Evening all! Here's the birth story you've been waiting for. It's kinda long winded, especially given how short the labour was.
Anyway, started off by having some niggles during the afternoon/evening yesterday. I was sure I was either constipated or had eaten something that had disagreed with me. I had a soak in my pool after dinner and they went away for a bit, but came back before bed so I indulged in some paracetamol and resigned myself to a delightful bathroom experience in the morning.
Had the same pains overnight but managed to sleep through some of them. When I did wake, I tried several times to, um, relieve myself - without any success. I now know why. At around 4:30am I started to belatedly wonder if maybe I was in labour, so took more paracetamol and went to run myself a bath.
The pains didn't go away, and so DH started to time them for me. They were coming regularly every five minutes or so! We still weren't entirely convinced it was labour (yeah, we're dumb ) but decided to fill the birth pool anyway, just on the off chance. I migrated down there at around 6am.
At 7am, pains coming every 4 minutes and I could only just talk through them. After a lengthy debate we decided to phone the hospital. Spoke to a nice midwife who said it sounded possible it was labour and that she'd let the homebirth team know, and that I should call back once I was having three contractions every ten minutes.
Half an hour later we called back, but were told there was a shift change and it'd take another thirty mins, but someone from the homebirth team would then call to arrange to come round. This was 7:30am. At 8am a member of the homebirth team called - at this point I was still coping ok but really starting to long for some better pain relief than some paracetamol!
The homebirth midwife asked whether I thought she needed to come over now, or whether I wanted to wait until 9am when the MW who had done all my antenatal care was available and could be called over. I told her I needed someone now, it's probably just as well I did. :P
She showed up at 8:30am and examined me, said I was 6cm dilated and it'd be a while yet, but that she'd call the secondary MW since I was over 5cm. She took my BP and pulse (120/73 and 84 - am I inhuman to have been barely affected by labour? ) then asked me for a urine sample.
She promised to call for the Gas and Air while I was upstairs, so I obediently staggered to the bathroom to try and provide the sample, then realise as I'm failing that something else is being moved instead as I strain. Fortunately I put two and two together and didn't deliver my baby down the toilet!
Staggered back downstairs as the other MW (and a student) are arriving at 9:15am. I head straight back into the pool and in the space of just a few minutes the conversation went something along the lines of:
Me: I'm feeling the urge to push!
MW: [checking documents, mildly incredulous] Do you?
Me: [pushing] I can feel the head!
MW: [between chatting to other MW, mildly incredulous] Really?
Me: [gives birth, catches baby, lifts to surface] Um, I've had the baby.
At that point the MW's rush over in surprised panic.
Miranda Jane was born at 9:23am, weighing a hefty 8lbs 3oz (I'm glad she was early now!) and was delivered with no pain relief other than the water pool and two paracetamol. [smug]
Waited until the cord stopped pulsing before the MW cut it (DH didn't want to) then I delivered the placenta into a bucket shortly after after a natural third stage.
Despite the speed of delivery (less than 5 hours from realising I was probably in labour until birth!) I had no external tearing but some internal damage that required a few stitches. The stitches were probably the worst part, to be honest, since they cancelled the Gas and Air request once baby appeared. Oh well, it wasn't that bad.
But yep, there you have it! I didn't find giving birth too bad, though it's not something I plan to make too much of a habit out of! It hurt of course, but I was never overwhelmed by the pain and didn't scream or moo. And I got my wish of not going anywhere near the hospital ward!
Now in the aftermath, yeah I'm a bit sore and achy in the expected places, but it's not too bad. I can still move around and take care of myself and Mindy. And DH is being a star, bringing me whatever I need and doting on his daughter.
So yep, there you go. Another nice positive birth story! If you made it all the way through that epic post then here's a cookie.