Hi guys, we're back home and James is snuggled in his carseat making mousey noises so may not have long to type this!
Firstly thankyou so much for all the lovely kind messages and well wishes, I haven't had time to read the thread fully but you've all been lovely and supportive ofr months, and especially in the marathon runup to James's arrival!
Gill, thankyou for relaying my message, I appreciate it!
The short version: He was born normally using gas n air, had a few stitches for a tear after his heartrate dipping in last few contractions so them telling me to get him out ASAP. Dp fainted as baby came out.
The full version: went to hospital at my last post about I dunno, 6 or 7 in the morning having huge lower back pains and by the time was walked (laughing and giggling between contractions) into the labour ward the contractions were about a minute or so apart.
After this it all gets a bit crazy/scary/blurry... first off she examined me and said she thought I was 4cm, but presenting part was probably a buttock. We were really shocked. They got a crazy foreign guy who tried to joke with me through a major contraction (asking me "why are you here?"- The midwives looked at him like "stop trying to be funny, shut the feck up and do your job") to perform a scan on me but he wasn't a sonographer so couldn't read the results. Eventually got my consultant in (thank GOD for this wonderful woman) who at last said "no he just has a squishy head, probably from getting squished for ages, have you been in labour a long time?"
YESSSSSSSS
Anyway so c section narrowly avoided. They had me IV'ed up with a gown on and everything! Scary. Anyway she popped my waters and it all got fast and crazy. I was introduced to the fabulous invention that is gas and air. I giggled away on it for a few minutes, because I was smug that "I had discovered gas and air and no-one else in the world had any" LOL
It really makes you loopy. But it really helped. After that I don't remember things clearly, it all happened so fast. Time went out of the window so not sure what happened when but they had me on my back on the bed with an internal monitor on the babys head because the tummy monitor wouldn't stay put during contractions. Plenty went on that was against my birth plan but to be honest at the time I was so out of it I didn't even think to disagree with the medical staff, I felt like I was dying and they were saving my life. That sounds uber dramatic but I wasn't prepared mentally at all. After all I'd only gone in to be checked over!
Suddenly they were asking if I felt pushy, but I didn't really recognise what the need to push felt like until they took my gas and air away (cue a VERY hurt wail of "nooooo! whyyyyyy?") lol
The staff were in disagreement as to babys heartrate being ok or not-general consensus was I had to get him out asap. I felt almost delirious at this point and sure I wasn't pushing properly and then suddenly in a wet heap he existed!
At this point, dp burst into tears, went an odd shade of grey and promptly passed out, to much eye rolling by the midwives lol
Anyway, afterwards I lay there for possibly another hour while they sorted James out, sat dp down with some tea (I got no tea and toast, despite being promised it by two midwives!) gave me umpteen stitches and finally ran me a bath which was heavenly.
Today, inevitably, I feel like I've been hit by a truck. A truck which then changed its mind, reversed, and ran over each of my nipples.
And yes he's so worth it. I will post pics as soon as dp gets a chance later on, but suffice to say he's extraordinarily gorgeous with golden hair, slate blue eyes, my grumpy frown and his dads floppy ears. He was 7lb 2oz, born at 10.51am. I'm in love!