Lunaty
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Well finally it's my turn!
Introducing:
Mila Savannah Grace Cunningham
Born on 6th of August at 04.12 after 3.20h of established labor (id say about 5 hours from first niggle till finish!)
Weighing 9lbs 1oz (4.165kg) all natural labor (apart from 2 panadol).
For those of you who like a long read! Grab a cuppa:
After having my son 21 months ago (induced a week early due to pre-eclampia by breaking my waters) with back to back labor ending in a epidural and ventouse delivery.. I vowed to to try and do it differently this time around!
My due date was the 5th of August and whilst I had planned to have a homebirth this time around, plans quickly got a bit scrambled after I ended up with horrible SPD starting at 20 or so weeks! With the knowledge that the pelvis was slightly more forgiving (be it painful!) in birth and 2 visits a week to the Chiropractor I managed to control the pain and the condition and I still was very hopeful to go ahead.
I had put a deposit down on a rental pool but 3 weeks before Due date my toddler decided to run out of a shop straight on to the road! Obviously i panicked and ran after him in a mad dash.. end result me in some excruciating pain, painkillers and crutches..! Midwife was getting slightly worried about my homebirth plans at this stage and advised id keep an open mind and have a waterbirth at hospital.
Whilst I was not exactly thrilled about the idea of going to hospital, I knew my partner preferred the option from the get go .. the next couple of weeks I had extra sessions at Chiro, got help from friends and family so I could rest and minimize lifting and a couple of days before due date I felt like before again. However, I never ended up getting the chance to pick up the pool!
Ive been having some consistent Braxton Hicks throughout the last 2 weeks but they never got more painful and stayed irregular, whilst annoying, i knew they where preparing me and I silently hoped they woudl turn out to be labor and id have my little girl soon!
On my due date I went to see the midwife, and she was happy with how I was going. We had decided against any induction (apart from sex, epo, rlt and my pre-birth homeopathic spray) id told her about my braxton hicks etc. but she dismissed it mentioning it was pretty normal in second pregnancies in the home stretch
Id been slack and with all that was going on forgot to do my last lot of blood tests.. got a bit of a telling off and got told to do them the next day provided I didnt go into labor that night (little did we know!)
Come evening my Braxton Hicks where still there and at 11pm I was starting to feel slightly off.. just irritable and flushed and not myself.. looking back I knew there was a good chance of things happening but I did not want to get my hopes up! I bid my husband good night and decided to go to bed and sleep 'early' ..
As soon as I lay down the braxton Kicks kicked up a notch.. not painful yet at all but more tense, and come 11.30pm hubby came to bed and they had started to become like menstrual cramps and lower back pain. I was silently thrilled but decided to take 2 panadol and my mp3 to relax..
12.30am rolled around and they where still there coming regular every 7 min (i had hubby time them on the laptop in bed).. this is when it started to become a bit more painful and I wanted to get up and start walking and bouncing my ball.. I instructed hubby to stay in bed and get a bit of rest (thinking it might still be a while).. I started bouncing my ball in the living room checking facebook and timing all the while breathing and relaxing as much as possible through the contractions. All my doubts where fading as hey started to become more frequent and I had to concentrate and remind myself to relax my jaw and sway my hips.
When contractions jumped from 5-6 to only 3 minuted apart, I woke up my hubby and started to panick a bit.. The MIL had said she needed to work the next day and could not look after our baby.. however if we stayed home I would not have any water to relieve the pain.. In the end I decided I would need it to be able to have the natural birth I so wanted.
SO whilst i was running around trying to find the phone and nr before the next contraction hit, I had to convince hubby it was time to get a move and he slowly realized that this baby may be a lot faster then we initially anticipated..
Once on the phone to Mary, i explained they where every 3 min for a min, she asked me if she should come to mine or meet at hospital.. At that stage i was rather happy to have packed my hospital bags just in case and that we'd meet her at hospital in 20 min or so..
Called the MIL who came over to sleep here and take care of our little boy in the morning (drop him off at another friends place whilst she'd head to work). She arrived at our place at around 2am and we headed to hospital.
Contractions slowed down in consistency but where still very intense on the way! I think I counted about 3 or so. We got at hospital at around 3am and when Mary checked my I was 5-6cm and fully effaced. The pool was running and I was very happy to climb into it!
Ahhhhh bliss.... whilst i had been intentionally breathing and relaxing and doing my own thing to guide baby out.. the pool was exactly what I needed now to help me through.. Hubby was amazing.. Silent and there with cold water reminding me to drink. And 30 min later i felt like having to go to the toilet, I climbed out of the pool, sat on the toilet for 1 contraction (which was horrid) and decided it wasnt going to happen
Climbed back into the pool and contractions climbed up another notch.. Unfortunately there was a lady next to us giving birth and her screams and moans where filling our room as I was trying to find new ways to cope (leaning over the tubs edge on my knees swaying in the pool).. This was the point where I was starting to feel rather noxious too and was worried I might start throwing up soon (looking back this is probably the start of transition!).. and the screams of the other woman where really putting the emphasis on my increasing pain. After another 15 min or so I had decided i was not doing this naturally anymore and since I was going to throw up on G&A i wanted the epidural (Yep transition time! LOL)
Hubby went to get the midwife and the midwife came in and said we'd need to get to the room so she could examine me first but that she thought it might be to late (This it the point where I kinda lost it and said something in the line it f*cking better not be)... With a lot of effort and the deep knowledge that there was no way in hell the epi would be in before this baby arrived I climbed out again and shuffled my way to the exam room where I lied down as best I could (MAN that sucked!) to have my suspicions confirmed.. Yes I was 9cm's and only a lip of cervix left..! I had the option of G&A or hopping back in the pool.
After some more swearing and me in limbo on what to do, I decided to go back to the pool.. however as soon as I had climbed off the bed pushing urges had hit me with full force! There was no way id be able to go back to the pool now..
I hear myself whimper and tel them i couldnt and on the occasion hyper ventilate (hubby kept reminding me I was doing great and to watch my breathing and it managed to calm me down in these panic stages) And then the pushing started as my waters broke at 3.55am. I was on my knees on the bed leaning over the top end of the hospital bed clenching one arm under my chest and the other gripping the bed.
Pushing was soo overpowering.. I can not really describe it, it hurt like hell but it was almost over and in between contractions (which seemed like a long time) I was trying to muster up the strength to go through that sensation again! I remember thinking id never want them to start again to please let this go quick.. I must have pushed about for about 5 contractions a good 2-3 pushes each go when finally I could hear them say the head was crowning and the next push i needed to pant. Whilst trying to follow instructions Mila was led into the world and the next one pushed out the body!
She got passed through my legs into my arms whilst I turned around and held her close! She was of course gorgeous and completely covered in vernix! A head of black hear .. After a good rubbing she pinked up nicely but her breathing was not very good.. She kept grunting and the midwife had a team come in to look at her whilst I got examined and stitched up.
I had a couple of tears (1 degree perineal), no idea how many stitches and I can only remember the local antistatic being a B*TCH and the stitching taking quite a while. I never got to hold Mila that night again. The grunting would not ease up and she was brought up to SCBU so the pediatrician could check her over and by the time I was done with my shower etc she had been put onto the CPAP machine and drip and was in a covered crib...
No one expected there to be any problems. She was a healthy 9lbs 1oz (4.165kg) and the birth had been completely drug free with no complications.. I spend the next 2 nights alone in the maternity ward and visited as much as possible whilst squeezing the life out of my boobs to get some colostrum out for her.
After 26 hours she was taken of the CPAP machine and where finally able to have our first breastfeed! I was so delighted, the expressing was getting me nowhere and now finally I was able to do something good and give her the best start possible! Luckily she took to the breast well and after 24 hours of feeding every 3 hours or so she was slowely weened of the glucose drip too.
Finally that night she was able to leave SCBU and stay with me in the room. However my milk had not come in yet and she was used to a consistent amount of sugar she ended up dropping rather low that night on her levels (they did a heel prick before and after each feed to check them) and the nurses where about to put her back on the drip when they gave me another option. Id express after each feed whilst the nurse topped up with some formula. Given the fact that breastfeeding with a tube in you is not very pleasant I opted for the top ups whilst vigorously expressing and hoping my milk would be in soon to keep her levels up via BM only...
I was lucky as my milk did come in that afternoon after having her on me all morning and the last tests came back perfect!
So finally on the 9th of August, me and my little girl finally got discharged home and weve been so blessed
She feeds like a pro and sleeps (be it on me at all times)
Cole her big brother is fascinated and slowly getting used to her too
Introducing:
Mila Savannah Grace Cunningham
Born on 6th of August at 04.12 after 3.20h of established labor (id say about 5 hours from first niggle till finish!)
Weighing 9lbs 1oz (4.165kg) all natural labor (apart from 2 panadol).
For those of you who like a long read! Grab a cuppa:
After having my son 21 months ago (induced a week early due to pre-eclampia by breaking my waters) with back to back labor ending in a epidural and ventouse delivery.. I vowed to to try and do it differently this time around!
My due date was the 5th of August and whilst I had planned to have a homebirth this time around, plans quickly got a bit scrambled after I ended up with horrible SPD starting at 20 or so weeks! With the knowledge that the pelvis was slightly more forgiving (be it painful!) in birth and 2 visits a week to the Chiropractor I managed to control the pain and the condition and I still was very hopeful to go ahead.
I had put a deposit down on a rental pool but 3 weeks before Due date my toddler decided to run out of a shop straight on to the road! Obviously i panicked and ran after him in a mad dash.. end result me in some excruciating pain, painkillers and crutches..! Midwife was getting slightly worried about my homebirth plans at this stage and advised id keep an open mind and have a waterbirth at hospital.
Whilst I was not exactly thrilled about the idea of going to hospital, I knew my partner preferred the option from the get go .. the next couple of weeks I had extra sessions at Chiro, got help from friends and family so I could rest and minimize lifting and a couple of days before due date I felt like before again. However, I never ended up getting the chance to pick up the pool!
Ive been having some consistent Braxton Hicks throughout the last 2 weeks but they never got more painful and stayed irregular, whilst annoying, i knew they where preparing me and I silently hoped they woudl turn out to be labor and id have my little girl soon!
On my due date I went to see the midwife, and she was happy with how I was going. We had decided against any induction (apart from sex, epo, rlt and my pre-birth homeopathic spray) id told her about my braxton hicks etc. but she dismissed it mentioning it was pretty normal in second pregnancies in the home stretch
Id been slack and with all that was going on forgot to do my last lot of blood tests.. got a bit of a telling off and got told to do them the next day provided I didnt go into labor that night (little did we know!)
Come evening my Braxton Hicks where still there and at 11pm I was starting to feel slightly off.. just irritable and flushed and not myself.. looking back I knew there was a good chance of things happening but I did not want to get my hopes up! I bid my husband good night and decided to go to bed and sleep 'early' ..
As soon as I lay down the braxton Kicks kicked up a notch.. not painful yet at all but more tense, and come 11.30pm hubby came to bed and they had started to become like menstrual cramps and lower back pain. I was silently thrilled but decided to take 2 panadol and my mp3 to relax..
12.30am rolled around and they where still there coming regular every 7 min (i had hubby time them on the laptop in bed).. this is when it started to become a bit more painful and I wanted to get up and start walking and bouncing my ball.. I instructed hubby to stay in bed and get a bit of rest (thinking it might still be a while).. I started bouncing my ball in the living room checking facebook and timing all the while breathing and relaxing as much as possible through the contractions. All my doubts where fading as hey started to become more frequent and I had to concentrate and remind myself to relax my jaw and sway my hips.
When contractions jumped from 5-6 to only 3 minuted apart, I woke up my hubby and started to panick a bit.. The MIL had said she needed to work the next day and could not look after our baby.. however if we stayed home I would not have any water to relieve the pain.. In the end I decided I would need it to be able to have the natural birth I so wanted.
SO whilst i was running around trying to find the phone and nr before the next contraction hit, I had to convince hubby it was time to get a move and he slowly realized that this baby may be a lot faster then we initially anticipated..
Once on the phone to Mary, i explained they where every 3 min for a min, she asked me if she should come to mine or meet at hospital.. At that stage i was rather happy to have packed my hospital bags just in case and that we'd meet her at hospital in 20 min or so..
Called the MIL who came over to sleep here and take care of our little boy in the morning (drop him off at another friends place whilst she'd head to work). She arrived at our place at around 2am and we headed to hospital.
Contractions slowed down in consistency but where still very intense on the way! I think I counted about 3 or so. We got at hospital at around 3am and when Mary checked my I was 5-6cm and fully effaced. The pool was running and I was very happy to climb into it!
Ahhhhh bliss.... whilst i had been intentionally breathing and relaxing and doing my own thing to guide baby out.. the pool was exactly what I needed now to help me through.. Hubby was amazing.. Silent and there with cold water reminding me to drink. And 30 min later i felt like having to go to the toilet, I climbed out of the pool, sat on the toilet for 1 contraction (which was horrid) and decided it wasnt going to happen
Climbed back into the pool and contractions climbed up another notch.. Unfortunately there was a lady next to us giving birth and her screams and moans where filling our room as I was trying to find new ways to cope (leaning over the tubs edge on my knees swaying in the pool).. This was the point where I was starting to feel rather noxious too and was worried I might start throwing up soon (looking back this is probably the start of transition!).. and the screams of the other woman where really putting the emphasis on my increasing pain. After another 15 min or so I had decided i was not doing this naturally anymore and since I was going to throw up on G&A i wanted the epidural (Yep transition time! LOL)
Hubby went to get the midwife and the midwife came in and said we'd need to get to the room so she could examine me first but that she thought it might be to late (This it the point where I kinda lost it and said something in the line it f*cking better not be)... With a lot of effort and the deep knowledge that there was no way in hell the epi would be in before this baby arrived I climbed out again and shuffled my way to the exam room where I lied down as best I could (MAN that sucked!) to have my suspicions confirmed.. Yes I was 9cm's and only a lip of cervix left..! I had the option of G&A or hopping back in the pool.
After some more swearing and me in limbo on what to do, I decided to go back to the pool.. however as soon as I had climbed off the bed pushing urges had hit me with full force! There was no way id be able to go back to the pool now..
I hear myself whimper and tel them i couldnt and on the occasion hyper ventilate (hubby kept reminding me I was doing great and to watch my breathing and it managed to calm me down in these panic stages) And then the pushing started as my waters broke at 3.55am. I was on my knees on the bed leaning over the top end of the hospital bed clenching one arm under my chest and the other gripping the bed.
Pushing was soo overpowering.. I can not really describe it, it hurt like hell but it was almost over and in between contractions (which seemed like a long time) I was trying to muster up the strength to go through that sensation again! I remember thinking id never want them to start again to please let this go quick.. I must have pushed about for about 5 contractions a good 2-3 pushes each go when finally I could hear them say the head was crowning and the next push i needed to pant. Whilst trying to follow instructions Mila was led into the world and the next one pushed out the body!
She got passed through my legs into my arms whilst I turned around and held her close! She was of course gorgeous and completely covered in vernix! A head of black hear .. After a good rubbing she pinked up nicely but her breathing was not very good.. She kept grunting and the midwife had a team come in to look at her whilst I got examined and stitched up.
I had a couple of tears (1 degree perineal), no idea how many stitches and I can only remember the local antistatic being a B*TCH and the stitching taking quite a while. I never got to hold Mila that night again. The grunting would not ease up and she was brought up to SCBU so the pediatrician could check her over and by the time I was done with my shower etc she had been put onto the CPAP machine and drip and was in a covered crib...
No one expected there to be any problems. She was a healthy 9lbs 1oz (4.165kg) and the birth had been completely drug free with no complications.. I spend the next 2 nights alone in the maternity ward and visited as much as possible whilst squeezing the life out of my boobs to get some colostrum out for her.
After 26 hours she was taken of the CPAP machine and where finally able to have our first breastfeed! I was so delighted, the expressing was getting me nowhere and now finally I was able to do something good and give her the best start possible! Luckily she took to the breast well and after 24 hours of feeding every 3 hours or so she was slowely weened of the glucose drip too.
Finally that night she was able to leave SCBU and stay with me in the room. However my milk had not come in yet and she was used to a consistent amount of sugar she ended up dropping rather low that night on her levels (they did a heel prick before and after each feed to check them) and the nurses where about to put her back on the drip when they gave me another option. Id express after each feed whilst the nurse topped up with some formula. Given the fact that breastfeeding with a tube in you is not very pleasant I opted for the top ups whilst vigorously expressing and hoping my milk would be in soon to keep her levels up via BM only...
I was lucky as my milk did come in that afternoon after having her on me all morning and the last tests came back perfect!
So finally on the 9th of August, me and my little girl finally got discharged home and weve been so blessed
She feeds like a pro and sleeps (be it on me at all times
)Cole her big brother is fascinated and slowly getting used to her too
)
