The birth story of my second child...

It all started with a craving, spicy noodles(aka two minute noddles, instant ramen etc or whatever you call them in your country). I didn't really have cravings as such during my pregnancy unless you count all the tomatoes that I ate so me requesting that my partner pick up some spicy noodles was a rare request.

Monday January 11th and I was now officially a week overdue. At my midwife's appointment that day my blood pressure, heart rate(suffered from Tachycardia during my first labour/delivery so midwife checked to get a base rate), pee, everything was fine. My feet were massive however and I could only fit in jandals(A.K.A flip flops or thongs). Baby's heartbeat was normal and it was head down(though not in an optimal position). I booked in to see my midwife the next day for a stretch and sweep and went home with some positions to try for turning the baby or my stretch and sweep wouldn't happen.

I spent a fair amount of Monday afternoon on my hand and knees in an attempt to get my baby from a slight back to back(posterior) position into a more favourable one. But they were a determined wee thing and wouldn't budge. Bear in mind however that while my son spent most of my pregnancy in the optimal position during labour he moved and was posterior making my labour and birth with him long and hard.

Monday evening rolled around and after an early dinner my partner and I were feeling a bit peckish again. E was in bed asleep and we were watching some tv when my partner decided he wanted pizza so went out to get some. I was craving those spicy noodles that I mentioned earlier so asked him to pick some up while he was out. About 20 minutes later he returned home with pizza and a 5 pack of spicy noddles. While my noodles were cooking I stole some of the pizza then gobbled up the whole bowl of spicy noodles. Man they tasted good. While I knew that they were in no way good for me I was beyond caring, I was fat, uncomfortable and running out of time until an induction needed to happen.

I finished my noodles and within 30 minutes I started to get contractions. Throughout the whole pregnancy I had had relatively painful braxton hicks contractions so I wasn't holding out much hope that these were the real deal. Due to a very stubborn baby being in a slight posterior position these "contractions" started in my back and then progressed round to my stomach. At about 11pm after approx 30-60 minutes of regular contractions I decided to try and get some sleep. At this stage they were lasting 30-40 seconds and were 3 minutes apart. I took a panadol(paracetamol) to try and relieve some of the discomfort and laid down in bed.

The contractions didn't ease and despite doing all the helpful positions during the day the baby didn't flip to a more favourable position until I had been lying down for a bit. I felt it move and suddenly the contractions were easier to deal with. They no longer centered in my back. Sleep became illusive as they became more intense and more frequent. By 1.45am when I called to midwife they were about 60-90 seconds in length and 3 minutes apart. My midwife had told me to call her once they were 5 minutes apart but they were never that far apart always 3 minutes right from the first one. We had a chat about how I was doing and then I talked to my partner.

We decided it was time to go to the birthing centre so text the midwife and took E over to the neighbours for the night. By 2.15am we were at the birthing center and all settled into the birthing suite.

I was very calm at this point, very collected, the total opposite to the birth of my son. I had the oil diffuser going with some calming lavender oil and I was breathing through my contractions, while walking around the birthing suite. I couldn't stay still, I just had to keep moving even when a contraction was upon me. I would just stand on the spot and sway my hips while I breathed in an out calmly. It was kind of a surreal experience.

At about 2.50am the pressure down there was starting to get a bit much so I decided that I wanted to get in to the birthing pool/bath. My birth plan had been to use the bath while in labour and then move elsewhere to actually give birth. But my body was telling me otherwise, I wanted to try the bath. As soon as I got in I relaxed and the pressure while still there was far more bearable.

I just concentrated on what my body was telling me. There was no " ok time to push, thats it keep pushing" etc from the midwife. In that moment when I realised mentally and physically I was ready to start pushing it was like a release of some bind that had been holding me back. At that moment I trusted myself and I trusted my body(it had kind of failed me a bit during the birth of E) and I began to push.

Not long after I got into the birthing pool and felt the true need to push my baby was born. I had done it, I had conquered all my fears that my body wouldn't hold out like last time and I would need an assisted birth again. I had released all the negative thoughts that was holding me back and embraced what my body had told me to do. Giving birth had been a massively empowering experience. I had read multiple stories about empowering births and that amazing feeling that you could get, but I never experienced that with E's birth. I don't and never have felt disappointed by the type of birth that I had with E. I had tried, I couldn't cope and had needed help and I have always been fine with that. Sure I would have liked to have had an all natural empowering birth but for me to cope with what the universe had dealt me birth wise I needed an epidural(though ended up being a spinal block), I needed the help of the forceps and I needed all the drugs afterwards.

This time round however the universe dealt me a different set of cards. The labour while being more intense, was easier to cope with. It was shorter, 4hrs and approximately 45 minutes from first contraction to the birth of my baby. I only pushed a couple of times before the baby was born. I did it and the only pain medication I tried was a panadol(paracetamol) when I had attempted sleep at the start of labour. Sure I was exhausted, but I had done what I had once thought impossible. I had birthed my baby without any medical interventions or any pain relief. The only unfavourable bit this time was having to get stitches for a minor tear along my old episiotomy scar from E birth.

At 3.13am on Tuesday January 12th we welcomed a little baby girl, C into the world. And while she may be nearly 6 months old when this is posted, she still amazes me, just like she did when I first laid eyes on her.

Me and baby C 24hrs after birth.

So for any of you pregnant ladies out there wanting to know my secret of how I coped this is what I did. I spent the whole labour thinking and chanting in my head " I made it through the last contraction I can make it through this one". I just keep repeating that in my head while concentrating on breathing in and out. I found it helped to concentrate on the breathing rather than the pain. I have always been a firm believer of the power of positive thought and it worked. Now it may not work for you and you may require a c-section or possibly an epidural to cope with the pain but just remember no matter what type of birth you have, all births are magical as all babies are miracles.

Comment below with your story, how did your birth go? Was it exactly as you planned, or did nothing go the way you had wanted?

Dramas in the delivery room...

To say that my labour and birthing experience went smoothly and without drama would be a total lie. I gave the staff in the delivery suite of my local hospital quite a scare, not that I remember it.

At 41 weeks and 3 days I went into labour in the wee hours of a Monday morning, starting with mild contractions and the mucus show. There had been concerns as the previous Friday when I had a scan the amniotic fluid around my baby was low and only just within the acceptable range. The decision was made that we would see how things went over the weekend and if no baby to do another scan on Monday. Monday rolled around and no labour though there were possible contractions. Another scan was done and this time the amniotic fluid was even lower and no longer deemed acceptable. The doctors at the hospital wanted me to go in for an induction, but I resisted this. My midwife, partner and I decided to wait and see how things went as a few minutes after an internal exam by my midwife my waters broke (an interesting sensation), and the contractions were getting stronger.

Waters breaking in a gush like mine did was a little like I peed myself but no muscle movement that usually accompanies peeing oneself.

By midnight I was finally ready to birth this baby and we rushed to the hospital, a very tense ride with every bump in the road seeming to appear with each contraction. I did not particularly enjoy the labour experience, and the birth itself, well that is another thing all together.

After hours of painful contractions I had given up and was begging for an epidural. I had tried the gas and it did nothing for me. I was so exhausted that I stopped pushing with the contractions and just gave up, I could no longer take it. I was given two options, c-section or assisted birth, I originally asked for a c-section, but was persuaded to try going for an assisted birth to make future vaginal deliveries easier. Here I was with this birth plan to deliver naturally with no pain killers but fate decided otherwise.

I went through the risks of the spinal block and signed the consent form, then I felt the need to use the bathroom at this point and went in by myself, I needed to retain some dignity. I remember sitting on the toilet and possibly trying to get up off the loo but things after that are a blank and others had to fill me in. All I remember next is the anaesthetist cracking jokes as he gave me the spinal block, and mention of forceps, pushing with the contractions that I could no longer feel and watching as the doctor steadied himself against the delivery table to pull my son out with forceps.

I have vague disjointed memories after that of my son being placed on my chest then being taken away, my partner crying and being asked about being shaved down below(not exactly sure when I was asked that.).

I have been told that while on the toilet, before being taken into the operating room, I fell on the floor and had a fit. When one of the staff pressed the emergency button the room was suddenly filled with nurses, doctors and midwives(apparently it was handover time for the next shift). I was diagnosed with epilepsy in 2006 and when the staff saw me on the bathroom floor it was assumed that I had a seizure, that is yet to be confirmed. The neurologist who saw me later on that day discussed that I did not have an epileptic seizure but a Vasovagal episode(fainting fit). So the epilepsy diagnosis is still to be confirmed with tests occurring later on this year.

So the dramas surrounding my sons birth started with low amniotic fluid levels, possible induction followed by me becoming so exhausted I no longer had the energy to push with my contractions. Then after a failed attempt at using the ventouse(suction cup) my son was pulled out with forceps. After the birth I was then nil by mouth for 24 hours due to the medication given to stabilise me after the fit. I also caused the machines around me to beep in alarm as I was suffering from tachycardia(accelerated heart rate). So overall the birth experience was not without its dramas and my memory is quite foggy about bits. But at 9.24am on 13/08/13 my son was born weighing 3350g or 7lb 6oz. He is a happy healthy baby with a powerful set of lungs on him and is the most gorgeous baby I have ever laid my eyes on, but that could just be me being bias.

What were your labour and delivery experiences like? Dramatic? Easy? Out of your control? Leave a comment below and share it.

For those of you who are pregnant with your first child/children, fear not the birthing experience is not always like mine and most often quite natural and not necessarily easy but something you can cope with. I had full confidence in my midwife that she would know what was best for me and my son, and if it required interventions well so be it.

It's Time Honey

Last night I finally got to tell my darling partner, they are 1 min long and 12 minutes apart. All was going well and the contractions were getting longer, stronger and more frequent. We were thinking now is the time. I finished packing my hospital bag and called the midwife to let her know and then just played the waiting game until I was ready to be taken to the hospital.

They tell you to rest while you can especially if it is at night. So what do I do, I crawl into bed and attempt sleep. It worked, I actually managed a fair amount of sleep; the contractions seemed to be mild enough to let me do that. Now a few hours later at 6am they seem to have come to a standstill and almost stopped. Sure I get the occasional one but nothing as strong as last night when I went to bed. 

Oh the irony, you sleep to conserve energy for the further stages of labour and birth and your body up and decides, it has had enough and wants a break. Not that I'm complaining they were really starting to hurt. 

Current stats: 39 Weeks 4 days,big, fat and uncomfortable. 

Before all this contraction business started I had begun the nesting bug. For the past week I have cleaned, cooked and sewed. Sure I had days of rest and my house still looks like a bit of a bombshell and I don't have kids to mess it up just yet, only a partner who owns too much stuff, but it is cleaner than it was. I did originally predict that I was going to give birth a week and a half ago but it just didn't happen. A week of boredom was my allotment in life instead. 

Come on baby we are ready...

Burp Cloths

Bib 2 front

Bib 1

Bib 2 reverse