PARENTHOOD: Rory's Birth Story - Our Third Baby - Booked Induction & Fast Established Labour

After keeping us waiting for nine days past his due date our third baby finally made an appearance on the day I was booked in to be induced. The past four weeks have been a magical mix of emotions, moments and changes as we adapt to becoming a family of five. My husband took two weeks of paternity leave and because little one was born on a Sunday it meant we really did get to make the most of every single day of those two weeks. Luckily, our eldest daughter's half term fell in his second week of paternity leave so we all had time to bond together as a family. But lets take it back to when I was 38 weeks pregnant...

MOTHERHOOD: Slow Labour vs Quick Labour

In those final few weeks of pregnancy life is filled with excitement, anticipation and second guessing every twinge; it all becomes quite exhausting. Thoughts turn to labour, writing birth plans and how your little bundle of joy is going to enter the world. I don't know about you, but I found those thoughts terrifying as I just didn't know what to expect first time around. My image of labour had been from the films and One Born Every Minute up until we went to NCT classes. That was a shock. As our teacher told us all about what happens to our bodies during labour, the stretches and strains that happen were enough to make me nervous about what was to come that's for sure.

PREGNANCY #2: My Experience of the Induction Process

Being induced isn't on many pregnant ladies wishlist, yet so many find themselves heading down that route. When I was pregnant with Isabella my waters broke at 39+3 and I didn't go into established labour quick enough, so I went through the induction process due to the increased risk of infection. I started by have a pessary, then another and finally was put on the hormone drip. So I experienced most of the induction methods and it was an incredibly painful journey. Though I have nothing to compare it to, it is common knowledge that induced labour can be more painful than labour that starts naturally. I was actually still having to be induced on the hormone drip once in established labour; Isabella just didn't want to come out!

PREGNANCY #2: My Hopes and Wishes for Second Labour

My labour with Isabella wasn't the most straightforward; it was long and ended in needing assistance (not something any pregnant lady wants to hear!). You can read Birth Story: Part 1 here and Part 2 here if you're like me and love a good birth story. Despite that those experiences haven't left me dreading labour round two by any means, in fact there are certain aspects I'm quite looking forward to. Crazy I know. Obviously the end part, when they hand you your squishy (and often pretty slimy) bundle of joy, but also the being looked after part too. I know that probably sounds really selfish or self-centred and I'm really not that kind of person, but I am looking forward to someone caring about me for a bit. That hasn't happened since giving birth last time, as a parent you are constantly giving/looking after others so for the tables to turn for a few hours will be a real treat.

POSTPARTUM: Preparing for after labour - Padsicles

Back before I had given birth I had read and heard so many horror stories about labour and giving birth. I think the unknown is always scary and I was pretty scared, not of the actual labour but the aftermath from giving birth. I was worried about the pain and discomfort that there might be 'down there'. If you've read my birth story (read part one here and part two here) then you'll be aware I had a very long labour, which ended in an episiotomy. This became pretty painful after all of the amazing pain relief the hospital had given me wore off. Sitting, walking and generally moving was seriously uncomfortable in those early days and I was desperate for anything to relieve the pain. Let's just say ibrophen barely took the edge off in the couple of days after giving birth, don't worry though because the bad pain doesn't usually last too long. 

During the weeks prior to giving birth I had been researching ways to reduce the pain after giving birth and came across these padsicles. A frozen maternity pad, which is soaked in soothing products and can be worn after giving birth. The fact they're frozen helped to numb the pain and the soothing products were meant to aid healing. I can't really comment if they did that, but the frozen aspect of these padsicles did bring some level of relief. Be careful though, don't just put them on straight from the freezer, in fact it's best to wrap them in a towel/muslin cloth.

What you'll need:

Maternity towels

Distilled Witch Hazel

Aloe Vera Gel

Lavender Essential Oil

Method:
1) Evenly pour on about 3 capfuls of the witch hazel all over the maternity pad.

 2) Evenly spread about a teaspoon of the aloe vera gel all over the pad.

3) Next, add about 4 drops of the lavender essential oil over the pad.

 4) Wrap the pad in cling film or put into a sandwich bag, then pop it into the freezer. It's best to make these before you give birth, so they are ready to go if you need them post birth. 

Do you have any tricks/tips for pain relief after giving birth?

Feel free to leave me a comment :)

Helen x

BABY: What did I actually use from my hospital bag?

I wrote a post about what I packed in my hospital bag and our baby's bag (see here and here), but what did I actually use? I had read every list going about what I needed to pack, ready for labour, but in reality I used a small amount of the things I took in. I thought it would be helpful to share with you what I used and didn't use, but of course every birth is different so something I didn't use you may do.

Here's the list from my hospital bag:

 

Orla Kiely Washbag*

2x Sainsburys Maternity Pads

Cath Kidston Fold Out Bag (similar here)

Thin pink dressing gown from Nutmeg at Morrisons

Lansinoh HPA Lanolin Nipple Cream

Boots Face Cloth

Dettol Anti Bacterial Wipes

Boots Fragrance Free Cleansing Wipes

Boots Fragrance Free Moisturiser

Boots Fragrance Free Eye Make Up Remover Wipes 

Travel Size Shampoo

Ibrophen

Paracetamol

Boots Hair Grips

Travel Size Batiste Dry Shampoo 

Travel Size Conditioner 

Cussons New Mum Bath Soak

2x Primark Maternity Nightgowns 

2x Primark Thick Thermal Socks

4x Primark Knickers

Grey Primark Towel 

Mini Toothpaste

Mini Toothbrush

Vital Touch Natalia Prenatal Massage Oil*

Vital Touch Natalia Instant Revitaliser*

Nelsons Arnicare Cream

Primark Slip On Slippers

bravado! Designs Body Silk Seamless Nursing Bra*

bravado! Designs Essential Embrace Nursing Bra*

NUK Breast Pads x24*

Plastic Bag for washing

Kleenex Tissues

Boots Hair bands 

Boots Maternity Disposable Briefs

MamaBabyBliss Pregnancy Yoga CD*

Bendy straws

Hairbrush

Make Up

Tena Lady Pants Discreet  

The items with lines through are ones I didn't use. The hospital was so hot, resulting in no need for thermal socks! Some of the best things I used were: bendy straws for being 'fed' water during labour, cleansing wipes for easy make up removal, dry shampoo as I couldn't wash my hair for 4 days and Tena Lady Pants Discreet for post birth bleeding. Wearing a 'nappy' may not be the most glamourous thing in the world but it takes a weight off your mind to not have to worry about any blood leaking. They are really comfortable and I was so glad someone had recommended them to me! It also meant I didn't have to use the uncomfortable disposable pants at all. 

On to what I packed compared to what I used from our baby hospital bag. This is what we packed:

 

3x 0-1 month babygrows 

3x 0-1 month short sleeved vests

3x 0-1 month long sleeved vests

2x Dribble bibs

1 pair of scratch mitts

1 pair of booties

1 hat

1 pack of Pampers size 1 nappies

Morrisons large cotton wool pads

Boots cotton wool balls

Cellular Blanket

Nappy sacks

Muslin clothes

Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature Healthcare and Grooming Kit

0-3 months Marks and Spencer Pink Reversable Jacket 

We only took one hat but wished we had taken more because it got dirty from the post birth 'goo' that was in Isabella's hair when we first put the hat on her. We were only in hospital for one night with Isabella, so clearly didn't need a whole pack of size 1 nappies. I also wish we had packed a fold away changing mat, as there wasn't really anywhere to change her nappy. 

What did you use/not use from your hospital bag?

Feel free to leave me a comment :)

Helen x

BABY: Birth Story - Part 2

My birth story continues below (read part 1 in yesterday's post)...

However after a couple of hours the painful contractions were back, with a vengeance. It was pretty late at night now and I was making some level of noise thanks to the pain. I was very conscious because the other three women in the room weren't in any pain and just trying to get a good nights sleep before their c-sections. I asked the midwife if there was somewhere else I could go, so I didn't disturb everyone, but she said that it was an induction ward and noise was to be expected. I felt so bad for those poor women! The pain was increasing and I didn't have any other avenues of pain relief, other than two paracetamol. After a lot of begging the midwife finally agreed to give me half a dose pethidine, unfortunately this time it didn't do much and in fact made me sick three times. Being sick in between contractions wasn't the most pleasant of times!

At around 4am on Friday 3rd April 2015 the midwife did another examination and I was 5cm dilated - woohoo! That was my ticket to the labour ward, which meant pain relief!!! I asked how I was getting to the labour ward and the midwife said I'd be walking, to use gravity to help. I seriously don't know how I walked down to the labour ward, I was holding on to the rails screaming in pain. Everyone knew it when I entered the labour ward! It then becomes a bit of a blur - I remember demanding gas and air and an epidural. In what seemed like no time at all they had the epidural in my back and I was puffing away on the gas and air. The relief from the pain was heaven, I was completely exhausted. We now hadn't properly slept in over 48 hours. 

Finally, we were in the last leg of labour - I think I slept for a bit of time, took a lot of gas and air because the epidural didn't really work on my left hand side and spoke about a lot of random things. I was surprised because despite having an epidural I could still move my feet and lift both of my legs, it wasn't half as debilitating as I thought it would be. During my time in the labour room my contractions were starting to go away again, so they had to hook me up to an oxytocin drip to induce labour. Despite having contractions on and off for over 50 hours, my body still didn't want to give birth. If my waters hadn't broken there's no way I would have gone into labour naturally during those couple of days, she would have almost certainly been born past her due date. 

After 10 hours in the labour room the midwife said that I was fully dilated and that she was going to leave me another hour, for the head to come down even further. I used the opportunity to put some make up on - madness I know but after so long without any sleep I wanted to look kind of presentable in photo's when our daughter finally arrived. The strangest part of labour was when the midwife said that I could start pushing - without any feelings I needed to push this was a strange feeling. I wasn't allowed to use the gas and air anymore, because I needed to concentrate on pushing, but I didn't let anyone take it off me!! I was told that I had one hour to push her out before doctors got involved. I was determined to not let the doctors get involved, I'd done so long I just wanted to give birth to her myself. However after what felt like 10 minutes, but was actually 1.5 hours, the midwife got the doctor in to examine me. She said that I was pushing really well but the baby was coming down at the wrong angle  -towards the bed rather than out. They said that I would have to go to theatre, at which point I completely broke down. I had wanted a peaceful water birth in the birth centre, not theatre! I was given a small amount of time to really get our baby pushed down before they'd take me to theatre - at which point I became VERY determined. I pushed and pushed and pushed, it wasn't enough to give birth but it was enough to not have to go to theatre. The doctor set up in the room and told me she was going to have to use forceps, as I was never going to push our baby out on my own. Luckily throughout all of this our baby's heartbeat was fine and she didn't become distressed at any point. 

Due to having forceps I also had to have an episiotomy (cue another break down when they told me that). Of course, I couldn't feel anything and was pretty unaware of what was going on 'down there'. Ignorance is bliss. After a lot of tugging, pulling and pushing a baby was placed on my tummy, our baby. That moment was the most surreal moment of my life, my husband and I looked at each other, then at our daughter, then at each other again. We weren't sure what to do, it was complete shell shock. She came out crying, so we knew she had a healthy pair of lungs on her. The paediatrician checked over her, which is standard procedure for assisted delivery, and all was fine. Within 20 minutes of giving birth I was breastfeeding her, I've been very lucky regarding breastfeeding as she's taken to it really well. 

The doctor then stitched me up and seemed to be 'working on me' for what felt like a long time, I had my legs in stirrups which wasn't the most comfortable of things. There was quite a lot of blood involved, I think I lost 700ml overall. I'm told that's a fair amount but not ridiculous, however as a result I did end up becoming anaemic. 

Our daughter, Isabella, arrived into the world at 4.15pm and it wasn't until 9pm we were released to go to the post labour ward. Unfortunately visiting hours were from 9.30am - 9.30pm, so my husband had to leave almost straight away. This was pretty scary - I was left with our baby and I was pretty uncomfortable thanks to all of the damage 'down there'. I fed her, set an alarm to feed her again in 3 hours and tried to get some sleep. Isabella had other ideas and was pretty teary - probably due to a headache from the forceps. After a forceps delivery babies can often have a bad headache, poor little thing! The midwives were available throughout the night, which was such a comfort and they were fantastic. Especially when I was changing her nappy on my lap (because it was too uncomfortable to keep getting up and down) and she started pooing everywhere - I was getting into a pretty big mess but the midwife helped me sort myself and Isabella out. 

9.30am on Saturday 4th April couldn't come quick enough, as it was when my husband could return. We then spent the rest of Saturday going through the hospital formalities before being allowed home. Isabella went to the baby clinic to have some standard checks, she had a hearing test, the bounty people came around and took our photo's and I had all the checks I needed to have. They also briefed us about going home, covering topics like sleeping safely with a newborn and various other safety tips. By 7pm we were ready to go home, the journey home was a nerve wracking one as Isabella was crying and I obviously couldn't feed her while we were driving. We also hadn't worked out how to put the car seat in the car properly, so we had to work that out in the hospital car park. I'd recommend knowing how to put the car seat in and out before your baby is born, save the stress! 

That's it, my very long birth story.

How long was your labour?

Feel free to leave me a comment :)

Helen x

BABY: Birth Story - Part 1

I can't believe I'm sitting here, with my daughter in my lap, writing my birth story. There was a stage a few weeks ago when I thought this day would never come - pregnancy seemed to be never ending! If you follow me on Twitter (@Treasure_E_M) then I'm sure you were aware of this, as everyday I was wishing to get labour 'over and done with' and to finally meet our daughter. I'm clearly an impatient person because in the end our daughter arrived the day before her due date, so I didn't have to wait as long as some. Anyway on to the rather lengthy birth story...

It all began at 8.45am on Tuesday 31st March 2015, my husband and I were watching TV when I got up to close the curtains. As I walked towards the curtains I felt a rush of liquid between my legs, such a strange feeling. I was pretty sure I wasn't wetting myself, despite being heavily pregnant I still had some bladder control! I ran to the bathroom and just sat on the toilet, waiting for my husband to follow me up and help - I didn't know what to do. I dug out the maternity pads, popped one in and rang the birth centre I was planning on giving birth in. They said that I'd have to go in to be examined, just to make sure that my waters had in fact broken, that baby was ok and hadn't pooed etc. The birth centre is about 40 minutes from our house and with the addition of roadworks it took us 1.5 hours to get there, lucky I wasn't in labour! They checked me over and all was fine, so I was sent away to wait for labour to begin. I was given 24 hours before I'd have to go back to be induced. I was told that if I didn't go into established labour (3-4cm dilated) within 24 hours then I wouldn't be able to give birth in the birth centre anymore (due to there being a higher risk of infection, as my waters had broken). So off we went back home, wishing and wanting labour to start. 

At around 4am I woke up with (what I thought were) bad contractions, but they were NOTHING compared to what was to come. I dealt with them by myself for two hours, before waking my husband for moral support. We both eventually fell back asleep in the early morning and upon waking again my contraction had completely gone. The first of many false alarms. 

For the rest of Wednesday 1st April I did everything I could to bring on labour - walking around, bouncing on the yoga ball, drinking raspberry leaf tea etc. I also painted my nails and did some of the last jobs we needed to finish before her arrival. At around 5pm I went for a nap and started getting contractions again, this time they were a bit more painful and were happening every 6 minutes, lasting 30-40 seconds. This time I rang the birth centre, hoping this was labour, but after talking to the midwife she was confident I wasn't in established labour because I could still talk through the contractions. A couple of hours later and once again the contractions had completely disappeared. We had our last meal as a couple (domino's for those that are interested) and headed back to the hospital for 9pm.

We went to the induction ward, where we were shown to a room with 4 beds in. When we arrived we were the only one in the room but during the night it filled up with ladies waiting for planned c-sections and a couple of other women being induced. I was hooked up to the machine to be monitored, where it was evident I was once again having contractions. This meant that they didn't start my induction, with the hope my body was naturally going into labour. I had a bath and we both tried to get some sleep, conscious that we both needed as much energy as possible for when labour did eventually begin. We tried sharing the single hospital bed, but with my big bump that was almost impossible, so we took it in turns to sleep on the bed or in the chair. I think we both got about 2 hours sleep and at around 4am my contractions had stopped again. Oh joy. The midwife did her first internal examination (which was pretty uncomfortable) and broke the news I was a 'fingertip' dilated - barely 1cm! Not the news we wanted to hear. I was given a pessary (a bit like a flat tampon) at 5am, really hoping this would kick start labour. We both got a little bit more sleep before breakfast. I have to say I was impressed with the hospital food - nothing like I thought it was going to be.

We spent Thursday 2nd April walking around the hospital, hoping gravity would help bring on labour. It was the same story as Wednesday though, I'd start getting contractions (which were definitely getting more painful) then they would disappear again. However, by the evening I was well and truly having contractions and they were incredibly painful, baring in mind my pain threshold is pretty low though. I had another bath to try and ease the pain, as well as two paracetamol. They didn't really have much in the way of pain relief on the induction ward. The pessary I had had fallen out, so I was given another one. Fast forward a couple of hours and I was squirming around the bed in pain, it felt like our baby was going to come out of my back - pain like I'd never felt it before. The midwife examined me again and I was only 1-2cm dilated, not much progress in 24 hours! My body really didn't want to go into labour. I was in a lot of pain by now and the only way to get comfortable was to perch on the edge of the bed and hold on to my husband for dear life!! The midwife finally offered some stronger pain relief - pethidine. I had written in my birth plan that I really didn't want pethidine because it can make the baby drowsy, which in turn can make breastfeeding hard. The drowsiness is only an issue if the baby is born within 2 hours after the pethidine injection, being as I was only 1-2cm dilated it was very unlikely she was going to be born within 2 hours so I decided to have it. It's fair to say my birth plan went out of the window, as they often do. The pethidine injection gave me a couple of hours of relief, so I got some more sleep.

Watch out for part 2...

Were you part of the 20% of women who's waters break before going into labour?

Feel free to leave me a comment :)

Helen x

BABY: Introducing...

Some of you eagle eyed readers may have noticed I've not published a pregnancy update post for a while or really been on social media and there's a very good reason for this...

Our baby arrived!!!!!!

After a very long and pretty traumatic labour our beautiful baby girl arrived into the world on Friday 3rd April 2015. We are completely in love! My waters broke on Tuesday 31st March 2015, which then started a very long labour taking us to tea time on Friday before she made an appearance in the world. A whole one day early. I'll write my full birth story up soon, newborns take up a lot of your time - not that I'm complaining in the slightest, I could stare at her all day and night. 

So without further ado it's my absolute pleasure to introduce our daughter, Isabella...

Helen x