Did your pain relief techniques work?

[AmandaJ]

With the last 3 boys the shower was my saviour, with Julian I was at home using the shower and toilet to sit on....seemed comfy at the time lol and I got to the hospital ready to push with him.

[grub17]

omg I'm due soon with my 2nd and I also feel scared... i know what's coming!! lol.

But I'm scared this labour won't go as wonderfully as my first with DS (8hr spontaneous labour, a bit of gas, no tears, gorgeous healthy baby )

pre-labour - raspberry leaf tea and lots of kegles to get them muscles ready

Stress balls - used this as pain started to build. Moved to ''aahhhiiinnnggg'' and distraction (as juju recommneds) at various stages.

Tens Machine - we hired one online for $100. Used it early on and it was great. Introduced gas when tens wasn't quite enough.

Gas - dialled it way down and slowly increased it thinking "pain will get worse so don't use it full on yet''... this got me to 9.5cm

Hot water - shower rocked!!! wish i'd gotten in earlier.

Fit ball - I laboured nearly my entire labour on the fit ball, rocking from side to side, with a tens machine and gas toilet was also a good position.

DH - he was my secret weapon. He also read Juju's book so was a fabulous help in keeping me on the straight and narrow. When fear crept in and i started losing my focus, he'd bring me back. He kept chanting "baby down, baby down, you are doing great, good pain, etc etc" just over and over and looked me right in the eyes... that look was my anchor. I even think I could get through an entire labour with nothing but my DH cos he was that good at positive thinking and distraction etc. So get yourself someone who will keep you in the moment iykwim.

I'm opposite to you... i really didn't do well on the pushing and not looking forward to it but i'm determined to "do better this time" lol.

So to answer your question - yes i feel my techniques worked. I really do think you need to be mentally prepared for it ... and have a good understanding on why it hurts! and what is happening etc lol.

Good luck, i'm sure you'll do such a great job.

[Arimeh]

JM - I dunno about tens, might be too late to look into the hire of it? I'm due on Tuesday. I'll pack a comb though, thanks for the tip.

Tashy - I know, I'm relying on DH a lot this time to keep me calm this time round. Hopefully he stands up to the job!

Star - thanks honey You did awesome without an epidural

Kel - yup all that gibberish helps I want to move a lot more this time too, I think sometimes my butt was stuck on the loo.. lol

Arcadia - I know I have to be more accepting of the pain this time round, I just don't really know how to do that?

Amanda - that sounds awesome!!

Grub - Gas isn't an option, there will be no drugs available to me. Probably why I'm freaking out cos even though I did it last time, I also know what I'm in for!!! Although logic does suggest that I've done it once, I'll do it again... lol

I'm probably stressing for nothing right? Its weird, sometimes I'm completely calm and ready for it, and then other times its like I freak out and go "omg what have I done!!"

[grub17]

you might be able to hire one from a local phsyiotherapist on short notice And maybe do the online order JIC you go over.

One thing that helps me is the stats that each birth gets shorter and often a llittle easier as things have already stretched once. But i'm one of those women who is so sure that'll i'll prove that little gem wrong! lol.

You can definitely do it again!!!!

[krystals]

I've seen you around. I know your type....

You have strength. You have courage. You were made to do this. You know you can. You been there, you know there can be pain, you'll expect it. Each contraction is the both of you working together. You'll breath through it, you'll go with it. You'll have support. They'll be there for you and with you. You'll birth your bubba. Because you can. You're amazing!!!

K x

[Junglemum]

You'll be great. You can do it. And know that there is always a back up plan if you need it.
I picked up a TENS machine two days before i went into labour. Had a bit of a life crisis and totally forgot about it and then had a mad rush to find one. So if you don't have the baby in the next 24 hours, you might be able to get one if you want it. Most places do overnight delivery, obviously not on a Sunday though. But you didn't use it last time, so i reckon you'll be just fine.

[Heaven]

First time, nope, didn't work for me. I read some books but I wasn't as prepared as I thought I was or needed to be. I didn't really have any specific techniques So after a long labour the pain got to me too much and I couldn't get my head in the right place. That ended in c/s.

With DD2 I was way more prepared and so was DH. I made him read juju's book and parts of Ina May. He was really prepared, he took notes! lol. And we went through it and he asked me what techniques I liked most and what I wanted him to do etc. This made a huge difference. He knew exactly what to do. He was like my coach and he kept me on track the whole way.

I was scared too. Every time I would feel some prelabour I would get butterflies and feel sick because it would remind me of DD1's labour. When labour started I was still scared and for the first couple of hrs was wondering how on earth I would do it and felt like crying coz I was scared. But then with DH's help I got over it and started to think more positively. I kept thinking 'open' and 'down' like the books said and concentrating on what I wanted my body to do. That helped me keep my mind on track and not think negatively. When I started to lose it I would look DH in the eye and he would remind me of what to do.

I was much better at the breathing this time too. I really concentrated on it and took long slow breaths breathing out and keeping my lips loose. I also used the TENS and a heat pack and paced during contractions. The best thing was the shower at hospital though. The hot water on my belly and back was amazing in labour both times.

Anyway, I think although I was way more scared second time around because I knew what contractions would be like I coped a lot better! Part of it was being prepared with techniques and having DH prepared so he could remind me and I didn't have to remember it all by myself. But the other part I think was also that because I knew what the contractions were like I was more ready for them. I was expecting the worst, lol, and actually it never got as bad as I expected it would. I dealt with it a lot better because I was ready for the pain and not shocked by it. I was like you too, not scared of pushing, just scared of the contractions. Pushing wasn't painful for me, just hard work, and crowning didn't hurt much either, only felt a bit of a sting even though I had a second degree tear.