Hi all,
I think I may have made my evening issues with Freddie sound worse than they are. Doing a discredit to Freddie bless him!! When I said he was awake, I just meant that he often has his awake time just when we get tired. But he is not crying , just feeding and looking around. But generally he feeds every 3 to 4 hours and has an awake time a few times a day.
But saying all of that, last night he was awake from 5 till almost 10 and feeding for a LOT of that time. My nipples were feeling chewed and I was beginning to worry a bit. Even though the rational side of me knew that it was only a matter of time before he conked out. He was soo tired in the end, but kept rooting and just took ages to fall asleep.
Then when he did, he slept till 4am, so for 6 hours. Dh and I had a great chunk of sleep. Then he had a quick feed at 4 and slept again till 7ish when I got him up as I was worried he'd not fed much all night. How crazy is that after wanting him to stop feeding, I wake him to feed!!! He is currently in his crib zonked!!
Right are you ready for this? It is loooooooong. Been doing it on and off all day.
Maybe don't read if you've not delivered yet....!
Birth Story
On Thursday the 22nd I went to my MW for my routine appt. She discussed a sweep and said she was reluctant to do one until I was 7 days late. She said she really thought that labour would start all by itself and suggested walking. So I walked thursday and friday, to collect the dc's and round the park.
Friday night I went to bed and at 12.30am woke to do a wee. I knocked my bump on the end of the bed by mistake and it hurt more than usual. I remember thinking on the way to the loo, 'I wonder if my waters break on the loo' ( I thought that every night though!!) and after I did a wee I felt a pop and then heard some water (about the same amount as a cup of tea) come out, then the same thing happened again. I called out to dh, but didn't want to shout as the dc's had been unwell and had been coughing a lot in the night. Didn't want to wake them. So I went into the bedroom, turned on the light and said, 'dh my waters have broken'. He said' what time is it?', and when I said half 12, he said 'oh I've only had 2 hours sleep'!!!!!
He then proceeded to change the sheets and I went to call mum and the Delivery suite.
I told them that my waters had gone and that when I'd been in 2 weeks before, they'd said I was 4cm dilated and had bulgy waters. She said I should come in to be checked. I was thinking 'checked??? I'm coming in to have my baby!!!!'
Anyway we went to the hospital (was feeling worried on the way) and as I got out of the car, my waters went again and this time loads of fluid came out, all over me and my trousers and shoes etc. I was quite shocked and it was also drissly raining. I said 'I'm going to start walking, catch me up' and set off across the carpark.
Dh then said shouted 'where are the notes'?? And we had a bit of a discussion about who'd had them and who should have remembered them...I shouted across the carpark 'I'm having a baby, I can't believe you're getting cross with me!!'
I was crying by then. And my teeth were really chattering , dh was trying to get me to calm down.
Anyway we went up to the DS and I remember thinking as we passed somebody, 'omg I look a total state' . When I got to the desk, I told the MW who I was and she asked for my notes and I said/cried 'I forgot them'. She was NOT impressed. She gave me a 'look' and asked me for a urine sample. I burst into more tears in the loo!
When I came out and gave them the sample, her and another MW just looked at me. They said 'why are you crying?' and I said I was scared They stood there are just watched me sobbing for a few minutes! I felt a total wally.
After a bit we went down to Triage so I could be assessed. Straight away I removed my knickers and trousers, because they were soaked, but I think the MW thought I was crazy. I knew I wasn't going anywhere though . She put me on the moniter and gave me a VE. She said she also was giving me a sweep. She said that I was still 4cm dilated, but because I could tell her all the details from my notes....I'd read them so much I'd memorised them (4cm dilated, soft stretchy cervix, posterier, 1cm long cervix, bulgy waters)she could see that I had changed and progressed. My cervix wasn't 1cm anyomore or posterior etc.
So she said I could stay in. (as if there was any doubt!)
She left the room and almost immediately I started having cx. They were NOTHING like bh and totally painful. From the start.
I was in pain and literally hanging off the bed, I was sort of rolled onto my side and clinging onto the headboard bars of the bed. I sent dh out to get the MW and he came back and said he couldn't find her. Lots of 'well go and look again' shouting from me'!! This happened a few times untill she reappeared. She could see I was in pain and we set off for a room. She was very concerned with wrapping me in a sheet, as I was naked (apart from socks) from the waist down. I couldn't care less!!
I walked into the room and went straight to the wall with the G+A on it. I really took it in deeply and it did help. For a very short time, I felt drunk and commented that it was like being in my favourite bar!!
But then the happy feeling went and I was back to being in total agony again. I was standing up and leaning backwards onto dh, grabbing huge chunks of his hair. Also his tummy (he has a huge bruise now).I was asking about pain relief and when I mentioned pethedine the mw said 'oh you dont want that, it will make you go all funny' . I thought the funnier the better but I didn't get any.
At some point I screamed (words to the effect of) 'this is why I chose to be on this floor and not the birthing cenre...I don't want to be a f*ing earth mother' and went on and on about not wanting pain and this was not what I had wanted. Oh dear!!
The anethsiatist(sp) was in theatre with 2 ladies and we were told that I was next.
When he came in I was over the moon and was saying 'the drug man, the drug man' over and over and reaching out for him!! I was still standing at this point. He put the canulla in my hand and then it was time for me to sit on the bed. But as I sat down, it was such a strange sensation and I got up and shouted out 'The baby's coming out, RIGHT NOW'!!! So all the MW got on their knees and looked expecting to see it popping out!!
After that the 'drug man' left the room
The Mw's put me on the bed and were asking me if I had any urges to push, but I didn't. I was sort of trying to push anyway, but couldn't remember how to do that! I was trying to imagine I needed to poo but nothing was moving down there.
Then they TOOK MY G+A AWAY!!!! OMG! I went nuts!!!! I was begging and shouting to get it back and saying they were torturing me and how I couldn't understand why they wouldn't let me have it. I was truely in pain and was desperate. They said I needed to push and I wasn't doing it properly. They also said I had been getting too high on the G+A. Dh then said ' the baby needs to come out' and I shouted at him to 'f* off'
Omg, this reads so awful, but it was awful to me! And it was happening to me.
Next we/they decided I should get on all 4's and I got off the bed to make it easier to turn over. But as it was I didn't get back on the bed. I stood up and then I really DID get urges to push. It was like I had no control and had to bear down. Thank goodness they gave me the G+A back then and I sucked and pushed the head out. I really felt the famous ring of fire. Very stingy.
I reached down and touhed the head and it felt all jelly like. Then I laid my head on the bed and relaxed a bit. I knew the end was in sight.
Next, with a few pushes the rest of Freddie slithered out. I felt arms and shoulders and all of him. Such a wierd sensation.
As he came out a load more water gushed out. The Mw was really surprised and said she'd never ever seen so much. It spread to the walls and they needed to lift all my bags off the floor. This was why my bump had been soooo hard.
He was white and looked really huge to me.
dh cut the cord and I got on the bed and he was put on my breast.
Such a relief!!!!
Then I had to deleiver the placenta which took nearly 2 hours. I needed a syntocin drip to bring on cx and they were painful enough to need G+A. I was crying, yet again, because I found it so unfair that I was in pain again after already giving birth and I wanted ds with me and I'd had to hand him over to dh.
That finally came out and the mw said it was very healthy looking and huge.
After all that, the mw said she felt bad that I hadn't had the birth I wanted and I appologised for being 'shouty'. I expected her to say something like 'oh don't worry, we see it all the time, you were in pain etc..' but she didn't. Instead she said 'you were a challenge' Thanks!!
She then commented how I had the lowest pain threshold and that she was amazed that I hadn't even been able to tollerate the stethascope(sp) on my tummy during labour. This is true, I'd pushed her off everytime she tried.
But how she thought this was helping me I have no idea. Maybe she was making conversation.
Anyway after they decided my tear didn't need stitching, dh went home to get my notes and I had much needed tea and toast!!
One mw said I got the gold star for having the most normal birth of the night!!!
Phew!
I hope you are not bored to tears!!
I'm glad I've finally written it down.
And Freddie was 100% worth it.