I had my membranes ruptured at 2pm and we were sent for a good walk - in a hospital???? Nothing much happened and at 5pm they came and put local anasthetic cream on my hand ready for the syntocinon drip. At 7pm they reexamined me and found Nicholas had slipped down and had blocked the tear in the membrane - hence nothing happening! (still 3cm at this point) She pierced my membranes like a champion darts player, and shortly afterwards the contractions started in earnest. (I was so thrilled to be told I wouldn't need a drip at this point).
We were then moved from the ward to a delivery room and at 8 o'clock they were coming thick and fast, I tried a bath which was useless - projectile vomiting wasn't helping! My tens machine irritated the life out of me and by 9pm I thought I was dying.
I got very bolshy at this point and the midwife just told me to turn my tens up - luckily I was so stroppy the shift change midwife got me some gas and air, so she could examine me - but you could tell she was 'humouring me'. I couldn't use the gas and air I was too tripped out on pain and the midwife got the shock of her life at 9.30, to discover I was 9 1/2 cm dilated. To calm me down more than anything they gave me 50mg pethedine, which I feel a bit silly about cos I only had two more contractions! At 10pm they stopped and the pushing ones started about 15 minutes later. I'm afraid to say I was very naughty and decided I wasn't going to push my back hurt and I was tired, and i figured they could just get on and do a ventouse or something! Sadly for me Monica the midwife had other ideas and at 11.45 she said ' you needn't think I'm getting a doc' to do a ventouse when his heads in and out like a mouse out a hole'. I tried then to push in earnest and Nicholas James squeezed his way into the world at 11.02pm.
He is absolutely gorgeous and worth even the 2nd degree tear I have! Feeding is getting there - although he doesn't like my right boob much :).