My mucus plug came out 3 weeks before I went into labour. I experienced Braxton Hix Contractions almost as soon as I hit my third Trimester and they were not the short pangs I was told they would be.  They went on and on without a break for hours, but I only was really in big pain with them a few times and one of those times was deffinately (I realise for sure now) a false labour.

I had asked and asked how will I know when it's the real deal, and all I was told was "Oh, you will know", well  when I woke up at 6am on Christmas morning with strong pain (it woke me up), I thought it was another false labour as it was exactly the same, the only difference was that after several minutes of panting(......I didn't do lamaze classes, it's just instinct), I had the urge to get up and "hobble" around with my knees pressed FIRMLY TOGETHER.  This is what really confused me, my instinct was to keep my legs closed, when I had been told all this gaff about "opening up like a flower", piff-tosh to that *&%^$%$ flower my @$^%.

After walking around the kitchen leaning one handed against walls holding my abdoman, sipping water, I made my way to the loo only to discover that my knickers were already rather wet.  I had NO sensation of weeing or water breaking, I smelt them and to my current days amusement, I made my hubby smell them, as we were told that "waters" smell like seman, and it does.  There wasn't that much of it  though knickers were wet but not dripping and apparently the baby can keep blocking and unblocking as it moves into position the waters flow.  Anyway, I THEN knew it was the real deal.  I put in a double issue of maternity pads in my clean undies and put on a dress & some OLD light weight tracky pants.

I had packed the bag etc I had my hubby get the heat packs out and zap them for me as a lot of pressure moved into my lower back.  The pains then  were more like really really bad period pains and they were 10minutes apart.  The heat packs were great, I suggest you get them as my hospital only had those gel ones and they don't hold the heat for as long.

Not long after that I had to go to the loo again and I had a bright red blood show, so I got my hubby to ring the hospital as they said that we should call when you have a show.  They said to come in for a look.  We nearly went without taking the bag, but through it in at the last minute just in case.  We got to the hospital at 7.30am

When we got there they said that I was moving along quickly and that I wouldn't be going back home so hubby got the bag out of the car whilst Mum and I were taken into the delivery room.  We tried it on the bed but it wasn't working for me, I still wanted to stand, so I stripped off and hopped under the shower (ensuit), I was inder the shower for hours, every now and then the midwife would check with a mirror that I had packed to see how I was dilating, the pain was almost entirely in my back at that stage and the hot shower on my back was the best thing.

I tried the birthing seat and hated it, so eventually I was perched on the bed (dog fashion) with all the push push instructions, nothing much was happening except the contractions were very definable and very painful and I had been using the gas whilst in the shower, but with exhaustion when I got to the bed it was making me pass out inbetween contractions (4-2 mins apart) so they took the gas off me and left me with just the mouth piece to bite down on.  We used my wheat bags on the bed and I really needed them (I had 2, so one was always hot)

It turns out that what I thought were great child bearing hips were just fat after all and I was too narrow for my on the small side baby.  The Doctor came in at the 8th hour and after several painful attempts at pushing and the use of a catheta (very painful) to try and make more room, he decided they would have to cut from my "opening" to my "bum opening"  to get her out.  Lots of local anesthetic injections on incredibly taught skin was also quite painful.  But after he cut me it was 3 pushes and she was out at 3.05pm, 9 hours from go to woe, however I then had to deliver the placenta which was as big as the baby and took 5 or 6 pushes to expell, then I had to be sewed up and my uterous began simultaniously  contracting back into place, which was as painful as the contrations to give birth only it didn't stop for a break, just continuous.

They tried to shopw me my baby but I was in so much pain and still being sewed up that I had to ask them to take her away, and that was emotionally painful. 

It didn't take me long to recover though.  Once the sewing up was complete and I had been given ponstan and panadine for the contracting uterous I walked back to the shower and with help got dressed.  I was complemented on my button all the way up the front nighty I had brought with me and my big granny undies in which 2 maternity pads could easily fit. 

I was able to walk to my room unassisted and finally held my baby and gave her her first feed.  I then had  a meal as I was STARVING and had 2 hours solid sleep.  When I woke I asked if my baby could stay with me all night and we finally bonded.  That was the only night I stayed in hospital, I went home the next day to have Christmas, after all, I'd already thawed out my prawns.

The motto of this story is be as organised and prepared as you can possibly be as the first time birth isn't neccessarily going to be a slow one.

I have decided that when I have number 2, I will have a C-section as I was in pain sitting, standing and laying down for over 3 weeks with the stitches, at least with the c-section you can do those things, I don't care if I can't hang washing or drive a car.  I had to sit on a donut for a month.

Also another good tip, I had purchased one of those flannel backed plastic rectangle table cloths and put it on my mattress at home and under my sheet, just incase my waters broke in bed, that didn't happen, but I was still bleeding a lot when I came home and it made me sleep easier, knowing I wasn't going to ruin our mattress.

I didn't need to have all the maternity pads the book said to pack at the hospital as they supplied them, find out as they tend to take up a lot of room in your bag.  I did use my nighty robe and slippers, baby clothes and disposable nappies, I packed a little babies cap and I'm glad I did as our public hospital didn't suppply them (apparently some private ones do) and babies can't regulate their own temperatures when new born and lose a lot of heat from their heads.  Take lots of spare big granny undies, and all your fave toiletries for showering as I felt like I wanted to shower a lot.  It's a messy but worthwhile in the end business this.

I would also pack some munchies next time as I was ravenous afterwards and Hubby and Mum went pretty hungry for most of the day too.