I’m only just now getting a minute to write my birth story, in the first few days after birth I was so traumatised and emotional I couldn’t even read other peoples let alone write my own!

So on the 5th April I got induced at 11am, they gave me my first gel insertion at 12pm, that didn’t really do much, I was still closed so at 7pm they gave me my second gel, after 20 minutes my contractions started but full whack pain every 2 minutes and lasting 30 seconds each, this didn’t let up at all. I had my mum and partner with me. All the nurses could give me was paracetamol and codiene for pain relief which did not touch the sides

So around 10pm when they were due to kick birth partners out for the night I told them both to stay with me because I was in so much pain, the nurse ran me a bath to help ease contractions but I could only stay in it for 10 minutes as it helped me to bend over the sink or bed when they came. At 20 past 10 my waters broke but I was only 1cm by this point.

They sent me to go for a walk to get things moving which was really hard because I had to keep stopping to hold the wall with every contraction. At 12am I couldn’t take the pain so they gave me pethedene which just made me drowsy, but I came round at 2am and was sick everywhere, but they couldn’t move me to delivery suite until I was 3cm.

Roll on a very long night and finally at around 8am the new nurses cane round and said they would move me to delivery suite where I could have stronger pain relief, I was still only 1.5cm.

I went round and asked for an epidural not sure if they would say yes but they did!

And let me tell you, my birth plan was just to have gas and air but the epidural was amazing! They started me on the oxytocin drip and by 2.30pm I was 4cm, at 7.30 I was 6cm, at 9pm the epidural was wearing off on one side which was agony but if they tried to turn me on my side the baby’s heart rate dropped so I had to endure the pain. At 11.30pm I was fully dilated but they said to leave it an hour before pushing as baby still had to move down. So 12.30 I started pushing, I was pushing for 90 minutes before a doctor came in and said he needed to help me get the baby out. I was so relieved as baby was on her side and I couldn’t push her down any further!

He needed to use forceps and also gave me an epesiotomy which resulted in 2nd degree tear, but I didn’t feel a thing! Only the contractions which I was still pushing with!

At 2.34am on the 7th April my little angel was born

Sophie Elizabeth, weighing 7lb 15oz.

I’m so in love and every bit of pain was worth it! You really do forget what you’ve just gone through as soon as they’re here!

Sorry for the long story but thank you for reading if you made it to the end 😘❤️