rjsmam
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So my 6 day old bundle of gorgeousness is having a snooze allowing me to finally put down her birth story. Already it’s fading & I want to have this to remember the day my daughter was born – even the bad bits!
On Wednesday 23rd May I was 4 days overdue & becoming more & more concerned at the thought of being induced. I was also somewhat fed up of telling well meaning friends and family that yes, I was still pregnant! I’d been having very intense Braxton hicks for a number of weeks which definitely intensified in the final week. I started drinking the raspberry leaf tea at 38 wks and tried to drink at least 4 cups each day & I also took 1000mg of EPO. I do think this helped & would recommend it. I also spent lots of time bouncing & rotating on the gym ball!
So on Wednesday I had my midwife appointment & was offered a sweep which I happily agreed to. I had been having period type pains on & off all day & during the procedure the midwife asked if I’d been having pains as I was 2-3cms, thin, effaced & very favourable! Woop woop – I was cautiously excited! So I went home & did a lot more bouncing.
By 9pm the Braxton hicks were regular & becoming painful – so I realised that they were actually contractions. I packed a bag for my ds & my good friend collected him for the night. I was worried in case it was a false alarm but reckoned that even if was then ds had a sleepover at his aunty’s & no harm done! I carried on watching The Apprentice with dh and bounced all evening on the ball. Dh was desperate for us to go to the hospital & kept nagging me to phone the labour ward, but as it was only 5mins away I wanted to stay put as long as possible. I eventually called them at 12.30 when the contractions were about 6mins apart. I asked if a bath would slow down the contractions & they said no go ahead, so I sent dh to try get some sleep while I had a bath. I then made sure my bags were ready & we made our way to the hospital at 2.30am. Dh texted our friends & family although I was still cautious it was a false alarm but dh reassured me it didn’t matter even if it was.
We got to the ward which was nice & quiet and the midwife asked to check how far on I was. She took ages & eventually asked during it when my last scan was….. Cue worrying… Then she said she was 95% sure the baby was head down but 5% of her wasn’t sure. Gah. We were going to go for a scan when a senior obstetrician came & also checked – jeez another really long check & she decided that baby was definitely head down & was just very active & confusing them! Phew.
The midwife asked if I had a birthing plan & I explained that I was too aware that things don’t really go according to plan so had an open mind (my ds was a marathon labour, back to back delivery by ventouse). I wanted to avoid diamorphine if possible & would like to try the birthing pool. So they filled it up for me & I got in it at about 4am. The pool was lovely, the room was dark with the pool lit from the bottom & we had the radio on gently in the background. I was also nervous of gas & air as I didn’t find it much use with my son, although that was 9yrs ago! At about 5am the midwife suggested to practice with it before the contractions got really strong & I found it didn’t make me feel sick at all & used from then on!
So at this point I recall the contractions being manageable & being able to chat to dh & the midwife between contractions. I was even conscious of how I was positioned in the pool – haha that soon changed. Gradually the contractions got stronger, so less chat…. They got stronger still & I was hauling n the gas & air with each one. I suffer from low blood sugar & started to feel shaky so the midwife got me some orange squash which was fab. My waters then went in the pool & soon they were so strong that for the last stage of each one I took out the gas & air & screamed – it really helped! Soon I felt the urge to push & asked if I could, I don’t really remember them telling me to go ahead or not but my body took over & I started to push at the end of each one. I do wish that the midwife was more encouraging & told me to go ahead. I remember asking if the baby was nearly here & the answer was very non committal – I think with a little more encouragement I would have pushed harder as I still wasn’t clear if I should be pushing at all. All of a sudden I was bleeding & aware of the senior midwife being present. She said there was too much blood and that she was draining the pool & said ‘if it doesn’t come out soon…’ she didn’t finish the sentence, right on cue I had another contraction & pushed the baby out in that last one. At 6.37am Eva Mairi was born. They placed her on my chest in the pool and we were instantly in love. We gazed at her for ages before we actually checked if she was a girl or a boy! Dh had a wee cry & I was just stunned it was over & she was here safely. I delivered the placenta quickly in the pool and was helped out. Probably because she was born so quickly in one contraction I had a 2nd degree tear and grazing, although I wasn’t even aware at this point. Eva sat gazing at daddy and vice versa while I had a quick shower. Before the shower for some reason I optimistically asked dh if I looked a mess, he said ‘no you’re gorgeous darling’, when I got to the shower room & looked in the mirror I laughed out loud – I looked like the girl from the Exorcist! I then gave Eva first feed which she took like a wee trooper. Once she had that I needed to be stitched. I have to say this was horrendous. There was 2 midwives and one seemed to be showing the other and they were talking to themselves about how it was like a patchwork quilt. My dh & Eva were sat right beside me & indignity of it all was hard enough to bear but the pain was rotten. I got a bit tearful at one point & poor dh did too. However it was over eventually & was able to get dressed & feel a bit more normal.
My 9yr old son then arrived with my best friend so that ds could meet his sister before he went to school, wow that was emotional! After that I was moved to the ward & my darling girl slept for ages while I gazed at her in disbelief & amazement. I was then able to have a 6hr discharge & was home in time for ds getting out of school!
So here we are nearly a week on & it seems almost unbelievable that this time last wk she wasn’t here. In 6 days it seems she’s changed so much already & it seems so eventful, from the feeding, milk coming in etc. I’ve even endured a 2 night stay from the mother in law!
The love is overwhelming. If you’ve read this far – well done! For anyone awaiting their own bundle of gorgeousness to arrive, best of luck & remember even the bad bits are worth every single second.
xxx
Eva & daddy & later at 4hrs old!
On Wednesday 23rd May I was 4 days overdue & becoming more & more concerned at the thought of being induced. I was also somewhat fed up of telling well meaning friends and family that yes, I was still pregnant! I’d been having very intense Braxton hicks for a number of weeks which definitely intensified in the final week. I started drinking the raspberry leaf tea at 38 wks and tried to drink at least 4 cups each day & I also took 1000mg of EPO. I do think this helped & would recommend it. I also spent lots of time bouncing & rotating on the gym ball!
So on Wednesday I had my midwife appointment & was offered a sweep which I happily agreed to. I had been having period type pains on & off all day & during the procedure the midwife asked if I’d been having pains as I was 2-3cms, thin, effaced & very favourable! Woop woop – I was cautiously excited! So I went home & did a lot more bouncing.
By 9pm the Braxton hicks were regular & becoming painful – so I realised that they were actually contractions. I packed a bag for my ds & my good friend collected him for the night. I was worried in case it was a false alarm but reckoned that even if was then ds had a sleepover at his aunty’s & no harm done! I carried on watching The Apprentice with dh and bounced all evening on the ball. Dh was desperate for us to go to the hospital & kept nagging me to phone the labour ward, but as it was only 5mins away I wanted to stay put as long as possible. I eventually called them at 12.30 when the contractions were about 6mins apart. I asked if a bath would slow down the contractions & they said no go ahead, so I sent dh to try get some sleep while I had a bath. I then made sure my bags were ready & we made our way to the hospital at 2.30am. Dh texted our friends & family although I was still cautious it was a false alarm but dh reassured me it didn’t matter even if it was.
We got to the ward which was nice & quiet and the midwife asked to check how far on I was. She took ages & eventually asked during it when my last scan was….. Cue worrying… Then she said she was 95% sure the baby was head down but 5% of her wasn’t sure. Gah. We were going to go for a scan when a senior obstetrician came & also checked – jeez another really long check & she decided that baby was definitely head down & was just very active & confusing them! Phew.
The midwife asked if I had a birthing plan & I explained that I was too aware that things don’t really go according to plan so had an open mind (my ds was a marathon labour, back to back delivery by ventouse). I wanted to avoid diamorphine if possible & would like to try the birthing pool. So they filled it up for me & I got in it at about 4am. The pool was lovely, the room was dark with the pool lit from the bottom & we had the radio on gently in the background. I was also nervous of gas & air as I didn’t find it much use with my son, although that was 9yrs ago! At about 5am the midwife suggested to practice with it before the contractions got really strong & I found it didn’t make me feel sick at all & used from then on!
So at this point I recall the contractions being manageable & being able to chat to dh & the midwife between contractions. I was even conscious of how I was positioned in the pool – haha that soon changed. Gradually the contractions got stronger, so less chat…. They got stronger still & I was hauling n the gas & air with each one. I suffer from low blood sugar & started to feel shaky so the midwife got me some orange squash which was fab. My waters then went in the pool & soon they were so strong that for the last stage of each one I took out the gas & air & screamed – it really helped! Soon I felt the urge to push & asked if I could, I don’t really remember them telling me to go ahead or not but my body took over & I started to push at the end of each one. I do wish that the midwife was more encouraging & told me to go ahead. I remember asking if the baby was nearly here & the answer was very non committal – I think with a little more encouragement I would have pushed harder as I still wasn’t clear if I should be pushing at all. All of a sudden I was bleeding & aware of the senior midwife being present. She said there was too much blood and that she was draining the pool & said ‘if it doesn’t come out soon…’ she didn’t finish the sentence, right on cue I had another contraction & pushed the baby out in that last one. At 6.37am Eva Mairi was born. They placed her on my chest in the pool and we were instantly in love. We gazed at her for ages before we actually checked if she was a girl or a boy! Dh had a wee cry & I was just stunned it was over & she was here safely. I delivered the placenta quickly in the pool and was helped out. Probably because she was born so quickly in one contraction I had a 2nd degree tear and grazing, although I wasn’t even aware at this point. Eva sat gazing at daddy and vice versa while I had a quick shower. Before the shower for some reason I optimistically asked dh if I looked a mess, he said ‘no you’re gorgeous darling’, when I got to the shower room & looked in the mirror I laughed out loud – I looked like the girl from the Exorcist! I then gave Eva first feed which she took like a wee trooper. Once she had that I needed to be stitched. I have to say this was horrendous. There was 2 midwives and one seemed to be showing the other and they were talking to themselves about how it was like a patchwork quilt. My dh & Eva were sat right beside me & indignity of it all was hard enough to bear but the pain was rotten. I got a bit tearful at one point & poor dh did too. However it was over eventually & was able to get dressed & feel a bit more normal.
My 9yr old son then arrived with my best friend so that ds could meet his sister before he went to school, wow that was emotional! After that I was moved to the ward & my darling girl slept for ages while I gazed at her in disbelief & amazement. I was then able to have a 6hr discharge & was home in time for ds getting out of school!
So here we are nearly a week on & it seems almost unbelievable that this time last wk she wasn’t here. In 6 days it seems she’s changed so much already & it seems so eventful, from the feeding, milk coming in etc. I’ve even endured a 2 night stay from the mother in law!
The love is overwhelming. If you’ve read this far – well done! For anyone awaiting their own bundle of gorgeousness to arrive, best of luck & remember even the bad bits are worth every single second.
xxx
Eva & daddy & later at 4hrs old!
