Hi everyone, I hope you had a great Christmas.
I had a beautiful baby boy on Christmas Eve, 6.30am.
If you don't want to hear a bad birth story, look away now!
The birth was an absolute nightmare. I was induced and we pulled the short straw and got a midwife with absolutely no interest in supporting me with active labour / breathing etc. She simply wanted me on my back, legs in stirrups, with an epidural, old-fashioned stylee. (Something I really wanted to avoid). We tried to change midwives (all the others we've met were lovely) but the hospital was understaffed and really busy so no chance. The induced contractions were coming on so strong, and had gone on for hours so I was in agony, and eventually gave up any idea of an active birth, and went for the epidural - which then didn't work!!!
The anesthetist topped me up 4 or 5 times but it simply didn't touch me. He actually came and apologised after and said it wasn't normal, but he had no idea why it didn't work. He said I'd had what you could call "a traditional birth". The induction started on the morning of the 23th. I finally delivered nearly a day later in absolute agony, on my back, feet in stirrups screaming the place down!
Of course the most important thing is I have a lovely baby boy, so it was all worth it in the end. I know it could have been a lot worse, but after all the work we did on learning about labour, talking to the midwives who seemed progressive and well versed on different approaches to labour, I feel quite cheated to have had to have found myself in such an old fashioned scenario, and to have had to suffer so much pain!
Really happy to see some good birth stories here - I might like to do it again one day, and I need to know it doesn't have to be like that!
Good luck to everyone who's still waiting. Hope I haven't put you off too much. Despite all the pain, I'd do it all again right now if I had too, my little boy is just wonderful.