So my first contraction was in the early hours of Friday morning. Adam got up and left for work at six but I didn't say anything because they were so mild. Throughout the day they were on and off but I was so excited thinking by tomorrow I could be meeting my baby... How wrong I was! That evening was Adams work do - I made him go on it! The contractions were all over the place and I thought there was no point him just sitting at home with me. My Mum came around and we watched TV and tried to distract me. I had a Tens machine so started using it. Adam was back before I knew it and we went to bed. We didn't get much sleep because I kept waking up with contractions.
Saturday morning came and we had to go in to Witney hospital to see the Midwife as I had been booked in for another stretch and sweep. Id had one on the Wednesday 10th but it didn't work. The midwife said I was 3cm dilated and I was so relieved as the contractions had stopped so I was happy something was going on. After we left the hospital we decided to walk to Costa - that took forever. I waddled down there & felt really proud of myself that Id made it that far-its like a stones throw from the hospital!! When we got home we attempted sex like the midwife had advised - lets just say it was terrible. But it worked, the contractions kicked back in and they were so much stronger. Adam had a phone call from his parents, they were on there way home. I remember crying on the bed in agony saying No I cant see anyone! That evening came, loads of contractions happened, used my tens machine & recorded my contractions on an app. I had hundreds.
Sunday came and we had been up again most of the night - we were both exhausted. I was frustrated and sick of being in agony. Id phoned the Midwife Unit a few times for some support, they were great. I knew I couldn't go in until the contractions were much closer. Monday morning I started to panic, Id been so wrapped up with all the contractions that I really couldn't remember the last movement from the baby. Adam drove me down to MAU & they monitored me, all was fine and we were sent home. I just wanted to stay there and get the baby out! I was so sad to be sent home! For the rest of the day the contractions got stronger & stronger, I spent hours just pacing around the house because my back hurt too much if I tried to sit. The contractions were finally five minutes apart and the midwife said we could come in - I got really excited. The car trip there was unusual... I could hardly sit in my seat as my back felt so painful. When we arrived we had a lovely lady looking after us - she explained they had only 1 midwife in Spires who was with a lady already in the only birthing pool they had! So that meant waiting for a midwife to come in and use one of the rooms upstairs, and just wait for the pool! I was put on gas and air which was fun! I couldn't sit down at all at this point so I just kind of leaned on the window sill and stared in to the car park and A&E bay. Apparently I did a running commentary of the ambulances coming and going and was fascinated with a man gritting all the paths...!
Eventually the lady was moved downstairs so the pool became available. I was so desperate to get in, I thought the heat would help my back. Initially it did help, but wore off quite quickly, I was still using gas and air but reluctant to take it as I was so dizzy. I had another change of midwife - I was on my third now. I kept being asked to get out of the pool so they could check how far I had dilated, I was exhausted, I cried every single time I had to get out because I was in agony and knew I had to lay on the bed which was excruciating. The lady kept leaving us to it and I remember just sobbing and asking for help constantly. I could often hear Adam crying, he was holding me up in the water and begging me to take the gas. It all felt really wrong and scary in there and I had no idea what I was meant to be doing. The midwife kept saying you will know when to push, all I knew was that I couldn't take the pain much longer. A new midwife came in, asked me to get out the pool. I was hysterical. Adam was wheeling the gas around behind me. I went to use the toilet and was shaking uncontrollably - I tried getting on the bed but my back felt like it would explode. She quickly examined me and walked out the room without saying anything. I began to panic, I started pacing up again, in came another midwife with the first one. Again she asked me to get back on the bed, I just remember crying and thinking why are you doing this to me?! She examined me and said I needed to go to the delivery suite and that I needed a bit of help. Thank god someone seemed to know what they were doing. I gripped this woman and said you aren't leaving me. I felt safe with her. I then had the task of getting in to a wheel chair - my back was agony but I did it. They covered me in sheets and towels and took me downstairs.
Arriving in the delivery suite was scary - I wanted a natural birth and this was far from it. Vicki the midwife got me in a gown and explained what would happen next. At this point I was just crying and shouting that I was dying! Fun times! I had to have bloods taken or maybe it was when I was being put on a drip, really not sure but blood went everywhere and I remember Adam nearly slipping over in it! All of this bit is a haze, I signed to have an epidural. I cannot remember doing that at all. I do remember the man telling me about it and I thought he was an angel!!! I had to keep still but I was in so much pain it was hard, thats when Adam went funny and two midwives came running in for him! The epidural started to work - I felt so much better until I could feel pain. For ages it went on until they gave me a boost in my hand, a lady did that called Helen and I thought she was an Angel too! She told me Helen would be a good name if we had a girl! Eventually the pain came back again, I got to the point of screaming again before I was given a second epidural. They had to wait for the anaesthetist to do it, again I thought she was an angel... Adam had to sit down during the second one as he felt light headed, I remember the midwife ordering him around saying he had to go and eat. He came back with a lucozade for me and it was heaven! After all of that I spent 5 ish hours dilating, and then at about 5pm my midwife said I was ready to push. This was very surreal because I couldnt feel anything so didnt really know what I was doing?! But after a few pushes the baby came out! She was put on my chest and Adam and I just sobbed our hearts out. Vicki the midwife eventually said to us aren't you going to see what it is! We were so overwhelmed we forgot! When we realised it was a girl we cried even more, we like an hour of crying and laughing. It was very emotional, the best feeling Ive ever felt. I was as high as a kite - I couldn't believe she was ours. I would go back to that moment and relive it if I could because it was simply the most amazing time ever! After they weighed her - 8lbs exactly - they asked Adam to dress her whilst I was cleaned up and stitched up. Watching him cradle our tiny little baby in his giant arms was just amazing, he just kept bursting in to tears and so did I! Me and the midwives were laughing at him because he took forever to get her dressed! It was adorable.
Eadie is just minutes old here!!! I am aware I look rather tired...!
Once I was cleaned up and put in a new gown they wanted me to breast feed her (she still had no name at this point, baby Cambrey on her little legs) I was lucky that Eadie latched on right away. Adam went off to make phone calls, I managed to phone my Mum from the room. She came down to the hospital with homemade sausage rolls from her lovely boss Louise and mince pies because apparently Id been asking for them throughout the labour! Once Eadie was safe in my Mums arms Adam took me off for a shower and a wee! It was pretty eventful! That poor man, having to deal with all of that! I was up and walking about pretty quickly after Eadie, to start with I was sat on the bed crossed legged and Vicki said 'how are you doing that?!' I told every midwife I saw that I wanted to go home. Eadie was born at 4:48pm and we were coming home in the car at 2am because quite frankly Im nuts. In hindsight it was a pretty stupid thing to do but all I wanted was my bed.
Sorry this is an extremely long post but I had a pretty drawn out labour! I asked Adam to write up his account of it which is below...
Emily has been on at me for what seems like ages to write an account of what happened the night our princess was born into this world so here goes!
Emily started having contractions on the Friday and said nothing to me until the evening (trooper) we went to see the midwife on Saturday morning for a "scratch and sniff" and were advised that sex would bring things on nicely, - this turned out to be the most wierdest, most uncomfortable, wierdest sex we had both ever had! Another sleepless night ensued Sunday AND Sunday day was the same.... I remember one of the funniest things Emily has ever done, during a strong contraction she got up off of the sofa, slowly waddled over to the fireplace and switch on some fairy lights, all during a contraction, dedication that girl!
After being sent home from the hospital the next day in the morning due to Emily not feeling the baby moving as much we eventually were told to come in about 10pm on the Monday, we were taken upto spires which was very quiet and only had one person in the birthing pool (much to Emily's disgust..) Emily started on the gas and air and at this point is where I lost my coherent fiancée and started baby sitting a strange tired drunk! She seemed very entertained by the ambulance and the guy gritting the pavement over the road.... We eventually moved into the birthing pool suite and spent the next 5 (ish) hours here where I had to force gas and air into Emily even when she didn't want too, it was hard and mentally tiring, I was falling asleep and physically exhausted from not sleeping for the last 4 nights, I had NEVER been that tired, I cried but somehow kept awake, it makes me emotional just thinking about it, if I'm honest I almost gave up and ran...scary tired.
Emily's dilation went backwards which was a real blow after all the ordeal but got us moved onto what I would call "the proper place to have a baby" unlike upstairs where we were basically told "you will know when to push" and given little support and/or answers as to what the hell was happening!
Emily was covered up with a few sheets and we pushed her downstairs via a lift to the new room, Emily had her bloods taken which accidentally fell off and spilt over the floor which I then stood in and trod EVERYWHERE, all of this time by the way emily has been crying out "I'm dying" "my back is going to explode" and "I want an epidural" of which was now about to happen. Emily sat up and still chugging on the gas and air was convinced everyone was eating mince pies so asked for one.... Next a doctor came in with what looked like a massive toolkit and package of instruments, he then got full on gowned up like a surgeon and disinfected all the "stuff", at this point I began to get lightheaded, I knew I was passing out so I quickly layed down on the floor and it passed, I felt like such an idiot and like I'd let Em down, I don't know what set me off, I didn't actually see anything, maybe it was the smell or the idea of things going into her spine... After this I got my fiancée back!! She made sense and we spoke properly for the first time! I felt like we had been in some sort of accident and briefly forgot that we were actually here to have a baby! Not long after the pain came back and after a top up it was found that the epidural had failed and she needed another one! The doctor had to re do everything and again I started to black out!!
This time it worked and a few hours later, a reorganised job interview and relaying info to the mother in law that we were actually still alive, Emily began to push!
After about 6 pushes I could see the head which looked like a drowned rat, the midwife told Emily to take a small push and pant out the rest when she said, instead the push shot Eadie straight out into the midwifes hand and into our arms! WE WERE SO SHOCKED! So overwhelmed with emotion we both cried our hearts out!! After 5 minutes we decided to actually find out if she was indeed a girl or a boy!
I was tasked with dressing her for the first time - it took me about 25 minutes! I was so scared of breaking her! In the meantime emily was shown how to breast feed and I helped Emily have a shower / helped emily shower the room/floor with blood...
Somehow we managed to discharge ourselves out around 2am on TUESDAY, I drove extremely cautiously as we still hadn't slept. We got home and I put Eadie (who we named on the way home) into her Moses basket and we both got into bed, just as we were turning the lights out Eadie PROJECTILE vomited and started chocking, I had to put her over my knee and pat her back. After that she wouldn't stop screaming, we didn't know what to do so we called in Super Nan who took her on for a few hours until we could get sleep, thus ending our crazy 4 day, no sleep, birthing story! I have to say it's definitely the most extreme experience of my life and I cannot big up Emily enough for how she dealt with it and managed to get through it, You and Ead's mean the world to me and that day and this story will stay with me forever, your amazing x
If you have got to this then well done! Pretty long old story isn't it! I hope you enjoyed reading it anyway, its nice that its finally down in words as its something I never ever want to forget. Roll on baby number two - just kidding not quite yet!
Love Emily
