Baby Badger arrived over three weeks early, and was very fast: a mere 45 minutes between first noticeable contraction and pushing! My midwife referred me to the consultant because of this and I had my appointment a couple of weeks ago. They are not particularly interested in seeing me again (which suits me just fine), but did say Badger Cub is likely to be early too, even if not quite so early, and to expect it to be as quick if not quicker (he mentioned 30 minutes being a possibility this time)!
If you're a mum who had a long or even normal length labour, you're probably wondering what I'm complaining about...
There's a midwife-led unit less than ten minutes drive from my house; the place I wanted to go with Baby Badger but couldn't because I hadn't reached 37 weeks. I'll be aiming for there this time, but I'm worried that I won't make it to 37 weeks again, in which case they're not allowed to take me.
The plan I've agreed with my midwife is that I should prepare for a home birth. Not my ideal scenario, but pretty much my only option. I'm not nervous as such about doing it at home, but I am nervous about who, if anyone, will be with me.
I was lucky last time that my waters broke overnight, which meant that they were easy to notice when I woke up. I might not be as lucky this time: they might not break until labour is established, or if they break whilst I'm upright I may not even notice (apparently Badger Cub's head might stem the flow). If this happens, the likelihood is that Father Badger won't make it back from work in time. There's a fairly good chance that the midwife won't make it to me. I feel as though I might be in the very real position of having to deliver my own baby, and quite frankly it's a scary prospect.
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Oh sweetie - sending lots of hugs
ReplyDeleteBoth of mine were super fast too (Littler was about 40 minutes) and people just do not understand how scary it is to be alone, in incredible pain and not knowing how long it will last. There is no time to think, to get ready, to acclimatise to labour, to drive anywhere, to have any control over the process. It is the scariest most alone time of my life
In both my cases the MW only just arrived before the baby, and we were lucky and had planned for a homebirth both times
Good luck, it will be ok - has your MW talked you through delivering the baby, when to call the paramedics if she can't make it (we had them called but asked that they let the MW lead because she was here fractionally sooner and I didn't want fuss) - we had a session before Littler where she went through what to do if things went too fast
Will keep everything crossed you get to 37 weeks and the baby takes at least half an hour to get here
My midwife is planning to talk me through everything at my 28 week appointment - she knows I'm worried...
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