Finally getting round to putting mine up! Thomas Ross Hickin 13/2/14 8lbs 2oz born 19.47 A couple of weeks before I actually gave birth I was in hospital twice with severe pains coming round from my back to my bump. Had the pains quite a bit but only went to hospital twice when they were really bad. The first time they sent me home after some pain relief and monitoring the baby saying it was gas and the second time I was kept in overnight with even more pain relief while they tried to figure out what it actually was. After an ultrasound of my organs it turned out I had an enlarged gall bladder and pressure on my kidney which they said was causing the pain. I was sent home again and told to try and sleep forward, pretty impossible at 38 weeks but I tried! Think it was 2 days later I woke up in pain again so at 2am I went and ran a bath, from 2am to 6am I started having irregular contractions which then became regular up until 11am when we decided it was time to go to hospital. On getting there and getting hooked up to be monitored the contractions petered out to practically nothing! The severe pain I had been getting before decided to stick around and I couldn’t lie down or move without it hurting so bad, could only stand hunched over which helped a tiny bit. On being examined they said they could only get a fingertip to my cervix so nothing was happening there. After deciding there was no way I could go home in that pain they moved me to a delivery suite and monitored me off and on. Was still in so much pain and only having very few contractions so ended up having pethidine, a tens machine and gas and air. The tens machine helped a little bit but I could still hardly move and I had been vomiting and not keeping anything down since 6am that morning. Was desperate at this stage and it was around 6pm when one of the midwives suggested a C Section, I asked whether an induction could be done but they basically said I could have a C Section or stay in the pain for a couple of days and see if anything progressed. I did ask about an induction but they said it wasn’t an option, I don’t know if it was a language barrier or what but I still don’t know why it wasn’t. After the constant pain and vomiting we decided it was the best thing to do. Unfortunately H wasn’t allowed in with me L In theatre the way they wanted me to sit for the spinal was so painful I was practically screaming so they had to give me general anaesthetic. Next thing I knew I was waking up in theatre and Thomas had been taken to the neo natal. H showed me a picture when we got to my room but he was in the incubator and I was still pretty out of it so didn’t go see him. When I was woken around 2am the midwife took me to the toilet and helped me wash up a bit and change then I managed to walk through and finally see him. Was horrible not being able to hold him, his breathing was being regulated as it was quite fast. He was in the incubator for 2 days getting cup fed formula, on the 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] day I expressed some colostrum for him but he was mainly being fed formula. Finally on the 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] day he was out and could be with us, H stayed at hospital too. When I could finally try breastfeeding the midwife looked at my nipples and was like oh they’re flat. Something I had never realised!! After unsuccessfully trying to breastfeed he ended up with formula and I managed to express for his next feed. H was sent to the shop for nipple shields to help with BF which kind of worked but milk would leak everywhere and he’d still need to be topped up with formula. At 5am a midwife came in and was trying to force my nipple into his mouth so I was stressed and he was screaming. Eventually she gave in and he had formula again! Since then he was so reluctant to take a BF with the nipple shields so before leaving the hospital we decided best way forward was to express. On getting home we tried quite a few times to feed with nipple shields but we were never that successful so now he has expressed milk through bottles and we’re all happy and Dad gets to feed too. He also has occasional formula when I can’t keep up! Think all the trouble in the hospital has affected my decision to give him breast milk since birth went as far from plan as it was possible to go. I hate my birth story and I know I shouldn’t but feel crap I didn’t have a natural birth and that we had to wait 2 days before we could properly hold him. We gave him some feeds holding him through the incubator holes but no proper holding until he was out. Glad H was off on paternity leave when we got home as I felt awful for the first week, had fever and chills which I think was to do with not emptying my boobs properly. Had a blocked milk duct too which was so painful and affected my milk production for a couple of days. Since then we’ve been getting on well but still not ready to think about another one! I’d be afraid of those pains starting again but I’m sure he’ll have a little brother or sister one day J I would hope not to have a C Section next time but from what I’ve heard it depends on your doctor.