April 2015 thread 6: our Christmas puddings are half cooked, now bring on the glow!

[BrixtonBunny]

We were getting perilously close to being full up, hope no one minds!

I didn't really discuss mine just filled in my birth plan and made sure do knew what I wanted. Was very lucky with ds2 that I had my community midwife on her hospital shift when I was induced :)

Wow guys..terrified how..cheers

Now*

Don't be terrified, we here for second, third ore more times so can't be that bad ?? To be fair it's a tough few hours but so amazing and the tough stuff starts when you're home alone with a baby and even that feels normal after a while! Seriously, I was the least maternal person ever and now I having my third and love it!!!!

lol sorry lady if it helps, my experience is quite rare, and mostly caused by the fact that DH was so busy flapping round in a panic about everything that the midwives didn't take him seriously, had he had the first bloody clue about labour then he'd have been less panicked about everything and they'd have taken his concerns seriously and not been so desperate to leave the room and with the complications that can be caused by my Hyper mobility Syndrome something was bound to go wrong, you'll sail through!

Gah at all the birth stories! Terrifying for a first timer. But you've all gone on to have another so maybe it's not that bad?! Or you just forget ...

Cheers for new thread, can't believe we are halfway now. My back is starting to hurt now

19+5

oneday it's terrifying but exciting too. And no choice! Your body gets on with it, you don't have much say. I just kept reminding myself that I was built to do this... And the reward is amazing

oneday it's not that bad really... some people haver really easy labours, just remember it's the awful ones you hear about because the awful ones stick in peoples mind whereas the easy ones sort of meld into the baby joy.

in unrelated news I finally prised a present idea out of DH. He wants a new wallet that will cost more than the bag I was after (how in the hell can a wallet cost £65?!), so it looks like I might get my Pink Lining Bramley Tote after all! Still haven't got a clue what we're doing for DD, this is the problem with her birthday being about a month before xmas >.< we already bought everything that I wanted to get her... she might get Russel the Sheepdog early simply so that she has something to open from us!

I've been induced twice and two of my deliveries have ended in emergency sections and the other required an episiotomy. I've had gas and air, pethidine, an epidural and two general anaesthetics. And I'm still coming back for baby number four! Honestly it isn't that bad. Yes some women do have a tough time but those are the stories that get bandied about, no-one wants to hear about a five hour labour with just gas and air and no complications! Only my second was a natural delivery but I managed the pain with gas and air even though I was on the drip for induction and I never noticed any of that 'ring of fire' thing people talk about with crowning. When I think back to previous deliveries it is the little things that I remember as being bad: not being able to sit up easily after a section, a sore wrist where the anaesthetist put a line in, a bloody open window on the ward that meant I was cold in July, having to have a catheter in. No it may not be the pretty picture that the antenatal classes paying where you 'breathe out the baby' and yes you may need an intervention you didn't want but we will get there and be sharing our birth stories on here in no time!

It's not easy OneDayLikeThis2013 but it's short and although you don't forget it you do realise it was sooooooo worth it the moment you your baby in your arms. I was induced twice, once with a gel and eventually synotcinon drip and once just one gel was enough. I had an epidural with the drip but had no intervention with either and there are drugs as needed. I hated pethidine and would never have it again, loved my tens machine and g&a was awesome!!! Heard some lovely first time labour stories at my baby yoga with ds1 :) I would say do all you can to avoid a back to back baby that sucks! Did all the positions I could to shift ds1 but he didn't mive and was born looking up. Ds2 was transverse so more ridiculous positions instead of sitting on the sofa and hurray he ended up head down by 36 weeks and not back to back! You'll be amazed at what your body can do

On a non labour related subject when the baby moves I keep trying to imagine a name for him as I'm hoping if something totally jumps out at me and I love love love it dh won't argue, think pregnancy is making me mad!!!!!

I'm a first timer and strangely the birth stories aren't scaring me at all. I think I still feel quite detached from it, like I won't actually have to give birth! But also I read a lot about it before becoming pregnant so I've got over any initial shock at things that will/could happen which helps. Ultimately I know it's not going to be fun but as long as baby and I come out (pretty much) in one piece at the end if it I'll consider it a success. Ideally I would like gas and air and a water birth in a midwife led unit but I know there's a good chance that might not happen so trying not to mentally rule anything out (except pethidine, really don't like the sound of that and would rather have an epidural).

I looooved my Epidural...
Only thing I didn't want was pethidine, so tried gas and air first but then got my blissful epi...

then after being stuck at 9cm for 6 hours I ended up with EMCS...

This time it will be ELCS all the way... been there, done that, the induction, contractions, the lot, only thing I didn't do was the pushing... and my scar is now a bit itchy and i get paranoid it will rupture... and especially now i know of my weird succenturiate placenta i think a section is more likely to get it all out and nothing gets missed or breaks...

Ditto banana I'm in complete ignorant bliss about the labour.

Having an anterior placenta - apparently makes me more likely to have a back to back baby, ouch.

right now I feel lucky that I don't have to do the whole "labour" thing... that feeling of luck will wear off about the same time as the morphine does, and I'll be envying you all who didn't have caesarians. (done the same twice already, so I know I will be!)

En route down to London, using my quick free half hour of Internet at the hotel.
Saw the papers last night re home birth being great, funnily enough the doc giving the quote saying it's not his thing is the one who did my harmony test! We did tell him at the time we were hoping for a home birth again and whilst she said it's never his recommendation, he wasn't down on it.

When I was a first timer, I watched One Born Every Minute, and found it really enlightening. Even though at that stage they didn't represent any homebirths (have they since? I didn't watch again once we'd had him.), it was really beneficial to me.

PIL now know. It was wonderful. DS had his 'World's Best Brother' tshirt on. MIL noticed first, as she is DS's favourite so he'd gone to her first. Took her a moment to read it properly (blue text on a blue tshirt makes it pretty subtle) but once she read it, she was speechless for a while, then got tears in her eyes, and could barely move. Hahaha, really great reaction. She is very happy! As is FIL, but not quite so emotional!

19+3

Oh lovely Freedom - glad they noticed the tshirt! Have a lovely time in London (despite the miserable grey day).

I'm not sure if One Born has had any home births on, but I've definitely seen a couple on tv before so they might well have. Love that show, they're filming the new series at the moment, wonder if it will make it on tv before it's our turn!

I was really keen on the home birth idea - more for a second birth than a first - until I had DD. She didn't breathe for a few minutes when she was born (probably due to being prem and rather squished during birth) and had to be rescusitated. Now I feel I want to be in a hospital just in case emergency treatment of some sort is needed.

Assuming I go to term this time, I'm hoping for midwife led unit, water birth, gas and air. I was ok with gas and air last time I actually didn't find birth all that bad so hope the same will apply. That said, I think I was in shock due to DD's surprise arrival so maybe that gave me some extra pain relief!

I'm nervous about epidural because it increases the chances of interventions/c section being needed. However if I'm induced or back to back I'll consider an epidural as I've heard those kinds of labours are much more painful.

In reality though the midwife led unit/water birth is only available if you have no risk factors - so that rules a lot of people out.

Oh and I recommend hypnobirthing - I never did a course or got a CD but I read a hypnobirthing book and reckon it really helped. Not so much the visualisation but more the ideas about accepting the pain rather than fighting it, counting through it, going into your own bubble etc.

Hello all!

To he poster who asked if it will be one of each (can't remember who now, this thread is moving so quickly I'm struggling to keep up!), yes it will be

I heard the news about home births and MLU's having a better outcome and couldn't help thinking it was just misreported statistics (good for you if you want a home birth, I've nothing against one, but I wouldn't have one myself) - But you're only allowed a homebirth/midwife led unit if you are low risk in the first place (that's the case in my hospital anyway), so of course they are going to have better outcomes! Same logic as saying vaginal births are less likely to lead to time spent in NICU for newborns then CS. Of course - because the vast majority of CS happen for a valid reason too!

FWIW I really wanted a water birth for DD... but then went 13 days overdue and ended up on a drip being induced. When the midwife asked which pain relief options I had been planning, I said... well, I was planning a waterbirth - I suppose that's out of the window now, is it? She said yup! And then recommended an epidural

Just had a funny telephone conversation. Yesterday baby was being a monkey and wouldn't move into the right position for the sonographer to take all the images she needed to, so in the end the sonographer sent me down for a drink and something sweet to eat and told me to come back afterwards. Which I did and the sonographer was able to take the images she needed to.

But she's just called me to say that 2 of the images didn't save and would I mind coming back next week for another go! After all that trouble we went to of course I don't mind at all, extra chance to have a look at the baby , is just v funny, because I was in there for aaaaaages trying to get the baby to move so she could get the right shots! Poor woman.

OneDayLikeThis2013 and Banana

I am same as you, I am not yet very concerned about labor as it were not to happen to me.

My ideal birth for now would be waterbirth combined with epidural what is not possible.

I feel there is big push in UK towards more natural birth. From my US experiences woman giving brith with no EPI is sort of rare.

My mom is supporting the Epi idea, she says there is no need to suffer, unfortunatelly she did not have that option at her times.

I like the idea of waterbirth, more for the ambiance and feeling water provides, but I think there is a risk if choosing waterbirth as first option if it will be unbearable and will want Epi later might not get it as it requires transfer from MW birth center to labour ward.

I must say I am quite the coward. I look forward to being sent to sleep with a lovely general anaesthetic and out comes baby via the sunroof... It'll be the second time so I feel I know the drill now. I found recovery quite easy as it happens.

smogs sorry for nosiness but how come you will have a GA?

OneDay I had anterior with DD but wasn't back to back. I have read that the key to avoiding back to back is to spend lots of time leaning forward, so eg don't slouch backwards when on the sofa/driving/in the office, try to sit upright/slightly forward instead. Also spending 20 mins on hands and knees every evening in the later stages of pg is supposed to help (I never did this though!)

aw Bonjour another sneak peek! That will be a nice relaxing scan since you already know all is ok