Labour and Delivery Story

Photo credit: Amy Coulbeck Photography

I gave birth to our son Isaac on the 15th March 2015, which was Mothers Day! I couldn't believe that he made me a mother on Mothers Day, it really was so special. So for the previous two weeks I had been in 'slow labour' where I was dilating and contracting but nothing really came of it. It was so stressful because I would be getting pretty consistent contractions that would just all of a sudden stop. Mark and I would be so hopeful every single time hoping that this was it, only for it to turn out to be nothing. So when the time came when I really was in labour we didn't want to believe it until we were certain! Also, Isaac was lying back to back for two weeks prior I was getting horrific back pain all the time, and it was so tiring because it meant that I didn't get very good sleep either. 

So on the morning of the day I went into labour, (I was 39 weeks and 5 days pregnant) I had what they call a 'bloody show' which usually means you go into labour within 24 hours so we were so excited and decided to do all we could to try and bring on labour and went for a long walk up some pretty steep hills! Turns out it worked as at 4pm I got my first contraction. I remember I was sitting watching Judge Judy and it really just felt like a mild period cramp and lasted for about a minute, so I decided to go for a lie down where the pains got increasingly worse. Mark kept asking if this was really it, and I was saying 'Well if it's not then I don't want to go through the real thing!' because these pains were bad! By 8pm I was in agony! I had been on the birthing ball, used my tens machine and nothing was helping so we rang the labour ward and they told me to have a warm bath and some paracetamol. So I did but as soon as I got in the bath I had to get out again because somehow it was making the pains worse. At 12am we decided to go into the hospital because the pains were getting too much to cope with. They checked me at the hospital and said I was 2-3cm dilated and so not in active labour yet and they couldn't admit me, so they sent me home with some codeine. The codeine was good as it took the edge off and I was able to get a little bit of sleep but by 3am again the pains were horrific so we went back into the hospital at 4am where I was checked again and I was 3-4cm. Normally they don't admit you until you are 4cm or more but because I was Group B Strep positive and I needed antibiotics during labour they decided to keep me in. 

By this point the contractions were coming on so strong I couldn't even get off the bed, I tried the gas and air and really didn't like it so I asked for something stronger and was given diamorphine. After I had the diamorphine I tried the gas and air again and the combination of the two was amazing! It totally took the edge off and I was so high that the pains didn't seem that intense and once one pain was over I forgot all about it and was quite happy! My mam took a few videos of me while I was high on the diamorphine and looking back on them now they are hilarious! 

So we progressed like this for a few hours and the midwives were monitoring his heartbeat the whole time and when it came time to push they noticed that his heartrate was dipping after every contraction and he struggled to get it up again so they decided they had to act fast to get him out. I was so out of it that I didn't realise anything was wrong at first but when they started talking about needing to give me an episiotomy to get him out I knew then that it was serious and boy did I push! It was so hard but I knew that if I didn't get him out quick it would be a C-section and I really did not want one of them. I did end up needing an episiotomy but I managed to push him out myself which I was so thankful for! I started pushing at 11am and he was born by 11:43 so it was pretty quick for a first baby. 

I was in labour for a total of 19 hours so I was pretty wrecked by the end of it, but when they put our baby onto my chest it was honestly the best moment of my life. I was in love the second I saw him and he really is the most handsome little man with the best personality. Even now when he's only a few weeks old you can just see his little personality and its awesome. I can't wait for all the memories we will make with him and to get to know him more! 

We had two lovely midwives and I'm so thankful to them for getting my little man here safely. We had a student midwife who really did help me get through the last part of my labour when I really was starting to feel out of control as the pain was so bad. Never again will I be giving birth without an epidural! I don't know why I didn't get one because the whole way through my pregnancy I was saying that I would get one straight away, but when it came down to it I just didn't ask for one. Next time I definitely will though! I ended up with having an episiotomy and a 2nd degree tear with a few grazes so it has taken me quite a few weeks to get back on my feet and feel back to normal again but we are really getting into a routine now and apart from the sleepless nights its so much fun! I breastfed him for 3 weeks until we decided to switch him to formula for various different reasons but we find that he is much happier on the bottles, and at least I managed to get 3 weeks of goodness into him which is better than nothing. 

So that's pretty much my labour and delivery story, there are probably bits that I have missed out because I was so high and it all seems like a blur now! I'm just so thankful that he is here and he's safe and we get to love him and cuddle him whenever we want! Feel free to ask any questions in the comments about my experience :)