I promise I won't spam you all with too much baby talk but I did want to share my birth story as I feel we spread the negative horror stories and not the positive ones!
I was 5 days overdue and my waters broke before my contractions started, this means that I had 24 hours to get going otherwise I'd have to be induced which I was dreading.
I really wanted to go to the local birth centre and have a water birth. I'd tried some hypnobirthing and felt like I would be able to stay calm and relaxed.
Unfortunately my contractions didn't get going fast enough and I had to go to the hospital to be induced.
Gary had a little snooze on a beanbag on the floor and I asked the nurse for something to eat at 3am. I was absolutely starving and the Angel that she was she brought me some toast! Best thing ever.
When they inserted the canular I was really upset because although I never had a birth plan I had always heard inductions were more painful and I was admittedly terrified.
However! This is where my birth story turns positive, yes the induction was more intense but there is pain relief there for a reason. I can be quite stubborn and planned to give birth without pain relief which is all well and admirable but you don't get a medal for it!
I managed on gas and air for a while but once my drip was increased I asked for more pain relief. I was given pethidine and it totally spaced me out! Not to the point that it didn't hurt but so that I couldn't concentrate on the pain as much I just had to go with it. I even remember thinking this is an amazing experience! At one point my body just totally took over and the incredible urge to push came over me. It was so involuntary! I said to the midwife I need to push she not yet to which I replied I can't, I'm not doing this! That's how much my body took over.
From the start of being induced to pushing her out was 4 hours! Not too bad all in all. We didn't know the gender before hand so to see her pop out and then hear "it's a girl!" was incredible. My first thought was I knew it! Aha. From about 15 weeks I thought she was a girl but I wasn't sure because I didn't have much sickness which you usually do with girls.
When she was born I still stared at her on the bed in amazement. She was here!
She didn't make much noise when born and I asked the midwife if she was okay and breathing to which she replied I think so!? She cut the cord and whisked her over to the resuscitation bay but she was absolutely fine just a little quiet. Finally I got a cuddle!
After being stitched up I had some more toast, wow. Hospital toast is the best thing ever!
Despite not having slept for 3 days after our first lot of visitors left we just stared at her in awe. She was finally here and she was a girl! I was filled with such an overwhelming feeling of love that every time I looked at her I cried.
I love being a mama it's the best (and hardest) thing ever!
