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mummytobesep08 
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 Topic: whats ur best tip for labour?
Posted: 23 August 2008 at 9:59am |
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for all those who have done it before- give us some tips!!!
Whats ur best tip? Was it using a particular item? Hoping in the bath?
And what was the best thing you had to make immediately after the birth easier?
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Angel babes '07 & '10- <3 <3
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arohanui
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Posted: 23 August 2008 at 10:04am |
Best tip ever - acupressure. Honestly it's amazing! And anyone can do it. Here's another thread with more about it...
acupressure
Also to try to relax and stay calm... just ride with it... it makes you feel a lot less pain if you're not all worked up!
ETA: linky
Edited by arohanui
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Mama to DS1 (5 years), DS2 (3 years) and... 
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mum2emj
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Posted: 23 August 2008 at 10:25am |
definalty try to realx as much as you can, try to enjoy it. i laughed and had fun through my last labour it made it go fast 
the bath is FANTASTIC if you love baths. i really enjoyed it in 2 of my labours but you either like it or not, my sister ran the bath and couldnt stand.
just go with the flow, be prepared to have your ideal birth plan thrown out the window! lol (like with my first!)
oooh the best thing after was the nice warm shower! and feeling clean and warm during it... ahhh... could of stayed in it for ages.
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Kelpa
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Posted: 23 August 2008 at 10:31am |
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Suck on the gas! Good for you and good for the baby.......Big deep breaths...he he
Have some nice hand or body cream to smother on after your best ever shower.......
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Henna79
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Posted: 23 August 2008 at 10:31am |
stand up as much as you can. I moved around a bit trying to find the best possie for Alex to move down naturally and standing up did it. When I was on bed things slowed down so I did my best work standing up  plus you can use your legs to help push down when the time comes.
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Peanut
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Posted: 23 August 2008 at 10:38am |
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My best tip is don't have a birth plan! Then you can't stress whne its not going to plan and you can't be disappointed afterwards that it hasn't gone to plan.
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SaLin
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Posted: 23 August 2008 at 10:51am |
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This will sound weird - but juggling balls! If you are keen to try for a drug free birth check out a book called "Bith Skills" by Juju Sundin. I never in a million years thought I would use the juggling balls (you use them to hit together) but they were fantastic.
Also my husband - who was completely up to speed with how I wanted things to go and was absolutely brilliant.
Afterwards - food :-) and your fav shower products.
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11111
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Posted: 23 August 2008 at 11:12am |
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SHOWER forr me was the absulute best. And try to keep moving as much as possible. try to stay off the bed if you can.
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Deez
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Posted: 23 August 2008 at 11:27am |
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Walking around and standing...when i had a contraction i got JK to hold my weight...i felt good to me...don't know how he felt about that but it was either that or let me fall...hahahaha....try and stay relaxed no matter what is going on around you.
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busymum
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Posted: 23 August 2008 at 11:32am |
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I hated the bath but absolutely loved the shower. Best tip for labour: talk openly about your fears and worries etc with your support team and let them help you. Just go with the flow with what feels right and comfy, don't worry about sticking to the plan.
Best tip for after: pack something yummy to eat (e.g. those muffin bake muesli bars, they are yum!) and try to stay at least one night at the hospital so that you go home rested, and also have had as much latching help as possible during that time.
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emz
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Posted: 23 August 2008 at 1:29pm |
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Don't have a plan, just talk over with your LMC when you need to go to hospital etc.
Get in the bath or shower, hot towels (apparently, we didn't have time), if you do have to get strapped to the bed, get some good reading material or music (wish I had it).
Afterwards.. I think you can take Arnica tablets to help heal stuff? Also yummy food (whatever you want!), I had a freakin disgusting 'risotto' that looked like dog sick, took one mouthful and refused it. Some hospitals (read: most) have disgusting food so get a friend to bring in something you've been craving, like sushi or a cold meat sammy. Have a shower, put on some deodorant, even do your makeup if you want!
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james
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Posted: 23 August 2008 at 2:08pm |
breath do not ffffffffforget to breath makes things sooo much easer 
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lilfatty
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Posted: 23 August 2008 at 3:19pm |
epis rock
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Mummy to Issy (3) and Elias (18 months)
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Rachael21
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Posted: 23 August 2008 at 4:06pm |
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Only take one contraction at a time, don't think about whats coming just go with each contraction and enjoy the break in between. Don't be afraid to yell and scream or tell people what to do.
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caitlynsmygirl
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Posted: 23 August 2008 at 5:31pm |
 Peanut wrote:
My best tip is don't have a birth plan! Then you can't stress whne its not going to plan and you can't be disappointed afterwards that it hasn't gone to plan. |
agree, nothing will prepare you for labour,so my advice is dont be rigidly prepared and accept that it often doesnt happen as you want it .
I wanted an epidural , and a marching band telling the world how great and goodlooking i was ....i got neither ...
(but i found out later the marching band was sent to the wrong place )
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busymum
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Posted: 23 August 2008 at 5:46pm |
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The food was pretty good here in Palmy, but I needed extra between meals. Feeding is exhausting work!
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Maya
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Posted: 23 August 2008 at 7:57pm |
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I agree with both the long, hot shower and the food for after delivery, my support crew had chocolate muffins and ham rolls, I was starving!
As for during labour, just go with whatever you feel like doing at the time. With Maya I managed a lot of early labour in the bath and by walking around the house. WIth the gremlins I was stuck to the bed and really wanted to be able to move around. With Chiara I had my midwife put a scalp monitor on so I could move around but then discovered I hated being upright and preferred to manage the contractions sitting slightly reclined on the bed pushing against the foot of the bed with my feet when they peaked.
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Shezamumof3
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Posted: 24 August 2008 at 9:55am |
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Try and relax and much as you can and breath through your contractions, this really helped me from losing the plot after my 40 odd hours of labour!
I would breath in as deep as I could when the contraction started and then breath our hard and long with the contraction and this rerally helped me keep in control.
Good Luck!!
ETA-Oh and like jess said, just take each contraction one at a time and think to yourself, Im one more contraction closer to meeting my baby and say good bye to that contraction and welcome the next, Oh and definitly dont have rigid birth plan! I had a birthplan and it didnt go at all to plan as I ened up with an emergency c section after my mammoth labour. If you dont have a ridgid birthplan you wont be upset if it doesnt go to plan, I wasnt, I was just glad my boy was here and labour was over lol
Edited by CadensMum
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first
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Posted: 25 August 2008 at 9:55am |
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I'll echo what everyone else has said about taking each contraction as it comes then saying goodbye to it and hello to being closer to your baby being here.
Know that your body is in control and let it be. Just do what your body want you to do. I stood and walked around between contraction but as the contractions came I'd full into a squat on the floor either supported by my DH or by a chair/wall whatever I could find. Trust me you'll never view ordinary objects the same way again.
Afterwards cuddle your little baby as long as you can with skin to skin. This helped me to recover so much. I wasn't fased so much by the grim of it all I just wanted to relax with my little man.
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SJD
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Posted: 25 August 2008 at 1:09pm |
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Best bit of advice I got was labour doesn't always end up being really painful. You may be the type of person who has a relatively easy time - people just always want to share the horror stories!!
I also used a TENS machine for the first few hours and found it gave me something to focus on when the contactions came.
And the gas and air didn't provide much pain relief for me but forced me to take deep breaths which stopped me from fainting at times!!
And as long as you have a healthy baby it was a successful labour no matter what drugs, intervention etc you had. For the first few days (weeks!) I felt that I had 'failed' because Madam was a forceps delivery - how idiotic was that. All because I thought a ventouse was okay but hated the idea of forceps!!
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whats ur best tip for labour?
