My birth story

Charlotte Mia Crompton arrived into the world on the 7th October 2012 at 7.38am weighing in at a whopping 9lbs. I am completely and utterly smitten with her and it was worth every single second of pregnancy and labour. Below is my birth story, sorry if it is long!

I went into Warrington General Hospital on Thursday 4th October to be induced; this made me 38 weeks pregnant, 2 weeks before my due date. Jonathan and I arrived on ward C23 at 3pm; however, they were so busy it was 7pm before anything happened.

I was put onto a monitor to make sure baby was happy, due to the midwife having trouble finding the heartbeat (weight blamed once again) I was sent over to the labour ward to be put on a more sensitive machine. After this I was scanned to check the baby was still head down which it was at 11pm I was given an internal examination and a pessary was inserted into my cervix. I was monitored at regular intervals throughout the night and this time there was no trouble finding the heartbeat.  At 5am I had another pessary inserted. At midday on Friday a registrar examined me and found that I was 2cm dilated and therefore, didn't need another pessary which was a relief as it was quite painful and at that point, one of the most undignified moments of my life. I was told that once there was room on the labour ward I would be taken over for my waters to be broken, this didn't happen for a long time.

On Saturday at 4.30pm I was told there was now room for me on the labour ward, I was again monitored to make sure baby was happy. I then had a cannula put into each hand, well on my right hand after several attempts it was inserted into my wrist. One cannula had the hormone drip to bring on labour and the other had a sliding scale of insulin and glucose. I was unable to eat anything and could only drink water whilst in labour; I also needed to do the finger prick test to check my blood sugars every hour throughout labour. I was then examined and was still only 2cm dilated, my waters were broken and the drips started. I was unable to move during labour which made it really uncomfortable particularly on my lower back as the baby was back to back.

My contractions started at 10.30pm, they felt like bad period pains and were short but regular. My back was still aching and I was very uncomfortable I was given some paracetamol through a drip to ease the pain, however, it didn't work so the midwife suggested that I use gas and air which worked a treat it took the pain away and also regulated my breathing. I was re-examined 2.30pm and at this point I was only 3cm dilated, I was devastated that I still had another 7cm to go before I could even begin to start to get the baby out.

Things are a bit hazy from this point as I relied heavily on the gas and air so was out of it for most of the time. I remember being incredibly thirsty and shouting at Jonathan to get me water. The next thing I remember from being 3 cm was being 9cm dilated, at this point the urge to push was overwhelming but I had to keep breathing through the contractions, Jonathan was shouting at me every time I was pushing instead of breathing as the baby's heartbeat was falling. My Mum arrived back at the hospital at this point and I am glad she was there to see her grandchild being born.


Charlotte got her shoulders stuck during delivery (shoulder dystocia) which meant the alarms were raised and about 20 people rushed into the room to get her out quicker. I have googled it since and it can be fatal and only happens in 1% of vaginal births, so I am very grateful to those who helped deliver my baby safely.

I was in active labour for 4 hours and 43 minutes. I had a 2nd degree tear to my perineum which required stitches and I also grazed badly.

The midwife ran me a bath which Jonathan helped me with whilst my Mum stayed with Charlotte, we were then taken back over to the ward. Once on the ward Charlotte had to have her blood sugars tested 3 times over her first 24 hours, she was also very cold so was placed in a warming cot. We were discharged on the Tuesday afternoon, unfortunately, we ended up back in hospital on the Friday for the weekend as Charlotte was badly jaundiced and had lost 15% of her birth weight (they allow up to 10%), this meant she went down to 7lb9oz. After tests at the hospital it was found she had to have light treatment for the jaundice, she was dehydrated and had raised salt levels. I felt she was breast feeding well however, she wasn't as my milk supply wasn't good enough; I made the decision to switch to formula and expressed as much as I could. I am still devastated about not being able to breastfeed but the most important thing is Charlotte is healthy and she now weighs 9lb 1oz.

Updating from my hospital bed!

Hopefully this will work and mistakes will be at a minimim.I have now been in hospital for over a day. I am currently 2cm dilated and awaiting my waters to be broken, baby is head down but is back to back meaning labour could be longer and more painful.

The staff have been really good and not once have I felt bad about my weight. Official hospital scales have me down as a 15lb gain so 1lb above my target gain :-)

My next update will be when I've had the baby if it ever happens!!!!!!

A miracle!

That's right a miracle has happened the baby has finally gone head down after over 36 weeks of deciding it doesn't want to do what every other baby does  it has now got into a position where I can have a normal delivery. I was booked in to be induced next Thursday the 4th October which will make me 38 weeks, so by next weekend I should have my baby.

I have now just realised I have to get this baby out, I  have pretty much spent my whole pregnancy convinced I would need a c-section so haven't really thought about any other way of getting the baby out. I think part of this is denial as I am not great when I am in pain but the options of pain relief given leave a lot to be desired so fingers crossed I am one of these people who just pushes the baby out in a few hours!

My blood pressure is good 120/75 which is lowest it has been for a while, my blood sugars are controlled really well, my urine showed leukocytes and white blood cells so it is being sent off for further analysis, it could indicate an infection. They measured the fundal height as 38cm so just a little over a week bigger than it should be.  I mentioned to the consultant that I had reduced movements from the baby but hadn't worried as I still felt it move a little and assumed it was running out of space to move. Anyways, she wasn't happy so wanted me to be monitored, the midwife couldn't find the heartbeat as she said there was 'too much of me' I mentioned that at 31 weeks the heartbeat was found straight away to which she replied well there is more of you now, baby is bigger and placenta is bigger. For a start I have put a couple of lbs on since 31 weeks and surely if baby is bigger the heartbeat would be easier to find. Anyways, they decided to scan me again (even though I had one on the portable scanner at the consultant appointment) baby's heartbeat was fine, blood flow was fine, it wasn't moving but that was because it was asleep. It's good job I wasn't anxious about it all, I knew the baby was fine otherwise I would have referred myself to the hospital. I think part of the reason that I haven't felt it as much is because it has moved as I am definitely feeling baby a lot more today.

This week was also exciting because I got to meet my best friends one week old son who is so cute and unbelievably tiny considering he was 8lb 6oz when born. I got to hold him for ages he only cried when he wanted feeding and I managed to not drop him or break him. It also made me realise I have no idea about babies, how big they are or how to look after them I am basically only good at cuddles! I feel I should have given antenatal classes a go but at the same time realise that human's do not come with a manual and that women have been having babies for thousands of years and we are all still here. Also, when thinking about it I have learnt much more from life than I ever have in a textbook.

Weight wise I am hovering between 12 and 14lb gain which as always I am very pleased about, I am planning a bit of a 'eat what I want day' before getting back onto Slimming World, I already have meals made up in the freezer including bolognese sauce, lamb and colcannon pie, cottage pie and mince beef stew. I also plan on making some fish pie and some potato and leek soup. I have a lot to do from when I finish work tomorrow until induction day.

Baby's hospital bag

After finally finding a bag I liked for the baby's hospital bag it is now packed and ready to go.

 My bag was £10 from Tesco, I love it an it will be handy for overnight stays. The photo below contains:

• packet of nappies
• packet of muslin cloths
• cotton wool pads
• nappy sacks
• two pre made milk cartons (in case breast feeding doens't work)
• baby wipes
• swaddle blanket
• fleece blanket

For clothes I have packed;

• 3 pairs of socks
• 1 hat
• 1 pair of booties
• 1 pair of scratch mitts

• 4 long sleeve vests
• 3 short sleeve vests

• 6 sleepsuits

• Hungry Catterpillar jacket
• I love Mummy and Daddy outfit

36 weeks pregnancy update

I am now 36 weeks and 1 day pregnant, meaning less than 4 weeks till full term (40 weeks) and 6 days until I am classed as term, meaning that if the baby is born at 37 weeks there should be no complications. 

I am still feeling quite tired and really heavy around my middle. I have to go for a wee several times a day which is annoying and I have some lower back pain. I have gained a couple of lbs meaning my weight gain is now 12lbs, I am still confident that I will be at pre pregnancy weight once baby is born. 

I had another growth scan, obstetrician appointment and diabetic appointment on Wednesday. The scan went fine, the baby is now back following the same line it has been, it is still larger than average measuring on the 75th centile line (anything between the 10th and 90th are considered normal). Measurements were:

• Femur length 71mm which is 3mm larger than 2 weeks ago
• Head circumference is 331.5mm which is 28.5mm larger than 2 weeks ago
• Abdominal circumference is 325.5mm which is 3.5mm larger than 2 weeks ago

The baby is predicted to weigh 2983g which is 6lb 9oz, so in terms of weight the baby is around 6oz bigger than it should be at this stage, so measuring around a week bigger. I was surprised at how little weight the baby had gained in the last two weeks and am glad that the baby hasn't gained more chunk on it's tummy. However, the measurements can be 25% out either way. 

After the scan I spoke with a obstetrician and was glad it was the same woman I saw last time as I find she listens and will answer all my questions. The baby is still transverse meaning I have two choices at this stage, I could opt for an elective cesarean section or I could have an External Cephalic Version (ECV) where they try and manually turn the baby head down. With an ECV it only has a 50% chance of working and of those that they do turn 6% turn back. Basically they will inject me with a drug to relax my uterus muscles and then grab the baby to turn. I am still researching the pros and cons to this, however, if I opt for this and it works it means I will be able to have a normal delivery. I have to go back next week to either book in for the ECV or the cesarean section. My urine was clear and blood pressure was 131/84.

I also spoke with the diabetic doctor, it was someone who I had never met before but she was lovely, very English, very middle class and eccentric (think a female Boris Johnson!) she also had a student in with her. She was really pleased with my glucose levels and this was the first appointment that I didn't have to up any medication, she did say I may find my levels are getting lower so I need to be aware of having a hypo (low blood sugar) and to contact them if this happens. She also took my blood pressure even though it had already been done 10 minutes before, she got my blood pressure as 128/72! She used the old fashioned way of taking blood pressure, whereas the obstetrician used an electric machine. I much prefer the old fashioned as it hurts less. 

Hospital Bag

I thought I would show what I am packing in my hospital bag.

• Bath towel
• 3 packs of Maternity pads 
• 2 packs of Breast pads
• Nipple cream
• Toiletries 
• Slippers
• Flip flops (for the showers)
• Nightshirt
• 2x PJ's
• Tissues
• Chewing Gum
• Dressing Gown

My toiletries are pictured below:

I have packed, some things aren't pictured as I keep adding things!

• Shampoo and conditioner
• Hand sanitiser
• Toothpaste
• Shower gel
• Moisturising body spray
• Flannel
• Moisturiser
• Eye cream
• Dry shampoo
• Face wipes

My bag is just a bog standard holdall I did want a new bag but it really is pointless for a few days in hospital. Once I have the baby's hospital bag sorted I will do a post of that too. 

35 weeks pregnant

I am now 35 weeks pregnant which means 2 weeks before I am classed term and 5 weeks before I am full term. However, as mentioned on my previous post it is likely I won't go past 38 weeks, so is 3 weeks Baby Crompton should be here!

This week has been rubbish, I am currently sat in work on my 6th day out of 7 which is a lot more tiring that it usually is. I then have 5 days off which will be nice, means I can sort out any last minute bits and bobs. Including tomorrows shift I have 8 shifts left until my maternity leave starts on the 28th September :-)

I have had a lot of lower back pain this week and I am not sure if that's the baby or the fact I have been extremely busy at work and having late nights, I am currently finishing work at 1am. I am still waking up 3 or 4 times during the night which is annoying but I guess my body is getting ready for the baby's arrival.

Today I got a phonecall from the shop that I am buying my pram from, they are having trouble getting the pram in red as the range is changing and they are unsure as to whether or not red will be in the new range. I am fuming! I ordered the pram 8 weeks ago and they have only told me today and I have possibly only 3 weeks to go. I don't like any of the other colours in the range, so I will have to spend Saturday seeing if I like any of the other prams the store has. Otherwise, it's operation pram again. The one I love is a lot more money that the one I was meant to be getting and I am not sure if I can justify spending an extra £200 on what is essentially the same thing.