Jeslyn,
my birth story quite drama leh... Think I passed the starting stage of labour pretty smoothly coz my contractions were painless, up till I entered active labour stage. A shortened version:
22/1/07, 1.19am: Woken up by strong contraction. Got tummyache and urge to poo, so went to toilet. Because I haven't pooed that day, I thought I was having constipation, so quite irritated (acutally think back am very lucky I never push the baby out into the toilet bowl hor??!!)
1.50am: Got a bit of show. Finally! But then again, notes said that even when there's a show labour might only start 1-2 days later. Decided to go back to sleep since contractions not very pain leh.
2am: VERY strong contraction. Decided to wake hubby up. Hubby helped me to time contractions: clocked in at 4.5min interval. PANIC.
Around 2.30am: Finally finished changing (had some difficulty because I couldn't focus when I was having contractions, so I changed very slowly), grabbed a storybook on the way out (coz labour very long one hor, right?) But in the car my contractions were clocking in at 2.5min interval.
2.45am: Wheeled into delivery suite. Cervix check by midwife: 8-9cm dilated! Nurse got gas ready for me while midwife rushed out to call Dr.
2.45-3.15am: Midwife broke my waterbag. After that, contractions intensified and urge to push was very strong.
Around 3.15-3.20am: Dr Ho arrives, dresses and then sits down and chats with my hubby, just like any other antenatal visit. Wanted to faint liao - how come no one seemed to understand that I was DYING??!!! Gas machiam no use because I was in complete panic mode liao, so I wasn't breathing in properly at all.
Around 3.20-3.25am: Finally got the OK to start pushing. Given very brief instructions. But I was too gone by that time to follow instructions properly. After 2 "pushes", Dr Ho said I wasn't pushing at all, so decided to use vacuum (indescribable experience).
3.30am: My princess was born.