How my labour started...

The build up...

I hadn't been out of the house for a whole week - from the Friday to Friday - and I was getting some serious cabin fever. My problem was the SPD pain levels, I could barely stand up never mind walk. But, I'd been super lucky enough to win £100 of B&M Stores vouchers the Friday before, and they'd arrived in the post already, so I decided to go out and stock up on tinned food, washing powder and fabric softener and baby wipes - just in case baby was to arrive any day, you can't have empty cupboards when you get home from hospital! My sister accompanied me on my trip and, luckily, our local B&M have trolleys so I was able to use that as support walking around.

We were out of the house for around 2 hours but, boy, did I pay for this outing later that night. I was in agony - my lower back throbbing, pelvic pain pulsating deep within the core of my bones, so much so that a hot water bottle just couldn't ease my discomfort. It normally gave some kind of relief.

Hey, Ho, Hum.


I wake up on Saturday back to normal (normal being in pain - but a hot water bottle provided some kind of relief!). I cracked on in applying Carson's wall sticker <read about that here - it's amazeballs!>, made some lunch and, well, plonked my bum on the couch - in true preggar's fashion!


Braxton Hicks...

After a while I realised my, by now usual, occurrence of Braxton Hicks were rather more frequent than normal and becoming more on the painful side than the uncomfortable so I started to time them ... wishfully hoping that "IT" was starting!

They were bang on every 10 minutes, and lasting a good 45 seconds to 1 minute each and this went on for hours! The first timed one was at 4.29pm, by 00.30am they were STILL 10 minutes apart. I had tried going to bed, bouncing on the edge of the bed, kneeling on the couch leaning on the back rest but the pain was really quite intense by now and nothing I did could stifle my vocal signs of pain.
I was still attempting to tell myself to chill out ... they weren't getting any closer together so why was I panicking?!

I called the labour ward, cringing at the fact that I was bound to be wrong and just being melodramatic because I was on my own.
Surprise, surprise... I was told to take 2 paracetamol and get a bath to relax. As I had already told myself, if they're not getting any closer, neither is the birth.

I text Carson's Daddy and asked him to come and be with me. I was still certain that I needed someone to tell me I was going to be OK and to breathe - not panic. Not least because Carson was fast asleep in bed and I sooo didn't want him to worry about me. He is such a caring little boy - I had no doubt that he would 'look after' me if I really needed but he's 5 and does not need to see this kind of struggle anyone's face, never mind his mother's!

With Mr on his way round, I popped 2 paracetamol and jumped in the bath.


Progress...

I lasted around 45 minutes in that tub - I couldn't lie down any longer. The pain was all in my back - entirely different to how it was just a few hours earlier. I got out and within minutes I was hit by the strongest contraction yet. Just as I was getting over it, another came. Then again.

Pardon my French but, SHIT! They were suddenly every 3-5 minutes. How did that happen??

I had to wake Carson, get him dressed, walk him round to his Nin's house, get home, call a taxi to the hospital - and it was bank holiday weekend, at 2.30am on the Sat night/Sun morn. Uh Oh!!

Luckily Carson's Daddy had arrived and was on the ball, doing all of the above. The taxi was difficult though. Of all the firms available only one said they could send one and it was because I was crying explaining I was in labour... it didn't arrive until an hour later, at which point I couldn't sit, I couldn't lie, I couldn't do anything but kinda squat leaning forwards with my hands on the stairs, or pace up and down the hallway with the front door wide open for a cool breeze. Actually I'm really surprised that the neighbours weren't curtain twitching... with hindsight, I was really whinging at this point!!

My taxi pulls up and I was immediately calmed by the fact that he claimed to be an ex-paramedic... phew!!

Read what happened next HERE in My Labour Story...

3 comments:

  1. That's what happened with my contractions all day so I feel your pain (literally!) and the bath sped them up so they were practically on top of one another! *off to read the next part*

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  2. I'm having a flash back. My son is almost 5 but I feel that I've just been through it all yesterday.

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  3. Omg you are so brave. I hope all goes well with your labour.

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