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I will copy and post my husband's redition of my birth story cos I was too out of it to remember...
All I remember is that at 12am after being given a prostin gel at 8pm Sun eve.... PAIN... which kept me awake all night but which DID soften my cervix enough... I was ok on birthing ball.... till they decided all was not real labour and 'real' labour had to be started with a drip... Then Oblivion.... other than feeling for much of it that I was a wuss and should be coping better (oh my notes say labour was 8hrs something... yeah right.... no account taken of previous few nights lack of sleep... makes me look even more like a wuss!!).
So i'll leave it to Hubby!!
Matthew Laurence was born at 21:34 on 2nd of August. He weighs 6 pounds7 and a half and is 52 cm long!! Nicky had a really rough labour and at one point was an inch from a c-section. She went in hospital as planned Sunday evening for inducement and was given the tablet. By midnight on Monday morning she was having very painful contractions. They kept her awake all night. I was called in a 5am to keep her company. By this time she was 3cm dilated and would go to delivery later in the morning to have her waters broken. We went down at 10:30 and that happened. She was put on the drip at 12:30 - and that is when the problems began!! The drip rapidly increased the contractions past her pain threshold. She did not get on with gas and air (made her feel tripped out and in pain - and was not happy with this) and had to have an epidural. Worrying the midwives was that on every contraction the babys heartbeat dipped. The epidural was not completely successful and had to be regularly topped up with stronger drugs... By 5pm she was still only 6cm!!! The doctors performed several exams to check the baby for distress. This involved removing blood from babys head to see how acidic it was (how much distress). Fortunately results were good - which is why she did not go for the c-section immediately!! Nicky was in ever increasing pain, very sick and extremely exhausted!!! By 6:15 we had the choice... wait another half an hour or have a c-section. Nicky was sorely tempted - but waited. At 6:45 we found she was 10cm!!! After an hours break and in ever increasing pain she started pushing. She pushed the baby to within an inch of the head coming out but could not push any more (she could cope with the pain - or push, but not both) and after another hour the decision was made to assist. They topped up her edipural with the same stuff they would have used to do a c-section, waited it to take effect and then baby Matthew was born shorlty after with the help of the ventouse. It took everything she had but she did it - and avoided a section! I am so proud of her!!
After the birth and before I went home she kept passing out, and spent most of the time in and out of conciousness, barely able to cuddle Matthew. She could not go up to the ward in a wheelchair as she could not hold herself upright, but was taken up on the bed with the baby in her arms.