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My waters started going at 7.30am on Tuesday 25th March, I felt a pop but there wasn’t a big gush but a constant dribble. I called the hospital and they told us to go in. We arrived about 9.30am and I was put on a monitor but baby was asleep until I had a cup of tea. I was getting slight contractions but the monitor wasn’t picking them up, I was examined and wasn’t dilated at all. They weren’t too sure to send me home with my history of premature labour but I was eventually allowed to go home at noon, so we went to the pub for lunch.
At 3pm we put on my TENS machine, again I was still just getting slight niggles. At 6pm we collected Sean from nursery and dropped him off at my friends house and stayed for a chat for an hour or so.
I went to bed about 10pm again still just having slight niggly contractions. I woke up about 11.30-midnight with constant contractions they never eased so it was hard to time them. Called the hospital and was told to go in. I had to get Ian to take Sean’s car seat out of the back so I could get on all fours in the back as I couldn’t sit down. I even had to get him to stop the car half way to hospital (its only a max 10 minute drive), I had another contraction at the entrance to labour ward so had to wait for that to go before attempted to get out of the car.
I never had contraction pain like this with Sean, the pains were so intense this time. The mw examined me and I was already 5cm dilated. I did want to use the pool but don’t think there was enough time. I tried using gas and air but it made me gag straight away so I asked for pethidine. I suppose this must have helped a bit but the contractions were still very painful. I felt the urge to push not long after that but I didn’t want the mw to examine me so I waited for another half an hour before I told her and at 3.20am I was 10cm and so began pushing.
Eventually Rowan William was born at 4.24am weighing in at 8lbs 15oz, he was very hard to push out but eventually did it with a second degree tear that needed a few stitches. But because second stage took so long he came out with a funny shape head, swelling under the scalp and face was blue but rest of body was fine.
Because second stage was long we think my womb got tired and retained my placenta, I had that injection to expel it and also a doctor tried injecting it into the cord, I also gave Rowan a breastfeed but nothing worked so I was told I would need surgery to remove it. The doctor tried getting a line into me and take some blood, quite a few attempts later managed it but my arm became really bruised from the attempts (still bruised a week later). I was told I would be given a spinal for the surgery. The top anaesthetist tried giving me at least two spinals and an epidural for 45 minutes but without success. I was told I had a curvature of the spine and he couldn’t get it in so I was given a general anaesthetic.
I got back onto the maternity ward about 10am still very druged up. I had lost a lot of blood and couldn’t walk. Rowan wouldn’t feed from me all afternoon and then he started coughing up mucas and then brown mucas, he must have swolled mucas and blood at delivery so he was taken to Special Care to have his stomach pumped. I didn’t think I would need the services of Special Care this time when I got to 39 weeks.
Later on that day I was told I would need a blood transfusion but we decided to wait until the next morning to start it so I could get some sleep. I was to be given 2 units of blood, the first one was ok then I developed a reaction to the second unit and it was stopped, I came out in a rash everywhere and it was very itchy.
On the Friday Rowan came out of Special Care, he had been given a few bottle feeds even though I requested not to give him any, I was trying to breastfeed him as much as possible whilst in Special Care. Then Friday evening he just took to it really well. Rowan had a head scan to check the swelling wasn’t bleeding in the brain but that was all clear.
We were discharged from hospital on Saturday, Rowan still has a misshapen head and it might take a few weeks to go down and I am on iron tablets. We have had sleepless nights since but it was all worth it in the end.