Labour and delivey - the timetable

2.00am	Bridget wakes as labour starts. The contractions are already only 6 minutes apart but a bit irregular.
4.00 am	Bridget wakes Malcolm, and the TENS machine that Bridget has hired goes on. We get ready to make a move. James is woken up at about 4.30 as we get his clothes ready to take him to Helen's (our child minder).
5.00 am	We phone Helen and tell her that things have started, and arrange to take James over on our way to the hospital. At around 5.15 we leave home, drop James at Helen's, and go to the hospital.
5.45 am	We're met by Linda, the Midwife who helped with James' delivery two years ago. The baby monitor is put on and shows all is well. First examination shows 3cm dilation. Bridget copes well on just the TENS machine, but moves on to gas and air at about 8.30 when the contractions get stronger. We're met by Carlene, another Midwife who's just come on duty and will look after the delivery. There's still about 4 minutes between contractions, and they're fairly regular..
10.00 am	Second examination disappointingly shows that we've only reached 4cm dilation. Third examination at 11.30 showed only a little progress, so after some discussion we elected to have the waters broken to speed things up. This carries the likelihood of more pain, so the risk of needing extra pain relief.
11.50 am	The waters are broken by Carlene and suddenly everything starts happening very quickly. Carlene rushes to get two support Midwives and the various bits of equipment into the room. The baby is lying well and very soon the head appears, although the cord is round the neck. With a little manipulation all is well, and Bridget starts pushing again.
12.03 pm	Matthew Patrick is born! He needs a bit of help from the resuscitaire at first, but is quickly breathing and crying. He weighs in at 9lb 7oz (4.3 kg). After cleaning up, both Bridget and Matthew looked great.