I was booked in for induction on Friday 5th July at 4pm so we were all organised & geared up, was assigned private room in antenatal ward with lovely big window which was open (perfect as it was the start of a heatwave!) and a phone signal. We sat in the room for around an hour then my dinner came at 5pm just as midwife came in to let me know that labour ward was too busy so they would have to send me home! I was absolutely gutted, I was 13 days overdue and I was starting to get anxious.
We had to return to the hospital on the Saturday 6th July at 1pm thankfully antenatal ward was very quiet so we were seen pretty quickly, she examined me and declared me 2-3cm dilated and ready to go and have my waters broken so no need for pessary or gel etc! I sent DH home for food and a rest as it was looking to be a long night whereas we originally thought it would drag on with the pessary and gel. Mum came in place of DH and typically DH had only been gone briefly when they said they were ready to take me to labour ward! Cue mad phone call to DH telling him to get back here asap the poor guy.
It was around 5pm labour ward let me have my dinner first then put me on the monitor. She said I was definitely contracting but I couldn't feel them which was great! MW was very happy with baby's monitoring. She then examined me thoroughly it was very uncomfortable she said I was 3cm. Then I had my waters broken it wasn't sore but did take a bit of time as she didn't think she was going to be able to get it but she did. Naively I thought once they were broken that was it however for the whole time I was in labour I was aware of waters escaping all the time and I kept having to have pads changed it wasn't very nice at all.
There was a lot of meconium in my waters so I was told although not a great worry we would have to stay in for 24 hours for him to be checked regularly.
Approx 9pm they started the drip to bring on the contractions and eventually I did start to feel them! I breathed through them and felt I was doing great I was so proud of myself no pain relief at all. I was to be examined at 1am. The midwife was amazing, they all were lovely. So my 1am examination came and I was still only 3cm I think the midwife was shocked too! I was a bit upset as I had gone through all that pain thinking I was doing great to find there had been no change.
It was absolutely roasting hot and the window didn't open and there were no fans available.
I kept going breathing through the contractions, I had to wait for another 4 hours to be examined again. They continued to increase the drip and the contractions got worse, I started to really struggle. I had one big massive contraction lasting around 5 minutes it just wouldn't go away I think even the midwife was worried, then they turned the drip back down!
Eventually around 2am I decided I would try gas & air, well I hadn't even taken a full breath of it and I threw up all over the floor it just didn't agree with me so I gave up on that. I had already decided I didn't want diamorphine as I had a bad experience of it before and really didn't like the way it made me feel, then we discussed an epidural which again I didn't want but I was starting to get desperate as I was in so much pain. After discussions with MW we agreed to try 1/2 dose of diamorphine while we waited for the anaesthetist to come to chat about epidural. I was so glad of the diamorphine it really made a difference, it didn't last for long though.
I agreed to the epidural as I just couldn't handle anymore pain I was really struggling. The epidural was great and I even managed to doze off here and there then all of a sudden after an hour the epidural stopped working and I was in sheer agony again with no pain relief. The anaesthetist came and topped up the epidural 3 times but it still didn't work.
At 5am I had my next examination and I was still only 3cm. They advised me that he was lying side ways similar to back to back birth, and his chin wasn't again his chest so the wrong part of his head was pushing therefore not progressing. I was devastated I said to DH then it was going to end in section I just knew it.
My body was shaking uncontrollably it was quite worrying, the midwife said it was adrenalin but I swear it was my body in shock!
I was in so much pain, I was finding it really difficult to try to breathe through it any longer then around 7am the midwife brought up the section. At 8am I saw the doctor who did the section, around 8.30am they took me to theatre, I could barely move I was in agony. Initially they wanted to top up the epidural which scared me as I knew it hadn't been working so I explained that and the doctor was great she said she would recommend spinal block anyway as it takes the same amount of time so I opted for that. Oh the relief when it started to work was just brilliant.
At 9.40am Angus Ernest McGhee was born 15 days late, he was very quiet but nurses assured me he was all ok and DH cut the cord. Midwife was convinced he was over 9lbs but he weighed in at 8lb 2 1/2 oz she checked it 3 times, he was long though. I got to have a cuddle while they stitched me back up. The surgery went well apparently and they were pleased.
When we got back up to labour ward I fed him which went well. I was sooooo hungry I sent DH to shop for chocolate, crisps & a sandwich but the midwife told me not to eat for a few hours as I would be sick. So I waited. In the meantime I was very sick and I felt terrible, not to mention that I couldn't feel my lower half!
Mum came over straight away and her and DH had a lot of cuddles with Angus which was good as I felt so awful I could barely hold him. I sent DH home to freshen up. Eventually they gave me a stemetil anti sickness injection and around 2pm they let me got to the post natal ward. I was dehydrated so they put me on fluids luckily I had a cathether in. From there I began this big scary exciting journey!
Meet Angus:-
