Finding out i was preg with my third was a shock and not planned. After having no drugs with my last labour I was determined to have as much as i could this time..

I had my first antenatal appointment at 10 weeks, I was already showing and i knew he was gonna be a big boy...

At 37 weeks i started having regular braxton hicks and my belly was so big that everyone kept saying i must be due anyday now.. grrrr but at 39 weeks n still pregnant people were shocked at how big i was.. i literally looked like a lolliepop...

at my 40 week appointment the midwife said bubs wasnt in the right position and had his spine up against mine so i spent the rest of my pregnancy laying on my left to try turn him and thank god it worked, but i was getting sick of being pregnant and my mum had flown to help me out from interstate and she only had a limited time to stay with me.

5 days over due me n my mum got up and dropped the kids at school and went to do some last min shopping, we decided to take ever stair case possible and on my way back down a flight of stairs i felt a leak.. my water had broken but thank god it was just leaking a bit. so we drove to school and got the kids, calle dmy partner to come home and headed home. I walked around the house to keep the contractions going and to let gravity help get this baby out!

my dad turned up at about 5 to get my girls and we packed up the car and headed to the hospital when we arrived i realised i had left my medical notes at home so we went home to get them, i was having really bad contractions in the car lol.

we arrived at the hospital at about 7 45pm and my waters broke fully only like 10 mins later. my first stage of labour was 3 hrs , i had no drugs just used breathing to get me thru.. then it became very intence and the midwife gave me remifentanyl in and iv drip to help with the pain, it had a button i could press to administer the drug as it only lasted a minute. so i was countng every 60 seconds and presing that button like crazy.

now my midwife thought my baby was gonna be 8 pounds tops.. if she had knows how big he was sho would prob have booked me in for a c section lol.. im only a tiny person..

30 mins at 10.25pm later the head was showing at it was showtime. i became calm and focused at this point and just pushed i think it was 3 big pushed and he was born..

4260 grams, 52 cm long... he was one big boy. It was the best feeling in the world to finally hold him.

after he was taken away for weighing etc i had a bad shaking fit from the drugs.. that was not nice...

we stayed in hospital for a few nights to get feeding established and to give me rest.

xoxo

Its about time i write about miss4's birth..

Miss4 was due Jan 14, 2004 And after running around after my 2 and a half yr old i was exhasted and over being pregnant, my due date came and i had an appointment with my midwife that morning. So of I drove with toddler in tow to the hospital about 40 mins away. I waddled up to the 6th floor taking the stair in hope that my waters would break lol.

The midwife done all the check and it seems miss4 was not even is position.. well she was head down but not engaged. so the midwife booked me in for 4 days later.

4 days later and still nothing not even a niggle. I tried going 4wd, walking at the usuall stuff but nothing. The midwife said the head was engaged but ony 3/5 above the brim or something like that. so she booked me in the the 22nd to have the gels put on my cervix, I was so annoyed...

So the 22nd finally came and it felt like i had been pregnant for years. I went in and had the gels done..

The next morning I lost the plug and has early labour contractions all day. I went to the hospital at about 1pm, I had decided i wanted a drug free birth this time. As having petadine last time made my baby sleepy and hard to feed.

By 3pm my water still hadnt broken but i was exhasted in pain so they broke my waters.. and boy it hit me fast n hard.

I started to get tinggly achy legs and had to lay on my side for the rest of the birth. I can remember screaming for an epidural at this point lol hahahaha of course i was to far gone to have it lol.

so here i was on my side with my mum holding my other leg up for me and i had my arms wrapped aroung my mil's waist, face burried into her belly... screaming and saying.. no no i dont want to do this today cant we do it tomoro pmsl... i felt like i was being torn in half...

Finnally after a few big pushes at 7 pound 12 ounces, or 3.52kg Miss4 was born at 5.10pm...

I was breastfeeding her with in minutes.. it was love at irst sight..

we went home the next day!

xoxo

l thought it was time to tell you all how Deans birth went after a very long 41 weeks of being pregnant. l was 100% positive l was going to have a VBAC and no doctor could convince me into another c section. The midwives where wonderful through the time l did spend with them and l was told there was no reason why l could not have VBAC as l had given birth 3 times before.

It was the 9th of April 2008 and l woke up at 3:25am with rather nasty lower ab pains at first l thought it was just more of the bad BH l had had for the last few months of my pregnancy...they where bad BH that bad the pain would put me to sleep in the end as they wore me out totally. l went and had a long very hot shower hoping they would go away, but deep down l knew this had to be the real deal. l moved around the house quitey as l didnt want to wake the boys or hubby yet....even going in and out of my bedroom - l tried to go back to bed but just could not stay in one spot to long. The couch looked nice and l managed to rest there for awhile, at 7am l woke hubby and he suggust we time them but they where all over the place and he told me maybe its just false labor. l went to the toilet to find l had my show and was bleeding - never having a show before l started to panic and rang the hospital and spoke with a midwife who told me it was a show and discovered l had never had a show but the  5 pregnancy had one. We woke my oldest son Justin and went to the hospital, after being checked out l was dilated fully and it was a waiting game now for the waters to break  l was told if they hadnt broken by 12pm they would brake them. My waters broke at 9:35am and things happened so fast from there. Deans birth was very quick  34 seconds and he was born with the help of a midwife that had to pull his head while l pushed as the cord was pulling him back in and my hubby holding my legs down, stunned and the cord around his neck he was out. The midwife placed Dean on me for a few seconds before he was rushed away to the other side of the room while they tryed to get him to breath.....it was so scary as l could see all these medical teams around him - lm crying and there trying to clam me at the same time. So my labor all up went for 7 hours. After they gt him breathing l had a quick cuddle and then Dean and my hubby where taken to the specail nurse where Dean would be monitored. l rested for awhile as they staff where in no hurry to get me out of the birth room as l had just given birth to a 10lb baby boy and had no ripping or scratches....l was called the super mum by then word had got around the maternity ward. When l finally deceided to get up, only cos l was busting to go to the toilet l called my midwife and she came and helped me.....had a shower and was taken to the ward where l met the midwife who was looking after me....she asked how l did it and being such a small build too. l was told that my baby would only be around 8lb - what a suprise. After that l was taken to the specail care nursery and l met my son and started to bond....he was in there for a few days, at one stage he had the tube down his throat as he was not sucking, but l got a idea gave him a dummy and after that he was a guts and a demaned feeder. He was released from the specail nusery at 12am and later that day after 9pm l was sent home. Now Dean is nearly 4 months old and still a deman feeder during the day but of a night he sleeps and sleeps...still has little night mares l think he remembers his birth into the world.

Katja’s pregnancy was a dream.   I had no problems what so ever, even   no morning sickness and Hypermesis like I did with the other two.   Just towards the end of pregnancy that you get the typical   “end of pregnancy”   “I have had enough” aches and pains ect.

Things started with a few weeks of pre labor pains as it did with Kaeden, though they were not to bad.   By the 26th of September (two days before Due Date) I had enough and
went to see the obstetrician at the clinic.   He did an internal at which I was surprised to learn I was three centimeters dilated already.   He did a stretch and sweep of the
membranes also while he was at it and booked me in for an induction the following morning but commented that he really didn’t think I would make it though the night.

Boy was he right!!!!   A few hours after I had seen him was when the light contractions started, I still wasn’t sure if it was labor or not.   By 10.30 - 11.00pm I called the hospital
and told them I was coming in - Michelle, my sister and Birth partner came to pick DH and I up.

I was monitored for about an hour or so and the midwife decided to do an internal to see how far along I was and if I was dilated enough she would break my waters.   Funny thing was is she was also the same midwife who broke my waters with Kaeden!!!!

I was 3-4 cms dilated so she decided to break my waters.

Everything was going fine, I had a lot of fluid built up in there (she had put on my chart with Kaeden that I had copious amounts of fluid as well!!!)   The next contraction after
my waters were broken was when things started to go wrong - Bubs heart rate dropped considerably and didn’t come back up - I knew something was wrong, I kept looking from Michelle to Grant (It also showed on their faces)   The  midwife decided to do another internal straight away and said to Michelle to press the emergency button.  

Apparently the umbilical cord had prolapsed - in other words the cord had slipped out passed Bubs head and was coming out first, not a good thing as it was cutting off Bubs
oxygen and blood supply.   The midwife had to hold her hand up inside to keep the cord away from Bubs head   - lucky the doctor came running in and everything was explained
to her, by then there was also a few other midwives in there and I was told to take my earrings and rings off because I would need an emergency cesarean and I would have to
go under a general anesetic.   The midwife jumped on top of the bed and we were wheeled straight into theater.

There was a lot of people in there racing around, it was quite surreal.   It was not long and a catheter was placed in (not fun with the midwife’s hands still in there holding things
back and still only being 3-4 cms dilated!!!!)   At the same time a drip was placed in and an oxygen mask was placed on me, within seconds I was out to it.

Apparently bub had her cord wrapped around and around and she was using it as a pillow and when my waters were broken the cord simply came forward.   When Bubs came out
she was “stunned” with being under a general for about two minutes and they had put her in a humidi crib and had taken her to the NICU Unit to keep an eye on her.   Long story
but there was apparently no room in the SCN Units so they put her in the ICU -.

I came around about an hour after, they then let Grant and Michelle in to see me, the first thing I wanted to know was how Bubs was - which they told me she was fine - just being
checked out in the NICU.

I was pretty out of it but also in pain, I was hooked up to a nice little system which every time I pressed the button an amount of morphine would be put though my drip :)   They
kept telling me every time I was in pain to push it - and that they had it fixed so I would not overdose ect.   *LOL* I didn’t realize that I could press it about every 5 mins, but it
didn’t take me long!!!!! TRUST ME!!!!!  

Once They were happy with me in recovery they took me into the NICU to see katja - It was so surreal - all these tiny little babies and there was my big   8 pound 9 porker trying
to look comfortable in a tiny crib - I didn’t have time to get a good look or even touch her before they had taken me off to my room.   It was rather traumatic to have to go into the
NICU as well, I had memories from a family friend who had triplets there, they were so tiny and so sick - My bubby should not have been in there as she was not ill (well that
was my thinking at the time)  

By the time I got to my room I was continually asking when I was going to get my baby - about 20 mins later the phone rang, it was a doctor from the NICU explaining that Katja
was OK but they would keep her in until morning.

I was so happy when in the morning, I finally got to hold and cuddle my baby girl.   I gave her a feed right away and she took to it with no problems just like the other two had.

My recovery from the surgery is another story - Not that there was any problems as such - just the pain and my independence being taken away.  

I am so lucky as if my waters had broken at home there was a good chance Bubs would have been born stillborn.  And if I would have gone in and had my waters broken as with the induction the next morning, things still would have been bad as both operating theaters would have been in use.   It makes me realize how lucky we are that things happened they way they did. I was blessed with somebody looking over us that is for sure. 

  Picture of katja about 48 hours old

Picture of Katja today (18 months old)

Miss6's birth...

wow it was such a long time ago i hope i can remember....

at 38 weeks i started to experience braxton hicks, at the time i thought i was in labour so i called my partner at work and told him to hurry home... he made it home in 10 minutes flat (normally a half hour drive) all excited and pannicky. I had called the birthing suite to tell them i was on my way. My mum was on her way to meet us at the hospital.

when we arrived they done and internal and put the band on my belly that measures contractions... half hour later they came in and told us to go home as nothing was happening.... Now they tell me about braxton hicks ... i felt slightly embarresed but...

a week later same thing except this was in the middle of the night.. of we go to the hospital again only to be told to go home... OK so I was eager to meet my lil baby...

Then the night before the due date I started having contractions, no water breakage yet but i did loose the "plug" earlier that day... this time we sat there and timed them when we had 5 contractions 5 mins apart we called the hospital, they told me to come it... so i called my mum and off we went. we got to the hospital at 1am..

after they checked me out and measured the contractions they told me i was 5 cm dialated and that i could be a while yet... so we waited.

it seemed to take for ever and eventually they came in and checked me and said they had to break my waters. that was the weiredest feeling ever, i felt a faint pop and they they told me to stand up and warm water rushed from me... all of a sudden the contractions became intense and fast...this was at about 4 am and this is when they actually started timing my labour.

i was in alot of pain and wanting to push too early. this cause me to tear...

I begged for an epidural at about 8 am but they said it was too close to bubs birth to make any difference so i had pethadine instead. About an hour an a half later they got me into position, i was on my back legs up in the stirrup things and pushing whit all my might, her head came out and they told me to stop. the cord was around her neck, not that they told me that! they slipped it from her neck and before i knew it i was holding my baby! i was eager to breastfeed and they told me to try get her to latch on strait away. it was the most amazing thing ever. all the pain i was in disapeared instantly and i was on a natural high.

they took her away to bath and check her over and weigh her, 6 pounds 12 ounces,  while i got my tear stiched up, 7 stiches later!!!.

We then got transfered to the ward where all my family was waiting to meet my lil angel.

She didnt put weight on as quickly as needed and ended up in the special care ward and being tube fed thru her nose. this was hard for me to watch. I had to express milk for her to be fed and the pethadine i had during labour was making her too sleepy to feed.

eventually the effects wore of the she began to breast feed like a lil champion.

I think it was 4 days till we got to go home, over all it was a great life changing experience for me.

Hi im only 7 weeks pregnant and im already scared and worried about giving birth. I know as long as the baby is healthy thats all that matters but im so scared of the pain,i dont know how much ill be able to handle, and i really dont want an epidural. Any advice would be great.

hi iam off to write another book.

my 8th and i was wondering if anyone would like to share their birth story.

you cna share 1 story or all your birth experiences if you like and please include a picture of your baby so everyone can see them .its up to you.

natural births or c sections anything is cool.

you can see some of my books that i have writtten at : www.lulu.com/elisabeta

you can email me your storys to my minti or my email: fairysquizzy@yahoo.com.au

hope to hear from allot of you .

I have had two lovely natural births.

My first son was born on 5th Jan 2004. It was my first night in my new house and I had just finished painting it when I went into labour at midnight, 1 week early. I didn't sleep well that night as the pains gradually increased. In the morning I walked around, then had a bath, then repacked my hospital bag (I'd been too busy to have it sorted earlier). My mum called at 12 noon and I told her I was in labour - she was shocked I hadn't called sooner. As I was on my own at that time she was taking me to the hospital etc.

She picked me up at 1.30pm and we went to her house while she got ready for a dinner party. At 4pm she dropped me off at my brothers house, where the pains started to increase considerably. I was lying on the bed suffering and my poor brother who was only 24 at the time didn't know what to do! In the end I called mum at 4.30pm, just as she arrived at the party and said I think its time to go to hospital. So we started out on the one hour drive to hospital. It was quite painful but I managed to eat chocolate and drink red bull on the way (mum insisted that I eat as she didn't think I'd have a chance for a while). We got to the hospital at 6pm and I realised I'd forgotten to call my midwife - oops!

I explained to the nurse that I was in labour (she asked why I was there!) and then she asked how I knew. Well duh! Its quite a noticeable sensation isn't it?! Hehe. So they put me on the moniter and agreed that yes I was in labour. My midwife arrived at 7pm and by that stage I was quietly enduring yet more pain, she examined me and found I was 4 cm. I hopped straight into the birthing pool and it was like heaven - instant pain relief! It was a lovely room with no lights on, only these tiny star lights in the ceiling. By 10pm I had only reached 5cm so she broke my waters after offering me gas, which I accepted as I was told the labour would step up a notch. I didn't use the gas until I was 9cm when the midwife found that the babies head was caught on my cervix and the last cm wasn't dialating. She gave me some arnica drops and told me not to push (by that stage I was bearing down. I then breathed the gas during contractions to help keep from pushing - I had to wait for a whole hour! That was the hardest part by far. I finally reached 10cm and my midwife helped me out of the pool and on to a birthing stool. They are fantastic - the gravity did all the work for me. Mum and I were looking in the strategically placed mirror so we saw his little head crowning. I lost the urge to push so started to breathe through contractions while my midwife applied a warm flannel to the area. All of a sudden he slid out and I hadn't even pushed - brilliant! I didn't feel the tearing but ended up with quite a big tear and several stitches. About 2 minutes after he was born I started to lose a lot of blood and the midwife looked a bit worried. She was about to call for a doctor when my placenta flopped out (I was still on the stool) suprising everyone. That explained the blood. Bryn was born 7 pound 6 ounces with a distinct conehead from being pushed against my cervix for that extra hour.

I met my husband when Bryn was one and we now live in the Middle East. I got pregnant 5 days before the wedding and found out on our honeymoon :) I chose not to have the baby here because the hospitals are not into natural births, with 2 out of 3 babies by c-section! So at 8 months pregnant I flew the 21 hours to NZ with bryn who was 3 at the time. My doctor had given me some medication to prevent labour while I flew, a low dose just for prevention. I ended up needing more as I got a tummy bug 2 days before flying and felt definite contractions. The pills worked (I didn't tell my doctor as I was worrie she wouldn't let me fly).What a mission but well worth it! My husband arrived 10 days before my due date (cutting it very fine) and Carden was born on the 11th March 2007 (1 day late). I went into labour on the Thursday afternoon but it was mild and kept stopping. I ate dinner with the family and didn't tell them I was having contractions. I tried everything to keep it going (including drinking castor oil - icky!). I went to see my midwife (same one as with Bryn)on Friday afternoon just to see if there was any dialation (it was so mild I wasn't sure) and she found I was 4 cm dialated - yippee, it was like a headstart as I hadn't been in any pain really, more like mild period pain! My husband was 2 hours drive away watching his brother play cricket but I told him not to rush back as things were going slowly. My midwife sweeped the membranes and I felt the contractions get more serious. Mum and I went for coffee then I went back to my husbands parents house to wait for him. Contractions started mucking around again, slowing right down to 30 mins apart.

I went for a 4km walk with hubby and sped them up again. Mum went home, we went to bed. I decided to have a bit of time in bed with hubby (if you know what I mean) as I hadn't seen him for a month and the last 10 days I had refused any action as I wanted bubba to have an extra week in there! But unfortunately that didn't work at getting contractions started (and was very painful!). Nipple stimulation worked but they kept slowing down again! The next day (Saturday) I went for a coffee with mum at about 4pm, and noticed during that 2 hours the contractions were 10 mins apart. Someone asked when I was due and mum was all excited and told them I was in labour. I got a bit pale so went back to the in laws house where my husband was waiting for me. We watched t.v and the contractuons kept coming. I was trying to eat dinner but had to keep putting my plate down and flip onto all fours every few mins. Very annoying as the dinner was delicious and getting cold!

We said goodbye to the Danny's parents and headed off to the local birthing unit (30 mins away). I was standing outside the car trying to breathe through a contraction when my MIL came out to say goodbye. I get very embarrassed labouring in front of people so I forced myself to keep standing and talking through the contraction (she didn t even know). We arrived at the Birthing unit at 10pm and my midwife examined me. I was 5cm dialated so she broke my waters. I got into the birthing pool and labour progressed very quickly. I didn't want hubby to talk to me or touch me during contractions - I prefer to let my mind float away outside my body (and away from the pain). After one hour I said to the midwife 'I feel like I want to push - but that can't be right can it? Its too soon!' She said I'm probably right and just to go with my body and push when I want to. The second midwife came in to assist and checked my progress, she commented his must be my second baby to go from 5cm to 10cm in 1 hour! I was on my knees with my arms resting on the edge of the pool and rocking and swaying my hips during contractions. It was awesome, really helped open everything up and relieve the pain. I got the giggles (very painful during contractions)because the midwife had to open the window behind me - the castor oil had upset my stomach something awful and it smelled like something had died in the birthing room. Just before he crowned I noticed the midwife getting her 'tools' out and asked if that meant the baby was coming soon. I think she was shocked that I had the presence of mind to even notice what she was doing! Hehe. It took a fair bit of pushing to get Carden to crown, and the whole time he was kicking like mad - I was begging the midwife to pull him out or something because the pain was excruciating when he kicked. She wouldn't and said I'll just have to push him out. My husband was looking into the water when bubbas head came out, a big fat squashed face and he kept telling me how cute he was. I thought 'right, that's it - I want to see for myself!' So one big last push and he was out. 11.30pm he was born in the water and lifted into my arms. He was fat and gorgeous at 8 pound 9 ounces. Bubba latched on to the breast straight away. I sat in the birth pool for another 30 mins getting photos taken and talking on the phone then went to lie on the bed and deliver the placenta which didn't feel like coming. The midwife had to give it a bit of a pull in the end. She was amazed because I had only lost about a tablespoon of blood throughout the whole birth. The baby cried all night (darn it) so we were shattered the next day! He is absolutely lovely now, seven months old and has always been the happiest little man. He is still fat and bonny and loves his solids :) I actually enjoyed both labours, and because I had no drugs they went very well and I was in complete control. To this day my husband doesn't believe that labour hurts much because I didn't make a peep. I only swore at him once - when he slammed on the car breaks during one of my contractions (after I'd quietly asked him to pull over for a minute). The most painful part for me is at 4-5cm dialation when the bodies endorphins (natural painkillers) haven't yet kicked in. If you can get past that stage you are fine. Hope this helps anyone who is pregnant :)

well iam due to have our 5th baby in 20 days ,and iam trying to remenber what birth was like and if there was any simularities but i cannot remenber so i thought maybe other menbers could help me !

when did the plug come off ? some have told me its ar the biggining before contractions start some when the waters break ?

you would think id be an expert but my memory for some reason gets blanked out .

does anyone ever had cramps or sensations before contarctions started?

With my first baby, I had the benefit of talking to my friends and family and deciding what I did and didnt want. I didnt want a C-Section like mum. I didnt want to be cut like my best friend and my SIL. I wanted a natural birth with entonox and a TENS machine, and maybe water. And I kinda wanted a homebirth (but I wasnt brave enough to get past the scarey midwife). Or failing that, a birth on M5! No, not the motorway, our local hospital put you on the top floor (Maternity 5) if you were doing well, and moved you downstairs progressively if they had to intervene. M1 was the operating theatre etc! My aim was to stay on M5!!!

I went to NCT Antenatal Classes (excellent, recommend to anyone in the UK) and read avidly. I like being well informed. Information is power!

DH took redundancy from his job when I was in my second trimester, which in hindsight was great - like a second honeymoon once I was on maternity leave! The EDD approached. We got called in for the "Induction" appointment. I said it was my informed decision to wait for EDD +14. We got fully grilled until they had convinced themselves I really was informed. Here it is common to be induced at EDD + 10. But statistically most first time mums will go into spontaneous labour at EDD +10. So I wanted to give my baby plenty of time to come a few days later than the average. I had a feeling that this was a laid back baby - it had been a laid back pregnancy (those of you who know my DD1 dont laugh too loud at that naieve statement!).

In week 2 we opted for monitoring every other day. On day 12 we were due to go in for monitoring again. I got up at 8 and had breakfast. DH was having a lie in. Then I got a tummy cramp and the runs at 9. But they didnt stop, and so I talked thru the loo door to DH in bed. "Somethings happening! This may not be diorhea." We timed the contractions. 5 minutes apart and 30 seconds, in the first hour! After an hour I was pretty convinced that this was it. I tried to text MIL, who had texted me every day for a month with "anything happening yet?" No reply. Phone off, would you believe it! (Back on at 4pm!)

As per our antenatal training we rang the hospital "they're 5 minutes apart already". "Come in when they last 45 seconds". An hour was spent downstairs on DHs exercise ball with the TENS machine on. Then we rang to say we were coming in. I kept the TENS machine on but loaded the ball in the boot. Then followed an excruciating 30 minute drive to the Hospital in the city (they closed our local maternity unit 6 years before - I could have walked there in 3 contractions!)!

When I arrived, DH dropped me off at the door and went in search of an elusive and expensive parking space, taking 20 minutes and returning with what he could carry (but not the ball). They booked me in and I tried not to yell in Reception as I spelled out my GPs unusual name. They gave me a bed, and DH arrived in time for my internal exam - 4cm. They brought some food, but I was losing my appetite fast, so DH finished it!

Then they moved me to the labour suite. I tried a bath, but it meant taking off the TENS machine. They gave me entonox but the cylinder was empty. By the time they believed me and replaced it I was panicking a bit. So I got out of the bath. I stood looking out of the window, and the contractions built. I found it helpful to squat on a stall I'd brought - it hurt more but lasted less time - a good trade off IMO! Then the midwife changed shift and a new one came in. It was not encouraging to see that she had tipexed out "Trainee" from her name badge - a Newbie!

She wanted to monitor baby's heartbeat, so I agreed to get up on the bed for a short while. Baby kept moving. I got back down again but soon she wanted to try again. She couldnt get a proper reading and got worried. I wanted to stay upright, but she laid the guilt-trip on me. So they atttached the clips. It hurt more. They couldnt get a reading. I was hyperventilating on the entonox.

They decided baby was struggling (of course it is, Im on my back trying to fire it to the moon, let me off, I want gravity to help!!!). They told me off for making too much noise - you'll upset the other mums. I dont care, they've all had their babies overnight (they'd told me already)!

They decided to break my waters. Noooo! The newbie, watched my her boss, broke them. But she agreed she might have failed and emptied my bladder instead. Right, we've intervened, you have to go downstairs, they told me. Nooooo! As there was a smidgen of doubt about whether my waters really had broken, they agreed I could stay and see. The contractions suddenly lurched into anthoer gear. Obviously that was not wee!

I was by now overdoing it on the entonox, breathing it in constantly and pretty drunk on it. I would not stop using it. The midwives left me alone with DH most of the time as they had others to deal with. They came back in later and I said I wanted to push. Dont be silly, i was told, its too soon. Next time she came in Id been fighting the urge for 10 minutes and DH insisted. "Baby's already down the birth canal" she exclaimed!

By now though I was into the groove of not pushing and found it hard to start. I was getting louder and louder, and they tried to take the entonox mask away from me. Failing, they switched it off!!! I pushed HARD - too hard, I tore.

Baby came out, a bit blue, and was whisked away with Daddy in hot pusuit but not having been allowed to cut the chord, for some oxygen and heat in the next room. She was brought quickly back and put to the breast, and latched straight on. Hurray! All went quiet.

They repected my wishes at last - a natural 3rd stage. An hour later the placenta arrived. The largest any of them had ever seen. No wonder DD was late - she was being well nourished by a very effective placenta! She was 7lbs 3oz and born at 6.17pm. After the placenta arrived, both the newbie and her boss admitted it was the first natural 3rd stage any of them had attended!

Then they wanted to stitch up my 2nd degree tear. The other tear (caused, DH is sure, by the monitor, which they'd fixed to the SIDE of baby's head - no wonder it didnt work!) didnt need stitching. The matron stitched it up as I refused to let the newbie do it. It took 10 months to stop hurting, so even she didnt do a good job!

Then I went with baby and DH for a bath. When we emerged, they were on a shift changeover and we couldnt find anyone to tell us where to go, so I went back to the labour room and DH went home. Half an hour later they found me "WHAT are your doing HERE?" I was moved to the ward and baby and I slept well, feeding every 2 hours.

The next day they took my BP - it was high! It had been fine for 9 months and now it was too high for me to go home. Gutted! DH arrived after lunch. They'd been trying to get a blood sample out of me all morning, but midwives arent good at that - I was bruised up both arms. The brought an anaethatist up from surgery to take the blood or they'd have missed the last intake of the day. The next day the took my BP without baby crying at the same time - nearer to normal. Blood tests came back ok. So they let me out.

I hate hospitals!

On paper it was a good enough birth. For me it was a loss of control. I had minor nightmares. I resolved to take more control next time!

 

I will try to remember what happened a year ago first! I may have to come back later and relate her big sister's birth!

I had not enjoyed the delivery of my first baby, although compared with a lot of the stories Ive just read here it was quite straightforward. I felt that my wishes had been ignored by & large, and that the problems I did have were because of poor choices made by over worked midwives. And they wouldnt let me go home, and I hardly saw DH for 2 days. So I knew that I would choose a Home birth for my second successful pregnancy.

My first meeting with my midwife went well and when I told her I would be having a HB all being well, she was encouraging - a big contrast to the m/w I got with DD1! Talking to a friend later I discovered this m/w had HBd her second daughter, so that was encouraging. I also went along to an NCT Homebirth group to be able to ask questions and did my research on the Internet, and joined the Yahoo Homebirths UK group. I was going to be well informed!

The pregnancy progressed well, and all my antenatal meetings were good. The only exception was when Cath, my midwife, was on holiday, and my previous m/w stood in for her. She was aghast that I wanted a H/B! I heard that my friend went in to labour when Cath was off duty and this m/w turned up instead, and the labour stopped for 4 days (until Cath was back on duty LOL)!

DD1 had been 2 weeks late, so I braced myself for another late one, JIC!

Happily at 40 + 3, I went to bed at 10 pm and felt something was different - baby, normally so quiet, was doing the Conga in my tummy. I tried to go to sleep but couldnt. I remember exactly the radio programmes I was listening to on the pillow speaker that night! After an hour I got up and whispered to DH that something "might" be happening. He hadnt been well and needed his sleep. Well, after that he couldnt sleep either!

I sat downstairs, on my exercise ball, and watched some TV. The contractions started. I walked around a bit, leaning over the kitchen counter as the contractions came in, and rocking a bit, or sitting on the ball and bouncing through the pain, as I had with DD1. I felt in control.

At 12 I rang my inlaws to say "maybe tonight". Half an hour later I said "please come" - they had a 2 hour journey, so we couldnt leave it to the last minute. They'd been lying in bed staring at the ceiling!!! 

At about 2am DH phoned the midwife to ask for her to visit. Unfortunately Cath was on 2 weeks holiday, but Helen arrived, and we warmed to her straight away. She did an internal exam and said unfortunatley I wasnt dilated at all. That was a bit gutting! She stayed and chatted for a bit, and my contractions pretty much stopped - i was too distracted! The inlaws arrived about 4am, and went straight to bed. Helen went home to bed, advising me to do the same!

Well, the first contraction came and I shot out of bed - this wasnt going to work! So I left DH sleeping and ran a bath. I tried to realx and with each contraction I had to get up on my knees and hang over the edge of the bath. In between I listened to Classic FM and nearly fell asleep. After an hour the pain was increasing and the water was cold, so I got out, and realised things were getting going, so I went downstairs again and got back on my ball! TV on to distract myself.

After hour I decided I finally needed my TENS machine on so woke DH and we popped it on. By now I was in some pain thru the contractions and was cranking up the TENS machine and getting grumpy with tired DH who was gazing at the telly oblivious to his wife bouncing like Tigger in front of him!!! "IM BOUNCING, RUB MY BACK!!!"

At 7 I decided I needed Gas & Air, and so DH rang the midwife, who had been asleep. She was rather surprised to be called back so soon. About 715 DD1 woke up and padded downstairs, and I tried to put a brave face on the contractions (Im not quiet in labour LOL!). Helen returned and got me off my exercise ball, which was over DD1s waterproof car mat (we hadnt had time to dig out the old shower curtain!), and did an internal exam on the sofa. 8cm, she exclaimed, and was about to swing into action when the next contraction hit and I leapt off the sofa and onto my ball. Whoosh! The waters went, I yelled, DD1 looked worried (to say the least), and DH took her upstairs to cuddle up to Grandma in bed. Wise Grandma saw DD1 looking worried when I yelled in pain and reminded her that they were to listen for when the baby cried  instead of mummy. So from then on, whenever I yelled, it was a "tut, its just mummy again!"

Meanwhile, Helen had put in a call for her back-up midwife (you get 2 midwives to yourself when you labour at home, instead of 1 shared between loads of labouring women at hospital - much more conducive to good care IMO!). I started on my entonox, taking 6 breaths in when I felt the contractions coming, as my research had showed up (not told about this last time). It helped! And I stayed in control!

Somewhere around here I got the urge to push, but went on strike (Too much control LOL)!!! They got me off the ball to check, then gave me the go ahead, but every urge I fought - I felt too tired! They said they'd never seen anyone put up such a fight against Stage 2 LOL! In the end they said they could see the baby's head so I thought I'd better get her out!

She was born at 7.47am, at 7lbs 5oz, with labour officially timed as 2 hours. Tears were too minor to stich (hurray)! She let out a loud yell, so loud the midwives were surprised! DH got to cut the chord this time! And I had another natural 3rd Stage, which was only about 10 minutes this time.

We had already agreed she would be called Sophie - so Sophie was born on the sofa! I promise I would not have called her Bed if I'd had her upstairs as planned ! Upstairs they'd heard Soph cry, and a minute later Daddy appeared and asked DD1 if she wanted to meet her new sister (blew that surprise then!). So the sisters met in the first 5 minutes. Em helped the midwife give Soph her first bath, in the sink.

After a feed, and the grandparents crept downstairs to meet their new grand daughter, the midwives ran me a bath and loaded the washing machine and tidied up so you wouldnt have known anything happened (the car mat survived without a stain!). After the bath, they returned Sophie to me and helped us to bed. I tried to sleep but I really wanted to be downstairs with my family, with those I love, so after half an hour I surprised them by appearing downstairs, and sat on the sofa again! I hadnt slept for 36 hours, but the addrenalin was working!

I got the Home Birth I really wanted, and it went pretty much to plan. Definitely something I'd recommend!

She is less than 1 hour old here - her extremities were still grey!

 Us all on the sofa, midwife almost out of shot, bottom right!

13 hours old and trying out those lungs!

hi all,

well im due in feb so ill have a story to share then lol,

im planning on having an epidural as my last birth was a drug free one and i regret it! i had nightmares afterwards and shock related PND.

if anyone has had an epidural and had any advice for me I would be very greatful

xxx

angie

Hello everyone,

How are you and your family's?

If you have any friends to invite please do, l would love to hear more storys as well....its been abit dead here.

l have good news to tell, lm 8 weeks pregnant and due 31st of March 2008, so there will be a new birth story soon.

Thanks all and take care

Heather

would love to hear how people are doing and see this group be revived.

hi,

i've had a c section and a natural delivery and i've got an article posted about my birth experiences, please feel free to take a look, and drop me a line!

i have 2 gorgeous girls caitlin aged 3 and emily aged 8 months, they make me teary just thinking about how much i love them and how i felt when i first held them in my arms!

i said i'd not have any more, but.............

we'll see!

lol to all lisa xxxx.

My third child also wanted me to wait for his arrival but again once labour started it wasn't too long a wait.
Early on November 2 2005 we went to the hospital as I was having contractions every 5 minutes.It was about 3am when we got there. I did a lot of sitting and taking it easy. I didn't want to have to endure the pain of the last birth. I had decided I was going to breathe this baby out rather than push. I was very weary of tearing.
I walked around during contractions and sat down to get energy back. If a midwife came in I would just close my eyes as not to get distracted (and avoid monitoring or internals). I felt myself getting closer to birthing and I was happy about that. I felt in control.
I wasn't impressed with the perception that I was high risk.(I was booked into the birth centre but due to low iron levels they had to send me to the main labour ward :( ) But at least I was left alone for the most part. They monitored me and I groaned about it and they were nice enough to not leave me too long attached to a machine or the bed.
I just knew when I needed to push. I was on the bed and then the midwives were excited and looked scared (I was 'high risk'). I tried to ignore them.
I took my time and the midwives and hubby helped encourage me as baby's head was crowning.  As I heard the early morning rush I had my baby in my arms just after 7am. He was beautiful. I felt so much better this time but thought it strange they fitted me with a catheter and drip. I had a second degree tear which took 45minutes to repair.
The recovery was so much better this time which helped a great deal considering I had an older toddler to care for and girl to take to and from school as well as a newborn.

I was due to have my second child a year after I had suffered a miscarriage. (10th April)
My baby made me wait 2 weeks to meet him. We had moved house when I was 8 months pregnant. I was exhausted. He was very heavy and I could feel it all over making it very hard to move or sleep.
Mark and I stayed up arguing about (yes at the last minute) where would Talia be staying when we went to hospital. It was agreed my Mum would. I was tired at midnight and went to bed. I had a few sleepless nights with teeth problems and finally my teeth were okay. I just didn't feel comfortable. I told Mark to get ready. We took Talia to Mum's and headed to the hospital.
They hooked me up to monitors straight away and I did not like it one bit. It made the contractions even more intense. The midwives performed internals - ouch (didn't have any with my first). It was as if they enjoyed seeing me in pain .I tried having a shower to relieve the pain but the water went cold quickly and it just didn't seemed to have the right affect. I felt incredibly uncomfortable and kept thinking to myself "Why am I doing this again?"
I was scared to push and I avoided it. I eventually gave in and was so anxious to get the baby out. I was so tired and wanted to sleep.  28 agressive minutes of pushing with some gas sucking, I had my big boy. Born at 4am weighing a healthy 4004grams. He had his little arm on his big forehead which caused a borderline third degree tear. Mark said "Is the stitching going to take long like last time?" They were shocked it took and hour and a half with my first. They assured me it shouldn't take longer than half an hour. I felt relieved. But then they discovered how I tore and I endured an hour or so of stitching.
Feeding was extruciating as I felt my uterus going back to normal. For weeks after I had to take extreme care. I felt nauseated every day.
Despite the pain and discomfort, I did have a beautiful family, and we became very close. We all seemed to fall in love after Nass' birth. It was beautiful.

My first child was due 21st February 2000.
She came  a few days later. It felt like weeks!
On the day she was born, hubby was at work. I went to the shops as I had done each day for the previous few weeks. This was to get my icecream fix. (!)
That day I had a strong urge to get a second icecream. When I came home hubby came home.
At this stage I wasn't feeling too comfortable but hubby wanted cordial so back to the shops we went at about 4pm.
On our return I discovered I had a show. We had a cuddle. We had no idea what to do next. So what did we do? Yep, ask our Mums! We went to my mil's as she lived up the road. She wasn't home so we used her phone to call my Mum who said it sounds like you need to get to the hospital. I was unable to talk long as the contractions were coming every five minutes.
We drove to  the hospital at about 6pm. I was asked to show my pad - I assumed so they could tell I wasn't lying (?) They then hooked me up in another room to monitor contractions - again so they could I wasn't lying. (?) Eventually I went up to the birthing suite were I was free to labour. I had a lovely long shower where hubby would put the water on my back or front depending on where I was in the contractions.
The midwive came to check on me at 10pm. She wanted to do an internal - probably to check that I wasn't lying that i was in actual labour. She told me I had to hop out. I reluctantly did so when the waters broke. I was rushed back to the bed where I pushed for 15 minutes laying on the bed. Our little girl Talia Kani was born at 10:12pm weighing 8"4' (3750grams) and very healthy. I had a second degree tear which took an hour an a half to repair. I screamed my way through the pushing and it helped a great deal with the pain but it didn't help when I continued as I was stitched up. The doctor said I had to be quiet so I sucked on the gas.
Talia fed on me within the hour and pretty much stayed there til I weaned her at one year of age.

Talia is now 7 years of age and attends grade two at primary school. She is a talented and budding artist and adores her 2 younger brothers. Bossy yet caring, my pretty princess is a wonderful little lady. :D

I too have been reading the many experiences and fell that there are so many positive aspects from the stories, even if they are traumatic - people have tried to focus on the love for their child or praised the support of staff in hospitals...

I am seeking to deal with the emotional trauma the birth experience of my son. I was 2 weeks overdue and went in to hospital to be induced. There was a mix up and I was told no space on the ward until tomorrow and I would have to return with my things then.

About 10 minutes later a nurse came to tell me that there was space after all and it was all to start at 11am (this was Thurs). I was attached to monitors and had another sweep and then gel. The next 24 hours were very difficult I was very sick and given lots of injections for one thing and another plus midwives kept checking how dilated I was. I must have had about 6 baths, contractions were irregular, very painful and lasting a long time. My husband was sent home but I went downhill and so was telephoned to return (an hours journey).

 They eventually found space on the labour ward and I was moved and allowed gas and air. Of course the baby'e movement had slowed down as I hadn't eaten in over 24 hours and I couldn't even keep water down, plus I was now shaking terribly. More checking dilation - 4cm - couldn't beleive that much pain for only 4cm - nothing was getting out!

My waters were broken and I was given more pain relief. More contractions for a number of hours, but nothing was moving so I was given saline and the hormone drip to speed things up. frequent painful contractions but I wasn't budging from 4cm! I then asked for an epidural but they didn't have enough staff, more time went by and then the baby didn't move much and my blood pressure started to increase. An aneasthatist (sp?) was found to administer the epidural. This eased the pain a little, but the drip had to be stopped for the process and then started up again. It felt so long and I remember at one point I really thought I can't do this anymore I have nothing left.

The consultant was called in and was worried about the baby - so it was to be an emergency c-section. I have never seen so much movement - it was like a whirlwind. I was given a top-up and so couldn't feel my legs or anything from chest down, shaved, laid out on table and hoisted by 6 people to another - I felt like a whale! my son was pulled out - a whopping 9lb7 (we are the size of pocket people so I don't know where 9lb came from!) I got to have his head next to mine, my husband held him before he was weighed etc.

We were then moved to another room, I had help to try to feed and then we were taken to the ward and my husband had to leave as he was not permitted into the ward untill visiting. This was nearly 2 days later - on no sleep and he had to drive home.

While I am still amazed I have a son - who is so fab. I feel a real sense of loss of not being able to hold him in my arms, close, when he was born and unable to lift him from his bed when he cried. I had to ring the midwife to come and give him to me. I also wanted to spend some time the three of us and I feel that was snatched away too.

I found the whole birth quite traumatic and felt invaded, with bed baths, shaving, a number of people always checking how dilated I was, being manhandled to help breastfeed - there was nothing...how can I describe it.....gentle. I understand births don't tend to be that, but in all the effort, the end part is the most prescious. Some days I feel like I have let my son down - by not giving birth 'properly' and like I have to make up for not being able to hold him or go to him, So I do it now instead. I am trying to not run every time he cries and realise that he won't know I couldn't hold him. I am here now and that counts.

Sorry it was all so long winded. Thanks for letting me share this. I haven't really beable to talk about it till now so I feel priviledged to have shared it with other people and their experiences.

Hi all. I've been reading some of your stories and they have touched my heart dearly. Birth to me is a very beautiful and sacred event in a couples life and when I talk about my 2 vaginal births, I talk about them as the best things that have happened to me. Totally life changing. My c/sect. however is the complete opposite. There was nothing natural about being induced and ending up in theatre with an emergency. I hope other women can find some positives in their birthing experiences - like I too have found. Yes, it's hard work, but it's only a moment in our life which already is too short.