH did.

One thing though, for those of you watching OBEM, I look back on those episodes now and I think they are unnecessarily scary. They always make sure they get transition in, which is a very, very short part of the whole labour, but it's the scary-looking bit. And the way things are edited, it makes it look like labour and birth is really bloody horrible and screamy and torture. Mine was not like that at all.

I think compressing labour down into a small, programme-sized chunk, making sure they get the exciting, action-packed bits in gives the wrong impression of what labour is like.

For example, in between contractions you feel pretty normal. You spend a lot of time feeling fine (and very, very excited at being able to meet your baby soon). It's not as intense as OBEM makes it look, except for brief periods. Remember, women do this more than once, by choice.

My NCT teacher (who has had three) was quite right: labour and birth is not to be feared.

And I just wanted to share - I've tried using the Doppler I bought tonight and managed to hear my baby's heartbeat for the first time . So relieved since I've been worrying after mc my last pregnancy. And I have my scan on Thursday so dh and I can chill out about it now. Had to share with you all because I'm at home on my own so no one to celebrate with!

that's lovely trinpy :-) half wish I'd bought a Doppler but not got spare pennies this month

Oh dear Thunder I think women telling their birth stories is an unstoppable force.
I think we all love to tell our story because its the build up to the most amazing moment of holding your baby. And its without doubt the most impressive thing I've ever done.
But as xavielli says if everyone titles it then everyone can choose to read or not. I think people vary a lot in their attitude to this, I watched every episode of obem and read loads of online birthstories but dp found it really stressful thinking about the birth before hand. He was excellent on the day though.

That's lovely Trinpy! I always thought it was hard to hear before 16 weeks, or have I just been fobbed off by MW? :)

Oh that's nice trinpy its a really lovely moment.

Im 9 weeks and keep getting stomach cramps they said no to scan as nt bleeding do people recommend trying doppler so paranoid convinced something is wrong thanks

blooming - your tummy can hurt quite a lot just from ligaments stretching,
are you resting and not lifting heavy stuff, etc

I will be 8 weeks this week and stomach cramps are a go-go.

Mine are like period pain but in various places. I've also realised a lot of it is a painful tummy due to slowed digestion so nothing near where the action is.

I heard dopplers have varying success. I had an early scan I paid for and am going to try and hold out for 12 weeks but it is hard not to worry.

blooming I've had loads of stomach cramps with this pregnancy, it's probably a good sign that uterus is growing. 9 weeks it's very early too hear anything. I have been using the Doppler for over a week now and only just heard something now - I'm 10 weeks tomorrow, afaik. But a lot of women dont hear anything until 16 weeks. Doppler isn't expensive but only use it if you're not going to panic more if you can't hear anything.

I've been getting cramps but I suspect it's air trapped in my bloated, over-relaxed intestines. And a uterus stretching those ligaments. so who here is showing? I look like I've eaten too much at lunch

That's reassuring trinpy-I couldn't hear anything today at 9 wks.

I'm rather fat learn. I can't do my jeans up properly but don't have enough of a bump to keep maternity jeans up. I have some maternity leggings that work and jeans not done up properly but I only have a limited supply of long empire line tops to wear over them. No one would/should wear a fitted top with a belly like mine is atm unless they are preg so the wardrobe is a bit limited til I can let the cat out of the bag.

Are most of you planning on going public after the 12 week scan or holding on a bit after that?

fairy we have decide to tell family after our private early scan on Sunday, I'm around 8 weeks (not sure on dates until scan). My DP wants to tell the whole world at the same time but I'm a little anxious about doing so and might leave it until after my 12 week scan. I won't be telling work until at least my 12 week scan or maybe longer if I can hide it.

fairy I'm telling everyone after my scan on Thursday when I'll be 10+2. Only people I won't tell are work. I'm psyching myself up to tell them after the 12 week scan but I'm dreading it! Only been working there a month!

Ladies, is this normal (sorry tmi!)
I'm around 8 weeks and tonight when I wiped there was a blob of jelly like discharge which was clear in colour. I've never had this before and now starting to worry a little.