Sam_K
13-02-2007, 10:01 PM
i remember when i was pregnant and reading everyones birth stories and how much it helped me see that u just never know what to expect with labour, and thats exactly how the arrival of my precious girl Sharleez was.
i was due on the 27th January 2007 but remember thinking that it would be overdue as it was my first baby and the head engaged only on the last week. till then i had plenty of on-off light period pain but never thought anything of it.
so it came as a surprise when on the morning of the 23rd january i went to bed and felt this pain that was like period pain but sharper. i went to sleep thinking it might not be contractions but when the same pain kept waking me up continuously i thought i should contact the hospital.
with difficulty i woke up my dh and i asked if he could time the pain, even tho he was half asleep. they came and went every 5 minutes getting a little stronger each hr. i called the hospital and let them know and they said to come in. i scurried about the house tidying the last few things in the nursery and finishing packing my bags - funny how well ur mind works at this time! by this time it was 7am and we were off to the hospital. when i got there the midwives saw how relaxed i was and knew we were probably at the very early stages. the contractions were still 5 mins apart and 1 min long.
both my ob and midwive did an internal (ouch!) and saw that i was 4 cm already. i remember thinking 'pfft! if this is labour than this is soo easy! this is going to be a piece of cake!' little did i know! :laughing:
i went for a walk around the hospital and thought that might help, but i felt uncomfortable having contractions in public so i went back to the delivery room and walked around in circles. they checked me at 12.00pm again and i was still 4cm dilated which was disheartening cos i just wanted to see my baby. they contacted my ob and he told them to break my waters and put me on a drip of syntocin, which i was afraid of.
the breaking of my waters was really uncomfortable as the water just gushes out with every contraction, so u cant move. and seeing as they started me on the drip, i started getting really strong contractions every 2 mins that lasted a min. i had no pain relief at this stage as i wanted to see how long i could go without. the midwife said this is 1st stage of the drip and she will increase it if were not progressing so i should think about an epidural then. by the end of the first stage the pain was excruciating, it was like someone is tearing u apart down there! i didnt really get time to breathe in between as they were only 1 min apart but lasted 45 secs! i asked for the gas and sucked on it for dear life which only made me really light headed and dizzy. by now it was 3pm and the middie increased the drip and left the room, telling me if i needed an epidural to press the button for her. i lasted for 30mins but the pain was too intense and i called her to get me the epi. the anasthesiast came and gave me the epidural which didnt hurt but felt like a whole lot of pressure on the nerves in the lower back.
once it was in i felt great! i was sane again and talking to my hubby. but half an hour later i started to feel the contractions again, so bad i needed the gas again. the midwives said to give it some time to let the epidural work, but when i started screaming my lungs out they contacted the anaesthesist again.
he gave me another epidural and said it probably wasnt in properly the first time. i screamed at him and everyone else, still feeling every contractions.
by this time it was 6pm and i was waiting for the 2nd epi to work, when i told my midwive i felt like i needed to push. she did an internal and said forget the epidural - she an feel the baby's head - it was time to push! too bad cos the epi just started working then and i couldnt feel anything below the hip! The midwife still asked me to push with every contraction tht could only be detected on the monitor as i had no feeling of it- i even watched it all with a mirror happily! i pushed and pushed and finally she was out!
my beautiful girl weighing 3.4kg came out at 7.14pm and went straight to the boobie. the most wonderful moment of my life. i remember thinking my life will never be the same again, because she is my life now..
believe me, the pain is still fresh in my memory but i would do it over again and again for her...and if theres any advice i can hand out it would be to keep thinking ur one step closer to seeing ur beautiful baby with each contraction, so think of it positively :thumbsup: because it is so worh it...and get plenty of sleep in those first few days when thats all ur baby does as u will need it! goodluck to any expectant mothers and thanks for reading!
i was due on the 27th January 2007 but remember thinking that it would be overdue as it was my first baby and the head engaged only on the last week. till then i had plenty of on-off light period pain but never thought anything of it.
so it came as a surprise when on the morning of the 23rd january i went to bed and felt this pain that was like period pain but sharper. i went to sleep thinking it might not be contractions but when the same pain kept waking me up continuously i thought i should contact the hospital.
with difficulty i woke up my dh and i asked if he could time the pain, even tho he was half asleep. they came and went every 5 minutes getting a little stronger each hr. i called the hospital and let them know and they said to come in. i scurried about the house tidying the last few things in the nursery and finishing packing my bags - funny how well ur mind works at this time! by this time it was 7am and we were off to the hospital. when i got there the midwives saw how relaxed i was and knew we were probably at the very early stages. the contractions were still 5 mins apart and 1 min long.
both my ob and midwive did an internal (ouch!) and saw that i was 4 cm already. i remember thinking 'pfft! if this is labour than this is soo easy! this is going to be a piece of cake!' little did i know! :laughing:
i went for a walk around the hospital and thought that might help, but i felt uncomfortable having contractions in public so i went back to the delivery room and walked around in circles. they checked me at 12.00pm again and i was still 4cm dilated which was disheartening cos i just wanted to see my baby. they contacted my ob and he told them to break my waters and put me on a drip of syntocin, which i was afraid of.
the breaking of my waters was really uncomfortable as the water just gushes out with every contraction, so u cant move. and seeing as they started me on the drip, i started getting really strong contractions every 2 mins that lasted a min. i had no pain relief at this stage as i wanted to see how long i could go without. the midwife said this is 1st stage of the drip and she will increase it if were not progressing so i should think about an epidural then. by the end of the first stage the pain was excruciating, it was like someone is tearing u apart down there! i didnt really get time to breathe in between as they were only 1 min apart but lasted 45 secs! i asked for the gas and sucked on it for dear life which only made me really light headed and dizzy. by now it was 3pm and the middie increased the drip and left the room, telling me if i needed an epidural to press the button for her. i lasted for 30mins but the pain was too intense and i called her to get me the epi. the anasthesiast came and gave me the epidural which didnt hurt but felt like a whole lot of pressure on the nerves in the lower back.
once it was in i felt great! i was sane again and talking to my hubby. but half an hour later i started to feel the contractions again, so bad i needed the gas again. the midwives said to give it some time to let the epidural work, but when i started screaming my lungs out they contacted the anaesthesist again.
he gave me another epidural and said it probably wasnt in properly the first time. i screamed at him and everyone else, still feeling every contractions.
by this time it was 6pm and i was waiting for the 2nd epi to work, when i told my midwive i felt like i needed to push. she did an internal and said forget the epidural - she an feel the baby's head - it was time to push! too bad cos the epi just started working then and i couldnt feel anything below the hip! The midwife still asked me to push with every contraction tht could only be detected on the monitor as i had no feeling of it- i even watched it all with a mirror happily! i pushed and pushed and finally she was out!
my beautiful girl weighing 3.4kg came out at 7.14pm and went straight to the boobie. the most wonderful moment of my life. i remember thinking my life will never be the same again, because she is my life now..
believe me, the pain is still fresh in my memory but i would do it over again and again for her...and if theres any advice i can hand out it would be to keep thinking ur one step closer to seeing ur beautiful baby with each contraction, so think of it positively :thumbsup: because it is so worh it...and get plenty of sleep in those first few days when thats all ur baby does as u will need it! goodluck to any expectant mothers and thanks for reading!