Congrats piggyp, braziliam mum and glam! sounds like our little march LOs don't mind being a bit early!
All going well here, just extremely intense with feeding -- and so hard to keep up with mumsnet!!! And last night I developed mastitis which is crazy painful and requires me to express on breast so not a lot of time between feeds.
I started our postnatal thread which we can use when all pop - see here Birth stories can go on either thread.
Speaking of, I still haven't posted mine. Water broke with no contractions on Monday night at around 7:30 pm. Because of Group B positive, they asked me to come in. Bc of no contractions, they suggested I be induced. I was like hell no! So we asked them to give us an hour to go home and get some stuff before they did that (we live v. close). It was a total lie - we didn't come back for three hours and by the time I was back in the ward my contractions had started fast and furious! I had the antibiotics for Group B in the labour ward and then insisted on being sent back to the birthing centre for my desired water birth. When I got there I was only 2 cm dilated and so they wanted to send me back to labour to get induced which thankfully we, with the doula's help fought and they agreed to keep me for a few more hours upcn which labour progressed quickly. I got in the pool at about 2 AM and started gas and air and it was wonderful!!! At 6, I started the heavy pushing and she was born at 8:30. I found the labour got mentally easier to handle as it progressed and by the end I felt so strong and in control, I even went off the gas and air for the last hour. The last 3 pushes (2 for head and 1 for body) were the best, I stood up at the side of the pool with the doula and and the midwife and dh went down and caught the baby between my legs. When I looked down at her, she looked exactly how I pictured she would and so pink! Apparently it's the oxygen - am thinking about getting an entonox canister for home use :.) I had no tearing at all, did some skin to skin before handing her to dh and then he took off his shirt and held her (and bawled like a baby - she didn't cry!!) while I delivered the placenta naturally (did you know they weigh it by the way? creepy!).
A couple of thoughts:
I was pleased to have the birth I wanted with the nhs but we had to fight for it at two critical junctures. Had we not, I feel I would have had very different experience.
We had nothing ready - our hospital bag was a mess - but have been coping fine (she's still sleeping in her pram basket which we took off and have on the floor!). The one thing I was so thankful I had put together was my 'recovery kit' - I would suggest carrying it around with you starting now! In it I had some of the earth mama stuff suggested by braziliam mum, sitz spray, tea tree oil for a sitz bath, moist toilet tissues (you won't be friends with real toilet paper for about a week) and maternity pads. Lifesaver. A few hours after the birth I also had dh run out adn get frozen peas which I sat on for an hour and that really helped with swelling. I used all this stuff religiously and felt almost 100% normal down there in about a week.
And on that note, sorry for long post!