Chosing a delivery after pregnancy from hell

Hi all,
Im not sure what to get from posting this, maybe just needing a whinge, but I will give you some background information first.
I currently have 4 beautiful kidlets, and all through their pregnacies and labour everything was perfect. No morning sickness, no complaints, easy QUICK no drugs natural births and fine recoveries.
However now I am currently 34 weeks pregnant with baby number 5. So far this has been the pregnancy from hell. I seriously hate it!!
From the get go I had morning sickness. Well no not morning sickness, after lunch and all night sickness. Ugh!! If I had this with any of my others they would have been the last!! How do ladies do it time and time again?? YUK!! Anyway, I felt horrid for the first 16 weeks with this sickness then it went away. Yay! But days after the sickness went I was struck down with debilitating fatigue and headaches of the worst kind. Every day, up until about 26 weeks. Docs wouldnt do anything as they claim it was all part of pregnancy. Yea ok so it is but geesh!! Then at 26 weeks I thought I pulled a muscle in my groin. Ohhhh OUCH!! When the pain only got worse and not better my midwife decided I had SPD. Woo Hoo, just what I always wanted. - But wait theres more....
The pain was so bad it radiated into my hips, lower back, inner thighs and knees. Around that same time I also found out bubs was in the breach position. (What?? Me?? Have a breach??) I went to the physio who did some poking and prodding only to find out that this SPD had also cause major muscular issues in those same areas. Ahh huh, so this explained why I would lie there for hours on end trying to get comfortable and it was only sheer exhaustion that made me fall asleep for around 20 mins to an hour before I was awake again and had to go through the same process. So this goes on for a while pain gets worse, no its starting to get better!! Yay .... nope I was wrong its getting worse again.
Anyways needless to say every midwife appointment has confirmed that bubs is still breach, and Im not having any major movements that suggests he is rolling let alone turning. Now at 34 weeks, about 4 weeks ago I started waking up with my hands feeling numb. Eww it felt gross! However that pain grew very quickly to include my arms and shoulders too. And guess what?? Now they are saying I have pregnancy induced carple tunnel syndrome. ARE YOU SERIOUS?? What else could I bloody get?? 3 weeks ago they suggested wearing wrist braces especially of a night time. OH. MY. GOD. How good was sleep? (aside from he getting up every hour to trickle in the loo) Sleep was bliss. Why oh why did I get excited by this? I should have known by now that this pregnancy wasnt going to give me a break for a hour let alone a second. A week was all I got before even the braces werent adequate enough to keep the carple tunnel at bay. So now Im surviving on maybe 3 hours sleep a night, I am absolutely and utterly exhausted all the time, have numb arms and hands most of the day and night and hobble around the place (which even sometimes hobbling is out of the question). Now add that to all the other minor ailments of pregnancy, like heartburn, sore rib, inflamed hemi's (lol sorry TMI) toileting every couple of seconds and getting no relief, plus the demands of running a house looking after 4 kids tending to a husband, and trying to find time for me. :(
Now I sit here and all I can think about is the Labour. Seriously I am so over it Im not sure if I want to go through the pain of a natural birth as well, (thats if its still an option for me) and Im seriously considering electing for a c - section. But then I get the guilts up and think - dont be such a sook!! But Im seriously not coping too well anymore and really dont know if the pain from labour will push me over the edge. Im just really stuck as to what to do.
Any advice???
Sorry its so long.
Thanks all

To be honest, I think the easy way out is a natural labour. I can't imagine a 6 week recovery from surgery with 4 kids and a newborn, it would be terrible. You are over the pain at the moment, a cs will only elongate this painful period.

:hug: sorry to hear about all the complications.

Ahh you poor mumma! :hug:
I agree with Maruschke, I don't think a CS is exactly the 'easy' way out.... I can understand you being over it all, I really can :hug:
I'm pretty sure there are some threads around regarding SPD & labour / delivery, a lot of women on BB who have been through this, hopefully someone who has been there will be able to come in & give you some advice.

I can't help with the SPD, but the carpal tunnel will get better soon after bub is here. It is a horrible condition but i think by a month after bub was born i didn't have any symptoms. It eased earlier than this but took awhile to completely go.

I had pain from seperated stomach muscles and carpal tunnel and hated it because the pain seemed senseless. What was the point of it- the bub wasn't in my wrists. But the pain of labour was completely different- because there is a point to it, you see progression and you know that it is helping to get your baby earthside and you know it will end.

take care

:hug: :hug: The latter stages of my 4th PG I was in a lot of pain and I was pushing myself so hard just trying to keep up that quite often I'd be in a sobbing mess by the end of the day. If you can see a physio for the SPD then it will be worth it because I found my symptoms were worse after I had the baby. It was better in the immediate weeks but by 6 or so it had worsened. It's never too late for a little help in managing the pain and also to plan on your recovery period with the correct posture and exercises.

Oh wow, sounds like you are really suffering :hug:

I have to agree that I don't think a c-sec would be the easiest option for you! How were your other four labours, I know you said quick, how was your recovery? Because as one of the PPs said, a c-sec brings with it extended recovery...

You just described my last pregnancy. :hug: It does suck.

One thing I will tell you is that I had a natural drug free birth (not much choice given my babies like to coome quickly) and the labour was alot easier then my other two and almost straight away my SPD and other issues started to improve.

I know c-section sounds easier now, but I have watched others recover from c-sections and I would not wish it on myself or anyone: and after undergoing 'keyhole' abdominal surgery, I would now go through 10 natural births then a c-section: provided I had the choice to do so. recovery after surgery is not fun, particularly when you have to look after not just your newborn baby, but other kids as well.

Oh you poor thing, you have really had a crap pregnancy. Seriously you have 4 kids and have had a terrible pregnancy, I think you deserve a medal and can have any type of delivery you want, I am certainly not going preach to you about pros and cons or get in your way!

One thing I will mention though is that when you do have a crappy pregnancy (I had Hyperemesis Gravidarum during my pregnancy and was quite sick the whole time, so reasonably crappy) it can actually mess with your head a bit and make you more afraid of stuff like labour, delivery and looking after the baby afterwards. I didn't realise this at the time, but have done some reading recently and found it isn't that uncommon, I guess a kind of physiological side effect of a really hard pregnancy.

So my point is that what you are feeling at the moment *might* be a bit because of the path you are travelling, and probably being totally overtired which makes EVERYTHING going on in your head 10x worse. It might not be how you really feel, your thought patterns *could* be a bit of a victim of your circumstances. Or it might not, either way, it is all OK and you are doing a great job!

Good luck!

Ok so I have survived another 3 weeks. Arggg! Lol. Yes I would love to have a c - sec (eliminates the pain of labour for me at the moment) however that is not going to be the case (which is probably a good thing anyways). Previous 4 labours have been speedy quick, painful, but no complications, and recovery simple as!! Things havent settled down yet, but I think on that day I was just having a really hard time with it all. Today I just want labour!! Give it to me, now now now now!!! Lol. I will take the pain of contractions and delivery if you let me have labour today!! Hahaha.
Oh well 3 weeks to go. Im still actually hoping for a bub before christmas, but what happens will happen. Thanks all for your replies in any case. I have had a rotten pregnancy, but compared to some Im having an easy pregnancy so I guess I should stop feeling sorry for myself!! Lol. Anyway thanks again all!! xx

:hug:

One thing I repeated to myself often. You won't be pregnant forever :lol:

sending you lots of ~labour vibes~ I hope your little one doesn't keep you waiting too long.

Have you got a doula?

You just described my pregnancy although I did not have carpal tunnel. I fixed it though (as best I could).

Maxolon for morning sickness, got rid of that at 20 weeks.
I actually had SPD so severe I could not walk normally at any point of day or night, and could not sidestep (crab step) without severely hurting myself. Chiro 3 times a week initially followed by once a week for rest of pregnancy fixed the SPD. If pain got VERY bad I would also have a codeine.

I then labored at home until contractions were 3 mins apart (had been to chiro the day before and was walking and feeling fine). Doula rushed me to hospital and out flew Parker in 26 minutes from when we pulled up in carpark. I used hypnobirthing techniques (didnt go nuts and do a course, had my sister in law coach me on breathing etc) and my labour was FAR less painful than my first. Well to be honest it didn't actually 'hurt' =\ I wasn't in a mindset where it was translating as pain.

I had just assumed I would get a c section due to the severity of my SPD. But hun.. I was up and walking around 30 minutes after his birth.

You CAN do it. The natural labour will help heal your body and my SPD is now 100% gone. Parker is 11 days old.

I hope this helps. -hug- I know how 'OVER IT' you feel right now.. believe me.

Start googling SPD fact sheets and ask your husband to read them. Explain to him you CAN technically do certain tasks but it inflames you later.
Ask the kids to do more than their share as it hurts alot for mummy to do it. They will surprise you. I'm not used to telling my daughter my problems but when I explained to her how much pain I was in, (after I nagged a little) I really did have the best little helper I could ask for. I sat everyone in my house down and explained to them SPD sufferers often end up on wheelchairs and to avoid this everyone needs to pitch in and help.

And lastly.. If you drop something on the floor- LEAVE IT THERE and make someone else pick it up. It is just inflaming your pubic symphysis so much. I know you're doing it.. You need to stop!! I did it all day too until third trimester and I only had ONE kid at home!! Kick it against the wall and ask the next person to walk past to fetch it for you. Once I started doing that it made all the difference.

Oh and for the sleeping problems ask your doctor about Temazepam. Mine gave it to me for my insomnia as it is the meds she prescribes to her pilots that do long haul flights and need to sleep in hotels. It's great because it clears your system during the night and you're not woozy when you wake up. I get a good 8 hours and wake up headache free. If you can someone to wake up to the babies, enjoy a night off

With SPD there are some positions that are best avoided in labour.

Lol Hi Ladies :)

Wow I had totally forgotten about this thread. The pregnancy in question resulted in a beautiful (stubborn) wee boy coming in at 7pounds 7 ounces. Unfortunately I didnt have him before Christmas, but he did come on his Pops 60th birthday and was also a first grandson for his Pop. Delivered via natural birth labour and delivery 3 hours. He is now a strapping 2 year old who brightens his mummy and daddy's day every day. And his siblings absolutely love him. With his little head of red hair (who knows where the colour came from) he has so much character for a 2 year old. The SPD disappeared the minute I had him and the Carpal Tunnel was gone about a week after (although after the birth I wasnt in the same kind of pain from the Carpal Tunnel that I was in while I was pregnant!!)
Although he hasnt been very happy with mummy over the last few weeks as mummy ended up with a very SURPRISE pregnancy (time for slice, dice and quarterisation with a touch of sterilisation for me :D ) which has resulted in another beautiful little man.
The last pregnancy I had no SPD nor Carpal Tunnel which I found quite odd (so did the midwives) and he was a HUGE baby (4.4kg - 9p 12o). So now a mumma of 6 and still loving life. Thanks for all your replies and I hope everything went well for all who replied.

Oh and Katters - Congrats on the birth of your wee guy Parker!! :) 11 days old - Oh so cute!! My latest edition is 12 weeks already :( Time has gone far too quickly.

Oh dear. Lol. I didn't even think of checking the date of the first post. How funny.

Congratulations on your beautiful baby and your surprise.

What a lovely update! I was a bit confused about the dating for a minute there, too. :)