When we sat down to write our stories, we were both amazed at how well we remembered tiny details about the births of our children. When we put pen to paper the raw emotions and feelings came flooding back.

We have really enjoyed reading your stories and now here are ours for you to enjoy. . .

Both my pregnancies were quite easy, I seemed to be able to carry on doing everything I did before I was pregnant , I think it helped that I didn’t gain too much weight.

My 1st baby was born in England , my due date came and went without any signs of the baby coming. 11 days after my due date I went into hospital to be induced , I had a pessary inserted by a not so gentle handed nurse! and was left to wait for labour to kick in. My mum was with me , my husband was at work ready to come when things started to happen! I do remember several hours after the pessary was inserted saying to my mum "if this is what labour is like then there is nothing to worry about!, only to be assessed later by a nurse telling me I would need a stronger dose as the first one hadn’t worked. By this time my mum had gone home and my husband was with me , I was given a stronger pessary and that did work ! I had pethadine to go through the night though that didn’t really have any effect .

In the early hours of the morning the pain increased I was taken to a side room and then taken to the delivery room . I was very well looked after there were about 5 midwives all looking after me, it was obviously a quiet time to have a baby!!

I had decided to have an epidural ,I did try the gas and air though I couldn’t get past the taste of plastic, my husband however did take to it well! The doctor came in to perform the epidural, my husband did look a little afraid, I thought this was because maybe he had seen the length of the needle but no it was the size of the doctor or at least the size of his hands!!! He went to get his size 12 surgical gloves!

Before they administer the needle they have to spray your back with cold water I presume to numb it for the needle , that was the worst part for me , I didn’t feel the needle which was lucky as they had to do it twice, once the epidural took effect I felt nothing . I had to be told when to push as I couldn’t feel any of my contractions the only pain I felt was like a dead leg feeling in the top of my right leg.

When the midwife said she could see the top of the babies head I imagined that the baby was nearly out so when I reached down and felt the head I was surprised how little the head was through .

I had to have an episiotomy to make it easier for the baby to come out. A few more pushes and my baby boy was born 8lb 4oz with a signature family trait of a hammer big toe thanks to his dad!

Baby was gorgeous and well ,my mum and husband were both in tears it was an incredible feeling and a precious reward. I was sewn up because of the episiotomy but because I’d had the epidural I felt nothing . I breast fed my baby and he took to it really well. I stayed in hospital for the night and came home the next day!.

He is now seven years old, revelling in the "job" of being a big brother.

My youngest son’s birth was a completely different to my first. He was born 2 weeks over due and by emergency caesarean in a foreign country.

I’d had a straight forward pregnancy with no problems. My husband myself and son had moved to Greece so obviously decided to have our baby born over there.

In Greece the baby is always born on its due date either naturally, by ceaserean or by being induced. Because my first son had been eleven days late I wasn’t worried about leaving this baby to go over due, though this was going against the norm in Greece my doctor was ok with my decision .

I think part of it was putting off having the baby for as long as possible, I was very scared as this was a completely different experience from what it was like having my first baby in England, this really was the unknown, I had no one to ask questions to about their experiences and what happens when you are having your baby. Another scary issue for me was that they do not allow the father of the baby into the delivery room(though they did say this would be possible for us, I’m sure they had said this many times to different couples especially foreigners)

I was monitored regularly up until the day I had my baby. The day before I had my son I was having a routine check up, they said they wanted to monitor me closer over night so I would have to stay in the hospital . I remember feeling extremely nervous but knew that I had to listen to the doctors and also knew I had to have the baby at some point .

I was taken up to the maternity ward and shown a room where I would be staying until I had the baby I was sharing with two other women. Through the night I was woken every two hours and taken into a room so they could listen to the babies heart beat ,they would have a print out of it to keep it on record, I was told to breath more deeply so the baby would have more oxygen! This obviously scared me so I didn’t sleep at all.

In the morning they said I would be having the baby today ,I remember feeling like it wasn’t really happening to me ,my mum and husband were with me at the hospital I think were all as nervous as each other. I got changed into a gown and had to go up some stairs into the labour room ,there were no other women having babies so it was quiet I was on my own . They attached plugs to my stomach so they could monitor the babies heart beat, they tried to break my waters to start me off, but when they did this there was no water only blood ,I could see the lines of the babies heart beat on the monitor screen and hear the babies heart beat ,it would be fine one minute then just stop and flat line, by now I was scared I knew the baby was in trouble .

The doctor told me that there was a problem and that an emergency ceasarean was vital. All my jewellery was removed and given to my husband with very little explanation as to what was going on, luckily we did have a friend who could translate what was going on to my husband and mum. All I remember was being wheeled through into the operating room being told basically what was going to happen , then a mask was put over my face and then I remember nothing until a couple of hours later .

Thankfully my youngest son was born weighing 6lb 2oz , we were told that he had swallowed his muconium (babies faeces) which they had to suck out and that he was very poorly as the placenta had broken down so he hadn’t been feeding for over 2 weeks. He was very lucky to survive .

It was a very scarey experience the doctor who performed the ceaserean doesn’t usually do the operation but as it was urgent he thought if he didn’t do it there and then the baby wouldn’t survive. I am extremely grateful to all the doctors involved.

I had to stay in hospital for 5 days , my husband and mum took it in turns to look after my eldest son and stay over night with me, sharing my single bed as there was only one spare bed and obviously the greek family bagged that !

I was not allowed to eat or drink anything except water for the first 3 days and then it was very bland and basic food., one advantage was that I lost some weight whilst in hospital!.

My son is now a happy and healthy little 3 year old boy who is cheeky and best buddies with his older brother.

My first pregnancy was a very emotional time for me. I was young, naive and in a loveless relationship.

I felt alone and unable to talk about it for a long time, but because I was still living at home with my mum and dad I knew that time would have to come. Telling my mum and dad was probably the hardest thing I have ever had to do. They are wonderful, understanding people and I knew, deep down, that nothing would change between us but, I felt like id let myself down and I also thought id let them down.

When I was about three months pregnant I plucked up the courage to tell them, they were shocked, and worried but incredibly understanding and I felt so much better that it was off my chest.

Getting my head around actually being pregnant was probably the hardest part of my pregnancy. I didn’t suffer from morning sickness and had a relatively easy time. I put on a lot of weight ( which is never particularly pleasant for a girl! ) and I didn’t enjoy the way my body was changing it felt kind of alien to me. At around six months I experienced the excruciating pain that is, heartburn! It was so painful at night that I slept sitting up as this seemed to relieve it slightly. I was told that they say it is caused when a baby has a lot of hair! Thankfully, in a few weeks, it passed and I returned to actually sleeping at night, lying down.

I was healthy up until I was around eight and a half months pregnant. A routine check established that I had very high blood pressure. I hadn’t felt unwell although I had been getting frequent headaches. The midwife explained the seriousness of it ( pre eclampsia ) and I had to have total bed rest until it stabilised. Luckily within a week it was back to normal and I was up and around again.

My due date passed… and passed until it was a distant memory. Twelve days later I went for a walk with my mum, on the way home I started getting what felt like period pains after a couple of hours the pain was more intense.

I phoned the hospital and was told as it was my first it could be some time yet and to stay at home as long as I could. However I was so scared that it wasn’t long before I was in the labour ward. I got changed into a gown and watched telly with mum. I paced around for what seemed like hours. My contractions were gradually getting stronger and stronger.

I had a pethadin injection to ease the pain it made me really sleepy. I woke up during painful contractions and slept when they had passed. It was like this until it was time to push. So with mum holding my hand I eventually ( after twelve hours of labour ) I gave birth to a beautiful little girl weighing seven pounds fifteen oz. She had a mass of black hair so perhaps the heartburn story is true!

I stayed in hospital for three days. I tried breastfeeding but felt uncomfortable with it so after about a week I changed to bottle feeding and because I felt more comfortable me and my little girl were happier.

At the beginning I was petrified of telling my mum and dad, but looking back I couldn’t have done it without them.

My second pregnancy was a very different experience, not so much physically but emotionally. I was ready for it, I wasn’t scared or anxious and I had a partner by my side, so even though I was running around after a four year old it was easier.

Again , thankfully, I didn’t experience morning sickness and this time round I didn’t suffer with heart burn either, but at twelve weeks I had a bleed we went to the hospital and were told that at this stage it could be something or nothing but that it was quite common.

So with heavy hearts we went home and played the waiting game. Luckily all was fine and at sixteen weeks I had my first scan and there on the screen was my little boy. The nurse told us that I had a low lying placenta but encouraged us that it was likely to move as the pregnancy progressed and that I would have extra scans to check. The nurse was really lovely and informative and put my worried mind at rest, and rightly so it did move and aside from leaning either side of what seemed like an ever inflating gigantic beach ball to simply put on ones socks and shoes!!

I carried on to have a rather easy, healthy pregnancy.

This time round, again at about seven months, I had low blood pressure, the symptoms I experienced were, light headedness and seeing stars. It only lasted a few weeks and my midwife was not concerned, my symptoms went and everything was fine again.

The day before my due date my friend was getting married I joked about my waters breaking at the after party and receiving some sort of pressy from the owners and that’s exactly what happened ( apart from the present !!!) So with the wedding congregation manically waving goodbye we made a hasty retreat to the car. So after driving to the Christmas party my mum and dad were at for them to look after my little girl, we finally arrived at the hospital.

The midwife hooked me up to a monitor and explained that sometimes it can take a few days to go into labour after your waters have broken, but I knew I was in labour my contractions were getting more painful and they were coming faster. The midwife checked the monitor and said I was definitely in labour she offered me some tens machines. When she came back she took one look at the monitor and told me it was to late for tens machines it was time to go to the labour ward. This time round everything was moving so fast I didn’t have time to worry. My partner was more worried than me!

I had gas and air, but it made me feel sick ( also after taking it I thought I sounded like the exorcist!! But my puzzled partner assured me that I didn’t! ) I had a pethadin injection I don’t remember it hurting at all, then in a matter of minutes the midwife said she could see the head. I had trouble pushing and my baby was becoming distressed. I was feeling a little out of it and very tired. The next thing I knew there were four doctors standing by the bed my partner was looking worried and I felt like everyone was talking at me I didn’t no who to listen to, the midwife grabbed my arm and called my name loudly and told me just to listen to her .

So with the midwife talking to me my baby boy was born . 6 pounds 12oz. He was, and still is, beautiful and healthy and worth all the pain and more. I didn’t stay in hospital but looking back I wish I had taken the opportunity of a few days rest and time on our own before we went home.

( oh and of course a big box of chocolates!!!!).

Marie and Karen