Good morning and Happy Mother's Day to us all!! How amazing is that!! My birth story is at the bottom, I've tried to catch up with everyone first! 😊
@lemonysherbert did you get the PBC pack? I honestly couldn't recommend it enough! I also downloaded Freya when I got to the hospital - if you downloaded the digital pack and have an iPhone, it's a bit tricky to download the MP3s. Just a heads up that the Freya app has them on there!
@Fivebyfive2 thankyou 🥰 I'll join the other thread shortly, but how gorgeous is Joe?! 14 weeks already 🥺 glad he's started sleeping better too, I can imagine it's relieving for you both 😅
Glad the drawers are up @LokiCat and that you managed to isolate yourself for the pizza 😉 baby clothes are honestly the cutest, especially the super small sizes 😭🥺 I've just seen the nursery pic, I love the stickers!! How are you finding the chair?!
@ELW85 glad the sweep went well and hopefully you can avoid induction - although by the sounds of it your body is doing something already!! Fingers crossed for you, you'll have Finlay super soon I just know it!!
@Larrydavid couldn't agree more about people being blasé about COVID - especially for pregnant women! I'm glad you can WFH though and that shops are still well supplied by you - hopefully your friends haven't passed anything onto you but a bit irritating they didn't say beforehand 😶
Awww @LikeTheFruit Esme is such a beautiful name!! Sorry if I've missed you saying that before, it's lovely! Glad to hear your milk has kicked in, I'm patiently waiting for mine to. Please don't feel guilty, Fingers crossed as your supply increases her weight will too x
Awww @MrsEG They are growing to be such handsome little boys 🥺 little man on the left looks just like you I think!! They're growing so quickly 😅
Thankyou @MrsH497 Glad you're now WFH - I know how horrible it is and can get really lonely, but just remember you and baby are safe this way and you get to prioritise yourselves 💕
Thankyou @Larrydavid how are you? X
Birth story - sorry it's so long!! Tried to remember everything I can to help as much as possible. I also use the word contractions instead of surges!
So I had my first sweep on Tuesday at 37+3 where the MW said I was around 1cm dilated, but cervix was 2cm long (but soft). That evening I lost some plug, had some mild cramps (mostly in my bottom 😳) and then at 4am on Wednesday I had a bloody show. I also ended up in MAU on Wednesday evening because I thought my waters had broken... turns out I'd just wet myself without realising 🤦🏻♀️ on Thursday I called the labour ward and was told to have breakfast and head on in. I vomited three times before we got to the car, I think it may have been my body preparing me and clearing me out as I didn't feel nervous, I felt strangely calm! I'd had a nice bath on wed evening and played some of the PBC MP3s to relax, I think that helped a lot!
Before an induction they put you on the CTG to monitor you and baby - this showed I was having regular but small contractions, but my BP was raised and so was Dina's (they think it was just my nerves) so they put a cannula in after around 2 hours with the hopes that some IV(?) fluid would calm her down. Typical that they put the needle in, and then she calmed down by herself so I didn't get the fluid in the end.
I had a vaginal examination and the MW said she could break my waters, but recommended the pessary as a gentler approach to give my body time to build up to it, which I agreed to. I was then given the pessary around 3ish that afternoon - it's left in for 24 hours and then you're re examined to see whether you need another one or not. I was checked every 6 hours on the CTG machine. Each time showed my contractions were getting a lot stronger, and by Thursday evening I was definitely feeling them - not so much pain but just uncomfortable tightenings. The surges start to become really clear which is amazing! I used my birthing ball, went for a walk around the hospital and tried to sleep as much as I could because I knew I'd need the energy.
On Friday morning the contractions had really ramped up and were making me cry - the build up itself wasn't too bad for me but the intensity at the peak was stronger than I thought I could handle, so I decided to have codeine and paracetamol. This worked a treat and knocked me out 😂 I managed to eat and sleep in time for my examination at 3pm. The pessary was taken out, and then I was put back on the CTG machine - you're then told to wait four hours to try and let your body naturally work. The machine showed I was having 5/6 contractions every 10 mins and they were very intense - Dina's heart rate started going up again, so the doctor agreed to not wait the four hours and allowed me to have the examination then. This showed I was 2cm dilated with a favourable cervix, so they agreed to break my waters at around 5pm. Very weird feeling!!
I went to the loo straight after to clean up, and then struggled to walk back because of the intensity ramping up - i was going to have a bath, and I then asked for paracetamol as I'd not had any since the morning... by the time the MW requested them, she'd run back in because I was sobbing and screaming. I have never ever felt anything as intense as that and I knew I needed the epidural considering I was only 2cm! They gave me gas and air instantly (DH says I was a joker the whole time I was high on it) and then gave me the epidural - that in between bit was a bit of a blur tbh.
After the epidural I lay down and was monitored - again the CTG was showing I was in established labour but my waters had only been broken an hour beforehand and so they were worried that my uterus was hyper stimulated (this is a risk of induction, however there's a drip/injection that can counteract this). The MW examined me and was shocked that I was fully dilated and ready to go! It turns out that's why I felt so much pressure so quickly, and I went through the transition stage whilst they were doing my epidural!
They waited an hour to see if I naturally started pushing without needing to be directed - and I did a little. I still could move about and could control my legs etc but just didn't feel pain so the epidural imo was well worth it!!
Long story short, I was pushing for an hour and her head was visible but it kept going back up. I got really tired and defeated because I felt like something was in the way - the doctor came in and had a look, she suggested I had the drip as my contractions were shortening which wasn't helping me. I had the drip and a break to let it work, and then started pushing again. At just over an hour of pushing, Dina was born 😁 it turns out I'd been right - her hand came out with her head and she was back to back which is why I was finding it difficult to push her out. As well as this, the cord had wrapped round her neck twice, and her head was slightly swollen - and my back waters hadn't fully broken (they broke over the doctor as Dina came out 😳) so all of this accounted to my defeated feeling - please listen to your instinct and push for them to listen to you!!!
I had a second degree tear but didn't feel it - and I don't feel the stitches at all and haven't yet needed any pain relief. I'm struggling with breastfeeding but trying to persist, but thankfully both me and baby have been cleared for diabetes so it was just gestational! I also had no idea that you can get constipated after birth and so did NOT expect the horrible gas pains! Thankfully that problem has now been resolved 😂😅
All in all, although it was nothing like I'd planned, I still feel really really positive about my birth. It's a shame I needed the pessary but I'm very proud of my body and feel so empowered to have grown and birthed a beautiful human 🥺💕 it really is the best feeling in the world and I said straight after that I could do this 10 times over because it really is the best feeling in the world!
If you managed to read through that without falling asleep, I'm so sorry it was so long 😂😂 happy to answer any questions if anyone has anything they'd like to know to help before birth!! I wish I'd asked more questions beforehand 🤦🏻♀️