Twoplusone - keep us posted - sending lots of positive vibes your way!
Ok am going to try and type fast and give you the edited version but you all have to promise not to judge me as being so incredibly dumb as to not realise what was going on ( although deep down I think I kind of did but was in denial a) because I was so scared that it was too early so I was worried if the baby would be ok and worried that I wasn't nearly organised enough and b) because of all the weeks around this time for me to go into labour this was the worst because DH is a teacher and it's exam time and also it's his brother's wedding tomorrow which I'm gutted to be missing).
Anyway,last wed 11th I had a really weird day - no pain but just felt really out of sorts and kept crawling back to bed. I went to bed that night at 10, woke at 11, settled again at 2, woke at 4 with mild tummy ache but upset stomach ache rather than period type pain.
By the time DH left at 7.30 I had a hot water bottle on my tummy a couple of paracetamol (common theme on this thread I feel) and just felt like a really good fart would sort me out and a poo would've been even better. I kept managing to poo a little bit (sorry if this is all tmi - think I've lost all my dignity in the past week and if I can't share bodily functions with you guys - who can I?!)but still felt like there was some in there.
About 9am I had a show and to be fair I did recognise that for what it was but was aware that that can happen a while before labour so although I called DH to come home so we could just go and get it checked out I didn;t really think that much of it because hey - all I cared about at that stage was getting this poo out to relieve the 'waves of pain' (aka contractions retrospectively!) that I can only describe as constipation pains - It honestly wasn't til late afternoon that I had any kind of pain or tightening round my tummy which was what I was expecting from contractions.
So DH got home about 11 and started gathering up the pile of things I'd had ready to go in my labour bag - all very random and very few of the essentials because I hadn't yet got round to that. I thought he was being ridiculous even packing it but let him get on with it as it bought me a bit more time to sit on the loo and 'get this poo out'.
Now what you need to know here is that I'm one of those stupid people who finds it very hard to poo anywhere other than her own home _ not something I'm particularly proud of because I'm sure it makes me sound very anal (terrible pun I do apologise) but that's just the way it is so no way was I going to sit in a hospital waiting room until I'd had this poo at home first.
So, the afternoon continued in a ridiculous manner with DH sitting on the bathroom floor saying 'Sweetheart we really should go get this bleeding checked out asap) and me saying 'Yes I'm just coming just let me poo first'. At some stage my waters broke - initially I thought it was just wee from where I was straining so hard to poo but then I remembered to smell it and it did smell different. At that stage I'm sure I did know there was more to this but I think that and the constipation were 2 different things in my head so I wanted to deal with one before going to hospital for the other if that makes any sense!
At this point DH keeps trying to dress me to get me out to the car but obviously when I got up and walked around these 'pains' got worse so it was far preferable to lie in the bath/sit on the loo/sprawl on the floor - at this point I didn't care where I had to clear poo up from I just wanted it out - than get dressed and into a car. So, he'd dress me, turn his back and I'd get undressed and sit down again.
Eventually I got to the point where even though he was being lovely and insufferably patient I didn;t want him around so i banished him to watch telly. He was watching back to back episodes of scrubs so I'd hear the ad break and yell 'I'm fine don't come check on me during the ads'. At one point I was on the loo and he announced he needed a wee and I told him to wee in the sink. He says at that point he knew there was something going on because I'd never normally suggest that!
Eventually at 5.30pm I conceeded that seeing as I'd now been trying to poo for over 12 hours it was unlikely to happen 'in a minute' so maybe if we went to hospital they could give me an enema...that's right I was actually finding the idea of an enema appealing!
So, rush hour traffic with me biting on the seatbelt every time these pains came which by this point was very very close together (I now can't believe how close I came to having him at home or in the car) we get to hospital about 6.15 and I can hardly speak so DH is briefing the midwife with me adding 'It's prob a fuss about nothing - maybe I've eaten something funny' and the midwife agrees taht it could well be nothing but now I'm here she'll have a look. So, I'm up on the bed , she has a very quick look and says 'Midwives intuition I think you're in labour'. She had such a smirk on her face I thought she was taking the piss out of my fuss about constipation (remember I'm not entirely rational at this point) so snapped 'Why?' at her to be told that I was very nearly 10 cms and she could very clearly see a head!!!!!!
So, the girl who was NEVER going for natural childbirth but wanted an epidural every day for the weeks leading up t her due date so as not to be caught out ended up giving birth with just some poxy gas and air! J was born at 9.27pm, 5lbs 13 oz and bless him even though he came out with his hand by his head I only had a tiny tear and a coule of grazes. I can;t believe how lightly I've been let off but am truly grateful not least because the post natal stay was awful - won't go into it now but it was the worst few days of my life which I'm gutted about seeing as they were the first few days of my baby's life but thank god I wasn't too physically damaged else it would've been 1000 times worse.
I can't fault my delivery experience at all though - the midwife and paediatrician were fantastic.
So, sorry if I've rambled - coherent thought is not my strong point right now but if I can do it with no pain relief then trust me anyone can because I'm the biggest wimp out!!!
I honestly think that's the other reason I refused to believe it was labour because somehow, although i'm not saying it wasn't painful, I was coping with the pain which I never expected to be able to.
Anyway, must go - hope my RL friends never find out that you girls have got the blow by blow account before they did but hopefully some of you might be able to take heart that yes it hurts but it's bearable and once you're through the other side and that gorgeous gorgeous baby is in your arms you really really don't care. I thought that was such a stupid cliche until I held him for the first time.
I'm rooting for you all!
xx
PS Not sure at what stage if ever I tell my son that I initially thought he was just a big poo!