Hello all - hope you and bumps are all well. It's only been 5 days and now being heavily pregnant almost seems like a distant memory. It's been a hectic few days, but I've finally got a chance to sit down and type up the events.
I started getting cramps in my thighs last Saturday evening. I had felt the baby turn on Saturday, as he had been lying transverse and I thought that he had turned and was lying on my sciatic nerves. I had a terrible night's sleep with the cramps on Saturday and then on Sunday it eased off a bit. I did have a bit of spotting on the Sunday, but didn't think much of it as I was having a swab test for a possible vaginal infection the following day.
On Monday I went to the GPs in the morning and they took the swab and the doctor said I looked less inflamed than on Friday when she saw me last. I mentioned the cramps and she printed me out some advice on stretches to ease them. The cramps were so bad that I could barely drive through them, so I phoned work and told them I probably wouldn't be in the next day. I was working from home anyway on Monday so carried on as normal, just sitting up in bed as it eased the pain. Sitting on a normal chair, sofa or the loo were all painful.
I went back to the GPs later that afternoon for my swine flu jab and mentioned to the nurse I was feeling a bit rubbish with the cramps and she gave me the jab and then took me to see a different GP. She waved my legs around and again said it was nerve pain but to get the spotting checked out.
I phoned the hospital when I got home and they said it sounded like a bit of a show and to come in, but not to panic and that it would be fine to get some tea first (it was 5.30). We got to the hospital about 7.15 and I gave them my pad with the spotting on it and they hooked me up to a fetal monitor. The doctor asked to do an examination and DH left the bedside as he's squeamish. He used a speculum and all of a sudden said, 'you're 3cm dilated, you're in labour' and as he pulled the speculum out there was loads of blood. It then went all a bit 'Holby City' as I was rushed down to the delivery suite on the bed with oxygen being given to me and being laid on my left side.
They then gave me the drugs to delay the labour (they had decided it couldn't be stopped) and the steroid injections to mature the baby's lungs as it was clear that my 'leg cramps' were in fact labour pains. They were also now beginning to move up my legs and by the end of the night were definitely in my lower abdomen and coming about every 5 minutes. I was also 5cm dilated. They gave me a shot of diamorphine to make me more comfortable (DH found the fact that I'd had a teetotal pregnancy and then was dosed up on what was effectively heroin highly amusing) and I continued with the contractions throughout Monday night (no sleep whatsoever).
On Tuesday throughout the day the contractions eased off a bit and at 5.30pm they examined me to find I was still 5cm dilated. They decided to induce me so I was hooked up to the oxytocin and it all began in ernest. I was considering an epidural and had spoken to the anaethetist but decided to start off on gas and air. It was bloody marvellous stuff, made the contractions feel like they were somewhere else and that I just didn't give a flying fuck that I was in
labour. I was fully dilated and engaged by 8.30pm and I started to push, which was incredibly hard work. I knew I was getting closer as the number of people in the room kept increasing. As he was premmy, there were two obstetric doctors, three midwifes, a peadiatric doctor and the world and his wife. The obstetrician threatened forceps towards the end as I wasn't making enough progress, but one push after that and he was out, immediately crying, at 9.43pm.
He was rushed over to the peadiatric doctor who AGPARed him and weighed him quickly, then gave him to me to hold for 5 minutes, when DH and also named him Thomas William Francis. He was then rushed off to SCBU to be incubated and sorted out. They told DH he could go up in 30 minutes to see him.
They then tried to deliver the placenta but because I was early it got stuck and my cervix closed around it, so I had to go into theatre to have a spinal block and have it removed. I could feel some pulling and pushing but nothing else. I came out of theatre about 2am with my legs in those compression thingys and the midwife got me toast and a sandwich because I was starving. DH went home at this point.
I was then prodded and poked some more when I got on the ward and finally was allowed to go to sleep at 4am. I saw Thomas at 11.30am for the first time since giving birth to him and held his hand while he slept in his incubator. He was on phototherapy for jaundice and having his temperature maintained and being tube fed.
Since then it has been a round of sitting by his cot and expressing breast milk. He's progressed from the incubator to a heated cot, but is still on the light therapy. My milk has come in and he'll be entirely on expressed breast milk tomorrow. We don't know when he will come home yet, but I would have been 37 weeks on Christmas day, so hopefully it will be just before Christmas. It's up to him though, he's got to learn to feed for himself and his liver needs to improve its efficiency.
I also have to say that my experience of the NHS has been wonderful throughout. Everybody I have come into contact with, particularly the three midwifes who helped me deliver, have been utterly fantastic.
Apologies for length!