What was the best advice you go on getting through labour - help I am scared and an ameteur

[Turtle35]

any advice is totally appreciated....

sorry havent read all posts, but my advice is expect the unexpected!!!
i had my birth plan filled out(very antural, drug free, walking about labour!!), went to classes and read a million magazines!
went into slow labour 2 weeks before due date...for 2 weeks!!!!..waters broke on due date.. but only 2cm dialated and contractions not strong enough..next day...come on contractions..do your worst?...2 days after due date..syntocin drip(ask for general anastetic as they didnt bother with me and it was a tad painful!), wired up to heart rate and contraction monitor, stuck in bed...when said could just about handle contractions..they doubled the syntocin!!..needed gas and air after an hour..please give me diamophine after 2 hours!!!..3 hours later, pumped full of syntocin..diamorphine ran out 1/2 hour before dd born!!! never again.
have an epidural hun, although you DO forget the pain(?)given my time again, id have one..that way you get to be chilled out and enjoy the whole experience.good luck

Just thought I would point out - in case you don't know 2 things that shocked me -

a) You will without doubt throw up!!

b) Your babay will not scream the minute it comes out!!

Sorry if these alarm you but they are 2 things I wish to god I had been told.

Also I think it is the most insular experience that you can go through and don't think for a moment that DP sponging me and rubbing me will help (X2b didn't anyway) - I went completely into myself and sort of coped (well with lots of drugs) by just blocking everything else out and running a strange detached commentary of the whole thing in my head!!

TBH what helped me the most was focussing on the end result. I was so excited about my DS (I knew in advance) arriving that nothing else mattered at all. I had no preconceived plans I just thought well, if women can give birth in a bush in Ethiopia then I can give birth in a hospital in Copenhagen. And of course the labour team will have seen everything before so there's no need to be embarrased about anything. DS's was a very bizarre birth because he got his head stuck so I was poked, prodded, pushed etc etc but I really didn't care. DS has more than lived up to my expectations and is absolutely the joy of my life!

havent read all the post, so forgive me if am repeating something the thing that keeps me going in labours is knowing that the point where you hurt so much you cry, and usually ask to go home (well i do....) and tell everyone you simply cant do it any more, is the point where the baby is just about here i always lose it literally seconds before the baby arrives. then of course you forget the worst of it and coo over your new person! good luck
oh and the others are right, stay home for the early part of labour....nothing worse than going to hospital, coming back, going, coming back.......

dramaqueen72 it is so true - both times I have got to the point where I have told anyone who will listen and those that won't that i can't do it, i am too tired, it hurts too much to be told i am 10cm and the baby is almost here!

Agree with DQ - it was right before the last couple of pushes that I was saying "I can't do this anymore". Also, don't worry if you don't have immediate warm fuzzies for your little one. I felt like I was in shock for a good hour or two afterwards and got the warm fuzzies later.

The pee in the shower afterwards (they told me to make sure I did) was just euphoric!! After weeks of frequent trips to the loo to pee for a nano second I must have gone for about 5 minutes.