ok ladies, here's my birth story:
(9th oct)
11.30pm - Admission to TMC. Hubby did the registration and i was whisked away to my ward.
(10 oct)
12.30am - Nurse inserted the pill and was put on CTG for an hour and my blood pressure was checked.
3am - can feel mild cramps but still wasnt sure if it was contractions. drifted off to sleep.
8am - had my breakfast and washed up before being led to observation ward.
8.30am - i was given enema to clear my bowels. spent at least 15min pooing after that! then did was strapped on to CTG
10am - gynae came and checked my cervix, which was 3cm dilated. then she broke my waterbag. ouch! it was slightly worse than a cervix check. can feel water leaking out uncontrollably after that. was also put on a drip to speed up the process. gynae said i was actually having contractions but i cant really feel it. she said i can take contractions pain quite well coz it was actually quite strong already.
11.30am - can feel contractions coming on stronger, but still bearable. was 4cm dilated now. nurse asked if i wld like to hv my epidural now. i agreed as i dont wanna wait till i experience extreme pain!
12pm - epidural was administered. Hurt like hell! the anaesthetist gave a LA and then epi. was told to curl up like a cooked prawn but it was difficult due to the potruding tummy and rigid limbs. im not exactly a gymnast. after much struggling and yelling, epidural was successfully done.
12.30pm - numb.......
1pm - gynae came and cervix was 6cm dilated. half an hour later, i was being pushed to the labour ward. i actually spent most of my active labour in the observation ward, as that day was considered a peak period with as much as 15 c-sections ongoing! so no labour wards avail for me.
2.15pm - still numb. did another check, 8cm already. bb's hearbeat dropped alittle, so had to use oxygen mask.
2.30pm - epidural finished! can feel the urge to push as my legs were beginning to lose the numbness. checked cervix and its fully dilated! nurse said to control the urge first, if became unbearable then call her.
2.45pm - called the nurse in as urge became to strong to control. did another check and saw bb's head crowning already. gynae came in and everyone got ready for action! had to do an episiotomy. gave 4 hard pushes and POP!
2.59pm - the arrival of my gal!
Overall, quite a smooth delivery. Active labour (after bursting of waterbag) is abt 4.5hr) didnt suffer from any side effects of epidural, juz a little shivering at first but quickly under control. and only took less than 10 min to get the little fellow out. my episiotomy is also healing well.. the most painful part of the whole process is actually the epidural administration and the after pains, when the uterus is contractiong. i cried alittle on the 1st nite after delivery coz the cramps were really bad, and ponstan didnt work! but am glad its all over!