[#1]

as i have posted on this board a few times and mia was born on the 22nd of feb rather than the 2nd march i thought i'd post my birth story here too. hope you don't mind?

My birth story.

I’d had loads of appts over a 2 week period which saw me in and out of the day assessment unit at the maternity hospital (over half an hours drive away, no parking and expensive when you could get parked!) with high bp and protein in my urine.

On my last growth scan it showed that the baby’s growth had slowed quite a lot.

The consultant came in after the mw had found high bp and protein in my urine again. She was really nice and said, ‘I think we need to look at sending you in to be induced.’ At which point I had a meltdown! I was in tears telling her how I’d been in and out and my bp would go down and how my dd was really upset and stressed because of it all. I said that if they sent me in the person I saw at the hospital wouldn’t feel the same way as her and would send me home to start it all again.

She did and internal and told me she would ring my consultant and see what he thought as I had pre eclampsia with dd and was induced at 38+2 (I had her at 38+4 and was 38+4 on this particular day!)

Off she went and I could hear her on the phone but couldn’t make out what she was saying but I was ready for another ‘right, well we’ll send you home but come back tomorrow’

She came back and told me I was booked in for induction the following morning (Saturday 21^st Feb.) which was good but I started freaking out a bit then! After wanting someone to make a decision now that they had I was scared!

So we had a nice family evening, our last all together as a family of 3. The following morning we were all up early and df dropped me at the hospital while he did the hour round trip to drop dd off at my mums. It was 8am so the mw’s were all busy doing the morning routines so I waited in the day assessment room. It was weird to think that soon we would be meeting my new baby. There was another girl in there expecting her first baby. She was 10 days over and was being induced so we had a chat while we waited.

Eventually someone came down and took us to the room where the antenatal ladies go. It was empty so we picked our beds and were told a mw would be round to see us soon. We were put on monitors and I had my bp and baby monitored. All was ok, baby seemed happy enough.

It was at this point I began to change my conviction that bump was a boy! The girl in the next bed knew she was having a boy and her baby’s heart rate was slower than mine so I started to think that df would be right (again!)

The first pessary was administered and df arrived back with magazines, papers and food! We had done this before with dd! After the 40mins was up I got up and we walked round the corridors trying to get something happening. We went up all the stairs and down all the stairs!

The next pessary was supposed to be administered 6 hours after the first. It was later than that, about half 8. This time it was quite painful as everything was really far back (the same with dd, as I am induced before my body is ready to deliver the baby)

They sent DF home and gave me some painkillers and a sleeping tablet as I was quite sore by this point.

Woke up the next morning at 8am and the pains had all but gone. Was put on the monitor again and had my BP done, all looked good. When do arrived at 9ish we started walking the corridors again and did stairs etc. started getting cramps again. We went back to the ward just before lunch and started playing travel scrabble (we’d been down the induction route before and knew it was lengthy!) I was knelt up on the bed and rocking about in a bit of pain but nothing major.

They came through to tell me that they had a spare bed and to come to labour ward to have my waters broken. (The mw on the ward sent me back to have my lunch first!!)

Waters were broken about 1ish, was painful as my cervix was really far back. The mw gave up and the consultant came through to do it. (Like last time)

The mw was great and said I could sit on the rocking chair to labour as I was afraid of ending up stuck on the bed like last time which I hated.

She asked me if I wanted the drip on (to speed things up) now or to leave it a while but I told her to get it going. I told her my first stage with dd1 was lengthy but 2^nd stage was fast so she got all the baby’s stuff ready on the warmer in my room. (Everything they could need is in the room you are in)

The next time she checked me she said the baby’s head had pushed the cervix back so she couldn’t tell how far on I was. I was in pain but managing on the gas and air (which they’d given me when they broke my waters!)

Eventually the pain was coming too often for me to cope so I sent DF out to her to ask for something (she’d offered a couple of times but I wasn’t ready till now!)

I had pethadine and it did take the edge off a bit.

The pain was really bad now though and I wasn’t getting much of a break. Df kept saying only 15 minutes till you can have more pethadine (every 2 hours) at which point I said its too late I’m starting to push! The mw came in and said ‘well Kate it sounds like you are nearly ready to push!’

Ten minutes later Mia Katherine was born at 7.45pm (on the 22^nd of Feb.) and DF told me we had a little girl! The mw wasn’t sure that all the placenta had come away so spent a while pushing and pulling (I had a second degree tear) and eventually I lost some clots. (She then had to go home, she was wonderful though!)

We had skin to skin for an hour and I bf her. Then about an hour and a half after I had delivered I felt really sick and weak. I gave mia to david and he passed me a bowl. I was really sick and at the same time I felt a gush between my legs and knew something was wrong. I pressed my buzzer and a mw came in then ran out and fetched about 8 people in with her.

They laid me flat and there seemed to be hands everywhere!

A really nice lad was keeping me distracted while he put another vent (?) in my spare hand! Which they put another drip into, I also heard them shout to someone to cross match some blood (it was like being in er but I was crapping myself) I could see df stood in the corner holding mia looking really scared.

They were pressing and pressing on my tummy and the short version of the story is that I had a post partum haemorrhage. I lost 900mls of blood. They kept me on labour ward in my room overnight and were checking me at 15 min intervals. I was given a bed bath (v surreal being washed down by 2 midwives) then I sent df home for some sleep. It was horrible as every time I wanted to wee (ouch!) I had to buzz for the mw and sit on a bowl on the bed so she could measure the amount and check for clots etc.

I slept ok and mia was very chilled out.

The following day I was moved to the ward and the doc came to see me. He wouldn’t let me go home and wanted me to stay another night. Apparently when they did my bloods the haemoglobin (?) level was low. Anything below 11 is low, mine was 8 and at 7 they give you a blood transfusion!

Mia was fine and had the checks and the hearing test which all came back normal. She fed ok after a fussy latch. That afternoon df fetched molly into see her new sister. He hadn’t told her where they were going just that he had a surprise for her!

She was sooo cute, and said ‘thank you mummy for my new baby sister!’ (filling up now thinking about it!) we had lots of tears from her when she left and it was hard to hold it together as she is only 2 ½ and I hadn’t seen her since sat and it was Monday. (I’ve never been away for more than 1 night before)

The next day I was given my iron tablets and eventually they discharged me.

It was lovely coming home.

Mia put 9oz on in ten days and is now about 6lb 9oz!

Sorry it was so lengthy!!!

 xxxx

 

 

[#2]

as i have posted on this board a few times and mia was born on the 22nd of feb rather than the 2nd march i thought i'd post my birth story here too. hope you don't mind?

My birth story.

I’d had loads of appts over a 2 week period which saw me in and out of the day assessment unit at the maternity hospital (over half an hours drive away, no parking and expensive when you could get parked!) with high bp and protein in my urine.

On my last growth scan it showed that the baby’s growth had slowed quite a lot.

The consultant came in after the mw had found high bp and protein in my urine again. She was really nice and said, ‘I think we need to look at sending you in to be induced.’ At which point I had a meltdown! I was in tears telling her how I’d been in and out and my bp would go down and how my dd was really upset and stressed because of it all. I said that if they sent me in the person I saw at the hospital wouldn’t feel the same way as her and would send me home to start it all again.

She did and internal and told me she would ring my consultant and see what he thought as I had pre eclampsia with dd and was induced at 38+2 (I had her at 38+4 and was 38+4 on this particular day!)

Off she went and I could hear her on the phone but couldn’t make out what she was saying but I was ready for another ‘right, well we’ll send you home but come back tomorrow’

She came back and told me I was booked in for induction the following morning (Saturday 21^st Feb.) which was good but I started freaking out a bit then! After wanting someone to make a decision now that they had I was scared!

So we had a nice family evening, our last all together as a family of 3. The following morning we were all up early and df dropped me at the hospital while he did the hour round trip to drop dd off at my mums. It was 8am so the mw’s were all busy doing the morning routines so I waited in the day assessment room. It was weird to think that soon we would be meeting my new baby. There was another girl in there expecting her first baby. She was 10 days over and was being induced so we had a chat while we waited.

Eventually someone came down and took us to the room where the antenatal ladies go. It was empty so we picked our beds and were told a mw would be round to see us soon. We were put on monitors and I had my bp and baby monitored. All was ok, baby seemed happy enough.

It was at this point I began to change my conviction that bump was a boy! The girl in the next bed knew she was having a boy and her baby’s heart rate was slower than mine so I started to think that df would be right (again!)

The first pessary was administered and df arrived back with magazines, papers and food! We had done this before with dd! After the 40mins was up I got up and we walked round the corridors trying to get something happening. We went up all the stairs and down all the stairs!

The next pessary was supposed to be administered 6 hours after the first. It was later than that, about half 8. This time it was quite painful as everything was really far back (the same with dd, as I am induced before my body is ready to deliver the baby)

They sent DF home and gave me some painkillers and a sleeping tablet as I was quite sore by this point.

Woke up the next morning at 8am and the pains had all but gone. Was put on the monitor again and had my BP done, all looked good. When do arrived at 9ish we started walking the corridors again and did stairs etc. started getting cramps again. We went back to the ward just before lunch and started playing travel scrabble (we’d been down the induction route before and knew it was lengthy!) I was knelt up on the bed and rocking about in a bit of pain but nothing major.

They came through to tell me that they had a spare bed and to come to labour ward to have my waters broken. (The mw on the ward sent me back to have my lunch first!!)

Waters were broken about 1ish, was painful as my cervix was really far back. The mw gave up and the consultant came through to do it. (Like last time)

The mw was great and said I could sit on the rocking chair to labour as I was afraid of ending up stuck on the bed like last time which I hated.

She asked me if I wanted the drip on (to speed things up) now or to leave it a while but I told her to get it going. I told her my first stage with dd1 was lengthy but 2^nd stage was fast so she got all the baby’s stuff ready on the warmer in my room. (Everything they could need is in the room you are in)

The next time she checked me she said the baby’s head had pushed the cervix back so she couldn’t tell how far on I was. I was in pain but managing on the gas and air (which they’d given me when they broke my waters!)

Eventually the pain was coming too often for me to cope so I sent DF out to her to ask for something (she’d offered a couple of times but I wasn’t ready till now!)

I had pethadine and it did take the edge off a bit.

The pain was really bad now though and I wasn’t getting much of a break. Df kept saying only 15 minutes till you can have more pethadine (every 2 hours) at which point I said its too late I’m starting to push! The mw came in and said ‘well Kate it sounds like you are nearly ready to push!’

Ten minutes later Mia Katherine was born at 7.45pm (on the 22^nd of Feb.) and DF told me we had a little girl! The mw wasn’t sure that all the placenta had come away so spent a while pushing and pulling (I had a second degree tear) and eventually I lost some clots. (She then had to go home, she was wonderful though!)

We had skin to skin for an hour and I bf her. Then about an hour and a half after I had delivered I felt really sick and weak. I gave mia to david and he passed me a bowl. I was really sick and at the same time I felt a gush between my legs and knew something was wrong. I pressed my buzzer and a mw came in then ran out and fetched about 8 people in with her.

They laid me flat and there seemed to be hands everywhere!

A really nice lad was keeping me distracted while he put another vent (?) in my spare hand! Which they put another drip into, I also heard them shout to someone to cross match some blood (it was like being in er but I was crapping myself) I could see df stood in the corner holding mia looking really scared.

They were pressing and pressing on my tummy and the short version of the story is that I had a post partum haemorrhage. I lost 900mls of blood. They kept me on labour ward in my room overnight and were checking me at 15 min intervals. I was given a bed bath (v surreal being washed down by 2 midwives) then I sent df home for some sleep. It was horrible as every time I wanted to wee (ouch!) I had to buzz for the mw and sit on a bowl on the bed so she could measure the amount and check for clots etc.

I slept ok and mia was very chilled out.

The following day I was moved to the ward and the doc came to see me. He wouldn’t let me go home and wanted me to stay another night. Apparently when they did my bloods the haemoglobin (?) level was low. Anything below 11 is low, mine was 8 and at 7 they give you a blood transfusion!

Mia was fine and had the checks and the hearing test which all came back normal. She fed ok after a fussy latch. That afternoon df fetched molly into see her new sister. He hadn’t told her where they were going just that he had a surprise for her!

She was sooo cute, and said ‘thank you mummy for my new baby sister!’ (filling up now thinking about it!) we had lots of tears from her when she left and it was hard to hold it together as she is only 2 ½ and I hadn’t seen her since sat and it was Monday. (I’ve never been away for more than 1 night before)

The next day I was given my iron tablets and eventually they discharged me.

It was lovely coming home.

Mia put 9oz on in ten days and is now about 6lb 9oz!

Sorry it was so lengthy!!!

 xxxx