My Birth Story.

Hi Everyone,
 I'm finally ready at 2 weeks postpartum to share my recent birth experience. Extremely different to my first daughter which ended in a theatre visit, this birth went much smoother. Grab yourself a cup of tea and a choccy biscuit for this read, its a long one!

So to begin, I was due to be induced at 2 pm on Monday the 27th August 2018. Nervously trying to pass time laid in bed on the morning of the said day, my phone started ringing from a private number. Now, with my first daughter, I experienced the same thing, however the hospital was phoning to delay my induction and this time they were phoning to bring it forward.
   "Hello, is this Mrs Wilthew". With dread in the pit of my stomach I said "yes" and waited for what I thought was a delay in my induction.
"We are just calling to see if you are able to come in any earlier, as labour ward is quiet today and we would like to see if we can immediately break your waters and get your labour started"
 At this point, my partner was laid in bed next to me, I gulped and replied "of course, I'll get ready and come straight down".

Once the phone call had finished, I explained the plan to my partner who looked just as horrified as me. This just got real.
I mean I was laid in bed, undressed, hair looking like I had been dragged through a hedge backwards and I hadn't yet eaten anything!
I have never moved out of bed to get ready so fast in all my life! Luckily my eldest daughter was staying at my Mum's so I didn't have to stress about childcare.
 Previously, the night before the nesting had commenced and I blitzed the house ready for the newest arrival of our family, and my god am i glad i did.

Now my statement look for labour is two french plaits, purely because they are industrial and do not move! So off I toddle to the bathroom to put in my plaits and make myself look half human. My partner was making the important phone calls, and arranging a lift to the hospital. I thought I was taking forever and a day to get ready, purely because I was rushing about, when in fact I actually had 20 minutes to spare after I was ready.
  Because I hadn't eaten, I was sat nervously on the couch and came across a packet of blue bubblegum millions which I decided to devour. Why, I thought they would give me energy I'm not sure but down the hatch they went.

20 Minutes pass and our lift has arrived, My partners grandad. We leave our cosy family home, knowing we will be returning as a family of four. In hand, with a suitcase, a holdall, and a bag of food supplies for my partner we anxiously head to the car. Explaining the plan to my partners grandparents in the car, the journey seemed to take no time at all and before we know it were at the entrance of the hospital. As were leaving the car, my partners grandad makes a joke "What time does the plane leave?". Assuming because we had so much stuff with us! after all we were only having a baby.

We made the walk down the hospital corridor, I found my self taking note of the smell of the hospital, I did exactly that with my eldest daughter's birth too. Something to add to the memory I suppose. Into the lift we go and up to the 6th floor. Labour ward.
 With my eldest daughters birth, we went into labour ward and took a right turn, onto the antenatal ward for induction. However because they wanted to try and break my waters straight away, we were greeted by a midwife who immediately took us down the dreaded left side of the corridor and into a large room, with purple walls and a bed placed right in the middle of the room. In my mind I thought 'great, my dignity'.
  We got settled into the room and made our introductions. the midwife left me and my partner to get settled. We both just gave each other a look of 'THIS IS IT!'.

The midwife returns with a large hook, some gloves and tells me that shes going to break my waters. Baring in mind we have only been at the hospital the whole of 10 minutes. Now, because I had some complications during my pregnancy, just like my first, it was explained that I would have my waters broken and immediately after, an epidural would be inserted in the hope it would keep my heart rate down.
Anyway fast forwarding a little and I now find my self with my trousers off, under a sheet with my heels together and legs flat. The midwife put on her gloves. She meant war.
 Next thing, I'm being rummaged around like a woman looking for her lipstick at the bottom of her handbag and my waters have been broken. According to my partner I looked like I was in excruciating pain. I wasn't, however my face clearly said different.

I'm now laid on the bed, with what felt like Niagara Falls gushing out of me. The midwife goes off to find the anaesthetist. As I look over to my partner he looks horrified, but hes dealing with it.
  Next is the epidural, which was a faff on and took forever however in the end, was successful. I was then kind of just left to my own devices but of course I'm bed bound because my legs are like jelly and I cant move of the bed due to the epidural.
   A few hours pass and you guessed it, another invasive vaginal examination and we discover that I'm now 4 cm. I'm placed on the hormone drip Oxytocin to help strengthen my contractions and again left to my devices. For all I was bed bound, we had a radio on and I was boogieing away to the top hits of the 70's.

At this point I'm now starving, and the midwife informs me that I can't eat anything due to being on the hormone drip and those bubblegum millions hadn't given me the satisfaction I wanted. My partner however, was demolishing a chicken and mushroom pot noodle and it smelt divine! I was like a dog scrounging at dinner!

A few more hours passed and it was time for another examination. "10cm" the midwife says! I look over at my partner because I was supposed to phone my mum when I was 7 cm so she could come to the birth and see our daughter be born.
"Quick, phone my mum" I said to my partner.
"We are just going to try pushing" the midwife kindly informs me!
I'm thinking to myself 'S**t, I'm having a baby, and I'm having a baby now!'

Luckily, bubbs wasn't quite ready so the midwife decided to leave pushing for a while, which gave my mum chance to get to the hospital!

Red in the face, and pushing like a good un', I'm nearly ready to meet my baby, when I'm greeted with the most awful shakes ever! it was like I'd been out laid in a field all night with no clothes on. it was uncontrollable.
As I'm pushing, I luckily cant feel any pain thanks to my good friend the epidural, but my mother's face said it all! My partner was next to my head but my mum was at the dreaded nether regions and the expression on her face looked like a child at Christmas! My daughters head was born and she decided she was coming on her own!
"Just Breathe" the midwife says.

And with that at 10.28pm on Monday the 27th August 2018 our second daughter was brought into the world, weighing a healthy 7 pound 9 ounces and I was eating a packet of jaffa cakes and drinking a cup of tea almost immediatley, loving life.

If you've read until the end I commend you! If you did have a cuppa It's probably cold.
I hope you've enjoyed reading about my birth experience and I'll look forward to hearing your comments. Please feel free to share your birth experiences below, let's get a discussion going!

Signing Out
MrsWilthew.