Labour and Delivery Story

Hey everyone,

Sorry it's been a while, things have been very hectic recently however I am here to announce that 6 weeks ago Hannah arrived into the world weighing 6lbs 7oz on the 17th of June at exactly 4pm, here is the story of how she got here! (please beware that this post is likely to be very graphic!)

Thursday 15th June - Sweep Number 2 
Today was the day for another attempt at a sweep, I had already had a failed attempt at exactly 40 weeks and was now nearly 41 weeks (I was also booked in for the 21st for an induction just in case things didn't get moving). For anyone who doesn't know what a sweep entails I will explain as best as I can however my medical knowledge is very limited so I can only really describe from my experience, basically the midwife "sweeps" the membranes on the babies head to try and get things to move, this involves her inserting her finger into the opening of the cervix and firmly moving her finger around to encourage the membranes separate from the amniotic sac. I'm not going to lie, it's not the most pleasant thing in the world, for me this attempt was definitely not painful like the first attempt at 40 weeks was, maybe it was just too soon and my body was nowhere near ready. Anyway this time she did the sweep and it's (for me) very uncomfortable, I wouldn't say painful but definitely unpleasant. After doing the sweep she mentioned to me that my show was starting to come away and that I was to keep an eye on it but if I noticed any fresh blood to call Maternity Assessment. I spent the afternoon bouncing on the yoga ball as much as possible to move things on but when it got to 9pm I was sitting in bed ready to settle down for the night when I felt bleeding starting. I knew that something wasn't right and so went to the toilet to see fresh red blood which really scared me, I called Maternity Assessment and they asked me to come in to check where the bleeding was coming from and to see what the next plan of action was going to be. We went in and I was examined by the doctor however they weren't sure where the bleeding was coming from but they wanted to monitor me and told me that they were just going to start the induction process.

Friday 16th June - Why Are We Waiting? :( 
I am now going to struggle to give you specific times because this process was very slow going, basically the first pessary was inserted in the early hours of the morning on the 16th, again this wasn't the most pleasant experience but i knew it was necessary and was just concentrating on meeting my little girl. The midwives then leave you for 6 hours for the pessary to work and then come back and check you again before deciding whether to break your waters or try another pessary. The night was a long one, i'm not a massive fan of hospitals at all and I just wanted to go home and so it was difficult, David went home and was coming back at 9am. The next day David came back by which time I had already had another pessary as when they checked I was still only 1cm dilated. I was having cramps like you would get on a period which i would have usually taken Ibuprofen for if it had been any other time and not the start of labour. I timed some of these and they seemed to be consistent every 4-5 minutes however they stopped for longer periods if i wasn't watching for them. I absolutely hated the waiting around and I just wanted things to get moving however as I was being monitored every few hours I couldn't really do much. David went home that night and  I had yet another pessary and was left again for another 6 hours, every time they checked I was 1cm and it just made me more and more drained and upset at the fact that my body wasn't progressing, the worst part was hearing girls coming in and progressing faster than me before heading down to deliver their babies, I couldn't help but feel like it was so unfair and when would it be my turn! The midwives kept asking if I was having contractions and I told them about the cramping which to me was quite sore only to be told that they weren't real contractions because I could still talk through them (in hindsight these were NOT contractions!!!). At 11pm one of the doctors came in to check one last time and then make the decision of whether to insert a 4th pessary, insert a catheter or send me down to have my waters broken. She checked me one last time and with fingers crossed after on and off tears all day it came down to this, how dilated would I be? When she told me that I was 1-2cm I wanted to scream, my body was fighting to keep this little cherub inside for just a little longer and all of the pains that I was having was all for nothing. She made the decision that we would break my waters even though it would be difficult as my cervix was still quite high, I got so excited and couldn't wait to tell David that he should be on standby as I would be phoning him at some point to get him to come back in and it could have been through the night. I had a nice relaxing bath to ease contractions however I don't think it did much at all really and then went back to bed to sleep for a few hours to wait to be called down to have this baby.

Saturday 17th June - Push! Push! Push!
The night was a rough one, it was noisy and I was exhausted! It had been so long and I was still only cramping every so often with no real progress but at least now I had a goal! The end was in sight finally and I managed to get a few hours sleep. That night was crazy in the ward and I could tell that the hospital were full to the brim with women coming in to have their babies and here was me patiently waiting for my turn to be called down to the labour ward. The next morning David came back and we were still waiting, the contractions were still happening but a little more painful now so I started to walk. We walked and walked and walked the hospital grounds if anything just to get out of that room. Lets just say that some people on the ward had partners that should have been thrown out! It got to a stage where I had to either leave the room and walk or this particular partner was going to find himself thrown out of the 6th floor window! By around lunchtime my midwife told me not to stray too far as the labour ward had called to let me know that they hadn't forgotten about me and that I was next in the queue. We walked back and forward through wards for what felt like hours until at 3pm my midwife came to get me to take me down the stairs, I couldn't believe that it was finally time! I went down the stairs, with a few stops for contractions on the way to Labour Room 8. The overwhelming feeling when I walked in was terrifying, all of the equipment and everything was very daunting and I actually sat on a chair for a moment to sort myself out, texted my family and settled down for another long night as the midwife told me to expect another 10-12 hours after having my waters broken before baby would be here. I got myself onto the bed and my midwife (who was absolutely amazing) hooked me up to a monitor for baby and broke my waters. When she checked me I was amazed when she told me that I was now 3cm dilated and very "stretchy", after she broke my waters and put in the drip (which I think was Oxytocin) the contractions got stronger and she gave me Gas and Air, I didn't like it very much because it made me feel super drunk and dizzy but that's also because I was inhaling it like Darth Vadar! My midwife then went for her break and by the time she came back 15 minutes later I was screaming. The pressure was crazy and I kept saying that I needed to poo because that's what it felt like even though it turns out it was a baby and not a poo! Who knew!! By then I was asking for Diamorphine and sucking on Gas and Air like it was going out of fashion! But I never got my diamorphine! I never expected to just know what to do and to trust my body to do what it needed to without me telling it, I was checked again because the urge to push was overwhelming and I was 9cm dilated! I was so relived to be able to relive the pressure and the pain of contractions by pushing down on them. (and i'm not scared to admit that I was the girl who screamed her way through every push! Although at that time I could just hear someone screaming in this deep and unfamiliar voice only to realise later that it was me!) David described it as something demonic which pretty much describes it perfectly! I don't remember much about pushing apart from that it felt so good to push against the contractions that had been hurting me through the day. Before I knew it the midwife was telling David to look and see the baby's head and he says it was the most amazing thing to see me and how strong I was. I don't remember the machines screaming as her heartrate dropped but I just knew that I had to keep pushing while holding Davids hands and squeezing as hard as I could. Then I got to feel the most amazing feeling in the world as Hannah came out, it's incredible and even through the pain it was hands down the most amazing experience of my life and I cannot describe the high that you feel bringing that little life into the world and the relief as the pressure is instantly released. I remember her being lifted up to me and thinking that she was so tiny! By then I was in tears and overwhelmed by the love I had for this tiny person and couldn't get over the fact that I had just pushed her out of my body, I just kept saying how perfect she was and the tears were just flowing even looking at her perfect little body, I remember noticing that she was definitely a girl and laughing to myself because I was worried that we had a lot of pink if the doctors had made a mistake! David and I just kept staring at her and after he cut the cord just taking her all in. I had a second degree tear and was stitched up and to be quite honest it was the most uncomfortable bit in hindsight because it lasted so long. Hannah was then weighed and measured and handed back to me before a girl came in with toast and diluting juice for us which was the bloody best toast I have ever tasted! 

It was honestly the most incredible experience of my life and I would do it all again in a heartbeat because the end result is so worth it! Hannah is the most perfect little girl and even though we have our tough nights she's a pretty good baby! It makes me laugh that the whole thing lasted so long yet active labour lasted around 15 minutes and I think my family were just amazed that it felt like one minute I was texting to say that my waters were being broken to the next minute phoning them to tell them that she was here.

I hope you all enjoyed my story and it wasn't too graphic or terrifying! 

Speak soon,

Leigh xoxo