# Announcing the birth of Eloïse!



## mrsraggle

So FINALLY I get to make my announcement!

As you know I was 40+14 on Saturday 8th May and due to be induced. Well at 40+13 at 5.15am Friday morning my waters broke in bed. They were a little green so we called the labour ward and went straight in.

I was examined, 1cm :dohh:, and taken to a room to get moving. We walked and bounced and danced but by lunchtime nothing had happened and I was taken to another room to start pessaries. 12 hours later I had horrendous back and period pains but guess what, STILL 1cm. So they left me overnight (in the bath I was in so much pain but they wouldn't provide anything stronger than paracetamol).

On Saturday morning, they started up the drip to bring on contractions. The pain very quickly became quite unbearable and I started using gas and air but it wasn't long before I was screaming for an epidural - I was 3cm. At some point Saturday afternoon I was given a mobile epidural which still left me with pain I had to really breathe through. 

At some point around 6pm the team became unhappy with the fetal heart rate and complete lack of progress (still 3cm) and so I was prepped for an emergency c-section. They topped up my epidural to knock pain out completely but I did feel pain in the c-section in some small areas where it hadn't worked - and had to use gas and air.

Eventually at 7.02pm Eloïse came screaming into the world. :cloud9: I was not able to see her for quite a while as they did all their tests on her first. My husband told me "it" had my nose and brown hair and he was eventually invited over to find out that we had a little baby girl. He brought her over to see me and she's perfect. Utterly perfect.

We were in hospital until last night. We both ended up with infections needing IVs for and now we're just getting our heads around having a little one in the world to care for. She's very good but a lazy latcher and we're struggling with breastfeeding without help every time. I hope we can get there soon.

To be quite honest, the whole experience was incredibly traumatic. It's hard to get it across it words but I will definitely *NOT *have another baby unless it's by elective c-section. But I love our baby girl and I would do it all again for her.

Some photos!
https://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd169/rachelwestlake/DSC01130.jpg
https://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd169/rachelwestlake/DSC01144.jpg
https://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd169/rachelwestlake/DSC01199.jpg


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## catfromaus

Yay!! Been wondering what happened! Sorry that your labour wasn't what you wanted, but you are absolutely right- your little girl is worth it. Hope breastfeeding becomes easier :hugs:
I predicted girl! Usually rubbish at these things, so quite chuffed there! Something about your bump was giving off girl vibes!
Eloise is a gorgeous name, and she looks beautiful.
So happy for you!

Cat
xxx


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## sabriena

Wow sounds like the labor was really hard :( However, your daughter is gorgeous and I'm glad you are both doing well! The April mommies were waiting to hear from you!! Congrats!!


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## kimmyjane84

As posted on the other thread - A HUGE CONGRATULATIONS :)

Sounds a bit like my experiences with my son... Needless to say, we went elective this time :)


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## kimmyjane84

kimmyjane84 said:


> As posted on the other thread - A HUGE CONGRATULATIONS :)
> 
> Sounds a bit like my experiences with my son... Needless to say, we went elective this time :)

PS- Now my laptop is showing the pics properly I thought I'd better add - She's beautiful :) xx


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## pink_bow

congratulations on your little girl xx


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## LankyDoodle

MrsRaggle, she is simply beautiful.

I'm so sorry you found the whole thing very traumatic. I didn't end up having a section, but I did have the drip and can concur that it is quite simply one of the most intense experiences imaginable. I had no waters the whole way through my labour and had to have the pessary to start me off, so that was supposedly more painful than normal labour, but NOTHING prepares you for the pain and intensity of the synto drip and I don't care what anyone says about relaxing, trusting your body, breathing through it... this drip changes everything, so you did the right thing getting the epidural (see, it's easy for me to say that to other people but I can't seem to accept it myself!). I'm pleased you were able to have the mobile epidural, though. The one I had wasn't a movile one but was patient controlled which was nice as I stopped using it for a while. 

I'm sorry you got an infection and had to stay in a few days, but glad you are now home and enjoying your gorgeous little girl. I know from my experience that after birth not going quite as you'd planned, it seems to be taking forever to feel 'happy' with everything and I keep going over things, how if I'd done things differently I might not have ended up with things going the way they did, been very tearful. So do talk to people about how you're feeling if you do feel down at all.

Enjoy it. xxx


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## LankyDoodle

Oh and with regards feeding - Isabella would slip off at first and the people on the ward gave me help, but it was then found she had a little tongue tie. I'd say to you to perservere and try and experiment with the different positions - beause I am big and have large breasts, we find the rugby hold seems to work best for us and we get a good latch that way.

Good luck with it, and if you continue to struggle, maybe call the national breastfeeding helpline or contact NCT who have breastfeeding counsellors (I can put you in touch with one by email if you would like).


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## LKAK

Congratulations on your gorgeous girl :) And you chose a gorgeous name to match!

x


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## Shellyvet2007

Hahahaha, love the part about not having another one... 5 years ago I said the exact same thing, unless I was back in America and ask for a c section up front... as the pain for me was really unbearable... and I thought I had a high pain threshold... LOL

But incredibly you soon forget about the pain altogether.... I can't even remember what it felt like the first time around, except I remember it being painful.... 

Here I am with number too... waiting agian to try to a go about it all naturally :)

Congrats by the way, she is beautiful


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## Freyasmum

Congratulations MrsRaggle!!
So sorry that you had such a rough time of it - but, as you say, she is so worth it. What a beauty! Well done you. :hugs:

I do hope the BFing is getting easier for you, but don't beat yourself up if it doesn't work out. There is a lot of pressure on us to BF our babies, and that can leave people feeling incredible guilt if they are not able to do it successfully. I know that in a perfect world we'd all do it, and breast is best... but formula is OK too.


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## Mummy2Angel.

Congrats :hugs: i have secretly followed you lol (i'm not a stalker), and i'm so glad you have your baby girl with you now, she's beautiful :) x


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## aurora

Sorry your experience was so opposite of what you wanted, but wow, she is absolutely gorgeous!


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## laura3103

congratulations on your beautiful little girl she is stunning.x


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## TeresaG

Congratulations. She is beautiful.


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## sue&bump

Congratulations, she's lovely !! Well done for getting through it and hey, what a prize !! x


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## vickie83

Congratulations, she is absolutely gorgeous x


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## Nicnac

Huge congrats MrsRaggle....she's simply gorgeous!!!! And Eloise is such a beautiful name.

Sorry to hear the labour was a little traumatic, but I'm sure it'll be such a distant memory the more you look at that wonderful little face!!

Good luck with BF'ing, I hope it gets easier soon

:hug:


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## 555ann555

Congratulations honey :hugs: She's just adorable :cloud9:



LankyDoodle said:


> I'd say to you to perservere and try and experiment with the different positions - beause I am big and have large breasts, we find the rugby hold seems to work best for us and we get a good latch that way.

I can echo that too, rugby hold is definately working best for us, I'm a G cup, and I feel like I'm suffocating Gabriella in all the other positions we've tried so far! (especially laying down, which sucks because I have to sit up properly even for night feeds :hissy:)

I hope it gets better for you soon :hugs:


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## LankyDoodle

Haha 555! I had the exact same thing and had to make little breathy holes for Isabella using my other hand - was such a faff!!!


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## AFC84

About time too! :lol:

She's such a cutie, congrats :cloud9:

Sorry to hear about your crappy experience...sounds quite similar to mine except I only had my waters broken, didn't even have the drip and that kicked things off very quickly so I can only imagine the pain :hugs:

Do you know if she was back to back? It's just that you had back pain and the fact that the dilating wasn't going anywhere fast, that's what happened to me and apparently it's because the baby's head isn't pressing on your cervix in the right way, so it takes forever :( 

I also had a similar situation with both me and LO needing antibiotics, a week in hospital, and with the slow start for breastfeeding. I ended up getting a lot of one-on-one help on [I think] day 4 and it helped sooo much...we went from mostly expressing with a tiny bit of actual BF to just exclusively BF overnight. Would definitely recommend it. I'm also a GG cup currently and started off doing the rugby hold [mainly because of Finley's canula in his hand and me not wanting to hurt him] but the BF counsellor eventually got me to switch to the cradle hold because it's easier to feed in public that way. I just find you have to really tuck their bum in with your elbow, and that way it frees up some nostril space and they can breathe :lol:


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## chief's wife

congrats. glad you and the baby are doing well


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## mommyof3girls

Congrats! She is very beautiful. I'm sorry to hear about the bad experience. I hope you are recovering well.


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## PreggyEggy

I'm sorry you had a bad experience, and ended up with infections!

Congratulations on your adorable little girl! :D I hope you're both feeling better. Eloïse is a beautiful name!


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## greenlady

Huge congrats mrs raggle! Another girly for team yellow! 

Like everyone else, I feel for you that it turned out to be so traumatic. Of course you have your baby now and like somebody said, you'll forget the whole thing soon enough. She's a beauty and you look so chuffed! Well done!!

Oh and good luck with breastfeeding - I have had a bit of a rocky road with it but I'm stubborn as a mule and have persevered - once you get the hang of it its quite a beautiful thing! I also preferred rugby hold at the beginning and have large breasts, but now I do the crossover hold with a pillow under her head. I also have to pinch my whole areola into her mouth and cup my breast... point is, you'll figure out the best way for you I'm sure, just try everything!

Top tip, massage your breasts regularly (I do it twice a day) in the shower or bath to keeps lumps and nasties at bay! :flower:


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## twinklestar

congratulations

x x


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## Missy.

Congrads hun, your daughter is beautiful :) and I love the name! x


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## nicholatmn

She is gorgeous!!! :cloud9:
Congratulations!


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## bky

Was wondering how you got on. So sorry it didn't go nearly how you had planned and that it was so traumatic. I keep hearing that about that type of induction.
Still, you have a lovely baby. GL with the breastfeeding too.


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## nesSAH

Beautiful name, beautiful baby girl and way to go mama!!!!
Enjoy your bundle of joy :)


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## jul14o

Congratulations! Beautiful name and an absolutely beautiful little girl! Enjoy mummy hood


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## Megg33k

She is GORGEOUS!!! OMG! CONGRATS!!! :hugs:


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## kiwimama

She just gorgeous! Love her name too! Congrats on your beautiful little girl.


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## Cactusgirl

Sorry the birth was traumatic for you and that you ended up with an infection. But Eloise is absolutely gorgeous.

Congratulations!
x


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## bump_wanted

congrats! shes beautiful sorry your birth didnt go to plan xxx


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## chele

Congratulations honey, I am so so pleased for you and mr raggle. It's such a beautiful name

So you pretty much had the same as me. I only got to 3cm too when they got concerned about the heartrate.

Here's to a speedy recovery. If you have any questions about the c-section recovery just let me know.


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## babyhope

Congratulations on your baby girl!!! I had my baby boy on May 7th and I too had a PAINFUL labor that was TRAUMATIC!!!


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## erinaimee

congrats to you both. love the name. sorry you didn't get home birth you wanted but your both happy and healthy and that is what matters :thumbup: you will never forget the pain... but you will :wacko: weird I know but true. :hugs:


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## mommy2baby2

Congrats on your beautiful little princess! Look at those precious cheeks and beautiful puffy lips! :baby:


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## Delamere19

Congratulations on your little girl. She really is gorgeous and I love her name.

Sorry it was traumatic for you but at least you finally have your little bundle now. x x


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## Minstermind

Oh man, I'm really sorry to hear the birth was so different to what you expected. There are many elements of your experience I can relate to so I feel your pain on that. But I'm sure now, looking at your ever so gorgeous little bundle of girlie, that she's the main thing now and it's funny how it really is all worth it in the end, eh? She's really lovely and so happy for you! :)


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## wilbrabeany

Ahh shes lovely congratualtions...it'll all fade into a distant memory and you'll be wanting another!!!


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## <tiny_toes>

Huge congratulations!! xx


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## Widger

Congratulations on your baby girl MrsRaggle. Sorry you had such a traumatic time of it xxx


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## Natnee

hey congratulations Mrs Raggle!! Eloise is gorgeous! I can agree with you about not wanting another one too! I must get my story up here aswell.


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