We were taken to the labour ward by one of the midwife's and shown to a room. It had the usual, a bed and it's own bathroom with all you'd expect from a birthing room. We were asked if we wanted anything to eat so we ended up with luke warm fish and chips, or the last supper as I like to call it as was my last meal before Briley arrived.
We finished eating and the midwife came back and advised us to go into Salisbury town for an hour or two and have a good walk about to get my contractions coming on faster and a bit more regular. I saw this as my oppertunity to get a phone charger and call my mum to make arrangements for Madison.
We googled for the nearest Argos and headed there to get the much needed phone charger :-)
I called my mum and explained what was happening, Robs mum was also with her which was great as they were both to play a part in caring for Madison. I wanted my mum with me once things got going so Robs mum stayed with Madison while my mum went home to rest up, eat and pack a bag ready for when/if i called wanting her to come to the hospital (45 mins away!)
Rob and I headed for the garage to stock up on some snacks and some drinks to get us through the next few hours as although we packed my hospital bag 'just in case' we hadn't packed my usual labour goody bag. We parked up in the garage and went in all the while stopping for contractions. I was having a particular strong one clung to Robs arm in the garage when a random guy asked if all was ok and if he could help. I looked up as Rob said 'she's in labour' the mans face was a picture he stumbled over his words not knowing what to say, his reply was 'Oh um Oh I'm just gonna go now then. Good Luck' ha ha ha made me & Rob chuckle. We went to pay and saw the guy again who was now with his wife they both smiled and wished us luck.
We headed for a local park after this and had a walk around which really did start to kick off the contractions and get them into a more regular pattern. After an hour we decided to head back to the hospital and see what the next plan of action was. We went back to the room were had first been shown into and plugged in my phone to charge (very important ) We kept timing my contractions but were left for almost two hours with no one coming to check in on us. As contractions were getting much more painful Rob went to find someone to check on me. A midwife came and spoke to me wanting to know how far apart contractions were etc. She hadn't had time to read my notes but we decided I would try and get in a bath to try and relax me and help with contractions. She started to run the bath but the water wasn't getting hot enough so she went off to see if she could find another room with hotter water. She came back 5 mins later and took us into another (much bigger) room where she had started to run a bath.
I stripped off and climbed in; it felt like such a relief to have the warm water over my bump and I really did relax and feel in control which was a very nice feeling after Madison's birth where I felt totally out of control. I was happy contracting in the bath for a good hour maybe more. In that time I had sent Rob off to get my bag out of the van and the midwife came in and checked on me just to see I was happy and coping ok. When a different midwife came into check on me a bit later I decided to get out of the water and asked to be checked as I wanted to know how far along (if at all) I was. I got out of the bath and got dry and into a hospital gown, not sure why I didn't get into my own clothes. I also asked Rob to phone my mum to come to the hospital as I felt things were starting to 'kick off'.
The midwife examined me and I was 3 cm, she told me not to be dis-heartened to which I replied 'I'm extatic, I was stuck at 1-2 cm for three days with my first 3 cm is amazing' lol
I wanted to discuss pain relief like pethadine or similar but contractions had ramped up and I opted for gas and air as couldn't talk through contractions any longer. The midwifes changed shift and my new midwife and a student midwife introduced themselves and busied about checking my BP etc and strapping me to a monitor which I wore throughout my labour; due to the problems with Madison's heart rate in my previous labour.
They had trouble picking up baby's heart rate so kept making me move position to try and help. This made me panic as I thought back to Madison's birth but my midwife was fab and told me although it was dipping all other signs were fine and she was not concerned.
At this point contractions were really strong and I was starting to loose control as the gas and air began not to be as effective in taking the edge off. I asked in the lovely 'drunk' state of gas and air for an epidural which to my mind seemed to be ignored. I then began asking Rob where my mum was as she hadn't arrived yet so he texted her and she said she was nearly there. I could see in Robs face he was starting to panic as I was in pain and screaming for the epidural. The midwife was trying to calm me down and get me to concentrate on using the gas and air to get me through contractions. At this point my mum walked in and dropped her bags as I saw her I totally lost control.
Rob says I was doing fine until I saw my mum & then I lost it. It is true I could see him panicking so I kept it together like I always do to make him feel less uncomfortable. the minute my mum was there to care for him and me I was free to loose it and not worry about Rob.
My mum says my eyes were flashing with anger as I told her I wanted and epidural but I was being ignored. my mum tried her best to help me relax and get back in control. I had a totally lucid moment when I turned to Rob and ordered him to find out how Madison was. He used this time to step out of the room ad make a call to his mum to find out how Madison was, update his mum on my progress and regain his composure.
My mum was then told I was next on the list but the anesthetist was stuck in A&E at the moment. I'm usually very polite and mild mannered around people I don't know and my mum but at this point a contraction hit and a string of very harsh expletives came out of my mouth which made my mum wince.
What I am told was 2 hours later (!!!!!!) the anesthetist walks through the door in all his glory, I have never been so pleased to see someone with a big needle (i'm needle phobic) he explained the procedure to me all the while having to stop for my contractions. He told me to sit very very still and to under no circumstances move. At this very point the monitor went quiet ad I could't hear baby's heartbeat so I sat bolt upright to be screamed at 'Don't move!' by the anesthetist. He finished what he was doing with me sobbing' I'm so sorry, I couldn't hear the baby, I'm sorry I couldn't hear it and thought of Madison's birth. I'm so sorry' my mum & Rob hugged me and mum told me 'This isn't Madison's birth, stop thinking it is and try to relax'.
The poor anesthetist said don't worry about it but that I moved just as he was putting the needle in which is the most crucial part. He connected the epidural and the warm feeling washed over me as the pain slowly dissapeared. A-mazing feeling.
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| Just after the epidural, happy face lol |
After the epidural when I was back to my normal self I apologised for my behaviour early on and my language I felt so bad. They said they were used to it and had seen much worse :-/
The midwife checked my BP etc again and decided to examine me and see if she could break my waters. I was 7 cm and my waters were broken. The next few hours were quite un-eventful. They attached a wire to the baby's head to better monitor babies heart rate which kept dipping so I was moved positions from my back to my side quite a bit. They weren't picking up my contractions on the monitor either so kept adjusting it.
Rob and I started discussing names when we decided we didn't like our chosen girls name which was 'Alana' so cue panic as we tried to agree on another one with my mum and the midwives help. We decided in the end if we had a girl we would discuss is after the birth as we couldn't agree on a name we both liked.
Throughout my labour other midwifes came into check on the babies trace 'new eyes' they called it. I loved the reassurance this gave me and think all maternity units/wards should do the same (they didn't with M's birth!)
Contractions started to get stronger again and epidural had run out so I was starting to feel them again I was given gas and air while the midwife went to get more epidural. This was given and the contractions began to slowly stop hurting again. The midwife asked if she could examine me again which was fine, as she did she said 'Oh' my mum asked what that was for and she said she could feel an ear. Nobody thought anything of this as she was so calm about everything (she had actually felt the cord around babies neck). She said I was 10cm and ready to push but that she wanted her colleague to have a look at the trace as baby's heartbeat was playing up again.
She left the room and returned with the consultant. She looked at the trace and said this baby needs to come out now if by the time I come back baby is not out i'm getting my scissors out. We all laughed and the bed was stripped down and stirrups put on and I started to push. As epidural had only just been administered again I needed to be told when to push. I gave a few good pushes the started to be sick which was not nice or attractive but really helped push baby down so they could see the head.
The consultant returned and said I needed help with forceps and was I ok with that. I agreed and they started setting up 'down there'. Two more midwifes came in to help which again we thought nothing of as they were all so calm. The consultant said as baby was so far down after me being sick she needed to use a suction cap only but I would still need a small cut. This was done and the suction cap applied with me feeling nothing due to the epidural. I was told when to push and after one or two pushes the consultant said 'we have a head, and yes cord round neck just as we thought' We had known nothing about this as they were all so calm and professional the cord was released from round baby's neck and with the next push baby literally popped out into the consultants hands. I had felt nothing, no head crowning nothing but I had my VBAC and was so proud of myself.
My baby was placed immediately onto my chest screaming like a good-un. It was wrapped in towels and was being given a good rub. I told Rob to get the camera and this is one of the first pics before we even knew our babies sex.
Our baby screamed and screamed and I just smiled I was so happy, I'd done it!! The midwife asked if I knew what we had got. I parted the towels to see.........A WINKY!!! I could not believe it; there was a moment's silence as I turned to Rob and said 'It's a boy!' he looked totally stunned ad said 'no way' lol my mum smiled and said 'oh my god'.
The consultant was busy down the other end with the after birth and sewing me back up. I was caught by my mum a bit later looking again just checking it was a boy lol. Everything was cleaned up really quickly and everyone left the room so me, Ron and my mum could meet my son properly and in private. I was told to buzz when I was ready to have him weighed etc. I felt un-rushed it was lovely. I put him to the breast and he fed like a pro :-)
We made phone calls to those important people and I set a few texts of my own to some twitter buddies and friends. It was so nice to be there and hear people's responses and I never got to do that after Madison's birth.
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| After Madison's Birth looking rough lol |
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| After Briley's birth such a difference to after Madison's |
After a hour or so we buzzed and they came back to weigh Briley and measure his length and head etc. The student midwife did all of this under the senior midwife's guidence. He was given his vitamin K injection and a little bath to de-gunk him. We were left again and we said our goodbyes to my mum too so Rob and I could sit and be with our new son. I dozed while Rob sat ad had cuddles with his boy. Four lovely, un-rushed hours after his birth I was taken up to the post-natel ward and Rob went home to see our girl and tell her she has a new brother!!
The next blog post will be about my first few hours with my newborn son, my children's first meeting and our first few hours at home as a family of four.
I will leave you with a picture of a newborn Briley James Antony Carter. Born on 26th January 2013 at 2.32 am weighing in at 7 lb 7 oz.
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