Ok, I'm so flabbergasted.....
Having had a long pre labour (14 days of period pains, and feeling of body preparing etc)
on night of 29th my cx made themselves known as the 'real thing' and became regular over a 30 hour period and sped up to become 5 mins apart by last night along with continuous bloody show. It felt like New Year's even party central in my apartment, which was very distracting, with at least 4 major sound systems on the street outside pumping techno so I couldn't tune into my relaxation music and there were emergency service sirens every 2 minutes and people shouting on street. Was taking everything from me to stay focused and calm. After a hours worth of moving from 6 mins to 5 mins apart I got in birth pool, which was a bit early but I was so exhausted after 48 hours without sleep.....bath was great, though contractions slowed to every 7 mins but were much longer and very intense, lasting around 1 minute and 10 seconds. Started to feel really trippy and overwhelmed in pool and too hot and sleepy, though still 7 mins apart, so got out and decided to try to sleep due to severe exhaustion. Next thing I knew I was climbing the wall, literally with extreme contractions waking me up, one after the other. Was so deeply asleep, took a little while to know what was going on, just sheer overwhelm...
got up as didn't feel I could take it lying down, too intense and things just stopped. By now it was morning and the daylight and the noise on the street (living in very very busy street - new years day street cleaning and a perpetual extremely loud techno sound system still pumping party music) Phone rang and DP picked it up thinking it was the arriving MW but it was my mother! I had not wanted to let her know I was in labour but he didn't realise this and had no option but to explain to her that I was in labour and she was perfectly lovely of course, but it got into my psychology and I couldn't focus anymore and I felt like half the world was waiting for me to give birth, like I'd lost my privacy and my right to own this process. Contractions completely stopped at this point, or almost just as MW turned up. She examined me and couldn't even find my cervix by then, partially due to my anatomy and partially due to lack of dilation. Baby is in great optimal position, heart beat strong but the dilation has gone right back to next to zero again, or so she thought, because she couldn't reach cervix. By now I felt like I'd been in labour for the best part of 48 hours and was completely lost as how to continue.
Went to bed, and woke this eve with another series of whopping contractions. Got up and they stopped again til now, as I sit and write they are about every 6 mins and I have to get down on floor next to computer and roar through them.
from such intensity to cessation, I don't know what the hell is going on, can only try to make relaxation my focus and not the labour itself. i.e trying too hard doesn't seem to help as an attitude.
I am just reaching out with this one because it feels like such a very extreme experience and any feedback, advice, support is very very welcome.
P.S Am living in Netherlands, first child, home birth, they don't do gas and air here so am relying substantially on myself and wonderful DP for getting through/into this in the right way for a successful outcome.