MSE Pregnancy Club XI

Just about got a few minutes to breathe so not going to try and catch up I'm afraid... Her madamship is sat with daddy after her first bath (we were not amused!) so could get interupted any moment LOL

Thursday evening I had the niggles again which I guess basically were false labour - some might recall I'd had them for a few evenings last week so I went to bed and figured they'd be gone by morning long before the midwife was due to visit us for the sweep... ok - I was wrong LOL
At about 2am I woke up and they had got stronger and more regular so I plodded downstairs where hubby was still playing on the 360 and sat for abit to see if they would carry on or stop. When they were about 5-6 minutes apart and lasting just short of a minute we called the hospital who told us to come on in and they would have a look at how I was doing etc.
By the time I made it there (20 min run - amazing what you can acchieve when it's 2:30am and your hubby is worried you might deliver the baby in a layby :rotfl:) the contractions were getting really quite bad... we made it up to the midwife led unit and after being checked over was told that as my cervix was JUST starting to open then the best place for me was home and come back etc etc - I disagreed and eventually was found a room on one of the maternity floors. Just as well lol - within an hour I was asking for painrelief - just gas and air would have been great - however as my cervix was not ready an hour later and frankly it was mayhem in delivery I ended up waiting from about 3 till 6:30 before getting to a delivery suite. Mainly I think it was because I wasn't screaming my head off - instead trying to breathe through the contractions and staying calm... eventually though I gave up asking for gas and air before being moved and instead asked what the possibility was of an epidural - like.... NOW! and suddenly everyone moved real quick! A midwife was dragged from another ward to look after me and I was wheelchaired to the delivery suite.
Getting the epidural was totally painless - really no pain compared to the contractions I was getting! Roo was slightly twisted so was putting pressure on my back and front and it was very very painful... Hubby looked concerned about letting me near his hands in case I broke them during a contraction

So - toking on the gas and air - which did nothing for the pain, but was very handy for giving me something to concentrate on -we waited for the epidural to kick in... I can HIGHLY recommend it btw If you think you need it then don't be afraid of asking for it - it doesn't hurt and it sounds scarier than it is, honest!

So anyway - I was dialating according to plan apparently, although they had to break my waters for me, and it was early afternoon when everyone started talking about when she might appear. The closer to her arrival the more of a blurr the times are so take with a pinch of salt... I think it was about about 2pm when the contractions started to come through the epidural - even with my manual selfadministered top ups - and people started frowning. Apparently I was 8cm dilated at that point and Roo was still slightly twisted - hence the pain.
Roo's heartbeat was doing fine - difficult to monitor as she was so low down by then, but healthy and happy - it was decided not to give me any hormones to help things along as all was happy fluffy clouds etc... right up till it wasn't...

Suddenly in streamed a load of people - the doctor/consultant in charge of delivery had been monitoring the heartbeats etc remotely (all their machines can be monitored remotely in case your MW misses something...) and Roo's heartbeat had started to show signs of distress. Cue a full crash team complete with forceps, baby crash unit for resus in case and about 8 people...
I was told in no uncertain terms that the baby was coming out and it was coming out NOW - they were going to do a small cut to help but out was where she was heading one way or another. I was pretty away with the faeries by then as the pain had gotten really really bad despite all the painrelief... The long and short is that I don't know HOW no-one lost their hearing when they started pulling as I was pushing! I was screaming the place down!
She arrived at 15:44 looking remarkably healthy and unpahsed by all the commotion she'd caused - apgar of 9 at 1 min, 10 at 5 and 10 min
Mommy was a slightly different matter... as well as a cut I ended up with a 2nd degree tear so loads of stitches, there was a lot of bleeding (900ml blood loss) so ended up with an injection to help stop that which made me vomit several times
But eventually all the madness died down and i got a chance to actually look at the bundle of joy that my husband was hanging on to in the corner of the room - and she's beautiful!
Despite the pain and scares and what have you then she was worth it...

She was returned to me halfway through typing and is laid on my left arm so it's been slow going lol

We had a few issues breastfeeding - but we're learning together and the help in the maternity ward was fab - I can feed her on the right breast but we're still struggling with the left side at the moment... however we're persisting despite sore nipples I WILL get the hang of it

One thing I would say is ask lots of questions whilst you can - it's much easier having someone there to talk face to face with you to explain things Or showing you how to BF etc. And don't be afraid to ring the buzzer if the baby does something you're unsure off... I wasn't expecting her to be bringing up loads of mucus and nearly panicked when she did

Anyway - bit haphazzard story but it'll have to do

We're home, we're recovering and we're all doing well

Pictures WILL follow I promise

Labour dust to all who still need it!!!!

Oh and I nearly forgot to tell you - As you might remember then She's Alexandra Rose - Alexandra after her daddy as she is taking my last name and his middle name is Alexander, and Rose as it was my nans favourite flower and she sadly passed away just before christmas - I'm still sad that although she knew I was expecting she'll never get to meet her - but I think she's been looking out for both of us... Roo arrived on her birthday