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I had a show in the morning on Thursday, so after phoning the midwife and being told it could still be a week away I was a bit disappointed! Then in the afternoon I had another show and then another a little while later! (No-one thought to tell me it might not all come out at once!) I had a false alarm in the afternoon where I thought my waters had started leaking but nothing! So at 11pm I resigned myself to the fact that nothing was going to happen for ages and headed off to bed! At midnight I woke up feeling a bit strange. My tummy felt a little strange so thinking I was probably hungry I sat and stuffed my face with half a packet of raisins, scones and toast! Then I realised that I was actually starting to get contractions and wished I'd never looked in the kitchen cupboards!!
When Toby got in from work at about 12.50ish the contractions were already getting stronger and closer together. We sat and drank tea while I wrapped some ebay parcels (I had my priorities sorted!) then thought we'd better get some sleep! No chance! As soon as I lay down in bed the contractions suddenly seemed to get a whole lot stronger, we timed them and they were 8 minutes apart but really short and really strong. I took some paracetamol (don't ask why!) and tried to get some sleep but the pain was really bad. We called the midwife who listened to me go through a nasty contraction and told me to come in to be checked. That left us with a bit of a dilemma - who do we call out to look after Darcie? Choice of 3 - my mum, Toby's mum or our good friend Tammie! We decided on my mum as she works nights, sleeps in the day and had the night off! She arrived in 15 minutes and after telling her we'd be straight back off we went to the birthing centre!
Once there I had the normal checks, blood pressure, baby heartbeat etc.. All fine. 2 centimetres dilated. Excellent. Baby feels like he's going to be 9lbs and with our family history of shoulder dystocia midwife would prefer me to deliver at the main hospital! And so my perfectly thought out birth slowly starts to unravel. We had to go straight there and Toby's first words were that I'd made him leave the camcorder at home because nothing was going to happen yet and he knew we should have bought it out - at least we have the cameras! Notes in hand we went back to the car and arrived at the hospital in record time even allowing for Toby to take a wrong turning! With me howling in agony the whole way because every bump hurt and the contractions were closer than ever together (I'd given up on timing them...too much pain) and still very short and strong.
By the time I was in the delivery room I'd had so many people telling me to breathe that my teeth hurt as much as my tummy as I'd been shouting "I am breathing" with my teeth tightly gritted! Then my midnight feast started to play up and I had everyone diving for the sick bowls only for me to declare "oh, it's ok, I don't feel sick now!" My new midwife was barely much older than I was! She examined me and declared that I was now 4 centimetres dilated then looked at my notes and said "they sent you over because of that? can't understand why" Then after telling me that I was there for the duration she asked if I'd like some gas and air! YES PLEASE!!!!!!!!! The only trouble was that the contractions were so short and the gap between them so small that I just couldn't get the timing right so the entonox was pretty useless in the end. I was permanently glugging on it and ended up feeling quite drunk - and sick!
By about 5.30 / 6ish I was in so much pain that I really couldn't cope anymore, we called the midwife back in and asked for an epidural. A mean old bag of a midwife told me I didn't need one if I would just use the entonox properly! Then - would I like a bath instead? No, because they don't help! So the next thing I know I'm off for a bath. Gas and air beside me the contractions did start to get bigger gaps between them and I managed to drift off between them. They were still really powerful and painful though so each time one hit me a torrent of swear words and general abuse came inexplicably from my lips! Straight in the firing line was Toby who got shouted at for eating hard boiled sweets noisily right next to my ear! Then it was the whole NHS system who were making me have a bath when I wanted an epidural! No-one could escape! After being in there for nearly an hour I had an incredibly strong contraction and the urge to push! My four letter outburst and top of the lungs screams bought 2 midwives rushing to the bathroom, then I was helped out of the bath, towelled off (by the midwife, there truly is no space for dignity in childbirth!) and walked back to my room where the young midwife hastily handed me over to the next shift and made a speedy bid for freedom!
My third midwife of the day was Sally and she was lovely! She'd been with me for a short while when I was having Darcie so a familiar face was welcome! I was asked if I'd mind a student being present but I was so tired and in so much pain that I wouldn't of cared if they had sold tickets to Japenese tourists! I just wanted Peanut out! Unfortunately that meant a bit of hard work on my part as Sally was all too quick to point out!! So with a very friendly male student trying not to look between my legs too often I'm examined again, the pain gets worse again and I'm climbing the walls (well the bed at least) in agony begging for an epidural - 7 centimetres, second baby, too late!
As my waters hadn't broken they kept making me shift position to try and encourage it. I sat on the birthing ball for ages - nothing. Then my legs started to really hurt and I started to panic a bit screaming at them to make my legs stop hurting. So back on the bed being examined again would I like her to break my waters for me? YES! Then the urge to push came back and I was told to go with it, she could see the waters bulging out each time I pushed so she broke them with her finger (EWWWW) instead of the crotchet hook thingie. While she was doing that she felt around a bit and told me that I shouldn't be pushing as I still had some cervix left. So back to glugging on the gas and air, trying to keep it together but failing miserably. After one long push I heard the student ask something about mecconnium. Sally told him that I had opened my bowels and I had a good cry because I'd pooed and I didn't want to poo! Sally decided to ask someone about some pethidine. (My mum had such a bad reaction to it that she was in intensive care for ages so I've always been advised to avoid it.) I was allowed the pethidine but she wanted to hold off giving it to me because I was so near giving birth. At this point I was in so much pain that I couldn't stay in one position and was all over the bed screaming and shouting at anyone and everything. I wouldn't let anyone examine me because it hurt too much so when I wanted to push they had no real choice but to let me!
After cursing them for ages for refusing to let me have my epidural and forcing me to have a bath instead Sally went off to ask the anethetist if I could have one. She explained that with second babies they normally arrive a lot quicker so they don't normally give them to second time mums past a certain stage but because I was in so much pain and had been pushing with no luck for a good while then she thought it would be ok. Luckily the anethetist agreed and while I was screaming for someone to please help me and telling them that they could cut me open to get the baby out, he was on his way in with my epidural!! So they put me into a gaping hospital gown, inserted a canular and in came God and his student to administer the heavenly pain relief! Unfortunately while student number 2 was organising the required things and the aenethetist was going through all the pros and cons and possible risks etcetera I got a really overwhelming urge to push and an almighty burning sensation down below. Sally told student number 2 to keep an eye on what was happening when I pushed, so she looked up my gown, looked a little shocked, called Sally and the room got a bit chaotic! As Sally told me that the baby was crowning the aenethetist took a look and cheerfully said "I take it this means that you won't be needing me anymore?" and left!
2 pushes later at 09.49am on Friday February 20th, Declan Maxwell Belcher arrived in the world weighing a nice healthy 8lbs and 12ozs! Mummy's first words? "Has he still got his willy?" Daddy declined the invite to cut the cord but had a lump in his throat and a tear in his eye as our little boy was handed to me for a cuddle! Then he was all Daddy's for a while whilst I was stitched up...2 stitches. Yay! I gave birth in a semi reclined position kind of on my side but not quite and managed to dislocate my coccyx which hurt like hell but he was worth it in the end! I had a good look at the placenta when it had been delivered and it really wasn't as gruesome as I was expecting it to be!
Never should have listened to everyone who harped on about raspberry leaf tea as that's what made the contractions so short, strong and close together! When I was getting ready to go back to the birthing centre we found my shoes still under the bed, one was completely filled with thick blood which was absolutely disgusting! The nurse took it away and washed it but I somehow don't think I'm ever going to wear them again!