Finally i make it on to give you all the details. what a whirlwind the last week has been. Apologies in advance for the length and to gingerbear as i have cut and paste most of it from an e-mail i sent her yesterday!!. /thanks for all the congrats messages. i haven't completely caught up but well done to TMP, dejags, LG and T, peacemaker uk and anyone else i haven't regietered has delivered. hope you are all enjoying your LO's. Here goes:
In the end it all took me by surprise last week. Having finshed work before easter for annual leave my official mat leave didn't start til monday 30th so couldn't have timed it better in terms of pay!!! Having been "big" by scan he had gone back to 75th at 34 weeks and then maybe breech but wasn't, I was prepared to go 2 weeks over and him come around my birthday on the 20th May. We went out for dinner last friday to the Dore Grill and I hate the hugest meal, the waitress actually asked if it was my last supper!!! Sarurday I pottered around broomhill and went to tescos, felt strange tighteninngs but nothing unusaul. I did have a show at 8 am but as I wrote in my pregnancy diary I thought with the first it would be a few days away. You can imagine my surprise when whilst squatting to brush the dog on the back door step I felt a trickle and then a gush. I didn't think the term waters breaking and stories of people gushing actually happned. Poor Jon he didn'y know what to do, I was trying to direct him to the maternity mats that were upstairs as we had had new carpets on the stairs a few months ago ( stupid I know now !!!). Calmly I rang triage and they said to potter down in 1-2 hours prob go home as no pains and see what happened. 4 pm got into car and by the time I got to Jessops, only 1 1/2 miles from my door I was contracting every 8 minutes. Saw mw who queried thin meconium and went straight to consultant led care, not at all how I had planned it. All the time I'm telling jon I need the Tens as if I don't get it on early it won't work. Famous last words!! Arrived in room 6 pm, examined 3 cm and had an ARM for the rest of the liquor, there was thin meconium so I was told I had 6 hours to try and progress, again ha ha!! At 9 pm with tens only I felt ready to push, the mw was quite patronising and said there there dear but Ve'd me and I was 9 cm. After an hour still feeling the same, repeat showed a posterior lip that wouldn't dilate. Registrar called, my worst nightmare, a male as well. Told to have synt and try to push in an hour. This point things were getting painful, I had done the whole thing on my knees but because they were continually monitoring me they made me go on my back. I am convinced this is what stopped things and he ended up OP, needless to say with just gas and air ( which they took off me to push) I couldn't get him out and he got distressed. I started to hear theatre etc and panicked told them to get on with it and get a paediatrician. Reg gave me some local and managed to turn the head to transverse, we then got him out with pushing and kiwi ventouse plus an episiotomy (ouch that hurt I remember). Cried spontaneously, APGARS 9 and 9 and cord pH fine so a huge relief and lots of tears!!!!!
Well thats the full version hope I haven't bored you, needless to say by the end I was p[etrified and couldn't help putting my medical hat on. I had done very well up til then and the mw said I was the calmest medic she had had ( probably just trying to flatter me and get the baby out!!) Despite the traume and the very severe pain which I remember was agony at the time but now can't begin to describe I am overjoyed not to have ended up in theatre, largely due to the extrememly competent doctor who I am forever thankful to. Life is setlling down, I love being a mum and now understand what people say when they tell ou to go with your instincts. Brest feeding now going well, had a wobble in the midddle of the night when suddenly my milk came in and couldn't appear to find my nipple. IF you had been a fly on the wall in this house it was hilarious!! I was flinging leaflets around and jon was trying to calm joshua. Eventually I just got on with expressing a bit first and now its all settled. Thanks to all who responded to my 5 am desperation plea, needless to say crying for an hour didn't kill him and we're sorted with not a sore nipple in sight, oh thank heavens for lansinoh. her was going 3-4 hourly, las night he fed at 11;30, stirred at midnght with wind and I'm feeding him now - thats 5 hours sleep , will this last??? my dh can't believe it especially as i now have mastered the art of feeding and typing in the study, again i would recommend a nursing pillow.He's gone from 8lb 1 oz to 7lb 8 oz which i'm sure is fine.
Have been out once a day to try and keep sane, managed a 40 minute walk friday which i was chuft with. Been to tesco - hell with a baby - people are so ignorant!!! Last night first evening trip out, went to bbq, bless him he was a star fed and then slept upstairs with his monitor although i must admit every time the lights stopped i kept checkih he was still breathing - will this parannoia settle?? more visitors today. doing well at keeping it to our times and restricting cuddles if i've just settled him. people think i'm mean but i saw the consequences the second night and don't want a repeat.
i could gasbag all day but think i ought to wind him and swap sides he's done 25 mins, such a guzzle guts!!! hope all is well with everyone, i imagine my regular post willo be night time for now while dh is on pat leave - hopefully into town today to get my born present he promised. already have an eternity ring so we are going to chose between a locket and a charm bracelet which i can add to each time joshua has a major landmark. i can't believe he's a week and 4 hours now, his cord dropped off uesterday, am i the only one who shed a tear at this point?? my dh thought it ridiculous and smelly but i wanted a photo!!!
really am going this time.
have a fab bank holiday weekend, take care all those still preggers and enjoy the LO's those who aren't (we are lucky aren't we)
Drkgpink XXXXX