Iosbel Hazel Elsworth, Sun 17/8/08, 9lb 9oz, 10:25am
had stretch & sweep on Fri at the midwifes, 2 days before & took & inserted EPO capsules
had bloody (well, not so bloody) show on Sat morning & bit more later on in the day, then lost my mucous plug on Sat evening
contractions started on Sun at 2:50am 14-20 mins apart & progressed quickly in intensity & frequency
more & more intense as they came - so different from Kaitlin's labour - productive & painful from the start
called the m/w but, as i could still speak & of course they stopped as i talked to her, she said to call her when they were 5 mins apart, lasting for a min & had been going for an hour - i thought things were going to escalate much quicker than that though
was having mini (shorter) ones in between the large, strong ones
6:00am-ish hot shower to try to regulate contractions - didn't really work
decided shortly afterwards to transfer to hospital as i wanted some gas for pain relief - called m/w to let her know
8:00am headed to hospital, arrived 8:20 & had VE, was 5cm dilated, baby at station "0"? & cervix soft
had IV antibiotics inserted as i'd had streb B during pregnancy
8:55am had some gas just before hopping into the birth pool naked
loved the gas - got a little scared of the pain overwhelming me so kept on sucking it down!
stayed leaning forwards on my hands on the edge of the birth pool mostly, using gas to keep removed from the pain
9:30am contractions getting stronger, started feeling some bowel/pushing pressure
9:45am started pushing - & grunting like a cow or rhino, according to Suzi & Stephen!
i was pushing so hard but, being weightless & feeling full sensation (as opposed to last time, when i had an epidural on board), things were so overwhelming. i really wondered how on earth i was going to birth this baby. the pressure in the birth canal to get her out was immense & i had to stop sucking on the gas to push effectively, as it was taking my focus away too much. i was so tired though from weeks of awful sleep & did have gas between pushes, from memory. during pushing, i was focusing all my energy on imagining my energy pushing baby down & out. i could feel her sliding back up intermittently & the burn/non-burn as she came down & back up - sooo frustrating!
10:00am i was pushing & groaning & grunting for long periods, feeling my throat start to protest at the noise!
10:05, another VE, fully dilated.
10:10, my IV canula popped out of my arm & i barely noticed!
10:15, head was clearly visible apparently, i started leaning backwards (had to for m/w to see what was going on)
m/w now couldn't find baby's HB so encouraged me to really push!
10:20 head finally birthed, no idea how many pushes it took, i just couldn’t imagine it actually coming out, but it did!
m/w saw "turtle necking" of baby - neck lengthening but shoulders not following - so told me i had to get out onto the bed & she pushed the emergency bell as the shoulders were stuck
i *hugely* protested as i was told to get out of the bath onto the bed - "nooooooooooo!" but eventually Stephen yelled at me & it got through that i had no choice
i was thinking "i can't do this" at the same time as "i have to do this or i'll lose her!"
several people helped me out of the pool onto a step, i can't remember who... & i was then told to go on my back - at which i said another loud "nooooooooooo!" so i went on my left side
my m/w lifted my right leg high & a doc did something to baby's shoulders as i pushed with all my strength
10:25 rest of baby delivered
baby tried to gasp, noticed merconium (happened just before birth) & they took her to the side of the room to "bag" her
placenta delivered but cord snapped
i was calling out "how's baby? is baby ok?" over & over & over
back with me for skin to skin not long afterwards then Stephen took her so i could have my tear stitched - 2nd degree tear
11:00 isobel fully checked & weighed by m/w then given to me for b/f’ing – i was so relieved she was (a) ok & (b) with me, instead of being taken away from me to SCBU like her sister was
my mum & dad arrived & held baby – Stephen & i talked about the name – decided “Grace” didn’t suit the birthing experience but “Isobel” felt right - & that she deserved her great grandmother’s (my mum’s mum) middle name – Hazel.mum cried when she heard that we were naming her that J
had the typical night 2 horrors as we both tried to figure out what Isobel needed, very exhausted emotionally & physically with very little sleep & lots of crying but decided to leave hospital the next morning as i was so over being there & just wanted the support of Stephen & to see Kaitlin
2008-08-15 (40 weeks)
40wk1d Sat 16/8/08
what a month or so... soooooooo much pain, extreme low tummy pains, full tummy sharp "feeling like i'm cut from the inside" BHs, terrible sleep, exhaustion at a new level...
a week ago 4 hours of "practice labour" with FULL tummy contractions into low back & thighs, with a need to get on all 4's, pant, pace, etc - then nothing!
so much "practice" with little to show???
it's been a really really tough, emotional month. if i'd known how much pain there would be involved WITHOUT it meaning labour coming any min, i'd have been better prepared psychologically. expecting it any min has been really hard.
11:00am, loo stop - brownish dishcharge - show?
2008-07-17 (35 weeks)
36wk,0d Fri 18/7/08 i had a pretty awful night with 3 severe heartburn episodes that left me gasping. then kaitlin decided to be awake from 2-4am on & off , we think it was teething.
at this stage of pg, my energy is low anyway... i sooooo don't want to go to work today! only this afternoon & next week, then i'm off for a "break" (i laugh, as how can you take a real break when this pg & looking after a toddler!) until baby arrives.
i don't think this baby will be waiting 'till due date anyway. the intensity of low tummy cramps, shooting bladder pain, lateral pelvis/ligament pain, sacrum pain, & (new) feeling like i'm being cut open by a scalpel through the middle of my tummy are almost more than i can cope with, while running around after a toddler. but onwards we go...
2008-07-14 (35 weeks)
35wk4d Tue 15/7/08
getting big now! no more room in my tum! i'm showing about the same size as full-term with kaitlin & there's still 4 weeks to go.... eek.
lots of shooting bladder pain as baby's head has been down for a few weeks now.
lots of regular awake & sleep cycles from her - & movements you can see clearly from the outside now.
intermittent heartburn - the worst i've ever experienced at times.
pretty tired by the end of most days. stephen has been amazing, helping out so much & looking after me, esp when my lumbar goes crazy. he's also been getting up mostly to kaitlin in the night, what a gem.
