Autumn Baby wrote:manxmrs it's lovely to hear such a good birth story in Mount Carmel as that's the hospital we've chosen to have our first baby

could you let me know where you hired the tens machine?

Would love to make it to 6cm at home, well done you!!!

TENS was from Medicare (from WOL recommendations originally) - I found it very beneficial and would use again.

Well I’m finally getting around to writing my birth story, i'm really sorry it's so long. As some of you know i was in and out of hospital for the last month of my pregnancy with pre eclempsia... So the week i was due (was due Friday, 2nd of December) i had appointment in clinic on the Tuesday and blood pressure was sky high but no protein in urine but doctor decided i was to be induced the following morning. The midwives gave me grief over this over the next couple of days saying there was no need for me being induced but it was too late then and I’m of the opinion that the doctor is the expert and why would i question him/her???? Anyway back to my story! So Wednesday morning i was induced at 6am. Have always had problems with smears and so had huge problems with the internals but i just about got there, one midwife actually asked me had i ever ‘explored my issues with internals!!!!’. Anyway the midwife who gave me the gel at 6am wrote it in my file that a midwife not a doctor was to do my internals for the duration of my labour (or until i got pain relief anyway!).
By 11am i was feeling twinges but nothing major. I was induced again at 12.30pm. by 2pm i was getting very strong period like pains, so i put on my TENS machine. This helped until about 6pm. Then I asked could I have a bath and that helped lots. By 10pm me & hubbie walked up to the labour ward and I begged for them to give me something for the pain so they gave me pethedine ( i still wasn’t dilated at all). They said the pathedine would give me relief for 4-6 hours and to try get some sleep. So i sent hubbie to bed (he was staying in hotel in the town cos we live 40 mins away and he wanted to be nearby in case anything happened) and i went to sleep. Woke up 55 minutes later and that was the end of my relief  At one stage i decided I’d go for a walk up to the midwife’s station again to ask if i could have another bath. I met a care assistant on the corridor who quickly linked me back to my bed and called a midwife. I was told there was no way i could have a bath being so ‘zonked out’ with the pethedine  from then on though a midwife kept an eye on me which hadn’t been happening till then. I put the TENS machine back on out of desperation and at 4am i texted hubbie again to say i couldn’t do it on my own anymore and to get back in! In fairness he was mad i hadn’t texted before then.
At 6am I was called to be induced again. The midwife put the trace on me and had just left the room when i felt a huge goo/trickle and i roared at hubbie to get back midwife that something was happening! She came back in (she wasn’t that nice) and said it’s probably just leakage from bladder  I could have cried. But she looked and said no it definitely wasn’t that!!!! So she checked and it was my waters and i was 2cm dilated so could finally get the epidural. By the time the epidural was in it was the end of the shift and i got a lovely midwife that i knew from all my visits in and out so was happy out then. The epidural wasn’t working on my left side properly so had to have a top up practically straight away! By 11am i was 5cm, by 1pm i was 9cm and 2pm i was 10cm. They told me to wait for an hour to push. All this time i was laughing and joking with hubbie, listening to the radio and just relaxing.
At 3pm the midwife came back in and said right it’s time to start pushing so i did. Found this grand really cos i couldn’t really feel anything most of the time. Twice i had to have top up’s of the epidural, actually it could have been once and then towards the end but they couldn’t give me another top up. It was the strangest sensation just pushing as i couldn’t really feel anything. At about 4.30pm midwife and a more senior midwife (who had been in and out during the day as well) came in and said they had called the doctor because i had a temperature and i shouldn’t be pushing for more than an hour but they had kept going as the doctor was in surgery but he was now on his way up to us. Oh i forgot as some stage the more senior midwife had asked me what shoe size i was, i said 3-4 and she just said ‘oh right’.
So the doctor arrived and said right the baby’s head is in a position that cannot get around a bend (they showed me a diagram to demonstrate i just can’t explain it now) and the fact that i had a temperature they needed to act now. He said that also due to my small pelvis (judged on the size of my feet) i would never be able to deliver naturally. So he said my choice right now was try vacuum baby, he’d have to cut me to pieces (his words) and would probably end up in a section, or a section now. Needless to say i said section right now.
So the midwifes got me and hubbie ready and Ronan was born just over an hour later.
When the doctor was leaving the theatre he repeated that i’d never be able to deliver naturally due to my pelvis being small. When i said this to a midwife later in my stay in hospital she said he had no right to say that as I’d have to have xrays and test to determine exact size of my pelvis to say such a thing.
Unfortunately things got more complicated after as Ronan got my infection and spent a night in SCBU and was on anti biotics for first few days of his life (although infection wasn’t spotted for 2 days...i was told he was just a ‘fussy’ baby and not feeding on my breast was blamed for his ‘fussiness’. Then when he was finally off the anti biotics and the doctors were happy to discharge him i got a wound infection so wouldn’t let me go  8 days after admission i finally got out and the two of us are flying it since nearly 7 weeks on

I wanted to write my birth story as i loved reading them when i was pregnant..i wanted to always have it to look back on but really i wanted to give a positve report on an Elective C section...

I loved every min of being pregnant and weirdly i was excited about giving birth...i embrasd the whole thing and i done my baby yoga read all my books bought myself a tens machine,attended all my classes..u name it it did it!!

At a growth scan i was told my baby was breech and would prob have to be C section birth...i was totally upset by this i felt deprived of the experiance and when i said it to anyone i was told,"Oh no! really?!,ah hopefully it will turn ,you,ve plenty of time"...ect ect ect...The worst part of it all for me was that after the birth the mother goes into recovery and the dad takes the baby...i found this the hardest part of all to deal with i knew i would be so upset at the time...

My baby never did turn and i got my head around having the C section so we were booked in Fri 2nd Dec...

G droppede me off at the door of the Rotunda at 6.45am...i was called the day before and told if i can get in before 7am then id be done 1st!

I was told to wait in the reception while they got me a bed...G arrived and we waited a few mins then we were called and told to get the lift up to the 3rd floor to the Lillie Suite...The Private floor...so i went up and i was givin a bed in a 3 bed ward...

I was afraid to unpack my things as i was a public patient so i wasnt sure if i was in the right place...



We werent waiting long and a midwife came and done my bloods and gave me a gown to put on...Next thing i know we a all walking down to theater...i gave G a big hug and i was brought into theater and G was to follow me in in a few mins...

Everyone was so nice,asking was this my 1st baby and did we know what we were having,when i said we didnt know they got all excited,and we were all guessing what it might me,they totally took my mind off the fact that i was gonna have a serious op!I was shaking a little and everyone was telling me it was going to be fine,not to worry...I didnt feel anything when the spinal went in...they used a spray to numb my back and it worked!,...Next thing i know i was being lied down and they done the ice text on me...i felt completly numb,next thing G was beside me all in his scrubs ( he was dissapointed they were marroon and not blue ha ) so i was just lying there with G holding my hand and sitting at my head,we couldnt believe it was all happening!!...not long passed and then i felt big tugs!! like my hole body was being pulled everywhere...it was crazy,like it wasnt happening to me but i knew it was..!!it wasnt sore at all just really weird like u have a hand in ur pocked or something...

Next thing a young midwife who was in the room was standing v near looking v excited...she asked us so what do u reckon it is,we both said boy and she said Ok so a baby boy ,914 and i was ike..WHAT??!! He,s 9lb 14!!!!!?? what the hell!! ( i was tiny when pregnant) and she laughed and said no no we cant tell yet what it is but the time is 9.14am !!! ha ha ..it was funny at the time...So next thing a little bundle was whipped around the screen and legs pulled aparted and we were told...its a GIRL!! they put her cheek to mine for a second and said ok come on daddy and we go clean her up!! :-) i couldnt believe it!! it was amazing!! i lay there and i could hear her screaming and little tears of joy and relieve were in my eyes...next thing she was put right down the front of my gown for skin to skin with G holding onto her chest and she lay there staring up at the both of us as calm as can be...it was so so lovely...she stayed with me for about 10 mins like that then she was wrapped up and giving to her daddy while i was being stiched up...about 10/15 mins later i was wheeled into recovery where my little baby Daisy and her daddy were both allowed to come in!! I was so happy!! they say once no one is in recovery who has had a bad experiance like a misscarriage or anything then they try let the baby in with mammy!! She started breastfeeding right away...it was so lovely...i couldnt believe i was so lucky to have them in with me...God not more than a half an hour and the 3 of us were brought back up to my bed,in the semi private room...so i ended up there for 5 days!! it was great i was so jammy!!

My little girl ended up having a click hip and was put in a harness on the 4th day..i cant tell u i was so devastated at the time...i couldnt feed her i was so upset, i expressed for a few days as she forgot how to latch on after my ordeal so i gave her mixed bottles and BM until my milk dried up...she is thriving now and is 8 wks tomorrw!!

I am so in love with her she is just so so good we are blessed!! Please god her harness will be off next wk...fingers crossed!!

She was born 6lb 2 ...so tiny :-)



So thanks for reading if u managed to stay til the end...i just wanted to share such a positive C section experiance...i was so dreading it and i have to say id do it again in a heart beat!!I had a lovely birth experince and i dont feel i missed out at all... The recovery is hard but who really knows what kind of birth you,ll have anyway until ur there...

SG x

Lovely story Scissors Girl, you are very jammy! I went private and spent my first night after my C section in public (opposite of you)
Glad you're doing great and yes, the C section was great, will defo do it again.

Hi girls,

Here's my story!

I was booked in to be induced at 10 days over. Arrived at hospital with hubby @8am on the Thursday, and by 10am I had been given the first gel. I didn't find this a particularly painful procedure, and was feeling quite relaxed. Contractions started gently and gradually, and I spent the day walking around & using TENS machine. Towards the later afternoon the contractions got worse, and I had a bath in some lavender oil which was of huge benefit! Would recommend that! At about 5pm i had the next exam, and i was extremely disappointed to hear that I hadn't dilated at all, and baby's head still wasn't engaged. I found the exam quite painful, and my pain increased immediately after it. I felt a huge amount of pressure and was very sore. I found walking about quite difficult at this stage too. I was given a second lot of gel at 6pm, which was really really sore. I remember lying on the bed with the trace on with full blown contractions for an hour, not being able to change position, and I lost it for a while, groaning and moaning- it was agony! When the hour was up and midwives were happy that baby was not in distress, I was allowed up again. Contractions were very painful at this stage, and at about 9pm I got a shot of pethidine. Complete relief, and I was able to sleep for a little while. Hubby went home to get some sleep too. At about 2am I woke up and realized my waters were breaking, and they were stained with meconium. I was transferred into the delivery suite at this stage, and was offered the epidural, which I accepted!! Hubby arrived back in at about 5am, and I was started on the drip. Unfortunately I was on the drip for hours and hours, and I only got to 2cm. Baby was just not coming out! I was told that the next step was to consider emergency c section, which to be honest I was relieved about! I was exhausted, and didn't think I would have been able to push if baby had come. A number of emergencies came in that evening, do I had to wait a few hours to get the section. At about 6pm we went to theatre, and my beautiful baby son was born at 6.12. It was such a surreal experience, completely overwhelming! I have to say though, the staff in the rotunda were amazing. I had 3 different midwives due to shift changes, and they were fantastic!

I was public in the rotunda, and I didn't get any rest once I was transferred to the post natal ward. That's really my only negative experience - but I haven't had any sleep since either

Best of luck!
X

Congrats to you. And thanks for sharing.

Hi girls,

This is my story - short and sweet!! My waters broke at 9am , started contracting soon after, had my epidural at 11.30 (I went from 3cm to 10cm in two hours!!) And I had a beautiful little girl at 2pm - well not so little she was 9lb 11oz! It was my first and I was petrified of the thought of labour as had heard so many horror stories and knew she was going to be big. One word of advice - listen to no one as everyones experience is unique, would definately go through it all again!! Also I cannot say enough about how amazing midwives are!

Don't post much these days but thought I would share my expierence, my little boy is 6 months old now. So here it goes...I was 35 weeks and had started getting some mild cramping pains that night, I didn't think too much of it as I thought it was too early for anything to be happening, I went to bed that night but I couldnt sleep, kept tossing and turning because the pains were getting worse. After about 3 or 4 hrs I got up thinking this can't be right, I got out my pregnancy book reading the section on ' how do you know if your are in real labour', this was about 3 oclock in the morning. The pains were coming and going in waves every 10 mins or so at this stage. I woke up my hubbie and said I think we should go into holles street to make sure everything is ok. So in we went and when we got there the pain had subsided a little, they examined me and said your not in labour, the cervix is closed. They decided to keep me in the antenatal ward (unit 3) for a while to keep an eye, I was only there about 15 mins and my waters broke, I was in shock, I was worried because it was a month early, the contractions then came very strong, I was examined again a short while later and was 6cm, baby was breech so had emergency section and our beautiful baby boy was born at 7am, 6lbs. It all happened so fast and I have to say that holles street acted so quickly and I was impressed with how they handled everything, People told me beforehand you rarely go early on your first, don't bother packing a bag before 36 weeks, blah blah..., everyone is different and Im glad I was organised as it took some of the panic out of the situation. My baby boy is now 22lbs which is in the top 5 percent of babies his age so being premature hasn't affected him at all. My advice to future mums is not to have any pre concieved ideas about what you want to happen, just go with it.

Congrats all! Glowgal I know what you mean, i thought i would go over but i went 3 and a half weeks early & like you was tossing & turning all night beforehand but thinking nothing of it. After a restless night spent watching home & away on you-tube , i finally nodded off in the wee hours, Then at 6 am the next morning, i got up for the 1st of my 36 bathroom visits of the day (!) & upon returning to bed i heard a loud pop, like when you click your fingers. A few seconds later i turned to DH & said "great, now i'm becoming incontinent too...I've wet myself", it took a few seconds for the penny to drop Back to the loo and then reluctant to believe it could be happening this early, i rolled over to go back to sleep...20 minutes later I was feeling pretty crampy so DH suggested ringing the hospital. I was advised to take it easy at home or an hour or 2 & make my way up.that didnt exactly work out...after a nice warm shower, breakfast didnt happen as i was in a nice bit of pain on the swiss ball. DH was fixing a slow puncture in our car, dont ask, so he got a bit of a shock when he returned as i was really feeling it at this point. Gone was the semi-calm wife & here was her "We gotta get to the hospital NOW!!" replacement! 40 minutes later when we got there I was taken to maternity A&E, the nurse there did an internal & said i was 4 cm dilated & yes this was really happening! My tears at this point were down to the fact that i had several waxing appointments for the next day, bikini being the priority, god help them with what they were about to see!! Anyway, having put my silly vanity issues aside, i got focused on the job at hand & to anyone preggo on their first thats how i would describe the labour experience. Its beautiful, empowering & life-changing whatever way you deliver your baby but it is a job right at that time. They dont call it "labour" for nothing i guess! Anyway, i lay there on trace for 20 minutes, i was so squirmy that i was actually glad when the nurse said i was being taken straight to the delivery suite....hang on a minute, its only been 20 minutes or so...As it turned out in that 20 minutes i went from 4 to 9 cm...and we're off! I wont even try to go all superwoman here, yes i did roar & shout for drugs, epidural, you name it, but it was too late. My angel midwife & my DH (who really stepped up to it considering he gets dizzy at the mention of blood ) really got me through it. Gas & air helped a little too. I had an episiotomy close to the end & in all i can describe as an amazing, primal hour of pushing our consultant delivered our beautiful 7 lb 2 oz baby girl. Would i do it again - in a heartbeat. I wont lie, it hurt like hell but its a different kind of pain & once you give into it & let your body do it, you can do it. Of course i know how lucky i was to have such a quick labour (6 hours from waters breaking to delivery of baba). However, even though the odds are i would go the same way next time around, i will stay open to the fact that not all labours are as straight forward as mine & very often intervention and pain relief are necessary parts of it. To those of you that are pregnant & thinking of your birth plan, my advice is don't have one rigid plan, its so hard to know how you will labour, if you will want pain relief or even need it. What p-ed me off a little after our DD was born was the next question after her name&weight was "Did you go natural?"...what happened to "Who is she like?, how is she?" etc...At the end of the day, as long as everyone is healthy & happy, what way doesn't matter, all that does is that amazing feeling you will have when you hold your baby for the first time, that itself will wipe any memories of pain from your mind. Wishing you all the very best!

So, Our DS was born on Tuesday 28th Feb, and we are home and settled in yesterday. I read loads of birth plans when I was pregnant, and found them a great source of knowledge.. so here’s mine to add!

I woke up at 4am on 27/02/12 having felt a trickle of something. I got out of bed and the moment I stood up, the trickle became a gush! Literally, I was leaking all over the floor as I was walking out to the bathroom. Shouted from the bathroom to DH that I thought my waters had gone and he was wide awake and grabbing towels!! Rang the hospital (CUMH) and spoke to a midwife who said that it sounded alright like they had. I collect a sample and put on 3 maternity pads and she said to take my time, have a shower/something to eat and come into them in the next few hours to be examined. I got up and had breakfast, watched TV and rocked on my yoga ball. Sent DH back to bed for a few hours. Had a shower and headed into hosp around 10.30. I was put on a trace for as half hour. She established that, yes indeed, my waters had broken and I was admitted to the ante-natal ward at noon. The plan was that after 18 hours, I wasn’t in established labour, they’d have to put me on anti-biotics (due to breaking waters) and if after 24 hours, I hadn’t gone into labour myself , that they’d induce me.It wasn’t needed , as 3 hours later I began getting pains. I stayed bouncing on a yoga ball and read the paper while DH timed contractions. They didn’t examine me until contractions were 2-3 mins apart and lasting around a minute. SO, we walked around the hosp, watched TV and literally paced the corridors. I was amazed at the amount of fluid leaking from me constantly! Midwife said that the body would keep producing fluid right up til birth. (I did NOT know this before!!). Anyway, at 5pm, they gave me panadol and I started on the TENS machine, which was BRILLIANT for the next few hours- Tens really helped to distract me from the pain. Was examined at 7pm and was only 1 cm.  Was sooo disappointed as was in a fair bit of pain. By 8pm, I was yelling for pethadine (injection in the hip). To be honest, all it did for me was make me feel light headed and woozy and did absolutely nothing for the pain. Got examined at 9pm and was 2cm. At this stage, I really began to wonder could I handle the pain and get through the contractions. They were anything from 4-6 mins apart and were really strong and lasted about 90 seconds. Zoned out and can’t rem the next 2 hours, but must have managed to get through them as was examined again at 11pm and I was 3cm- YAY!! I could go to the delivery suite and get my LONGED FOR epidural. I was praying that (a) there’d be a room available and (b)that an anaesthetist (sp?) would be free to give me the epi right away!! Anyway, she came back, said that we were heading straight down to room 5, and to gather up our things and we were on our way!! WHO-HOO!!
When we got down there, my assigned midwife was waiting for us and all I could focus on was getting the epi. They put me straight on the bed and positioned and prepped me for it. Had some seriously painful contractions while I was getting it and the anaesthetist was sooo lovely and talked me through everything she was doing. DH was supporting my arms and shoulders while standing in front of me to help me get into the curled back position. Once it was in, the pain started fading right away. I had to turn on my left and right side to distribute it evenly and was told it’ll take up to a half hour to take full effect. The pain gradually decreased bit by bit and I remember looking at the clock at 00.20 and thinking- “omigod, I’m pain free!! Phewwww….”
Midwife advised DH to head home for a few hours sleep. She dimmed the lights for me and I dozed off too. Woke every hour or 2, would have a chat with the lovely midwife and doze off again. There was someone with me constantly monitoring the baby’s heartbeat and my contractions. The midwives in there were absolutely AMAZING. They are the nicest, most supportive angels I’ve ever met! They gave me an oxytocin drip at this stage to help speed up the contractions. I was examined at 4am and was 5cm, at 7am, I was 7cm and at 8am, the consultant came in and they were discussing my case. He said that he’d like me to be progressing more and would give me til 10am to see how far I’d got. If I wasn’t at 10cm, they’d like to have the baby delivered, which would mean a section. I was realllly disappointed when I heard this, but decided to go with the flow and see what happened. I fell asleep again til 9.30 and when I was examined at 10, I was 10cm!! YAY!! Had gone from 7cm-10cm in 2 hours. Rang DH and told him to hurry up and come in! I’d be pushing within the hour. At 10.50, she examined me and said ‘c’mon so, lets get pushing’! I knew DH would be there shortly and I expected to be pushing for ages, so started pushing. At 10, when I reached 10cm, they turned down the epi, so by 11, I could feel huge pressure every time a contraction came, but not the pain of it. It was a great help to know where exactly I needed to focus my push to… I must admit, the pushing part was my favourite part of all the labour and would do it again in a heartbeat. I guess I had been just lying there for ages and felt uninvolved or something, but now, I was an active part of the process and it was nice have something to do!! Dh arrived in shortly after. I was making good progress and at 11.10, the consultant and paediatrician were in the room. The consultant took over from the midwife. I was aware that something must have happened to make the midwife call him, but wasn’t in the least worried as I knew I was in capable hands. They explained after to me that baby was facing the wrong way and a vacuum was needed to help him turn. As it turned out, baby turned the right way himself as he descended the birth canal, so would have been ok anyway. He attached a suction cup to the baby’s head and with the next few pushes, I felt a huge amount of pressure. Suddenly they were telling me to pant, (so I knew that the head must be there) and I felt the shoulders being released (which gave way to the huge pressure I was feeling…it was such a relief) and before I knew it, he was out and lying on my chest….all purple and bloody and warm and wet!! It was the most magical moment of my life! I was crying and DH was crying and laughing and it was fabulous. After a few mins, the paediatrician took him and cleaned him off and did his checks and he was put back on my chest for skin to skin. Meanwhile, the consultant was delivering the placenta and stitching me up (had had an episiotomy) but I hardly noticed what they were doing down there, I was so taken up with DS. When he finished up about 20 mins later, he went off, and the midwife took DS and dressed him and gave him back to DH, and she left us alone for family bonding time. It was lovely. We were on cloud 9 and chatting about the birth. We kept staring at our little bundle in complete amazement that he was here safe and sound. I think that this was one of the happiest moments of my life so far.
I went into the whole birthing process with a very open mind and just went with the flow of things, and it worked out well for me. My recovery has been great and only 3 days later, I feel sooo much better….things down below are healing nicely and feeling better every day…Still taking painkillers every 4 hours (panadol and difene) and I started arnica tablets after the birth too. Breastfeeding didn’t work out for us. I wanted to give it a go, but I have inverted nipples and knew that it’d be another hurdle to cross. I tried it with the help of the midwives, but it just didn’t work as DS had nothing to latch onto. So, we gave him bottles and he has taken great to them. So if he’s happy,I’m happy. I expressed colostrum for him alright, so I feel good that he got that little bit anyway. I’m expecting my milk to come in today or tomorrow and have my boobs strapped into 2 sports bras and the painkillers at the ready! (as advised by the midwives). Anyway, I’m beginning to ramble now, so I’ll sign off!! Giving birth was one of the most amazing experiences of my life and I know people say that they’d do it again in a heartbeat and I have to say that I would….who wouldn’t when you have the most fabulous prize at the end......

yay jessgall,. congrats on your little man!!!!!!!! so happy for you!
i cried reading that! (hormones)!!! glad you had a lovely experience!


enjoy your little man!!!!!

ooooh jess just read ur fab magical birth story ....so glad u have ur perfect little man girl ...well done u x x x x x delighted for ye hun x x x

What a lovely story. I started blubbering when you were talking about them putting in the epi - think my hormones are sending me a bit nuts!

Enjoy your new family

What a lovely positive experience to read about just as I'm starting to panic about having a vbac. Must admit I got teary at the part where he was just born and placed on your chest for skin to skin. Never had this with ds following section for breech and always feel I really missed out on it. Well done jess x

That was such a lovely read! I got all teary too at the placed on your Chest!
Sounded like you really had the most positive experience and hope we can all feel line this when were writing our own!
Congrats!