The little things in life...

As promised I am going to be sharing a few birth stories over the next few weeks, remaining positive in time for our impending arrival of our baby boy, here goes number 2! 

If you read this regularly then you will have seen the post earlier in the week from Emma who has just started her very own blog, click the link HERE to go find it :) 

This is her second instalment with birth #2! 




Fast forward 2 and a half years and here I am pregnant again, sat in the midwifes office answering the question what's your birth plan? This is my opportunity to do it the way I want to this time. A home birth, my family around me, all my home comforts, no weeks stay in hospital for me this time. And what happened? My waters broke at 35 weeks and a day! You couldn't make it up.

After 48 hours on the maternity ward and here we go again, induction. It was very odd actually being back without sounding strange I felt quite at home. My friends would probably say that was due to the private rooms I seem to get allocated! They obviously know I'm a VIP! This time because I was on my second preterm baby I was induced on the labour ward. Off I went after nearly a day of waiting for the call at 4pm.



So pessary number one and off we go, as with last time nothing was happening so we just had to sit it out. After the obligatory 6 hours I was checked and nothing. Pessary number 2, up to now Gary and I had been our usual selves being silly, giggling, singing, going for walks when I wasn't hooked up to assess the baby's movement but by midnight I thought I should try and get some rest. So we shut off all the lights and had a bit of a sleep. At around 4am I started to feel some twinges which I couldn't really sleep through. So I got up and did some rotations of my hips, again my Hypnobirthing classes 'rotate to dilate' were paying off even if I didn't even manage to finish one full term this time!

I was due to be examined at 6am so continued to walk about, eat and drink oh and wee which was very liberating after last time. At 6am I was examined and it seemed like things were moving only slightly but I was now 2-3cm dilated. The midwife spoke to the Dr and he said I could try and continue on a little longer but if nothing happened after an hour I would go on the drip. It was getting to that point in the morning when the staff start to do their handover and I could feel myself getting fed up, I also started to feel quite shivery I couldn't stop it I was like shaking inside. So I sat myself on the bed which had now been transformed into some mad throne looking chair and calmed my self down with some breathing. At 7am I was examined as agreed and there was no change so it was now time for the drip.



7.40am and I am hooked up to Syntocin, you can feel the effects more or less instantly the contractions start. Now the question I had asked pregnant, "How will I know if I am having a contraction?" felt like a real silly one! I knew. I had to go right to my escalator breath almost straight away. Now hit 8am and we have a new midwife and whole team of consultants including what looked like a school of students with him coming in to introduce themselves and whisper about me over my notes.

One consultant referred to my preterm babies as being my doing as I had 'form' normally I would have laughed but I really was not in the mood. As the contractions got stronger I could feel myself disappearing into my zone more and more. I wasn't able to answer the midwife when she spoke and I felt like I really wanted to be on my side. My breathing got heavier to the point I felt like I was grunting and all I could imagine was a cow giving birth and grunting!

Now it was time to push and in flew every Dr and midwife, I was warned they would all be there for my big moment! This time I felt like the midwife was really guiding me with my breathing at this point unlike the first time and being on my side was fantastic! I am not sure who's uniform I grabbed but I was firmly holding onto somebody. Three big pushes and my baby boy arrived. All 5lb 6oz of him at 10.41am. When the senior midwife came to assist with delivering the placenta she asked the midwife why I'd not been offered any gas and air to which my husband answered she wouldn't take it.



Again it wasn't what I had planned but these things never are, my babies are both here safe and sound and I got my drug free labours thanks to Hypnobirthing, strong will and a supportive husband! I won't ever feel the sensation of spontaneously going into labour, I won't ever feel what it's like to keep your babies with you after giving birth and them not being taken away. But I'm happy to keep it that way! 

As promised I am going to be sharing a few birth stories over the next few weeks, remaining positive in time for our impending arrival of our baby boy. 

I thought where best to start than with one of my bestest buddies Emma who has just started her very own blog, click the link HERE to go find it :) 


I was hoping I would get to tell my birth stories one day so when the lovely Hayley asked me to guest blog I was so excited!!

I had always been so nervous of giving birth. I can be a bit of a control freak and hate feeling like I'm not in charge of what's happening to me and birth seemed like a scenario I would not be able to control. I wanted to find a way to help me feel in control but when I got pregnant I couldn't find anything to help. Until I found hypnobirthing classes and they made me feel like I was going to be ready for what was heading my way. I was so ready in my first pregnancy that my waters broke at 35 weeks and 3 days!



Unfortunately for the 48 hours after them breaking, my waters remained blood stained so at 35 weeks and 5 days I was induced! It was quite funny actually when the Dr told us we would be induced it was a Friday morning and in our first baby naievity we assumed she meant on Monday so when I asked her the question and she said now I nearly fell off the bed! 

The policy at the time at our local hospital was to begin induction on the maternity ward so not long after the Dr left I was taken to a side room and given my first pessary. For those of you who don't know what this is it's basically a tablet that is placed in the neck of your womb to start your cervix dilating. I was sent off on my merry way to see if anything would happen and would be monitored for the coming hours. After months of Hypnobirthing I thought bouncing on my birthing ball and walking around and around and around the hospital grounds dragging my husband would work but 6 hours later and no go I had dilated by 1cm and in fairness was feeling nothing. So on the bed for the next round. At this point being in the maternity ward meant I could still have visitors so my lovely friend came to see me and brought me some Kirby grips to tie back my fringe!! I can't tell you how much I needed them. Over the 2 days I'd been in the hospital before anything happened I amassed so much stuff they got a shopping trolley to move it all down to the labour ward! Top tip pack a bag early in your pregnancy, you just never know.



So another 6 hours later and a steroid injection for my premmie girls lungs and still no movement, so off we went down to the labour ward to be hooked up to the drip. It was midnight when I arrived on the ward and by 2am I was all connected to the Syntocin drip. The midwife looking after me wasn't really into my idea of Hypnobirthing in fact when providing her with the A4 sheet of information she folded it up and said "all that goes out of the window with induction". Did I ever tell you I am a control freak?

Well this comment was like a red rag to a bull! As anyone who knows me will vouch when I'm told I can't do something I tend to go ahead and do it anyway, never been my greatest strength. So I continued as much as I could with my crazy hippy birth. I asked if I could get on my birth ball and after a few moans and groans I was helped off the bed and allowed a bounce about. Every now and then my bouncing caused the monitor assessing the baby to move so I was hauled back on the bed much to my annoyance. I was also told I couldn't eat, this is a big part of the teaching we received to ensure you fuel your body for your birth you must eat and drink and ensure your passing urine regularly. I had been hypnobirthed and it felt like I had to do what I had paid all this money out to learn! So every time the midwife left the room my husband would shove full Jaffa cakes in my mouth so we wouldn't get caught!



Now every time I wanted to be on my birthing ball and the monitor moved the midwife was getting concerned that the baby's heart rate was changing. As it had happened a number of times she decided she would prepare me for surgery and call the Dr in. This is where the sexy surgery socks come out!! Trust me they are hot! I had the midwife on one leg and my husband on the other sticking these what look like football socks with no toes on me! In comes the Dr who assesses the monitoring of baby and feels it's ok. What I have failed to mention up to now is that I am breathing through my contractions at this point. I was quite adamant with the midwife even after her pestering that I didn't want any drugs, I even humoured her and had a puff of the gas and air but it instantly gave me a drunk feeling like when you can't feel your teeth and that was far too out of control for me. Like I had been taught I was riding the wave of the contraction with a breath called an escalator, puffing in and out through each contraction as it became stronger and longer.

As with most of the night I decided I needed a wee so I waddled over to the bed pan with much assistance from the husband and then all of a sudden I felt like I needed more than a wee!!! The midwife told me to get back on to the bed which I did with much support and much distain. A little voice from my hypnobirth teacher was saying don't be on your back your pelvis needs to flare back! But this midwife wanted me on the bed. What else could I do but use my husband's neck as a lever and hoist myself up. He has since told me I was hurting him but didn't dare say anything. Wise move if you ask me! I was now ready to push. Up until this point I had been a calm, controlled individual and for some reason I think I lost my zone and I was like a woman possessed. I kept thinking why did you do this without any drugs you mad woman! But 10 minutes of pushing and a few expletives later and my little 4lb 13oz lady was born! 8:06am on the clock.

Although it wasn't what I had dreamt of I felt like I'd been as in control as I could have been.



Birth #2 coming very soon! 

I read this post on Facebook this week, it isn't the first time I have seen it but I seem to read it every time it pops up because it s such a nice read and written so well. It is also a good reminder why we have to do the things we do...