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Aimee Kate Bridge Dorrell Sex: girl Born: 13 February, 2010 Age: 2 years & 2 days Birthday in: 363 days Starsign: Aquarius Development: See the 24 months page. Biggest achievement so far: -

Birth details

Original due date: February 3rd 2010
Type of delivery: Vaginal (without pain relief)
Duration of labor: 4hours 50 mins
Weight @ birth: 6lbs 130zs
Length @ birth:

Aimee-Kate-Bridge-Dorrell`s birthstory

Ok where to start? It`s a long one I`m afraid, but I don`t want to forget anything! After anticipating Aimee would not show until after the weekend and that I would be going in to be induced on Monday it was a shock to start having contractions Friday night. During the day I had been cleaning like mad so that I could relax and enjoy the weekend. Anyway at 11.20pm I started to get period pain type cramps, and they were really manageable and were 15 minutes apart. After a couple of hours I had a bath and called the labour suite to inform them I thought labour had started. By 5.30am the pains were coming every 5 minutes and were lasting at least a minute each so the midwife said to come in.
Got to the hospital at 6am and was examined and found to be 2 - 3 cms dialated so i knew this was really it, woohoo! I was so happy. The midwife said to go to the canteen and eat someting as i`d need my energy and to have a walk for an hour. I ate a youghurt as i felt a bit sick but couldn`t manage much walking as the pains were quite intense when they came. Returned to the labour ward and was spoken to by a midwife. She was really lovely about it but said i should go home and sit it out for a bit otherwise the doctors would start interfering to make my labour progress quicker. She explained that Aimee was lying spine to spine with me and that it could take hours for her to turn especially being my first labour, and that my cervix hadn`t softened or effaced enough yet. She said by tea time the pains should be so bad i`d not be having gaps inbetween and that was when i should come back in. So i reluctantly left the hospital at about 9am to go home.
At home I went to bed and dozed through the pains on and off for an hour. During this time my mum arrived at the house so she was ready to come with us when we went back in. (I had my mum and matt with me). This was lucky because as soon as I woke up at 10am I was in agony and crying and getting no rest between pains. Matt phoned the hospital and said we were coming back.
Arrived back at the hospital again and the same midwife - Helen - examined me which hurt alot this time as was already in pain. She said i`d shocked the hell out of her because what should have taken hours I`d bascally done in an hour. My cervix had softened and was 100% effaced, Aimee had turned and i was now 4cms dialated. I was relieved the pain had been serving a purpose. She said i could stay in now as this was established labour and this was pretty much how the rest of the labour went - really fast!
I was offered the water pool which I thought would be nice just to try, and Helen said I could start Gas and Air in the pool too, so in i went and she said she wouldn`t interfere with me while I was in the water unless she had to, so there was no count down with the dialation and time just slipped by. I mean don`t get me wrong, the pains were horrendous and constant but the Gas and Air made me not focus on the amount of time, every minute seemed new somehow?
I asked for pethadine after what must have been 2 hours with gas and air in the pool but was told i`d have to get out of the pool for a while as it can make you drowsy. As appealing as the pethadine was i didn`t want to get out of the pool and the midwife and my mum and matt all said i was doing brilliantly as I was so to stay put. Eventually another hour later, i`d surpassed the pathadine idea and wanted an epidural because the pain was sooo bad! I couldn`t take it anymore and was getting tired and a bit panicky because of the pain. They all tried talking me out of it but i was adamant I wanted it despite saying at the beginning I wanted no needles. Helen said I`d have to come out of the pool, be moved to high risk, have needles, a cathater and that I`d have to wait for the anethatists. I sad ok! She left the room and came back to say it was too late because the anethatists were in theatre and she knew from my pains that by the time they were out the baby would be really close. I think i cried and called her a liar saying she just didnt want me to have the pain relief!
Anyway after some encouragement at how well I was doing I felt the urge to push, Helen examined me because she thought it was too early - I`d only come in at 4cms 3 hours earlier - and said I`d suprised her again as I was 10cms and ready to push. Man - pushing was hard work! It`s a whole different pain and I was terrified of tearing or being cut so wasn`t maximising my contrctions. Everyone was so lovely and reassuring though. The gas and air was taken off me at this point as it was making me a bit drowsy and my lips had swollen a bit from sucking on it so much. So as if pushing wasn`t bad enough I did it with no pain relief at all!
After an hour the head was almost out and I suddenly got brave and really went for it with my pushes. The burn of getting the head out will stay with me forever but it was all over in just a couple of seconds and I coud feel her head with my hand. One more push later and she was out, and floating in the bottom of the pool waiting for me to scoop her out. It was the most amazing experience.
I never planned a water birth or a natural birth for that matter but I`m so glad I did. And it was all down to my midwife who was just brilliant. She really knew what she was talking about. Thanks to her against the odds I had a quick first time labour. If i ever had to do it all again I wouldn`t change a thing it was perfect, and now my little girl is here safe and well, and from the minute she was born has been so content and laid back. I love her so much already! She was born at 15.10 on Saturday 13th February 2010 weighing 6lbs 13ozs.

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