Hello ladies
Well, just back from hospital this morning. Hamish William was born on Tuesday at 5 am, 6lb 14 oz, and he?s a real corker!
I was convinced I was going to be overdue, so was on the raspberry leaf and other such things with a vengeance and it worked! Waters went, as I said before, at 4 am on Monday, contractions kicked in very gently about lunchtime. I managed fine on my TENS machine until around 9 pm that evening at which point I called the hospital and they said to come in. However, when I arrived I was told that I wasn?t in established labour and therefore they couldn?t give me any gas and air! Not happy?
Anyway, things very, very quickly progressed at this point and within another hour I was six cm and making some very loud noises, so they whisked me into a delivery room and finally let me have some gas and air, which made a real difference. I was fully dilated by 1 or 2 in the morning. I kept having the urge to push at this point, which I went with, but no result. They then moved me into managed pushing (pushing during each contraction even if I didn?t have the real urge) but still no result after an hour and a half. His head kept almost crowning, but would just go back in at the end of each contraction ? he was basically stuck in the U-bend, no matter what position we tried. I?d run out of steam at this point, and the contractions were becoming more spaced out, so the obstetrician was called and we decided to go for a ventouse. So that was all set up, and after a ten minute pause while we all sat and looked at each other and chatted, waiting for the next contraction, it finally came and Hamish was sucked out into the world without too much pulling, at 5am.
I got a 2nd degree tear, but at least with the ventouse I?d been numbed before that happened, so all?s well really!
Anyway, long story, but I was really pleased with the birth. Proud of myself that I did it all on TENS and gas and air. Shame about the ventouse in the end, but I think he?s inherited his father?s large skull, so not my fault really!
He?s feeding well some of the time, and not at others, but he?s only 2 and half days old, so we?ll give him some time to practice ? and for me to get the hang of it too!
DH has been fab ? house was immaculate when we arrived home, all washing done, sheets changed, pram constructed so that?s made a real difference as I?m a little neurotic!
Congratulations to everyone else who has produced, and good luck to everyone still waiting!