Waters went, 13 hours or so of contractions, 2 doses of Pethidine and the all-important paracetamol (just to make you feel like you’re helping the pain, when really it’s not even touching the sides). After all that time, all that pain, you can imagine my delight at being told I had reached the dizzy heights of…ahem…4cm.

Then things became a bit lot of a blur. After an epidural, people started getting a bit panicky. Lots of rushing around, lots of flashing lights and monitors going nuts. A midwife hurriedly removed my nail varnish (she didn’t even file and buff, so I knew things were getting serious). Then I was in theatre being prepared for an emergency c-section. I honestly don’t remember much more than that – any recollections I do have are what Mr D has told me, and his memory is notoriously rubbish anyway.

That was first time around. I wanted #2 to be different. I wanted a natural birth. Turns out, though, you don’t always get what you want… Continue reading →