This story is long. The labour was very very long. I had been having painful braxton hicks contractions for quite a few days leading up to the 10.05.03 which was a Saturday. The day before, a Thursday I went and got my hair done and had a relaxing pedicure. According to my mother a pedicure will bring on labour! I did start having contractions soon after but they were all over the place. So we went walking and the next day we went into town to shop at Myers before my 38 week antenatal appointment. I started to feel a bit sick and so we had to sit down before going up to the birth centre to make sure everything was alright. The midwife believed that everything was ready for labour and that I prob wouldnt make my next appointment that was made for the following Wednesday. I was a bit excited by that!!
The next day mum and I went shopping at the new shopping centre at Richmond BIG mistake. As soon as we got there I started having painful contractions. They were coming with some regularity, so we decided to go home and monitor them more closely. That night they were coming quite close together so we decided to go into the birth centre I thought that it was it! But alas the pains stopped again! The midwife decided to take a look and did an internal. She told me that I was indeed in the beginnings of labour as I was 2-3cm dialated and that she would probably be seeing me in the next 24 hours. When I got home I had quite a bit of a show and the contractions became fiercer! Every 5 minutes I was getting a contraction so I got in the shower to relieve them. I spoke to my baby and asked that we get a bit of a break at least until the morning as I was exhausted and so were my support people.
So Sunday came and went with only painful twinges. Sunday night the pains got stronger and we began to time them again. I kept in contact with the midwives at the birth centre and they encouraged me to keep staying at home until I could not bear it. I began to feel disheartened, all these contractions but not much happening. No waters breaking, nothing. On Monday morning, I woke and burst into tears as the pains had ebbed away again. As a last ditch effort DH and I had sex to try and move things along and boy did they ever! I rang the midwife again and she said that they wanted me to come in as I had been contracting for a few days and they wanted to check me out. This seemed to be all the encouragement the babaa needed 5 minutes apart contractions that were very painful. So at 11:30am on Monday we went back to the birth centre where they did another internal and found me at 4cm dialated and told me I could stay.
The next day mum and I went shopping at the new shopping centre at Richmond BIG mistake. As soon as we got there I started having painful contractions. They were coming with some regularity, so we decided to go home and monitor them more closely. That night they were coming quite close together so we decided to go into the birth centre I thought that it was it! But alas the pains stopped again! The midwife decided to take a look and did an internal. She told me that I was indeed in the beginnings of labour as I was 2-3cm dialated and that she would probably be seeing me in the next 24 hours. When I got home I had quite a bit of a show and the contractions became fiercer! Every 5 minutes I was getting a contraction so I got in the shower to relieve them. I spoke to my baby and asked that we get a bit of a break at least until the morning as I was exhausted and so were my support people.
So Sunday came and went with only painful twinges. Sunday night the pains got stronger and we began to time them again. I kept in contact with the midwives at the birth centre and they encouraged me to keep staying at home until I could not bear it. I began to feel disheartened, all these contractions but not much happening. No waters breaking, nothing. On Monday morning, I woke and burst into tears as the pains had ebbed away again. As a last ditch effort DH and I had sex to try and move things along and boy did they ever! I rang the midwife again and she said that they wanted me to come in as I had been contracting for a few days and they wanted to check me out. This seemed to be all the encouragement the babaa needed 5 minutes apart contractions that were very painful. So at 11:30am on Monday we went back to the birth centre where they did another internal and found me at 4cm dialated and told me I could stay.
I got on the swiss ball and did lots of pelvic rocking trying to open up my pelvis. We had lovely lavender and clary sage oil burning in the room to encourage labour. I had a couple of showers with James applying heat to my back as I had terrible pain in my back throughout and between contractions. When midwives came in, I was distracted by them and my contractions would disappear again. This is where my labour sat until 9pm 2 to 4 minutes apart contractions another midwife came in and examined me and found me to be 7cms dialated but my blood pressure very high and suggested a bath to relax me. The bath was beautiful and my contractions died right down while I was in there. The problem was, when I got out they didnt pick back up. I tried everything but they were just erratic and all over the place. Finally at 11.15pm Rebecca (the third midwife I had had since arriving) decided to do an internal and found that I had not dialated any further and so decided to rupture the membranes. The warm gushy feeling was amazing the relief that the waters were not meconioum stained was amazing if they had of been I would have had to be transferred immediately to the normal labour ward. I stood up and I felt the bubabaloo move downwards and fell to my knees with three huge contractions that were hundreds of times more painful than before.
Rebecca moved me to the shower with James and there the pain got indescribable. The contractions were coming one on top of each other and the only way I felt relief was when I went into a full squat whilst James sprayed my back with boiling hot water. I got angry and punched the wall because there was no way I could get away from the pain. James took my cues and left me in silence whilst I dealt with the pain. When the contraction ebbed away I would come up to a standing position and drink cold water. Rebecca left me alone to get on with it but started coming in with more regularity to check the babies heartbeat. Time stood still for me but at some point at the end of my contraction I felt a need to push. I moved to the toilet because I felt I had to poo. so I sat there and had a few contractions whilst Rebecca monitored the heartbeat. She told me that I could come back to my room when I felt like, but I wanted more shower because I honestly felt a little scared of what was going to happen. A few contractions later I felt ready so we made our way back to my room where the lights had been turned down and a mat brought out underneath the bed. It was set up for me to kneel down. I still felt the need to push and asked Rebecca whether this was OK. She told me if I really really felt the need to push then have a go. That was all the encouragement I needed. I started to yell through the contractions but Rebecca quite sternly told me not to waste my energy and push into my bottom. Once I started to do that, it felt quite amazing there was pain but this pain was actually doing something and I started grunting through them. I was very hot and ended up having flannels dipped in ice on my neck and upper back and continued to sip water after each contraction.
All I could hear was Rebecca who encouraged me and told me when to stop. I notice her get up and bring back a pack. Somewhere in the back of my mind I thought that maybe I was getting closer to delivery. A few more pushes and then I felt the babies head at the opening. Rebecca was packing my perinium with hot water towels which felt like heaven. She directed me to push push push and then hold onto it by panting to keep the babies head there. I felt fear because it felt like my vagina was going to be split in two but Rebecca told me not to be scared everything was OK. I trusted her and then the baby started to emerge by itself. The next contraction I pushed his head out and then I got this uncontrollable urge to push Rebecca was getting James ready to deliver his own baby, but I couldnt help it and out he slithered. Instant relief and instant screaming. Rebecca said to look down at my baby between my legs and I did. It was a beautiful boy. He was covered in blood and meconioum (apparently done after his head was born). She told me to pick him up but I was terrified, it was like I had never seen a baby before.
She left him attached to me for a few minutes before allowing James to cut the cord. He was humungous. They weighed him a few hours later and he was a whopping 9 pounds 2.5 ounces and 57cms long. My mum was the most amazed she was exclaiming "No drugs! you did that with NO drugs". I couldnt quite believe it myself. I wasnt against using pain relief it just never occurred to me to do so. I think it had to do with the fact my labour was around for so long starting and stopping. I also managed to get through it all with only a few stitches needed (apparently his foot got caught on the way out in that last push). My perinium massages and raspberry leaf tea was not done in vain! It was an hour and three quarters between the time my waters were broken and the beginning of second stage and my second stage lasted a whole 32 minutes. My boy Jude Samuel Ian is the most beautiful little boy and what a story for him to hear in a few years time.
(I wrote this 4 days after he was born and posted it on a internet forum on the 19th of May, 2003).
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