Before we go on I want to give brief review of the last few days.
On Friday night -21st Jan -my waters broke just as I was settling in to bed. I hadn't had any contractions prior to this so my initial reaction was oh shit it's happening now!!after I had attempted to clean myself up and gone downstairs to tell James I rushed around panicking!! Called the hospital and they said we should head in. James rang his mum to get her over to look after Rach and Luke as he would get here quicker and then he set about getting all the stuff into the car. Surprisingly Rach slept through all the commotion which was shocking as recently we had been struggling to get her settled in to her own bed and despite working really hard at getting her back in to her own bed every night this had gone out of the window for a week or so as I was unable to get up to get her back to bed and poor hubby had been working so hard he hadn't had the energy to do it either.
Anyway we set off for the hospital me continuing to gush fluid out all the way. When we got there, we found the entrance to the women and childrens section locked with a sign telling us to press the button and wait for someone to let us in. Good job we weren't in too much of a hurry although I was soaking wet at this point and really uncomfortable!!
Eventually someone came out which enabled us to get in. There was No-one at the reception desk so we headed round to the labour ward reception also to find no-one there..
After what seemed like an eternity a nurse appeared who promptly sent us back to the main reception to get checked in there.we finally returned to the labour ward approximate fifteen mins later and after another seemingly interminable age a midwife came to take us through for a check. She concurred that my waters had definitely broken and then said it could be another 1-2 days before labour would start and they would keep me in until then.aaaarrrrrgggghhh!,did not want to stay without James but he wasn't allowed up to the ward so I had to say goodbye and then was taken upstairs to antenatal ward.I could not settle down that night. Contractions started almost as soon as we got up there so I paced around for most of the night drinking copious amounts of coffee and water. It turns out that these were false contractions but at the time I didn't know this and as they seemed to get closer together I texted James and told him not to get too comfy as he might need to get back quick smart!
Finally it was morning and after breakfast I spent the morning praying for time to fly by so it would be 12.30 and James would be allowed back in with me! had a bit of lunch - cottage pie and choc fudge cake and finally James was back with me. As the afternoon went on I was getting more and more restless. I kept telling Jack to hurry up and come so we could go home but nothing happened! Already taking no notice of me - not good!
At about 3.00pm the contractions started for real and by half 4 they were coming about every 4 mins and were getting stronger and more painful. James went to get a midwife and they came and examined me - the first time they had looked at me down there since the initial exam when we had arrived the night before!
They said I was 3cm dilated and that when I got to 4 they would send me down to labour ward. In the meantime they suggested I had a bath which sounded like a good plan. I remember when Rachel was born it was hours from when I was 3cm to when she finally arrived so I expected it to be the same or at least fairly similar this time. How wrong I was!!!
Afte the bath the contractions suddenly kicked in more and the pain was becoming unbearable. The contractions didn't seem to stop but went on continuously and I had to let go of james so he could get a midwife while I screamed in pain! I knew this was worse than Rach at this point as I am not generally a screamer!!
The midwife came through, put on her most sympathetic face and said they could hers me and did I want to try and get some dinner! At this point I was crying in pain and was so not up for dinner it was incredible to me that they would even ask. So she offered to do another exam then went off to get some gloves. When she came back she said that good news they were going to take me straight down to labour ward. Well thank god they did. I just about made it out of the lift and managed to get on to the bed in the labour room before his head started poking out. 5 minutes later at 5.25pm, it was all over and there was Jack on my tummy - my perfect little man had popped out just like that although he had had his hand up and the cord around his neck which had freaked daddy out totally and tore me a little at both ends!
Then my placenta was delivered and that was it. After doing all his checks and vit k injection we were left with him - totally shell shocked at the speed he had come with once he had made up his mind that he was ready that is!
I had to be stitched up by the doc as the tears were quite close to both ends and she insisted I needed a catheter which is the most uncomfortable thing ever.. But whilst they were doing the stiching I was hitting the gas and air and was happily giggling away to myself at how drunk I felt and how long it had been since I had felt that way!!!
So that was that. They eventually sent me up to the postnatal ward at about 10pm and daddy James was once again sent home.
I am breastfeeding Jack and he has fed well right since the start. That night we managed some sleep in between approximately 3-4 hourly feeds. The next morning was taken up with paediatric check up and checks on me. The midwife broke the news that the doc had written that I need the catheter in for 24 hours when I asked when they would remove it as it was really really starting to annoy me.this would basically mean I needed to stay in an extra night but the midwife said it was prob not necessary and as soon as she could, she would get the doc up to check if it was really necessary as other than that Jack and I were ready and fine to go home.
James and Rachel came after lunch to meet Jack and oh my gosh Rachel's face when she saw him was the most amazing thing ever. The mixture of wonderment and delight at finally meeting him was the most rewarding and heartwarming thing I have ever seen and I don't think either James or I expected in our wildest dreams that she would react quite that well.
Ok, time for a quick break now as I try to put him down and get some sleep! Will pick this up here later.x
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