Hello! First time Mum here. Now that I’ve finally had a few decent hours sleep and got my head around things I wanted to share my story with you all as I’ve been reading all yours! Lots of writing ahead...

I’d had a lot of pelvic pressure and period cramps for a few days, probably from about 38 weeks so I started on the raspberry leaf tea and tried to keep walking about.

On Wednesday evening (I was exactly 39 weeks!) I was starting to feel some contractions but there was no pattern to them, fading off until it ended with me just throwing up and going off to bed depressed.

Then woke up at 9am Thursday morning feeling a little trickle in my knickers (nothing really new) but suddenly... GUSH! Ran off to the toilet and had already gone through a pad and my underwear. I never expected my waters to go first! I called the hospital and they said they wanted to see me at half 11 just to check it was amniotic fluid.

Immediately after the contractions came back and hard. By the time my husband got home they were every five minutes and absolute agony, but I was determined to wait for our appointment. By the time I got there it was unbearable and I was bleeding quite a bit.

The poor trainee midwife that was not expecting a fully labouring woman did a cervical cancer exam (my first ever!) and said “oh blimey. I think you’re more dilated than you think. 9cm in fact!”

After that she ran off for the canister of gas and air and I just went with it. Breathing through the contractions for a couple of hours. My sister and Mum got there in the meantime and I had an audience for the next bit.

As soon as I was fully dilated I felt the urge to push and got her out of there in 40 mins. All I really remember about this bit is the excitement when they saw all her hair!

Jessica Joanne came into the world at 14:31 on Thursday 16th November weighing 7 pounds 12. Her due date was 22nd November and I really wasn’t expecting an early cameo!

5 and a half hours of labor total and only used gas and air. Had a pretty bad perineal tear which took the shine off an otherwise

perfect birth but I won’t hold it against her and I didn’t feel it happen at the time! Already the love of my life!