Due November 2023 - chapter 6

[Spareincoming]

Definitely missed people but hopefully they find the post…
Please tag anyone else!

@spareincoming@Pinkplantcase@leeanneD11 @LilmissCa@FlyingHighFlyingLow@Psqueak87@spanglesj@BabyBabyBaby123@Houseonthehills@GreenAventurine@reememberly@Cegbee@DollyGx@38andtrying@JD90@travellingislife@mldn@sb86@TMI2000

@DollyGx they just rechecked the cervix and I’m at 4cm about 90 mins after the first check. Contractions have really slowed down now, and the morphine doesn’t seem to be helping the actual contractions much. But it’s really helping the few minutes between contractions, so I can relax better.

boyfriend has rushed home to feed and water all our animals. Hopefully he doesn’t miss anything exciting. But my dr says he probably has a minimum of three hours.

@Psqueak87 so glad to see an update from you! I hoped everything would be going okay. You’re on the home straight now 4cm is established labour.

It’s quite normal for things you change as you get settled in a new setting and for things to go a bit slower for a few hours and then ramp up again quite suddenly x

@PinkPlantCase thank you! Hopefully keeps progressing quick. They told me if I give birth this afternoon and all looks good I’d be home by tonight! Which would be a dream, but I don’t want to get my hopes too high!

That sounds really promising @Psqueak87, how exciting!! Good luck and I’ll be thinking of you whilst I waddle round ikea 🤣 you’ve got this!!

@Psqueak87 been thinking away about you! So glad to things are progressing & as others say they can slow down & ramp up again.
Best of luck, hopefully everything quickens up for you ❤️

Thanks so much. Finally in a “delivery room” it’s nice to have our own room, and my partner even has a chair that pulls out almost to a bed, so he’s delighted!

dr came in to try and break my waters, first thing he said was “who said you were 4cm, you’re completely closed” I almost had an absolute meltdown, but then he laughed and said I was 5cm.

said he couldn’t feel the membrane for the waters so either it was super tight wrapped around her head, or it had previously broken.

I did think it may have been leaking a couple of days ago. So it is a possibility.

i have avoided the epidural so far but I’m
only at 5cm. I’ve got gas and air, and fentanyl is on offer too. Anybody tried fentanyl for contraction pains? My dr just came back in and find gas and air is not going to even take the edge off.

Glad to hear you've finally made it into a delivery suite after so many days of contractions at home @Psqueak87 It's reassuring to hear someone else saying about the period type cramps. I have been having them throughout the nights the past 3-4 nights but they ease off during the day apart from the odd few so could well be the start of something too 🤞🏻 just need them to get more frequent and throughout the day. So far have not been that painful though so is hard to know if it's just fake labour 🤷‍♀️

I've had fentanil for surgery before but not labour as this is my first!

It is a very good pain killer and really knocked me out, I was drifting off before they even put the general anaesthetic in. However, it also caused respiratory depression (very common side effect) so I ended up on oxygen. It crosses into baby so if its still in babies system when they come out they may also have some problems breathing and be a bit floppy until it wears off. I know a couple of friends that have had this after morphine or pethidine. It's the same for most opiod options given in labour, so they don't let you have it in later stages here.

Absolutely ask your anaesthetist for more info about it to make an informed choice. Some people have it, rest and come back rested and ready to face the final stages. Some have babies a bit quicker and they can be a bit affected. Some prefer the epidural as less effects on baby if they come quicker. No choice is the 'right one' its what is best for you.

Good luck @Psqueak87 , I'm glad things are finally progressing for you xx

@Psqueak87 glad to hear things are progressing well and you've got your own room now! Hope all goes well from here :) can't really help with the pain relief question as fentanyl wasn't a thing when I had my first, but hopefully you get a chance to talk it through with the docs and just remember do whatever feels right for you! This is your labour and you are on charge.

I'm also in the period type pains club, been having them on and off for weeks now though so personally think it's just a body preparing thing rather than any kind of sign or impending labour. I've officially made it past the 'danger zone' that is my older daughters birthday (unless this one suddenly decides to appear in the next 3 hours 🤔 🤣) so I definitely feel like I can calm down a bit. Still trying to recover from the flu a couple of weeks back but definitely feeling way better, even if my haemorrhoids decided to suddenly reappear today... not pleasant! Just on the countdown to making my delivery plan next Monday now, feels like both an absolute age away as well as incredibly soon.

@Psqueak87 glad you’ve got your own room now! Hope it all goes well and that you’ll have a baby in your arms soon 😊

I feel nothing and they want to induce me on Thursday, I’m very conflicted about it all, I thought I had decided to decline it but I don’t want to risk anything happening to the baby. They’re getting into my head even though I feel like the baby will come when it’s ready, I’ve had no complications and I’m healthy so surely there shouldn’t be an additional risk!? Not sure I can withstand the pressure from the consultants who will try and convince me to be induced but I’ll see how I feel on the day.

How many weeks are you @Travellingislife ?

@PinkPlantCase 40+1 and they wanted to induce me tomorrow but I pushed it to Thursday. I’m 41 hence the rush.. Although the research I’ve been reading suggests they don’t differentiate between healthy 40 year olds and the ones who have high risk pregnancies so not sure how much I should read into it..

@Travellingislife oh that’s frustrating! Hardly giving you body chance to get started on it’s own especially given the margin or error for due dates. Dr Sara Wickham is generally really good at picking apart the research related to induction, she has a few books but there’s also a lot on her website.

Thinking of you @Psqueak87 and sending strength to anyone else having to dig deep at the moment!

Can I ask any of the section mums who are ahead of me, if anyone experienced a bit of regression in their recovery? I’m just nearly a week on from mine and the last 24-36 hours, I’ve noticed an increase in pain and renewed difficulty doing things I was previously managing better (getting in and out of bed has got really sore again, whereas I was finding that ok 2 or 3 days ago). I wouldn’t say I’ve been doing more, I’m still not doing much at all really, so I don’t think an increase in activity explains it. Getting really worried that I’ve done something to it, or it’s the start of an infection or something. It’s one side in particular that’s hurting more. Midwife is out today so I will ask her too of course. Lack of sleep and heightened anxiety making it hard to take these kind of setbacks in my stride.

@PinkPlantCase ah thank you! I’ll have a look at her website.
Exactly, not much time at all, since my son was born at 42 weeks I think I just produce babies who likes to stay in a bit longer 😅
A normal pregnancy is still considered to last between 37-42 weeks so I don’t like the rush.

@reememberly A regression is normal yes, as is a slight increase in bleeding around the 2 week mark - this is all stuff I’ve asked the midwife during this recovery and previous.
The pain regressions are to do with bruising and settling of everything that was moved or bumped or shuffled during surgery.
Little things like going to the loo before your bladder is at maximum capacity is meant to help - I’m guilty of this one and had awful pains last week.
Pain on one side can be down to the surgeon on that side pulling stitches tighter or being less gentle than the one on the other so you’ve more bruising.

Obviously keep an eye on your temperature and general feeling if you’re worried about an infection.

Definitely chat to the midwife and ask all the questions - I’m the queen of worry and anxiety (I developed post natal anxiety previously) so have asked many, many questions over the years!

@Spareincoming thank you so much for your reply! That’s reassuring. The pain was worse on the other side originally and the midwife said the same about can be where the surgeon pulled tighter to tie off. But it’s the ‘better side’ bothering me now. The bruising makes sense, but it’s sharper pain at the moment. I guess there’s just all sorts going on in there. I’ll try not to panic too much, although easier said than done at the moment.

How are you getting on now?

@reememberly I’m 7 days post section and I’ve definitely felt a slight regression in recovery, i picked up day 4/5 and slipped back day 6. I was quite down yesterday as I feel like I’m not as mobile or lighter on pain this time round as I was this point during my last section. My recovery, albeit going well, feels slower than last time. I’m primarily sore on my left side so did worry if I had done something internally as been pushing it a bit as I’m comparing myself to last time where recovery was quicker. Overall though the midwife said everything looks great and it’s just internal bruising and the main markers for worry are temp, and red inflamed patches on stomach or legs.

Is anyone else not feeling anything? Labour wise? I generally don’t feel like I’m about to have a baby anytime soon.
due next week, little pressure down below but nothing else. No cramps, no leaking boobs, no braxton hicks 🙃
feeling like I’ll definitely go overdue at this point 😂 x

@reememberly Glad I could be vaguely reassuring; it’s so hard to interpret what is going on with your own body when you’re so focused on a tiny human! I lose some of my rationality for a few weeks each time! This is definitely the last baby!

I’m on the homeward straight now I think, but still trying not to over do it so no proper lifting etc yet, I’m 5 days without pain killers, just having a few dull aches and the occasional short, sharp and very localised pain which I was told could be the internal stitching previously. I’m aiming to try driving on Sunday which will be 3 weeks since leaving the hospital. I want to get out of the house properly and where we live you need transport for that. Even doing the (manic) school run would be nice!

Oh! I thought of another unpleasant post section thingy that no-one warns you about but is apparently really common… my
poor midwife got a panicked phone call a few years back… after about 3 weeks your bowels can suddenly spring into life and you get less warning about needing to have a bowel movement; it’s temporary as settling occurs and can happen to anyone, first or multiple sections; just something to look forward to - At the time I decided I must have had a bowel injury until the midwife reassured me! Here’s to hoping everyone, me included, dodges that one!

@Mrsrobinsonx yeah I feel a bit like this! I’m due on Friday but really just doesn’t seem like it’s going to happen anytime soon?! Same as you I have a bit of pressure down there, I’ve had the occasional crampy feeling but nothing that’s lasted long at all. This is my first though so I really have no idea what to look out for or how it’s going to go 🤷🏻‍♀️

@Mrsrobinsonx I was like that. Was due yesterday, and had felt nothing at all, till I went to bed last night and waters exploded lol!!! Still leaking but no contractions which is frustrating

@Mrsrobinsonx yep I’m feeling the same too!
Just feeling pressure down there every now and again but otherwise nothing.
Due on 17th but I have a feeling I’m going to go over 😩I went 9 days over on my eldest too so not holding out much hope of going anytime soon.
I am really hoping for VBAC this time round as I know for sure this is my last pregnancy but i have a section booked for 24th if I don’t go naturally by then!
midwife suggested last week to start on the gym ball to try help get baby’s head engaged so I’ve started that. Also doing squats, taking 2 steps at a time when going up stairs, raspberry leaf tea, pineapple. I feel I’m wasting my time doing it all tbh 😔

@Mrsrobinsonx I’m not feeling anything either, I was due yesterday and induction is booked for Thursday, I’ll probably decline it but will need to see how I feel.
I’m in no hurry really, I just don’t want to be pushed into having an induction.
I felt nothing with my first either until my water broke at 42 weeks and contractions started very strongly right away.