From 4am on the 12th I was in latent labour, loads of irregular contractions and backache and just generally feeling like crap! My mum came to visit that evening and she was convinced I would have the baby before the weekend (I guess mothers do know best!)
My regular(ish!) contractions started around 4am on the 13th, and by about 9am the pain was getting worse and I was convinced I'd had a leakage, so we made arrangements for our dd to be looked after and made our way to the hospital. Got there around 10.30am where I was checked over and told I was only 1cm dilated!!
They timed my contractions too, and they were still ranging from 3mins apart to 20mins apart. I felt like an idiot and appologised to the mw for being a wimp and going in too soon! 
They would have sent me home, but because his was my 2nd child and I'd had a bit of water leakage they sent me down to the ward around 1.30pm with a birthing ball and just told me to keep mobile and be patient.So I changed into some pajamas and turned to Florence and the Machine on my mp3 player. We were convinced we would be there for the long haul! However, the birthing ball worked a treat, every contraction was getting more unbearable by 3.30pm, and I'd barely read 2 pages of my magazine when at 4pm I had a massive contraction and felt a huge pop between my legs. My waters had well and truly gone. DH ran and got the mw, who promptly sat me in a wheelchair and took me back to the labour suite. Was checked over again, and now 5cm dilated. I remember having a laugh with one of the mw's about 'One Born Every Minute' and the girl who was throwing herself around the bed!
Maybe I shouldn't have tempted fate...Before I knew it the pain was comming thick and fast, the gas and air was just starting to be useless for me and the mw offered me pethedine, which I really didn't want because it made me too spacey last time and I hated it. Regardless, I asked if I could get a half dose, just to take the edge off the pain, and the mw went to make arrangements but it was too little too late as I all of a sudden went to 9cm and started getting the urge to push with each contraction. All quite scary, I wanted a drink of water and to change position and to push and to hold DH's hand and to breathe the g&a all at the same time but there was no time for anything! So with established labour only having lasted 30mins, I pushed for 8mins in total, with our little guy arriving at 4.38pm.
He was delivered onto my chest and I had skin to skin, in floods of tears and absoloutely in love with my tiny 6lb 8oz bundle of joy.
Just wanna say a huge thanks to the girls on here who I chat to on a regular basis, you know who ye are. Without you I wouldn't have gotten through the rough pregnancy I had with my sanity intact.
I am truly blessed to know such lovely people, who put up with so much of my moaning and complaining! Thanks for always being there when I need somewhere to turn. xxxx
must get an mp3 player actually!!