Birth story - Amber and baby Solo

*Trigger warning* - use of word contractions, not negative to me, long latent labour (78hrs!)

Pregnancy

My pregnancy was very straightforward with few issues. I was lucky enough to have no sickness and the most I suffered was a bit of indigestion in the third trimester, a couple of nosebleeds (didn't expect this!) and some body aches and cramp, particularly if I went on long walks later in pregnancy, which I did regularly, due to owning a demanding little pup.

Labour (feel free to jump to birth as its a long one - 78hrs!!)

At 38.5 weeks I started having some signs of the show and was having some leakage during the night. Enough to make me wonder if I had either wet myself or that perhaps my hind waters had broken. With this in mind the midwife asked me to come in and do a check. They confirmed it was my show and nothing to worry about and that my cervix was still completely closed.

Towards the end of my pregnancy we were having some works done on the nursery and upstairs bathroom. Ideally this would have been done earlier but due to availability it wasn't possible. As soon as the builder left and the works were complete (39 +3 weeks) I started getting period pains on the Friday evening - its as if my body had been holding off until then. After a while watching TV, I commented to my husband that they were becoming quite regular. They were, however, very mild so I went to bed as normal. The pains kept me up during the night but were very manageable. The following day I had a pedicure, hair appointment and lovely lunch booked as my birthday was on the Sunday. After much deliberating we decided that I should cancel the appointments, incase my waters went, but we kept the lunch reservation. At this stage I was slightly in denial about the fact I was in labour. The lunch was absolutely incredible but I was having to stop talking every 5 minutes to manage my contractions and had to stop on the walk from the car park to the restaurant. After a lovely lunch we went home and relaxed. I had been timing the contractions on my Freya app but they hadn't been especially regular. Finally by Saturday evening I was having 3 within 10 minutes, however it still wasn't especially consistent so I went to bed again as normal. The contractions had ramped up and were pretty painful during the night but I used the up breathing consistently and it was a lifesaver getting me through.

The following morning I cancelled my birthday plans but my Mum, Dad and Aunty still came over for lunch for a bit of a distraction. We took the dog for a walk and I had to stop every now and then to manage the contractions but the up breathing was again keeping them under control. By the time we got back from the walk the contractions were more regular and I questioned heading to the hospital and prepared for little one to arrive on my birthday. Later that evening we called the hospital and headed in. They did a check and told me I was 2cm and sent me home, which after 48hrs of contractions was a little frustrating.

Again we went to bed but by this time I was in quite a lot of pain. The contractions were keeping me up and by 3am I decided to have an hour long bath with candles lit - this was an absolute blessing. I then went downstairs and rested on the sofa which was weirdly a little more comfortable than bed. My mum, who was also staying at ours by this point as she was my second birthing partner, came and kept me company with a tea from 6am. Frustratingly, throughout Monday my contractions became less and less frequent but much more intense. By this point I was using the Tens machine and upbreathing. I also took some paracetamol but didn't notice a huge amount of help from that.

By Monday evening the contractions were very irregular and painful and we decided to ignore the midwifes advice on waiting for 3 every 10 minutes and headed in to the hospital. By this point I was also wanting more pain relief as the contractions were very intense. As soon as I arrived at the hospital my contractions became even more regular and intense and I was pretty certain we wouldn't be sent away - meanwhile my cousin (who is 6 months apart in age from me and was due 2 days after me), arrived at the same hospital as her waters had broken - this is a whole other story but we gave birth 2hrs apart in next door rooms!!

The hospital

Upon inspection on the Monday night I was told I was 4cms at 9.30pm which was a huge relief and we were taken to a private room in the birthing centre where I was advised I could have the water birth I had hoped for. This was the most welcoming news and a huge relief. By this point I was desperate for some pain relief and discussed my options with the midwife. Initially I had requested some pethidine but she said that as I was still fairly early in my labour (it did not feel this way to me!) they didn't want to put me on anything too strong as there was then no upgrade. I also couldn't use the pool within 5hrs if I had had pethidine. With all of this in mind, we decided some codeine and gas and air would be a good start, I could then discuss options further if required.

After two hours waiting for pain relief I was re-examined and FINALLY given some gas and air and codeine and was advised that I was now 6/7cm, by this point it was 11.30pm. On reflection I have a suspicion the 2 hr wait was intentional to ensure my contractions continued - though the labour ward was also absolutely jammed. The gas and air was a huge relief and massively calmed me down - for about 30minutes I felt some relief and then my waters burst. This increased my contractions significantly and I requested the pool for further relief. The midwife (who was absolutely brilliant) told me that she didn't want to do the pool just yet as it might slow things down. It also wasn't quite ready as someone had used it previously. She suggested I have a bath while waiting for the pool which I agreed to. My time in the bath becomes quite blurry as the contractions were back to back and very intense. I was starting to struggle with the breathing somewhat but my husband and mum were great at reminding me, in for 4 out for 8. I also was advised by the midwife that if I continued to inhale the gas and air as quickly as I was it would stop working - a clever tactic which knocked me straight back in control.

By this point the pool was getting set up and I was getting a little frustrated that it wasn't ready yet. I also could tell my body was transitioning and I was starting to feel the urge to push.

The Pool

I lost all track of time by this point but finally the pool was ready and I climbed in. This part of the process felt extremely quick but probably lasted about an hour. The pool gave me instant relief and I felt comfortable that if I needed to push (which I did) I was in the right place. Just as I was ready to push, the midwifes shift ended - not ideal timing at all as she had been absolutely brilliant but it wouldn't have been safe for her to continue any longer, especially at such a critical stage. Thankfully two (one student) brilliant midwives took over and were extremely calm. By this point I honestly was so out of it I barely noticed.

I was absolutely shattered by now and definitely told my mum and husband that a cesarean or epidural would be welcome and that I had no idea how I was going to get my little girlie out. Of course I knew neither of these would be an option but I genuinely questioned how I would continue.

During the pushing phase the midwives were coaching me and advised me to hold my breath with each contraction and push down with all my strength. This is NOT how I had expected or taught myself to push but it was incredible and worked perfectly. I soon started to feel her coming down my birth canal with each push but between contractions she would 'disappear' and seem to go right back up. This was very disheartening and contributed to my concerns that she would never, ever come out. This is of course completely normal but in the moment I wasn't thinking like that. Finally the midwives told me that with the next push my babies head would be out and she was. I waited for one more contraction and her body followed shortly after. The midwives passed her straight through my legs and this tiny little thing, all limbs, came through at 4.12am. Her cord was round her neck (luckily not tightly) so myself and the midwife released this and I had instant skin to skin. Myself, my husband and my mum had a good cry and my husband cut the cord.

Having had such a long labour I accepted the injection to deliver the placenta and half an hour later (with a bit of discomfort as my bladder was full and as hard as I tried, I couldn't release it), the placenta was delivered. I had a quick examination where I was informed that I hadn't torn and just had two small grazes, which I was shocked at - I thank the Aniball and would HIGHLY recommend investing in it, that, and the midwives guidance saved me. We then sat in our baby bubble and of course had much wanted tea and toast before being discharged at 11am.

The PBC was absolutely brilliant and gave me a positive mental attitude from the beginning. The breathing technique was the most effective form of pain relief and excluding the long labour, I had the birth I had dreamed of. We couldn't be more grateful to have welcomed our gorgeous little girl into the world and still aren't over the fact that we made and delivered her safely.