Timeline from where I last left you
12.30am After having increasingly painful ctx for 3 hours every 3-6 mins lasting for at least a minute I called the hospital and let them know. We managed through these ctx with me leaning over the mantelpiece with DH massaging my back.
1.30am CMW arrives to find me in a lot of pain and having ctx lasting 1-2 mins every 2-4 mins. She performs in internal examination and finds I am only 1cm dilated ? cue HUGE groan from me.
The news goes from bad to worse when she said he has started to turn into the pelvis but is going the wrong way ? back to back ? which means the first stage of labour is likely to be long ? lasting 18-24 hours. Considering I had contracting very painfully for the last 2 hours and was finding it difficult to cope I could not even imagine the prospect of another 24 hours (worst case scenario). Decided to get into the birthing pool to see if that helped.
2am CMW calls the hospital to update them and they say that as my waters broke at 8.15am I had to go in to have IV antibiotics, the CMW tried to explain that my (fore/hind??) waters had actually broken at 7pm so it should be 18 hours from then. The hospital said they would consider it and call back. At this point I was faced with having to go to the hospital involuntarily (in either case if the labour was 24hrs) but as that wasn?t the case yet the CMW and I agreed to wait till 4am to see how much further I had progressed.
2.15am The pool wasn?t helping ease the pain of the ctx so I asked (read: screamed!) for some G&A.
2.30am As I was going from very hot to very cold the pool temperature could not be managed to help me so I decided to get out. I went into our study where we have a sofa bed and lay on the floor over the sofa although I was getting tired so I ended up lying on my side on the sofa bed using the G&A. I didn?t like the G&A (same effect as being drunk and everything swaying, which I don?t like when I?m drunk) and it didn?t take the pain away from the ctx but it did help me doze in a kind of drunken stupor in between ctx.
I have to admit that during this hour I said to the CMW:
?Does an epidural take away ALL the pain??
?Can?t you please just cut it out of me??
3.35am I was in a lot of pain and completely demotivated as I had no idea if all the ctx had helped or if I had dilated further so DH asked the MW if we could do the internal exam now. She did and I was 4cm.
The hospital phoned the CMW and said the consultant insisted I go in now for IV antibiotics. I could probably have insisted I stay at home for a bit longer to see how it went but at the prospect of that long labour, which would mean I was awake for almost 48 hours, I thought an epidural would give me the best chance of a rest for a successful 2nd stage ? and in all honesty I was in so much pain I went from the ?all natural, best intentions? camp to the ?give me the f@&*ing drugs? camp
CMW called the hospital and told them to get the epidural ready and then she called an ambulance (standard transfer procedure for a HB)
Timings get a little hazy now?.
4am arrived at hospital and given IV drugs ? antibiotics for infection and something to keep my BP down from the epidural.
4.10am during painful ctx every 2 mins the anaesthetist (who I called my hero and would have happily left my DH for at this point) administered the epidural.
4.15am the MWs started putting monitors on me for my BP and the baby?s heartbeat and explained that the baby?s heartbeat had started to drop ? apparently not uncommon with an epidural. They decided to check my dilation and I was now 10cm!!! So rather than taking 18-24 hours it had taken just under 3!!
Lots of discussion between the MWs and an obstetrician and the decision was made that the baby needed to come out now but as he was still back to back I would need to have an assisted delivery and if this was unsuccessful I would need an emergency CS. I signed the consent for both.
4.30am_ - 5am_ transferred to theatre and they hooked me up. In the room were 3 MWs, 2 obstetricians, 2 anaesthetists and a paediatrician. No DH as yet as he had to scrub up (apparently he was going stir crazy in the next room). I wasn?t worried about him not being there as they kept telling me he would be in before I started to push. At this point I was so pleased to have had the epidural as there were a lot of things going on and I was able to ask and understand exactly what was happening throughout.
c5am DH came in looking v cute in a gown and cap. The obstetrician explained I would probably tear so could they do an episiotomy, I said yes.
5am - 5.34am I was told each time I contracted (as you can?t tell with the epidural) and I had to breathe in fully then not breathe out but push hard, at the same time the obstetrician had put a vontouse cap on the baby?s head to help turn him. About 5 ctx later I could feel the baby?s head coming out and after 1 more the whole head came out and then the body. They lifted him up and DH told me it was a boy. Unfortunately as he needed to go straight to the paediatrician DH was unable to cut the cord but we didn?t care!
He was born at 5.34am weighing 8lb 2oz and looks exactly like his daddy! Because I was being stitched up (a small cut apparently) DH did the skin to skin with him. We were in recovery until 11.30am ? the epidural took 2 hours to wear off and made me shake uncontrollably. We transferred to the postnatal ward and thanks to my constant bugging at the MWs and paediatrician they checked the feeding and us both over and we left hospital at 7pm.