Bienvenidos!

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On the MLU

Things have improved a bit since last time. He's now tending to sleep a bit easier at night, so I've not had to do the marching round the bedroom until 3am thing as much. Still only sleeping a few hours at a time, but we've had two really good nights where he slept 5 1/2 and 6 hrs, which was amazing. Hopefully those will get a bit more frequent. So where was I last time? Ah yes, In Labour...

So we had been given the verdict and they started the paperwork to get me round to the midwife-led unit. I was up on my feet again and pacing. Mum arrived while I was in the assessment bay and swapped with SuperMoo for a few minutes while we were waiting. I wasn't timing the contractions, I kept getting distracted, so I kept telling them "I don't know, about 5 mins apart?" when I reckon they were actually coming a bit more frequently than that. I gave mum the go ahead to tell people now, as I'd asked her not to tell my grandmother when I rang her the first time. I texted a couple of people too and got some very excited replies. It felt like we were kept waiting for ages in the assessment bay. It might have been about an hour, but eventually they got the very nice trainee paramedic to escort us round to the MLU. I had to stop a couple of times along the way to lean against the wall and breathe. We got to the room and SuperMoo popped back out to get my bag from the car so I could put my pyjama bottoms on. The shift leader came in after we arrived and said that since I was 'only 4cm' when the SHO had examined me they were going to let me do my own thing and keep mobilising and they'd come back and examine me again at around 8pm. I asked for some more paracetamol at this point. She offered codeine as well but I didn't want it. In hindsight, I don't know whether it would have made much difference. I put my PJ bottoms on - so much better! and also changed my top as I was wearing a fairly tight T shirt and getting a bit hot. The pains were getting stronger and I was getting quite restless with them, it was difficult to find a position that was more comfortable. I had to go for a wee and it was not nice having a contraction in the loo. I asked SuperMoo to get me something 'easy to eat' and he brought me a yogurt, which I managed between contractions. I think I tried standing up, kneeling over the ball, all fours, sitting on the bed... I was feeling really tired and tried to lie down but that was the worst. It must have been about half six as I was lying on the bed grumbling at SuperMoo that his cheese and pickle snack pack stank that I got my first urge to bear down. Before that when I was getting the pains I was sucking up my pelvic floor thinking 'how can anyone push down through a pain like this?' but there it was. I had been trying to breathe through the contraction, lying on my side pulling at my hair and all of a sudden there was a push and a bit of a gush. Mum was telling me to 'breathe, don't push' but it was so hard not to! The feeling was like... when you're being sick, that almighty expulsive contraction that you have no control over, except directed downwards, not up. SuperMoo went out to see if the midwife was free to come in and I got up off the bed. It was easier not to push standing up but only for one or two contractions, then my blows turned into pushy blows.

The midwife (another one...) came in just before seven and asked if she could examine me so I got back on the bed again. She had a quick look and confirmed my membranes had gone, then came the news - I was 9cm! She kept her hand there during a contraction and informed me that baby had just wriggled off that last rim and I was fully dilated and ready to go! She popped back out the get me the entonox mouthpiece and came and sat in the room with us. I was still on the bad so she sat me right up and said 'just go with it'. I think I started at about 7pm. She was due to finish her shift at 7:45 but said if delivery was imminent she'd stay, otherwise hand me over.

MiniMoo due for a feed, will finish later

2:05 p.m. - 2012-02-05

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