Hello ladies thought I should post my own birth story as i've loved reading everyone elses, although it certainly doesn't compare to Tree's big poo experience.
11:30 pm on Tuesday, two weeks overdue I went to bed fully expecting to be going in to hospital at 8am next morning to be induced. I was a bit dissapointed as I had wanted to go to the local MLU but after three sweeps where my cervix was described as 'unfavourable' and no labour signs whatsoever it seemed pretty certain that I wouldn't be going in to labour naturally.
1pm and I woke up, went to the loo and had a shock to see loads of blood. Of course I knew what a show was but hadn't expected that much or that colour, so rang local MLU and they said it was probably a show but to keep an eye on it. My waters were still intact and I hadn't had any contractions so they still thought it was unlikely anything would happen before the induction.
3pm and I felt my first contraction, again not what I was expecting. It didn't feel like my bump tightening, more like extreme pressure on my back passage and a deep pain. 10 mins later and I had another one. They were definitely ouch, again not the gentle introduction to labour I was expecting. I got dressed, hauled dh out of bed and called the MLU again who told me to take some paracetamol and come in at 8.30 to be assessed. I spent the night rocking on my ball with the TENS on and timing contractions which went down to every six minutes by the time I got there. When they examined me I was 2cm dilated so not in 'active' labour but definitely on my way and - yipee - I could deliver there and wouldn't have to be induced. They sent me home and then three hours later I decided I couldn't stand it any more and went back for further assessment. Contractions were 3 mins apart and 1.5 mins and cervix 4-5cm this time so definitely active.
The next couple of hours or so I spent in the bath with the gas and air. It made me retch at first and then it didn't do a great deal although I wasn't really sucking it properly. After a while I decided I wanted something stronger so started asking for pethedine (so much for 'as natural labour as possible!'), it was a bit of an ordeal to even get out of the bath but eventually they got me to the delivery room and gave me the drugs.
The next few hours were a bit of a blur, spent most of the time on the ball hanging off this harness thing in strange positions with DH holding me up and giving me water. I felt like I had so much internal pressure that even trying to move in between contractions was hugely uncomfortable. I ended up on the bed sleeping between contractions, waking up with each one to have a suck on gas and air and make some totally random drug-induced comment, but things were still progressing well and the midwifes were convinced he would be born that day.
At 8pm I had another VE which was horrible lying on my back, but the baby was still turning trying to get his head in the right position and a lip of the cervix was still there. The next few hours were pretty awful. At each contraction I kept getting the overwhelming urge to push but absolutely nothing was happening and the pain was really intense. They tried to break my waters but only got half, so made the decision to give me two hours, and then another hour to see if I had made any progress otherwise I was going to have to be transferred to the hospital. At this point I couldn't believe I had thought I could do without an epidural - so much for the birth plan! At midnight the midwife did another VE when she could still feel the lip of cervix, and went to get the ward sister for a final opinion on whether I needed transferring. Then the sister did the VE and it dissapeared and I heard those magic words - 'this baby is ready to be born!'
I spent the next 50 minutes pushing, I didn't really have the urge but they told me how to do it. It was great to finally feel like I was getting somewhere and it was so amazing to reach down and feel his little hairy head. The moment when he came out was unimaginable relief and amazement, even more so when they weighed him and found out he was 9lbs 12. He was born at 1am, pretty much 24 hours after everything had kicked off and have never felt so knackered in my whole life, but in the end I had the labour I wanted with no real intervention and no other obvious side effects other than a 2nd degree tear which seems to be healing nicely and a jaw that feels like it has been knocked out of place after all of the chomping on the gas and air mouthpiece.
So, what great advice can I pass on from all of this? Don't assume that at two weeks over it won't happen naturally; don't assume that you will have a gentle introduction to labour with pains/niggles/hourly contractions etc; have a birth plan but accept that you probably won't use it (I had envisaged lots of moving around and giving birth on all fours - ha!); that while pethedine probably doesn't work for everyone it was great for me and let me have a rest in between contractions; that even if like me you couldn't really get the hang of gas and air it is a great distraction; and that even when you think it is never going to end - it does. And that despite it being the hardest thing I have ever done and don't wish to repeat anytime soon I am so glad to have had the experience.
God, what a marathon, but I do feel like I need to get it all down, 're-live' the experience, and then get on enjoying my baby.