2. MAKING NOISE Making noise really helps. Long deep moany exhaled noises are better than high squeaky ones that keep your muscles and pelvic floor squeezed tight.

3. The books all talk about massage but for me i didn’t want to be touched. I suggest a hand gesture to use during contractions that means ‘don’t fucking touch me’ decided on in advance. I was worried about upsetting Mitchell because i know he wanted to help and slapping his hands away seemed a little cruel but it was all I could manage.

4. I am sure I have mentioned that the best thing I learned was to feed lying down. even if you are awake, being in bed is still pretty restfull. It also helped at nap times as transferring babies out of my arms was a challange, feeding to sleep on the bed then slipping away worked well for me. I could then make the transfer when she was really sound asleep.