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Childbirth

Share experiences and get support around labour, birth and recovery.

Original poster

damn my cervix - 2cms in 30hrs. what now?

141 replies

RedKennedy · 22/05/2007 08:37

i write this on my hands and knees, arse in the air.. have let dp have a kip as he couldnt keep his eyes open and I figure he has to drive at some point..

started getting contractions at 0130 Monday morning - very exciting - they were coming nice and regular, every 8 mins or so and things were looking good. Its my first and I was due saturday so sunday night/monday morning was too good to be true. Carried on until around 6am monday when I managed to drop off. woke at 9am and they had all but stopped, so was slightly gutted, but pleased I had got some rest. Warm baths, TENS etc all helped greatly. Started again Monday afternoon but didnt get the regularity, they varied greatly from 5mins to 20 mins.. went to M&S, had baths, massages, bopping around kitchen etc etc. Then my god it started hurting. Got more and more regular and then at 3am this morning I went from every 6 mins to every 2 minutes, so after an hour of very intense pain every 2 mins decided to go into hospital only to be sent home again as I was only TWO BLOODY CMs.

Have been home since 5am, been in bath and taken co-dydramol, and thankfully the bath slowed them right down and I slept for 30mins, but im SO TIRED i dobt know what to do, cant bear this pain much longer, scared really that im going to cave in and ask to be admitted and given whatever drugs they farking have...

i know no one will have a miracle cure for me, but please send me some nice opening vibes, this is driving me mental. Ive kind of given myself til midday, and if i cant take it much longer I am thinking about handing myself over for pethidine.

and breath.

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skirmish · 22/05/2007 08:42

your story sounds exactly like my mine red...i thought the contractions were unbeliveably painful, only to get to hospital and be told i was only 2cm (monday morn) - they did a sweep whilst there. Everything stopped until that evening, niggly contractions, spent most of mon night in the bath, stopped tues day, started again in the evening - went to hosp, 7cm! woohoo - ds born about 8hrs later.

I never thought i would cope with the pain, but managed the whole labour without anything - so let that be a consolation to you!

good luck

burstingbug · 22/05/2007 08:43

Try wandering around as much as you can cope with. It helped me to get from 4cm to pushing stage in less than an hr.

Katy44 · 22/05/2007 08:44

this sound like my birth story.
went in at 3am was 1cm dilated
baby born at 5.35pm.
so hopefully you are much further along now

good luck. hopefully lulumama and others will be along soon but i'll keep watching and keep my fingers crossed for you.

Cervix opening vibes coming your way

Katy44 · 22/05/2007 08:45

now have squaking baby making typing slow and no punctuation

xx

lulumama · 22/05/2007 09:10

Imagine and visualise your cervix opening

don;t think of it as only 2 cm..that is 2 cm open already ! yay !!

nipple stim, sex if you can face it can help get things going..but you are on the way, and it won;t be too long now

good that you got some rest

drink some raspberry leaf tea if you have any

send yourself the opening vibes, every time you have a contraction, meet it and thank it...accept it and welcome it, as it is bringing baby closer.......imagine your cervix opening, try to banish the negativity and have faith your body can do it and is doing it

don;t set a time limit, you can cope , and you are coping beautifully, go with the flow

you;ll be amazed at what you can do!

PS had 15 hours of contractions before i got to 3 cm..then 3 1/4 hours to holding baby !!
might be baby needs wriggling into the best position to exert equal pressure on the cervix, so wiggle on the gym ball, or walk up stairs sideways!

good luck !x

Celery · 22/05/2007 09:19

Many first labours are like this; mine was and I gave up after three days with no sleep and went into hospital for the whole drip to speed things up, epidural etc. Don't feel bad if this is what you have to do, honestly - there is only so much a woman can cope with, and several days of slow labour is totally exhausting. No one is going to think any less of you. If you feel strongly about it though, you'll be amazed at just how much you can cope with. Agree with the sex thing - see if you can manage it. Make sure you stay dehydrated, and keep your sugar levels up - I ate spoonfuls of honey every hour.

If it's any consolation, and it probably isn't right now, my next two labours were much much quicker and totally natural, but there is no way I could have continued the first time around.

lulumama · 22/05/2007 09:28

have some lucozade ! and honey is a good idea....

Katy44 · 22/05/2007 09:28

how are you doing? is your dp still asleep?

Original poster
RedKennedy · 22/05/2007 09:30

cheers everyone. im just so tired. if only i could get a couple of hourssleep I would feel right up to the job, but these contracttions are chipping away at me as I feel like Ive got fuck all to give. have eaten and am drinking, and weeing. and am carrying around the house a tiny tiny baby gro and a scan piccy so when im peaking Im focusing on them and trying to think good things. Its kind of working..
just want to sleep and get my reserves up again. staying postive though, my baby is on its merry way and I will be meeting it very soon. kind of weird to remember thats the result of all this as theres been points where its just been about the pain and coping with that and totally fogetting what its all for.

god i dont think im making much sense, every time I blink my eyes want to stay shut a tiny bit longer and longer

OP posts:
Katy44 · 22/05/2007 09:32

you are making sense,
i remember the tiredness so well
you poor thing, it will soon be over and that babygro will be needed!

ThisIsDavinaPleaseDoNotSwear · 22/05/2007 09:32

Everything lulumams said butalso advise to avoid pethidine if possible. I had exactly the same labour as you and opted for pethiine but it made me feel so sick that I vomited contantly and then couldn't use the gas and air. Eventually had to have an epidural.

I'm convinced that without the peth, I would have been able to use to the G&A more effectively.

Anyway...GOOD LUCK!

It surely won't be long now. xxxx

lulumama · 22/05/2007 09:40

you are doing really well

you are coping beautifully

great idea re the babygro to remind you this has a purpose

keep it up xx

bananabump · 22/05/2007 09:42

Exciting! Just wanted to say the very best of luck, I'll be thinking about you today! Just keep focussing on that beautiful baby you'll have at the end of all your effort and tiredness, and the best thing ever...the first sleep you have afterwards, you'll be able to sleep on your tummy!

Hope things get moving faster for you soon x

Original poster
RedKennedy · 22/05/2007 09:43

yeah thinking about it properly, im not keen on pethidine especially with the effect it has on the baby. maybe they can take me into the ward and give me G&A. God, but if I was to do that DP wouldnt be able to stay with me and I dont really want that. Looks like im going to have to ride this one out for the rest of the day and see how long i can manage.
Thing is, i was going every 2 mins and that wasnt good enough for them. Ive kind of stopped timing it now as it feels like the goal posts have been moved and that goal i was reaching for didnt mean anything.
M/w, who was sooo lovely, just said call us back with your contractions are twice as painful.
I nearly fainted when she said that.

OP posts:
lulumama · 22/05/2007 09:45

keep going at home....your endorphins will carry you through this, have faith !!

Monkeytrousers · 22/05/2007 09:51

Twice as painful! Honestly, bloody midwives! I'd go in and refuse to leave.

Is it standard practive to leave women to it when in transition then and so it's all over by the time they reach hospital?? (Not asking you Red, you're in in)

And I wouldn;t worry too much about the pethadine; the effcets will most likely have worn off by the time you give birth.

You need help now - people go to casualty in less fucking pain!

..and good luck

Monkeytrousers · 22/05/2007 09:52

in it as in transition

SaintGeorge · 22/05/2007 09:52

It could be that you have a tilted cervix (like me) and that the head isn't pushing down enough.

When on hands and knees, instead of having your arse in the air, try to keep it down and rock backwards. Push yourself into an upright kneeling position and then put your hands behind you for support and try to lean backwards from your pelvis as much as you can. Then gently rock forwards again until you are back on hands and knees. Repeat.

Bloody difficult I know, but it really helped me.

Monkeytrousers · 22/05/2007 09:53

Good advice St George, but if she needs help surely the hospital should be giving it?

lulumama · 22/05/2007 09:59

monkeytrousers..if RedKennedy is not in established labour, which sounds likely, the hospital will not admit her

or will admit her to antenatal ward, where you don;t get pain relief and your DH cannot stay with you

far better to labour at home for this part, and go in when things are moving, the upset of going in and being sent home is disheartening and can slow things...especially as she can have the support of her DH and keep going

being able to post on mumsnet is usually a good indication that established labour has not been reached

needing to go into the 'zone', not being able to talk, closing eyes, are all signs of going into the zone, and that signals time to go !

SaintGeorge · 22/05/2007 10:02

A little confused by your tone MT.

Are you suggesting we shouldn't give advice from our own experience because that's the job of the hospital?

We all know how massively under pressure maternity staff are and sadly they don't always have the time to sit and discuss, in person or on the phone.

Hmmm, maybe I misunderstood the ethos behind a parenting board that shares knowledge and first-hand experiences.

Original poster
RedKennedy · 22/05/2007 10:45

thanks SG I am going to try that straight away, if anything its one position i havent been in yet!
It is niggling me that at my triage Mws told me that cos I had laser treatment on my cerix years ago, i might not dilate quickly enough.. hope they werent right.

Lulu, whats the worse case scenario?
If I manage to stay home all day today and go back in tonight and havent reached required CMs whats the crack then?

thanks everyone. this is taking my mind off things. and its sunny. which is nice.
Im now in 2 minds about the tens machine though - ive had it on for so long its starting to irritate me, and feel really spiky - i have been adjusting it, but I kind of feel like throwing it gainst the wall. But then I did some contractions withot it when I got out of bath and bejayzus.

OP posts:
annaphylactic · 22/05/2007 10:48

RK - have you got a TENS, they can really help in early labour.

lulumama · 22/05/2007 10:53

you can either come back home ! or go on the antenatal ward, if they'll have you , i imagine it will depend on how busy they are....

if you are 2 cm now, then keep in mind you have 1 cm to go , before you are in established labour

go with the flow, and don;t think of all the what ifs......your body is getting baby in the right position...your cervix has to thin before it can really get dilated....all these contractions are playing a part,and all the one s you have had, are ones you don;t need to do again!!

HonoriaGlossop · 22/05/2007 11:02

Red, your labour is so like mine that I just had to post. I hope all is going really well and as Lulumama said you are coping so wonderfully; you've had a long time already and not much rest and I think you sound like you are an absolute star!

I just wanted to say that if you can get lots of help and support at home to cope with the pains, then that's probably best. I spent a long time in hospital and to be honest I got NO help or support from the midiwives (that I wasn't already getting from DH/my mum/my SIL) and it's a hell of a lot less comfortable in hospital! I also think I may have dilated quicker at home due to being more relaxed!

Sending loads of positive vibes to you xxxxxxxxxxx